1-2 Chronicles: 5 (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary) - Hardcover

Boda; Mark J.; Comfort; Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0842334319 ISBN 13: 9780842334310

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, 2010

Synopsis

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, accessible evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Presenting the message for each passage, as well as an overview of other issues relevant to the text, each volume equips pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge so they can better understand and apply God’s Word. This volume includes the entire NLT text of 1 and 2 Chronicles.
Mark J. Boda (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) has authored numerous articles and books in addition to editing several collections of scholarly essays on various topics related to the Old Testament and Christian Theology. He taught for nine years at Canadian Theological Seminary before joining McMaster Divinity College in 2003. Mark enjoys mentoring students and teaches with enthusiasm about the Old Testament and its continued relevance to the Christian life today.

About this title

From the Back Cover

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. It's designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God's word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text.
Featuring the entire text of 1-2 Chronicles in the New Living Translation.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CORNERSTONE BIBLICAL COMMENTARY

1-2 Chronicles By Mark J. Boda

TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS, INC.

Copyright © 2010 Mark J. Boda
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8423-3431-0

Contents

Biographical Note........................................viGeneral Editor's Preface.................................viiAbbreviations............................................ixTransliteration and Numbering System.....................xiii1 CHRONICLES.............................................12 CHRONICLES.............................................224

Chapter One

INTRODUCTION TO 1-2 Chronicles

It was during my seminary days that I first took a serious look at the books of Chronicles. Up to that point my attitude had been that expressed by the title of these books in the Septuagint. There they are called Paraleipomenon or "omissions," implying that they contain material that was not included in the books of Samuel and Kings. Chronicles was just "the leftovers"; Samuel-Kings was "the main course." But it was under the tutelage of Raymond Dillard that I saw for the first time that these "leftovers" could be "the main course." His riveting lectures left me on the edge of my seat as we discussed the significance of the Chronicler's version of Israel's story and its implications for theology. The first line of the work now known as 1 and 2 Chronicles begins with the words "The descendants of Adam" (1 Chr 1:1), while the final pericope of the work begins with the words "In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia" (2 Chr 36:22). These two citations reveal the scale of the accomplishment of this work: It is nothing short of a history of the world from the creation of humanity to the restoration of the Jews from Babylonian exile; it is, as Jerome once called it, "the chronicle of the whole of sacred history." Until recently, however, the work as a whole has often been maligned by (and, probably even worse, ignored in) critical scholarship.

Jerome's statement above is the most likely origin of the book's English name, "Chronicles." This name is closely aligned with the Hebrew tradition, which calls this work dibre hayyamim, or "events of the days," a title that is used to refer to the official royal histories used as a source in the book of Kings (1 Kgs 14:19; 15:31; 16:5, 14, 20, 27). The name in the Greek tradition (Paraleipomenon, or "omissions"), however, does little to encourage its readership. As noted above, this title reflects a common attitude toward Chronicles: It is simply to be used as a supplement to the more important works of Samuel and Kings.

There are other reasons why Chronicles has been ignored and maligned in biblical studies, both on literary and historical levels. In terms of its literary character, although Chronicles reviews the "whole of sacred history," the vast majority of this "sacred history" is covered efficiently through the genre of genealogical lists, which fill the first nine chapters of the work (1 Chr 1-9)-not the most riveting introduction to capture the imagination of modern readers. When the Chronicler finally does get to the key narratives of David and Solomon in 1 Chronicles 10-2 Chronicles 9, he lessens the tension of the plot by removing nearly all references to the failures of these kings and inserts long lists of people (1 Chr 11-12, 23-27). In the rest of his account (2 Chr 10-36), the Chronicler excises from his source the story of the northern kingdom with its fascinating parallel plot to the enduring Davidic kingdom.

In addition, Chronicles is often ignored and maligned in biblical studies because of its perceived lack of historical worth. There is no question that the Chronicler was at some distance from the events he related, indicated by the final recorded incident in the book, which places it in the Persian period. The Chronicler raises questions for many historians in the way he rehearses the history of Israel. His results not only diverge from Samuel and Kings but also reflect a consistent agenda and style. In the sections that are not found in Samuel and Kings, one can discern a common vocabulary that reveals the personality of the Chronicler. This vocabulary occurs not only in the "direct narrative," that is, those sections where the Chronicler is describing events in the third person, but also in the "dramatic narrative," that is, those sections that cite speeches or prayers. Many have questioned the veracity of the Paraleipomenon or "omissions" that the Chronicler has added into his account.

These critiques are the product of our modern fixation on literature and history. It may be difficult for us to appreciate a literary work in which long lists and genealogies form a key component, but this does not appear to be true for ancient writers and readers. Although not testing the limits of our modern patience, the New Testament Gospel of Matthew begins in similar fashion, drawing the reader into the story of Jesus by tracing his human origins in the line of Abraham and David. Modern readers may want the story of Israel to be told with more brilliant colors, but the Chronicler had an agenda that sought to capture the imagination of his own generation rather than a modern one. It is this agenda that has often been the subject of modern debate over the historical character of the Chronicler, yet all the while the greatest detractors seem to think that modern historiography itself is devoid of an agenda. Fundamental to the task of writing history, whether in the ancient or modern world, is linking cause and effect and establishing a rationale for understanding events in a certain way. Throughout time, all history writing has highlighted certain themes by emphasizing particular parts of history over others through including or excluding various events. It is true that there are dimensions of ancient historiography, such as the creation and shaping of speeches to reflect the sentiments of a character (see Thucydides) or the inclusion of supernatural causes, which are seen as inappropriate for many modern historians, but these were accepted modes of historical writing in the ancient world and would not have been considered faulty or inferior. The Chronicler has also shaped his historical presentation in a certain way to highlight historiographical principles that were key to his worldview and theology and helpful to his readers, who lived in a unique period in history. Understanding these principles is key to using Chronicles for reconstructing the history of Israel as well as for highlighting its theological significance for believers today. Some of these principles will be highlighted under "Major Themes" below (see also the introductions to 1 Chr 1-9, 10-29, 2 Chr 1-9, and 10-36 for historiographic principles key to each section of the work).

In order to investigate the Chronicler's work, we need to look more closely at introductory issues of history, text, and literature. First, we need to discover when this work was written, who was responsible for it, and to whom it was written. Second, we need to evaluate the textual sources for the study of Chronicles, that is, evaluate the various ancient manuscripts in Hebrew and other languages that bear witness to the original text. Part of the textual study is to ascertain the textual limits of the work itself, whether it comprised 1 and 2 Chronicles or whether it included Ezra and Nehemiah as well. Finally, in light of this, we need to determine what evidence can be drawn from the resulting work that offers clues into the historiography of the writer, that is, what the agenda of the writer and the potential for theology is.

AUTHOR

Jewish tradition largely associated the authorship of Chronicles with Ezra. The Babylonian Talmud (b. Bava Batra 15a) claimed that Ezra wrote the book that bears his own name and the genealogies of the book of Chronicles up until his own time and that Nehemiah finished it. It is unclear what is meant here, whether Ezra just updated the genealogies in Chronicles or wrote beginning with the genealogies and up until Ezra 10. However, the identity of the author (or authors) of this work is never revealed in the book, a characteristic that is the rule rather than the exception for Old Testament books. Evidence within the book suggests that the author was closely associated with the Temple. The book emphasizes the Temple and its services and provides extensive detail about it. Further evidence for the author's close association with the Temple can be found in the fact that the Temple played a key role in supporting the development of Jewish literature in the Second Temple period (the period in which Chronicles was written). Furthermore, the prominence given to Levites (and within that group to Levitical musicians) suggests someone among that sacred guild in the Second Temple period. The consistent focus on Jerusalem and the Temple suggests that those responsible for composing the Chronicles were living in the Persian province of Yehud (comprised primarily of Jerusalem and its surrounding suburbs).

DATE AND OCCASION OF WRITING

Chronicles offers only a few pieces of evidence for ascertaining the date of its origin. First, its extensive use of the books of Samuel and Kings means that it must have been written after the final event in that composition, which is cited in 2 Kings 25:27-30 as the 37th year of Jehoiachin's exile during the reign of Amel-Marduk (Evil-merodach) of Babylon (Nebuchadnezzar's son), who reigned from 562-560 BC. Second, the final pericope of Chronicles cites a proclamation that was written in the first year of the Persian King Cyrus, encouraging the Jews to return to their land and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Although Cyrus rose to prominence in the ancient Near East in 553 BC, when he revolted against his grandfather, the Median king Astyages, and inherited his kingdom, it was not until 539 BC that Cyrus finally marched into Babylon and took full control of the ancient Near East from Nabonidus. On a famous cylinder discovered in Mesopotamia and written in the early months of Cyrus's control of the former Babylonian Empire, Cyrus not only describes his defeat of Nabonidus and enthusiastic acceptance by the residents of Babylon, but also his policy of returning various gods to their respective cities and rebuilding their sanctuaries. The proclamation now recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:22-233 reflects the policies of Cyrus in the period immediately after Cyrus's conquest of Babylon. Third, in 1 Chronicles 29:7 one of the valuable items ("10,000 gold coins") is referred to as "darics" (gold coins), a coin that was minted during the reign of Darius I no earlier than 515 BC and would not have reached the province of Yehud until some time after that. Fourth, the lack of details on Solomon's building project and the greater attention to the worship systems and services suggest that it was not written in the period when the Temple was being built, that is, during the period from 539-515 BC, but rather in a period when the Temple had been operational for a time (Dillard 1987:31; Knoppers 2004:111). Fifth, the genealogy of the Davidic royal line in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24 extends at least two generations after Zerubbabel, who was governor of Yehud in 520 BC (see Ezra 1-6, Haggai, Zechariah), and some have suggested that it extends as many as 14 generations after his time (see commentary on 1 Chr 3). This commentary will follow Klein (2006:113) in dating the final generation in this genealogy to the latter half of the fifth century BC.

These various pieces of evidence suggest that the earliest date for the writing of Chronicles is 425 BC. Regarding the latest possible date for the book's composition, there is strong evidence of the use of Chronicles in several books in the Second Temple period (Daniel, 1 Maccabees, Sirach, and various of the DSS). This, together with the fact that Chronicles is part of the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX), "points to a mid-third century date as the latest reasonable time for composition" (Knoppers 2004:111). Thus, the Chronicler was at work somewhere between 425 and 250 BC, writing to a community of Jews who needed to return to Jerusalem to the reconstructed Temple and to participate in its worship as they awaited the full realization of the restoration of the kingdom of David.

AUDIENCE

The dates and location that have been given for Chronicles identify the readership as those who lived in the province of Yehud sometime during the Persian (539-333 BC) and early Hellenistic (333-250 BC) periods. Although this is a wide range, there are certain characteristics of this community that may help us understand the book.

One cannot overestimate the powerful impact of the Babylonian conquest of Judah in the early sixth century BC. In at least four waves (605, 597, 587, 582 BC), a portion of the upper echelon of the Judean kingdom was deported to areas in Mesopotamia, leaving behind a decimated community and destroyed infrastructure. Although in the waning days of the Judean monarchy foreign powers had controlled the southern kingdom, there was at least some semblance of independence and identity for the nation. But the destruction of Jerusalem in 587/6 would result in the removal of key identity markers: king, Temple, and capital. Until 539 BC Jews would live in communities stretching from Mesopotamia to Egypt under foreign hegemony.

With Babylonian control over the ancient Near East finally broken by Cyrus in 539 BC, the Jewish people began to return to the land in at least four waves to join those who had remained behind, first under Sheshbazzar in 539-537, then under Zerubbabel and Jeshua in 522-520, Ezra in 458, and Nehemiah in 445. Persian authorization for these returns is inextricably linked with the reconstruction of the Temple and the reinstitution of its worship, a project that was begun under Sheshbazzar's leadership (Ezra 1; 5:15-16) but only fully engaged under the leadership of governor Zerubbabel, the priest Jeshua, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (Ezra 2-6; Haggai; Zech 1-8). The Temple structure was completed in 515 BC (Ezra 6:15), even though temple services had begun as early as 520 with the reconstruction of the altar (Ezra 3:1-6).

The return of Zerubbabel, with his Davidic lineage (1 Chr 3:17-24; Hag 2:20-23), to the land from Mesopotamia (Zerubbabel means "seed of Babylon") around 520 BC was an important signal of the restoration of the nation to its former state. That is, he represented the reinstatement of the royal identity marker, even if he was accountable to Persian authorities. His choice of Jerusalem as the capital of the province reinstated a second identity marker, while the reconstruction of the Temple represented the third and final identity marker. Thus, by 515 BC there would have been much hope that the community was on the brink of restoration; all that remained was independence from the Persian Empire. Some see evidence of rebellion in the language of Haggai (Hag 2:1-9, 20-23), but this is far from certain. What we do know is that by the end of the sixth century BC Zerubbabel was no longer governor of Yehud, let alone king of an independent Judah. In his place sat his son-in-law Elnathan, a man married to Zerubbabel's daughter Shelomith, who ruled until around 490 BC. After that point there is no evidence of a figure from Davidic descent involved in leadership in the province.

Little is known about the little province of Yehud during the era after the disappearance of Zerubbabel. Texts in Zechariah 9-14 and Malachi suggest that there were some tensions within the community. Two of these tensions likely revolved around the relationship between Jerusalem and the surrounding province (Zech 12-14) and the relationship between the functioning of the Temple and the priesthood (Malachi). Zechariah 11:4-16 may indeed point to Zerubbabel's demise as the cause for this tension. Evidence from Ezra 4 suggests that the Jewish community in Yehud faced serious opposition in the first half of the fifth century in the period leading up to Ezra's arrival in 458 BC. Any progress that had been made in securing Jerusalem as the capital city was eradicated by adversarial forces within the empire. Ezra's return, enabled and empowered by the Persian court, was largely focused on renewal within the community, protecting the community from foreign influences, and securing any privileges that had been gained from the Persians (Ezra 7-10). With Nehemiah came even greater empowerment from the Persian court, finally securing Jerusalem as the provincial capital with its protective wall (Neh 1-7). In the wake of Nehemiah two of the key identity markers of the community were in place: Temple and capital, even if the third, the monarchy, was no longer a reality.

Although evidence is slight for the period after the fifth century, it appears that the Temple in Jerusalem became the key center for Jewish community and identity in Yehud. However, even in the sixth century BC the Jewish temple at Elephantine in Egypt rivaled the Temple in Jerusalem, and as time progressed this Egyptian community showed signs of syncretism with local Egyptian religion. In the late Persian/ early Hellenistic period (latter half of the fourth century BC) another temple would be built on traditional Israelite soil, that is, the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim (Josephus Antiquities 9.288; 11.302-310; 13.74), and some have suggested that sanctuaries were already present in the sixth and fifth centuries at Bethel (Zech 7:1-3), Lachish, and Casiphia (in Babylon; Ezra 8:17; Ezek 11:14-16; see Knoppers 2004:112). There is also evidence of a Jewish sanctuary built at Leontopolis in Egypt in the second century BC. The limited size of Yehud during this period, however, meant that most of these various sanctuaries were not within the confines of the province, even if some of them were on traditional territory. Nevertheless, their presence was a problem for those who saw the Temple in Jerusalem as the fulfillment of the Deuteronomic legislation that centralized worship and sacrifice (Deut 12).

(Continues...)

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Edition details

• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0842334319
• ISBN 13: 9780842334310
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 456