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| My well used Bible dictionary, that my grandmother gave me when I was 14 in 1971. |
This week I’ve been studying 2 Chronicles. See my last post for general information about both books. This book continues the history of Israel under Solomon, notes the the division of the kingdom into Israel (Ephraim) and Judah, and then focuses on the history of Judah and its kings.
The first section, chapters 1-9, tell of the reign of Solomon:
His wisdom, 1:1-17
The construction and furnishing of the Temple, 2:1-5:14
Solomon’s prayer, and God’s glory fills the sancturary, 6:1-7:22
Other aspects of Solomon’s reign, chapters 8-9
The section, short section tells of the division of the Kingdom under Rehoboam and Jeroboam, chapters 10 through 12.
The third, long section is the history of Judah, chapters 13 through 36
Abijah, chapter 13
Asa, chapters 14 through 16
Jehoshaphat, chapters 17 through 20
Jehoram, chapter 21
Ahaziah, 22:1-9
Athaliah usurps the throne, 22:10-12
Joash, chapters 23 and 24
Amaziah, chapter 25
Uzziah, chapter 26
Jotham, chapter 27
Ahaz, chapter 28
Hezekiah, chapters 29 through 32
Manasseh, 33:1-20
Amon, 33:21-25
Josiah, chapters 34 and 35
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah of Judah, 36:1-16
The end of the southern kingdom, 36:17-21
The decree of Cyrus of Persia, 538 BCE, 36:22-23
The Harper’s Bible Commentary has several interesting points:
* "While agreeing with the Deuteronomistic historian that the Temple is not God’s dwelling (1 Kings 5:3) but the place where his name dwells, emphasis [in 2 Chr. 2-8] falls primarily upon the Temple as a place of worship and sacrifice” (pp. 357-358). But also, “the terminology associated with the building of the Temple and with Huramabi is heavily dependent upon the tabernacle narrative [in Ex. 28 and 35],” with Huramabi becoming a hero along with Bazalel and Oholiab (Ex. 31) (p. 358). Another connection with the Torah, along with the placing of the Ark inside the sanctuary, is the dating of the temple from the 480th year since the Exodus (2 Chr. 3:1-5:10), and the identifying of the site not only with Araunah’s threshing floor at the end of 2 Samuel but also with Mt. Moriah in Gen. 22:2 (p. 358).
* 2 Chr. 7:14 is a very famous verse, which I’ve seen applied to the United States. The original context is, of course, the confidence that the Chronicler wants to inculcate in the returning exile. “It has been observed that, especially in the words of vs. 14, four avenues of repentance are uncovered (to humble oneself, pray, seek, turn) that will lead to God’ hearing, forgiving, and healing of people and land and that such a theology is meant to proclaim to the exiles that no circumstances are too formidable to prevent God from fulfilling his promise. These terms are indeed the heart of the writer’s theology from this point on and point to the dedication of the Temple as the beginning of a new era in Israel’s history” (p. 359).
* The portrayal of Solomon omits negative aspects of Solomon that we find in 1 Kings (pp. 359-360). In the post-Solomonic history, the good and bad kings of Judah reflect the evaluations of 2 Kings, although with some expansions and omissions. Stories like Abijah’s successful battles against the forces of Jeroboam reflect the Chronicler’s theology that faithfulness to God brings success, and evil brings defeat (p. 361). Similarly, the reign of Asa, well-respected by the Deuteronomistic historian, is characterized by the successes of faithfulness and the difficulties resulting form his lapses (p. 362). Similarly Josh, a little later, while Jehoshaphat’s reign is highly regarded.
* It’s worth noting that the Syro-Ephraimite War (about 735-732 BCE), found in 2 Kings 15:5-6 and 2 Chr. 28:5-8, will connect us later to Isaiah chapter 7, where that prophet spoke to circumstances in the northern and southern kingdoms (p. 367). The northern kingdom (sometimes called Ephraim as well as Israel) tried to break away from Assyrian influence. Syria and Israel (then under King Pekah) invaded Judah but failed to depose King Ahaz and failed to conquer Jerusalem. But idolatry spread through Judah during Ahaz’s reign, and Ahaz even paid the Assyrian ruler Tiglath-Pileser III with treasures from the temple.
* In 2 Chronicles as well as 2 Kings, Hezekiah and Josiah are lauded as wonderful kings, although the Chronicler gives the most space and praise to Hezekiah (p. 368). As in 2 Kings, Josiah labored under the shadow of his evil predecessor Manasseh. Yet Manasseh, too, gets grace; the Chronicler states that Manasseh humbled himself and prayed to God, and God restored him. If even the horrible Manasseh regains God’s grace, there is hope for all of us! (In the Apocrypha, “the Prayer of Manasseh” is a moving prayer dating from the 2nd or 1st centuries BCE: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Prayer+of+Manasseh&version=CEB)
* 2 Chronicles omits numerous details about the last kings of Judah but has the interesting story that the land law fallow for seventy years following the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem (2 Chr. 36:17-21), a necessary sabbath rest that connects us back to Lev. 26:34-39 and ahead to Jeremiah 25:11-13 and 29:10-14 (p. 371).
* Finally, the edict of Cyrus of Persia allows the return of the people to the land, and 2 Chr. 36:22-23 is repeated almost verbatim in the next book, Ezra (1:1-3a) (p. 371):
"In the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in fulfilment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia so that he sent a herald throughout all his kingdom and also declared in a written edict: ‘Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the Lord his God be with him! Let him go up.’" (NRSV)
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Brueggemann and Linafelt point out that these are the final verses of the Jewish Bible—since the Jewish Bible concludes with 2 Chronicles. The two authors invite us to compare those verses with Malachi 4:5-6, which are the final verses of the Christian Old Testament:
"Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse." (NRSV)
“Both endings concern futures—but futures staged very differently. It is important that this difference be honored and taken seriously, Judaism in a particular focus on land and Torah, Christianity with its focus on a Messiah for both Gentiles and Israel… In the midst of that difference, however, our judgment is that Jews and Christians must read together as long as we are able and as far as we can… Because both Malachi 4:5-6 and 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 end in anticipation… [i]t remains for us to keep reading, aware of distinctions, respectful of differences, grateful for what is held in common, a future with many shapes given by the God of all futures.” (Walter Brueggemann and Tod Linafelt, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian Imagination (2nd edition, Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 416.)
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Leslie C Allen's introduction in the New Interpreter's Bible(1) has an interesting section on the way "exile" functions both literally and metaphorically in Chronicles. In literal terms, the Chronicler interprets the history as a series of exiles (corresponding to different deportations at the end of the pre-exilic period). But the Chronicler also envisioned two different kinds of literal restorations: the return of the people to the land, and also the return of the Davidic monarchy (p. 301).
The Chronicler also thinks of the exile in metaphorical terms. This metaphorical use is crucially important for the ongoing history of Judaism and the beginning of Christianity. We find this metaphorical sense in other places of the Bible: the hope reflected in Psalms 85 and 126, the prayers in the upcoming Ezra 9 and Nehemiah 9, and the way Daniel 9 depicts the exile as lasting not 70 years but 70 times 7. Prof. Allen notes that the Chronicler uses three biblical texts to teach hope in God's restoration: (1) 2 Chr. 36:21 connects to Lev. 26:34-35 to describe the land's desolation as a sabbath rest, (2) Jer. 29:10-19 is referenced by the Chronicler to emphasize God's promised restoration, and (3) Ezekiel 18 is a moral counterpart to the Chronicler's "teaching of immediate retribution" with "each generation...controlling their own destiny, free to start again with or against the Lord" (pp. 302-303, quotation from page 303).
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Professor Allen calls Chronicles "the Bible's best-kept secret," absent from the Revised Common Lectionary, and less often explored than Samuel and Kings. The forbidding 1 Chr. 1-9 may be one reason, he writes. But once you get past the genealogies (which do have a theological purpose of their own), a Bible explorer can begin to dig into the wonderful, pastoral theology that emphasizes God's grace, forgiveness, and an always hopeful future (pp. 299, 301)
Notes:
1. Leslie C. Allen, "The First and Second Books of Chronicles," The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. III (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1999).
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