Books Of Kings And Chronicles

[Jonathon Burnside]

Isearched for Jeroboam son of Joash in the books of Chronicles without success. If the bold letters are true, a detailed account of the recovery of Damascus and Hamath should be in either I Chronicles or II Chronicles.

If the "book of chronicles" in II Kings 14:28 refers to IIChronicles, the original scribes seemed to have made a mistake becauseJeroboam son of Joash does not appear in II Chronicles.Chronologically, he should be mentioned somewhere around IIChronicles 25 & 26. However, it may be that I have failed to read a passageof the books of Chronicles which actually explains II Kings14:28. But even the commentaries and cross references seemto evade this question. How come?

When the Book of Kings (1 Kings and 2 Kings were originally a single book that was eventually split because of its length) talks of the book of chronicles of the kings of Israel, it could not be referring the the Book we know as Chronicles (1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles) because Chronicles was written centuries later.

Most critical scholars attribute the Book of Kings to an anonymous author now known as the Deuteronomist, who wrote during the seventh-century-BCE reign of King Josiah of Judah. The Book of Chronicles, along with the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah form an integrated block of text with a unity of style and content, allowing us to date Chronicles to the period following the Babylonian Exile - centuries after the Deuteronomic History was written.

The Books we know as 1 and 2 Chronicles are not the now-lost books of chronicles of the kings of Israel and Judah, to which The Book of Kings refers. Chronicles appears to make use of the earlier Books of Kings, as well as other sources, occasionally altering or omitting some material from 1 and 2 Kings. John Romer says, in Testament: the Bible and History, the difference in attitude between the Deuteronomist and the Chronicler is often seen as representing two different factions among the returning Jews.

The books of Samuel/Kings and Chronicles cover a similar period of time. Much of the narrative of both sets of books cover the basic periods between King Saul and the exile. They both provide the history of the kings of Judah, describing their reigns and encouraging the people to remain faithful to God. Both highlight David as being a special ruler and the measure by which later kings are judged. Both sets of books are included in both the Jewish and Christian canons.

There is a difference between Chronicles and Samuel/Kings. To begin with, they do not appear in the same sections within the Hebrew Bible. The Jewish order of the books is different than the Christian order (which is based on the Greek Old Testament).

The Hebrew Bible has three sections: Law, Prophets and Writings. Samuel and Kings are found in the Prophets section, specifically the Former Prophets along with Joshua and Judges. Chronicles is found within the writings, along with books such as the Psalms, Proverbs and others.

When you read Samuel/Kings and Chronicles, there is an obvious difference. The earlier books deals with both kingdoms, Israel and Judah, while Chronicles is only interested in Judah. Israel is only dealt with when it has an immediate impact on the events in Judah.

But there is another difference that not everyone sees. Chronicles cleans up the reputation of the kings. For example, if you go to 1 Chronicles 20, you can see where the story of Bathsheba fits but it is not there. Chronicles removes most of the bad stuff. The same is true of Solomon. In 1 Kings, we see that Solomon really lost his way in the final years of his reign. If you only read Chronicles, you would think his reign was a complete success.

Why do these differences exist? It comes down to the historical context. Samuel/Kings was written at the beginning of the exile. It was a time of repentance and reflection of how they had come to that terrible situation. Chronicles was written after the exile was over and the Jews were trying to re-establish themselves. It would do no good to go over their sinful past. They needed to have renewed faith in their leaders. Chronicles was written for a Jewish people who needed encouragement and strengthening. That is exactly what Chronicles does.

Ultimately this is nothing but an opinion piece and conjecture presented as though it is based on some insider knowledge. It is a guess which anyone can make. But beside that it is unhelpful in terms of building up while at the same time actually implying that the books being examined are not true words of God and were subject to the alteration and whims of men; which may or may not be crucial depending on how one looks at inspiration and the purposes of God.

I read somewhere (and am trying to verify) the difference (in years) between the total amount of years the Kings reigned in those two Old testament books? I vaguely recall that there was a cumulative difference of 54 (?) years (if you add all the years one book says the Kings reigned opposed to the other? Can anyone help me out?

First, thanks for your good post and for your patience you have shown with commenters.

Second, you write that the Books of Samuel were written in the exile. Other websites say it was written in the 7. century before the exile, for example, in the time of king Josiah. What are your reasons to assume it was written later?

At first sight, the Books of Kings and the Books of Chronicles appear to be very similar, covering much of the same period of the history of Israel, especially the monarchy. However, there are some significant differences between the two, which are listed below.

The Books of 1 and 2 Kings were written following the Fall of Jerusalem to Babylon in 586 BC. Itsmain purpose is to show that idolatry led to the downfall of the two nations of Israel and Judah (2Kg 17).

The Books of 1 and 2 Chronicles was written after the second return from exile in 458 BC. Its mainpurpose is to rebuild the nation under God after the exile, with its main focus on worship and thetemple.

4. In the Chronicles account the good aspects of each king are described first and followed by the bad. The only exceptions are Ahaz and Jehoram who have nothing good said about them, as well as David and Solomon who do not receive any criticism.

5. The primary focus of Chronicles is on the temple, the priesthood, the Levites, religious organization and the keeping of the covenant. The Levites are mentioned 100 times in Chronicles, and only three times in Samuel and Kings combined. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah also have an emphasis on the Levites, where they are mentioned 63 times.

11. The Chronicles account specifically shows the immediate retribution for evil and reward forrighteousness and obedience to the Lord's prophets and the Covenant. The retribution takes the form of military defeat, illness or death. Rewards are in the form of military success, building projects, large families, wealth and honour.

12. In Chronicles there is an emphasis on the king's attitude toward the temple. Ungodly kingsneglected and profaned the temple. Godly kings upheld and at times restored the temple. Solomon is an exception; he is the only king who honoured the temple but was involved in idolatry.

13. Kings stresses an emphasis on the Covenant and fulfilled prophecy. However there are stilla significant number of prophets in Chronicles. There are 40 individual prophets or groups of prophets in Samuel and Kings, compared with 13 prophets that appear only in Chronicles and 12 prophets that are mentioned both in Chronicles and Samuel / Kings. Thus Chronicles has a total of 25 prophets or groups of prophets mentioned.

Pages which look at issues relevant to the whole Bible, such as the Canon of Scripture, as well as doctrinal and theological issues. There are also pages about the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and 'lost books' of the Old Testament.

This is a series of five pages which give a historical overview through the New Testament, focusing on the Ministry of Jesus, Paul's missionary journeys, and the later first century. Again, it shows where each book of the NT fits into the history of the first century.

This is an almost complete collection of introductions to each of the books in the Old Testament. Each contains information about the authorship, date, historical setting and main themes of the book.

A series of articles covering more general topics for OT studies. These include a list of the people named in the OT and confirmed by archaeology. There are also pages to convert the different units of measure in the OT, such as the talent, cubit and ephah into modern units.

A series of articles covering studies in the five books of Moses. Studies in the Book of Genesis look at the historical nature of the early chapters of Genesis, the Tower of Babel and the Table of the Nations.

Articles containing studies and helpful information for the history books. These include a list of the dates of the kings of Israel and Judah, a summary of the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and studies of Solomon, Jeroboam and Josiah.

Articles containing studies and helpful information for the OT prophets. These include a page looking at the way the prophets look ahead into their future, a page looking at the question of whether Satan is a fallen angel, and a page studying the seventy weeks of Daniel.

A series of articles covering various studies in the four gospels. These include a list of the unique passages in each of the Synoptic Gospels and helpful information about the parables and how to interpret them.

A series of articles covering various studies in the Book of Acts and the Letters, including Paul's letters. These include a page studying the messages given by the apostles in the Book of Acts, and the information about the financial collection that Paul made during his third missionary journey. More theological topics include Paul's teaching on Jesus as the last Adam, and descriptions of the church such as the body of Christ and the temple, as well as a look at redemption and the issue of fallen angels.

3a8082e126