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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>2 Chronicles 1 Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/expositors/2_chronicles/1.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/2_chronicles/1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/2_chronicles/1-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Ellicott</a> > <a href="../2_chronicles/">2 Chronicles</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../1_chronicles/29.htm" title="1 Chronicles 29">◄</a> 2 Chronicles 1 <a href="../2_chronicles/2.htm" title="2 Chronicles 2">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</div><div class="chap">THE SECOND BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES.<p>THE REIGN OF SOLOMON</span> (2 Chronicles 1-9).<p><span class= "bld"><p>II. Chronicles.</span><p>BY<p>THE REV. C. J. BALL, M.A.<p>1. 2 Chronicles 1. describes a national sacrifice at Gibeon, and in connection therewith a dream in which God reveals His will to Solomon (<a href="/1_kings/3-5.htm" title="In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give you.">1Kings 3:5</a>). A few details are added respecting Solomon’s power, wealth, and commerce.<p>2. 2 Chronicles 2-7. are concerned with the principal topic of the writer’s presentation, viz., the building and consecration of the Temple.<p>3. 2 Chronicles 8, 9 supply further particulars of Solomon’s public works, his regulation of worship, his foreign relations, his revenues, wisdom, and glory; followed by a reference to authorities, and notice of his death.<p><span class= "bld">§ 1. Title.</span>—In the Hebrew MSS. the Books of Chronicles form a continuous work, bearing the general name of <span class= "ital">Dibrê hayyâmîm</span> (“Events of the Days,” or “History of the Times”), which is no doubt an abridgment of <span class= "ital">Sêpher dibrê hayyâmîm</span>—i.e., “The Book of the Events (or History) of the Times.” (Comp. <a href="/2_kings/14-19.htm" title="Now they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem: and he fled to Lachish; but they sent after him to Lachish, and slew him there.">2Kings 14:19</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/27-24.htm" title="Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.">1Chronicles 27:24</a>; <a href="/esther/6-1.htm" title="On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.">Esther 6:1</a>; <a href="/esther/10-2.htm" title="And all the acts of his power and of his might, and the declaration of the greatness of Mordecai, whereunto the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia?">Esther 10:2</a>.) This designation is not given in the text of the work itself, but was prefixed by some unknown editor. Accordingly we find a different title in the LXX., which divides the work into two books, called <span class= "greekheb">Παραλειπομένων πρω̑τον </span>and <span class= "greekheb">δευτερὸν </span>(“First and Second [Book] of Things omitted”); or, <span class= "greekheb">Παραλειπομένων βασιλέων</span> or, in some MSS., <span class= "greekheb">τῶν βασιλείοον ΙονδαÌ</span>,<span class= "greekheb"> α </span>and <span class= "greekheb">β</span> (“First and Second Book of omitted Notices of the Kings or the Kingdoms of Judah”). This title indicates that, in the opinion of the Greek translators, the work was intended as a kind of supplement to the older historical books. In that case, however, great part of Chronicles could only be considered redundant and superfluous, consisting, as it does, in the mere repetition of narratives already incorporated in Samuel and Kings. (See § 5, <span class= "ital">infra.</span>) The name by which we know the work, and which fairly represents the Hebrew designation, is derived from St. Jerome, who says:—“Dibre hayamim, id est, Verba dierum, quod significantius Chronicon totius divinae historiae possumus appellare, qui liber apud nos Paralipomenon primus et secundus inscribitur” (<span class= "ital">Prolog, galeat.</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> The work, however, is not a mere chronicle or book of annals, although somewhat resembling one in its external form, and deriving its facts from annalistic sources (§ 7, <span class= "ital">infra</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> In the Vulgate we find the heading, “The First Book of Paralipomena, in Hebrew Dibre Haiamim.” In the Peshito-Syriac, “Next the Book of the Rule of Days <span class= "ital">[Dûbor yaumâthâ</span>) of the Kings of Judah, which is cailed Sephar debar yamîn.” In the Arabic, “In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. The First Book of the <span class= "ital">Kitâb ’akhbâri ’l’ayyâmi</span>—the Book of the Histories of the Days; which is called in the Hebrew, Dibrâ hayyâmîn.”<p>That Chronicles was originally a single, undivided work, is evident from the Masoretic note at the end of the Hebrew text, which states that <a href="/1_chronicles/27-25.htm" title="And over the king's treasures was Azmaveth the son of Adiel: and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, and in the villages, and in the castles, was Jehonathan the son of Uzziah:">1Chronicles 27:25</a> is the middle verse of the whole book. Moreover, Josephus, Origen (<span class= "ital">ap.</span> Euseb. <span class= "ital">Hist. Eccl.</span> vi. 25), Jerome, and the Talmud reckon but one book of Chronicles. The Peshito-Syriac ends with the remark”: “Finished is the book of Debar yamin, in which are 5,603 verses”<span class= "ital">—</span>implying the unity of the work. The present division into two books, which certainly occurs in the most suitable place, was first made by the LXX. translators, from whom it was adopted by St. Jerome in the Vulgate, and so passed into the other versions and the modern printed editions of the Hebrew Bible.<p><span class= "bld">§ 2. Relation to the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah.</span>—An attentive examination of the Hebrew text of the Books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, soon reveals the important fact that the three apparently separate works resemble each other very closely, not only in style and language, which is that of the latest age of Hebrew writing, but also in the general point of view, in the manner in which the original authorities are handled and the sacred Law expressly cited, and, above all, in the marked preference for certain topics, such as genealogical and statistical registers, descriptions of religious rites and festivals, detailed accounts of the sacerdotal classes and their various functions, notices of the music of the Temple, and similar matters connected with the organisation of public worship. These resemblances in manner, method, and matter, raise a strong presumption of unity of authorship, which is accordingly asserted by most modern scholars. As regards Chronicles and Ezra, this result is further indicated by the strange termination of the Chronicles in the middle of an unfinished sentence, which finds its due completion in the opening verses of Ezra. (Comp. <a href="/context/2_chronicles/36-22.htm" title="Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,">2Chronicles 36:22-23</a> with <a href="/context/ezra/1-1.htm" title="Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,">Ezra 1:1-4</a>.) Had Chronicles been an independent work, it might have ended less abruptly at <a href="/2_chronicles/36-21.htm" title="To fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill three score and ten years.">2Chronicles 36:21</a>. But there is no real break in the narrative between 2 Chronicles 36 and Ezra 1; and the awkwardness of the existing division simply points to the perplexity of some editor or transcriber, who did not know where to leave off. It is absurd to lay any stress on the two trivial variants between the two passages. They are not marks of an editorial hand, but merely errors of transcription. (See Notes on <a href="/context/2_chronicles/36-22.htm" title="Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,">2Chronicles 36:22-23</a>.)<p>There are other facts which combine with the above considerations to prove that Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah originally constituted a single great history, composed upon a uniform plan by one author. Thus there is actually extant part of a Greek version of the three books which ignores their division. The Third Book of Esdras is, with certain important omissions and additions, an independent translation of the history from 2 Chronicles 35 to <a href="/nehemiah/8-12.htm" title="And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.">Nehemiah 8:12</a>. In this work the edict of Cyrus occurs but once; and it is evident that the author’s Hebrew text did not divide the history into three distinct books.<p>Further, the ancients did not separate Ezra and Nehemiah in the modern fashion. The Talmudic treatise <span class= "ital">Baba bathra</span> (fol. 15. A), the Masorah, and the Christian fathers Origen and Jerome, regard Ezra-Nehemiah as a single work; and it appears in the Vulgate as 1st and 2nd of Esdras, a non-fundamental division like that of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, into two books each. Indeed, the Book of Ezra as it stands is an unfinished fragment, which finds its natural continuation in Nehemiah 8 sea., where the history of Ezra’s part in the restoration is further pursued. Lastly, the notes of time in Chronicles and Nehemiah coincide (see § 3 <span class= "ital">infra</span>)<span class= "ital">;</span> and the genealogies of the high priests from Eleazar to Jehozadak in <a href="/context/1_chronicles/6-4.htm" title="Eleazar begat Phinehas, Phinehas begat Abishua,">1Chronicles 6:4-16</a>, and from Jeshua to Jaddua in <a href="/context/nehemiah/12-10.htm" title="And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,">Nehemiah 12:10-11</a>, are given in the same form, and are obviously complementary, covering, as they do, when taken together, the whole period from Moses to Alexander the Great.<p>The LXX. translators found Chronicles already severed from Ezra-Nehemiah. This division is explicable in connection with the formation of the Hebrew Canon. In the Hebrew text the Book of Ezra-Nehemiah precedes Chronicles, apparently because the value of this, the newer and more interesting portion of the whole work, was recognised first. Chronicles may well have been regarded as of less importance, because to a great extent it merely repeats the familiar narratives of Samuel and Kings. In no long time, however, it was perceived that the new relation of the ancient history was animated by the spirit of the age, and its catalogues of family descent, and its detailed treatment of religious matters, won for it first, perhaps, general use as a manual of instruction, and then the last place in the sacred Canon.<p><span class= "bld">§ 3. Date.</span>—The orthography and language of the Chronicle, its Levitical tendency, and its position at the end of the Hagiographa, conspire to suggest a comparatively late origin. Other internal evidence of a more definite character enables us to settle the question of date with approximate precision. The partially confused passage, <a href="/context/1_chronicles/3-19.htm" title="And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:">1Chronicles 3:19-24</a>, carries the line of David’s posterity down to at least the sixth generation from Zerubbabel, who along with the High Priest Jeshua conducted the first return, B.C. 536. According to R. Benjamin in the <span class= "ital">Me’or ‘enayim</span> (fol. 153. A, quoted by Zunz), as many as nine generations must be reckoned from Jesaiah to Johanan in this genealogy. In like manner, the LXX. makes eleven generations from Zerubbabel to the last name in the list. This brings the date of the author down to about B.C. 200, if we count thirty years to the generation. This was the opinion of Zunz, whom Nöldeke follows. Kuenen also favours a late epoch, asserting that “the author must have lived about B.C. 250.” These views, however, are not accepted by the majority of modern scholars; and they rest upon a highly questionable interpretation of the passage under consideration. (See Notes on <a href="/1_chronicles/3-19.htm" title="And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:">1Chronicles 3:19</a>, <span class= "ital">seq.</span>)<p>What is certain is, that both in this genealogy of the house of David, and in that of the high priests, the writer descends several generations below the age of Ezra and Nehemiah, who flourished about B.C. 445. Thus in <a href="/context/nehemiah/12-10.htm" title="And Jeshua begat Joiakim, Joiakim also begat Eliashib, and Eliashib begat Joiada,">Nehemiah 12:10-11</a> the line of the high priests is traced as far as Jaddua, who was the fifth successor of Jeshua the contemporary of Zerubbabei. Josephus informs us that Jaddua came into personal contact with Alexander the Great (<span class= "ital">Antiq.</span> xi. 7, 8). This points to a date about B.C. 330. Again, <a href="/nehemiah/12-22.htm" title="The Levites in the days of Eliashib, Joiada, and Johanan, and Jaddua, were recorded chief of the fathers: also the priests, to the reign of Darius the Persian.">Nehemiah 12:22</a> appears to speak of Jaddua and “Darius the Persian” (i.e., Codomannus) as belonging to an earlier age than the writer; and <a href="/nehemiah/12-47.htm" title="And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things to the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them to the children of Aaron.">Nehemiah 12:47</a> refers to “the days of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah” as to a past already distant<p>It is an acute suggestion of Ewald’s that the chronicler’s designation of Cyrus and Darius as “kings of Persia,” indicates that he lived and wrote after the fall of the Persian monarchy. The reckoning by “darics” in <a href="/1_chronicles/29-7.htm" title="And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron.">1Chronicles 29:7</a> does not prove authorship <span class= "ital">during</span> the Persian dominion. The Persian coinage would not disappear from use immediately upon the establishment of the Greek supremacy. A few other terms survived in the language as vestiges of the Persian age; and the Temple fortress was still called the <span class= "ital">Baris</span> (comp. the Persian <span class= "ital">baru</span>) in the days of Josephus. On the other hand, Prof. Dillmann is probably right in asserting that “there are no reasons of any sort for fixing the authorship of the Chronicle as late as the third century, or even later.” The limits of the two genealogies above considered are evidence against such a conclusion. Upon the whole, it appears likely that the great historical work, of which Chronicles forms the largest section, was compiled between the years B.C. 330 and B.C. 300, and perhaps somewhat nearer the latter than the former date.<p><span class= "bld">§ 4. Author.</span>—“Ezra wrote his own book, and the genealogy of the Chronicles down to himself.” Such is the assertion of the Talmud (<span class= "ital">Baba bathra,</span> fol. 15. A). But we are no more bound to accept this as fact than the preceding statements which connect Moses with the Book of Job, and—more wonderful still—Adam with the Psalms. The grain of truth embodied in the tradition is simply this, that the compiler of the last great book of history has drawn largely upon the authentic memoirs of Ezra and Nehemiah, incorporating whole sections of their journals in his work. But, as every Hebrew scholar knows, a single hand can be traced throughout the three books now called Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah; and the original documents stand out in sharp contrast to their modern setting, wherever the compiler has been contented to transcribe verbally. From the entire tone and spirit of the work, it is reasonably inferred by most critics that it was the production of a Levite attached to the Temple at Jerusalem in the latter half of the fourth century B.C. Ewald further supposes the author to have belonged to one of the guilds of Levitical musicians: a conjecture which is highly probable, considering how much the work has to tell us about the Temple choirs and their music. Keil objects that the porters are mentioned as often as the musicians, and that therefore we might just as well assume the chronicler to have been a porter or Temple-warder. But an acquaintance with musical technicalities such as the writer displays almost certainly proves him to have been a member of one of the musical guilds. Similarly, it is no reply to allege that priests are made quite as prominent in the work as Levitical warders and musicians. The priests are naturally mentioned on all religious occasions as being the principal functionaries. The fact that the inferior ministers are so persistently brought forward in their company—which is not the case in the older history—proves the peculiar interest of the author in these latter.<p><span class= "bld">§ 5. Contents.</span>—<span class= "ital">Character and Scope of the Work.</span> The Chronicle opens with an outline of primeval history from Adam to David. The Pentateuchal narratives, however, are not repeated, because the five books were already recognised as canonical, and the writer had nothing to add to them. In like manner, the times of the Judges and the reign of Saul are passed over. The chronicler had no special sources for that period, and it did not appear to lend itself easily to the illustration of the particular lesson which he wished to enforce upon his readers. Accordingly the first section of his work takes the driest and most succinct form imaginable, that of a series of genealogies interspersed with brief historical notices (1 Chronicles 1-9). The writer’s extraordinary fondness for genealogical and statistical tables is apparent also in other parts of his history, and is to be explained by reference to the special requirements of the post-exilic age. (Comp. <a href="/ezra/2-59.htm" title="And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not show their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:">Ezra 2:59</a>, <span class= "ital">seq.</span>) Here, after tracing the generations from Adam to Jacob, the writer gives a flying survey of the twelve tribes, lingering longest over Judah, the tribe of David, and Levi, the tribe of the priests; after which (in 2 Chronicles 8, 9) his horizon narrows at once from all Israel to the southern kingdom only (Benjamin, Judah, Jerusalem). 2 Chronicles 10—the death of Saul—is transitional to the reign of David, which follows at length (1 Chronicles 11-29).<p>The second and main portion of the work (1 Chronicles 11 -2 Chronicles 36) relates the history of the kings who reigned in Jerusalem from David to Zedekian, thus covering a period of between four and five centuries (B.C. 1055-588). The third part contains the history of the restored community under Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah (B.C. 536-432), and is now known as the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. (See the <span class= "ital">Introduction</span> to those books.)<p>When we consider the second part of this great compilation, we are immediately struck by the large space occupied by the reign of David. To the chronicler, as to the prophetic historians before him, that reign, it would seem, was the golden age of his people’s history. The greater distance at which he stood from the old heroic times of the monarchy only intensified the spell which they wrought upon his imagination. He does not, however, repeat the familiar tale of David’s romantic adventures, of his reign at Hebron, of his sin against Uriah, of the revolt of Absalom, and similar matters. His point of view and the needs of his contemporaries are different from those of the older historians; and it is as the true founder of Jerusalem and the Temple, with its beautiful service of music and song, and as the prime author of the priestly organisation, that the heroic figure of David engages his highest interest. Accordingly, all that refers to the activity of the king in these directions is described with intentional fulness and emphasis. (See 1 Chronicles 13-18, 12-29)<p>The reign of Solomon is treated much more briefly, though at considerably greater length than any subsequent one (2 Chronicles 1-9). Here again we observe a fuller description of whatever relates to religion and its ministers. In fact, the account of the building and dedication of the Temple occupies by far the largest part of the narrative (2 Chronicles 2-7).<p>The rest of the history is told from the same standpoint. After the division of the kingdom, the writer follows the fortunes of the Davidic monarchy, which was the more important from a religious, if not from a political, point of view. The northern kingdom he almost entirely ignores, as founded upon apostasy from the orthodox worship, as well as from the legitimate rule of the house of David. Even in this limited field, political, military, and personal facts and incidents are subordinated to the religious interest, and it is obvious that the real subject of the history is everywhere that holy religion which made Israel what it was, and upon which its historical significance wholly depends. Thus the reigns of Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah are especially prominent, because they witnessed the initiation of important religious reforms, and the restoration of Jerusalem and its sanctuary to their hereditary rank as the religious centre of the nation. And thus “traditions about the Temple and its worship, the sacerdotal orders and their functions, the merits of the kings and others in the matter of the <span class= "ital">cultus,</span> are presented with great fulness, and the author expatiates with evident delight on the sacred festivals of the olden time. Reigns of which little of the sort could be told are briefly treated” (<span class= "ital">Dillmann</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span><p>From all this we may gather the aim of the work. The writer has produced not so much a supplement of the older histories, as an independent work, in which the history of the chosen people is related afresh in a new manner, and from a new point of view. That point of view has been characterised as the <span class= "ital">priestly-Levitical,</span> in contradistinction to the <span class= "ital">prophetical</span> spirit of the ancient writers. To understand this, we must remember that in the chronicler’s day the political independence of Israel was a thing of the past; and that the religion of the Law was the most precious survival from the great catastrophe which had finally shattered the nation, and the principle of cohesion and the basis of all order, public and private, in the new community. The writer’s main object, therefore, is to urge upon his contemporaries a faithful observance of the Mosaic Law; and he seeks to impress his lesson by presenting a picture of times and occasions when, with the Temple as its centre, and the priests and Levites as its organs, the legitimate worship flourished and brought blessing upon the land.<p>§ 6. <span class= "bld">Documental Authorities. Relation to the Books of Samuel and Kings.</span>—Besides a number of narratives running parallel to those of Samuel and Kings, the Books of Chronicles contain other important accounts which are without parallel in the older histories. Such are many of the genealogical and statistical tables, as well as certain supplementary details and stories inserted in different reigns. The former, which possessed a very special interest for the chronicler’s contemporaries, were ultimately derived from those ancient taxation rolls or assessment lists, which were so highly valued by the Jews in the times, immediately preceding and subsequent to the captivity (<a href="/ezra/2-59.htm" title="And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not show their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:">Ezra 2:59</a>; <a href="/ezra/2-62.htm" title="These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but they were not found: therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood.">Ezra 2:62</a>). These catalogues may in some cases have been preserved independently, but it is probable that the chronicler found most of them already incorporated in the historical compilations which constituted his principal authorities. (Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/5-17.htm" title="All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.">1Chronicles 5:17</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/7-2.htm" title="And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred.">1Chronicles 7:2</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/9-1.htm" title="So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.">1Chronicles 9:1</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/23-3.htm" title="Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.">1Chronicles 23:3</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/23-27.htm" title="For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:">1Chronicles 23:27</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/26-31.htm" title="Among the Hebronites was Jerijah the chief, even among the Hebronites, according to the generations of his fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and there were found among them mighty men of valor at Jazer of Gilead.">1Chronicles 26:31</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/27-24.htm" title="Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel; neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David.">1Chronicles 27:24</a>; <a href="/nehemiah/12-23.htm" title="The sons of Levi, the chief of the fathers, were written in the book of the chronicles, even until the days of Johanan the son of Eliashib.">Nehemiah 12:23</a>; <a href="/nehemiah/7-5.htm" title="And my God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came up at the first, and found written therein,">Nehemiah 7:5</a>.) The censuses, for instance, to which reference is made in <a href="/1_chronicles/5-17.htm" title="All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.">1Chronicles 5:17</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/7-2.htm" title="And the sons of Tola; Uzzi, and Rephaiah, and Jeriel, and Jahmai, and Jibsam, and Shemuel, heads of their father's house, to wit, of Tola: they were valiant men of might in their generations; whose number was in the days of David two and twenty thousand and six hundred.">1Chronicles 7:2</a>, were doubtless entered in the state annals.<p>The second, and to us more important, historical element peculiar to Chronicles is equally based upon trustworthy records of an earlier period. The writer refers from time to time to documents which he presumes to be well known to his readers, for further details upon subjects which he does not himself care to pursue. At first sight the number of these documents appears to be so considerable as to excite surprise, especially when we remember that the compiler of Kings mentions only two or three such primary documents. For almost every reign a different source appears to be cited; which is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the titles indicate that more than one of the histories referred to must have contained the entire history of the kings of Jerusalem. The references in question are:<p>1.The History of Samuel the seer,<p>2.The history of Nathan the prophet,<p>3.The history of Gad the seer,<p>}<p>in <a href="/1_chronicles/29-29.htm" title="Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the book of Gad the seer,">1Chronicles 29:29</a>, for David.<p>4.The prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite,<p>5.The vision of Je-edi or Je-edo the seer against Jeroboam ben Nebat,<p>}<p>in <a href="/2_chronicles/9-29.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son of Nebat?">2Chronicles 9:29</a>, for Solomon.<p>6.The history of Shemaiah the prophet,<p>7.The history of Iddo the seer,<p>}<p>in <a href="/2_chronicles/12-15.htm" title="Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.">2Chronicles 12:15</a>, for Rehoboam.<p>8.The Midrash of the prophet Iddo, in <a href="/2_chronicles/13-22.htm" title="And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.">2Chronicles 13:22</a>, for Abijah.<p>9.The book of the kings of Judah and Israel, in <a href="/2_chronicles/16-11.htm" title="And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.">2Chronicles 16:11</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/25-26.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel?">2Chronicles 25:26</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/28-26.htm" title="Now the rest of his acts and of all his ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.">2Chronicles 28:26</a>, for Asa, Amaziah, and Ahaz.<p>10.The history of Jehu the son of Hanani, inserted in the book of the kings of Israel, in <a href="/2_chronicles/20-34.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.">2Chronicles 20:34</a>, for Jehoshaphat<p>11.The Midrash of the book of the Kings, in <a href="/2_chronicles/24-27.htm" title="Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid on him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.">2Chronicles 24:27</a>, for Joash.<p>12.The history of Uzziah, by Isaiah the prophet, <a href="/2_chronicles/26-22.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.">2Chronicles 26:22</a>.<p>13.The book of the kings of Israel and Judah, in <a href="/2_chronicles/27-7.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, see, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.">2Chronicles 27:7</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/35-27.htm" title="And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.">2Chronicles 35:27</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/36-8.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead.">2Chronicles 36:8</a>, for Jotham, Josiah, and Jehoiakim. Perhaps also in <a href="/1_chronicles/9-1.htm" title="So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.">1Chronicles 9:1</a>.<p>14.The vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the books of the kings of Judah and Israel, <a href="/2_chronicles/32-32.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.">2Chronicles 32:32</a>, for Hezekiah.<p>15.The history of the kings of Israel, <a href="/2_chronicles/33-18.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.">2Chronicles 33:18</a>,<p>16.The history of Hozai (or, The words of the Seers), <a href="/2_chronicles/33-19.htm" title="His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.">2Chronicles 33:19</a>,<p>}<p>for Manasseh.<p>Six reigns, viz., those of Jehoram, Ahaziah, Athaliah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah, are without any such references.<p>The similarity of some of these sixteen titles favours the supposition of their being merely variations of each other. “The book of the kings of Judah and Israel” (9) may at once be equated with “the book of the kings of Israel and Judah” (13). “The history (<span class= "ital">words</span>) of the kings of Israel” (15) is an expression tantamount to “the book of the kings of Israel” (10). Five at least, then, of the above citations refer to a single work, a “history of the kings of Judah and Israel.” This work appears to have been a compilation based upon the same annalistic sources as the canonical books of Kings—viz., “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel,” and “the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah.” It was probably younger than the canonical Kings, and was perhaps in some degree influenced by the form and contents of that work. That it was not identical therewith, as used to be assumed, is certain, because it contained much which is not found there—<span class= "ital">e.g.,</span> genealogical and other lists, and the account of Manasseh’s captivity and restoration (<a href="/2_chronicles/33-18.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.">2Chronicles 33:18</a>); and the chronicler often refers to this work for fuller information in cases where the narrative in the existing Book of Kings is even briefer than his own. (Comp. 2 Chronicles 27 with <a href="/context/2_kings/15-32.htm" title="In the second year of Pekah the son of Remaliah king of Israel began Jotham the son of Uzziah king of Judah to reign.">2Kings 15:32-38</a>.)<p>The references to prophetic “words” (<span class= "ital">dibrê</span>)<span class= "ital">, or</span> rather histories, are by some supposed to imply the existence of a number of historical monographs written by the prophets with whose names they are connected. But “the history of Jehu the son of Hanani” (10) is expressly cited, not as an independent work, but as a section of the great Book of the Kings; and “the vision of Isaiah the prophet (14) is another section of the same work. Moreover, when the chronicler does not refer to the history he generally mentions a prophetic account, but <span class= "ital">never</span> both for the same reign (unless <a href="/context/2_chronicles/33-18.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers that spoke to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.">2Chronicles 33:18-19</a> be an exception). It is likely, therefore, that the other prophetic histories (Numbers 1-7) were integral parts of the same great compilation, and are merely cited in briefer form, perhaps as the chronicler found them already cited in that his principal source. We do not know what were the grounds which determined the selection of a work by the unknown collectors of the Canon, but it seems certain that had a number of separate writings of such prophets as Samuel, Nathan, Gad, and Isaiah been extant in the chronicler’s age, they would have been included in the Canon.<p>The “history of Uzziah, which Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz wrote” (12; see <a href="/2_chronicles/26-22.htm" title="Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.">2Chronicles 26:22</a>), does not appear to be an exception to the above general inference. Whether, as Prof. Dillmann thinks, the chronicler himself supposed Isaiah to have been the author of the history of Uzziah as embodied in the great Book of the Kings (comp. Isaiah 6 l), or whether, as is more likely, he merely copies the reference from that source, makes no difference. On the other hand, it is, of course, quite possible that an independent monograph of Isaiah’s did exist and was known to the chronicler, although no trace of it is to be recognised in the canonical Books of Kings or Isaiah. Similar considerations would apply to “the history of Hozai” (16; see <a href="/2_chronicles/33-19.htm" title="His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.">2Chronicles 33:19</a>), which is apparently contrasted in <a href="/2_chronicles/33-19.htm" title="His prayer also, and how God was entreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.">2Chronicles 33:19</a> with “the history of the kings of Israel,” were it not likely that the text of that passage is unsound.<p>Lastly, the chronicler refers besides to a “Midrash of the prophet Iddo” (8), and a “Midrash of the book of the Kings” (11). The former may have been a section of the latter work. In this, as in the preceding cases, it was natural to cite a particular passage of a large book of history, by mentioning the name of the prophet with whose activity it was chiefly concerned; because the division of the canonical books into sections and chapters was unknown to antiquity (comp. our Lord’s reference in <a href="/mark/12-26.htm" title="And as touching the dead, that they rise: have you not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?">Mark 12:26</a>, “in the bush,” <span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> in the section relating to the burning bush; and St. Paul’s “in Elias,” <a href="/romans/11-2.htm" title="God has not cast away his people which he foreknew. Know you not what the scripture said of Elias? how he makes intercession to God against Israel saying,">Romans 11:2</a>.)<p>The term “Midrash” occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament. It means “search,” “investigation,” “study,” and is the neo-Hebraic term for the Rabbinical exegesis of the sacred books. A <span class= "ital">Beth-midrash</span> is a school in which the Law and other scriptures are studied under the lead of a Rabbi, whose disciples are called <span class= "ital">talmîdîm,</span> a word first occurring in <a href="/1_chronicles/25-8.htm" title="And they cast lots, ward against ward, as well the small as the great, the teacher as the scholar.">1Chronicles 25:8</a>. “The Midrash of the book of the Kings” was probably a kind of commentary or expository amplification of the great “history of the Kings of Judah and Israel;” and the chronicler may have derived other narratives from this source, besides the two for which he cites it. But it is pure dogmatism to say, with Reuss, that “his work from one end to the other is drawn from a Midrash; and it is this Midrash that is responsible for all that provokes our doubts, including the history of Uzziah written by Isaiah.” The Midrash which the chronicler consulted may really have been an early predecessor of that series of works so well known to students of Rabbinical Hebrew as the Midrashim (<span class= "ital">Bereshith rabba, Shemoth rabba,</span> &c. &c.); but its intrinsic superiority to all these later works is evident from the extracts preserved in the Chronicles.<p>We have now characterised the two principal sources of the accounts peculiar to the Books of Chronicles. The compiler may, of course, have had at his command other documents besides those to which he refers by name; but probably they were few in number, and certainly of subordinate importance.<p>It remains to ask what is the precise relation between the forty or more passages of Chronicles which are more or less exact duplicates of parallel passages in Samuel and Kings?<p>This question can hardly be answered with certainty. The negative criticism which flourished in Germany at the beginning of the present century found an easy offhand reply in the theory that the chronicler transcribed his parallel accounts directly from the canonical Books of Samuel and Kings. All deviations and peculiarities were results of misunderstanding, fictitious embellishment, and wilful perversion of the older history. It would hardly be worth while to revive the memory of this unhistorical and obsolete criticism, were it not still salutary to signalise the former errors of scholars whose theories for a time enjoyed unbounded influence, by way of suggesting caution to such persons as are inclined to accord a too hasty acceptance to similarly destructive hypotheses advocated by men of acknowledged ability at the present day. What is certain is, (1) that the chronicler must have known the great history now divided into the Books of Samuel and Kings; (2) that many of his narratives at different points verbally coincide with these books, and so far <span class= "ital">might</span> have been transcribed from them; but (3) these coincidences may be accounted for by the supposition advanced above, viz., that the same ancient state annals were the principal source from which both the compiler of the older canonical history, and the compiler of that “book of the kings of Judah and Israel” which supplied the chronicler with so much of his narrative, derived the staple of their history; and further, that the “book of the kings of Judah and Israel” may have been in part constructed on the model of the already existing Books of Samuel and Kings. At the same time we may freely admit that the form into which the history was already cast in the older work would naturally exert some, and perhaps a considerable, influence upon the mind and work of the latest historian of Israel.<p>§ 7.<span class= "bld"> The Historical Value of Chronicles.</span>—This question has in part been already decided by the results at which we arrived in discussing the prior question of the sources. All that remains to be determined is, whether and how far the chronicler was faithful to his authorities. Whatever charges of distortion, misinterpretation, falsification, fictitious embellishment, &c. &c, of the ancient history have been levelled against him by earlier critics, have been amply disproven by their successors. Such charges depended for the most part upon the assumption that he had no other documents than the canonical books of the Old Testament—an assumption sufficiently rebutted by impartial examination of internal evidence. Comparing the parallel sections with their duplicates in Samuel and Kings, we find in general an assiduous and faithful reproduction of the sources, which warrants us in supposing that the important passages of the narrative which are peculiar to Chronicles were likewise extracted with substantial accuracy from other historical records no longer extant. Often, indeed, in such passages the style is so much purer than that which we identify as the chronicler’s own, as to suggest at once that he is simply transcribing from an ancient document; though more usually he has recast what he found in his authority. It is admitted that the chronicler wrote with a distinct purpose, and that his aim was not so much history for its own sake, as edification. He writes neither as a modern scientific historian, nor as a mere annalist, but with a distinctly didactic and hortatory object. Accordingly, in the exercise of his lawful discretion, he omits some well-known passages of the ancient history, and adds others more to his purpose. He habitually inserts remarks of his own, which put the facts narrated into relation to the working of Divine Providence, and so bring into prominence the religious aspect of events, while religious conceptions prevalent in his own age naturally find expression through his pages. (Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/21-1.htm" title="And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.">1Chronicles 21:1</a> with <a href="/2_samuel/24-1.htm" title="And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.">2Samuel 24:1</a>) Moreover, he does not hesitate, nor would any writer of his time have hesitated, to put appropriate speeches into the mouths of leading personages, some of which betray their ideal character by a close similarity in form and matter; and although in some cases he undoubtedly had genuine tradition at his command, and simply followed his documents, in others he has freely expanded the meagre records of the past, and developed the fundamental thoughts of the speakers according to his own taste. In the description of ancient religious solemnities he has reasonably enough been influenced by his minute professional knowledge of the ritual of his own day, and has thus succeeded in his purpose of lending animation to the dry memoranda of the past. Yet it must not be forgotten that he probably had substantial precedents for this mode of treatment, and, further, that in antiquity religious custom is the least likely sphere of innovation. Besides all this, the chronicler has considered the needs and tastes of his own time by substituting current for obsolete Hebrew words, phrases, and constructions, and by interpretation, paraphrase, and correction of what seemed obscure or faulty in the ancient texts. The mode of spelling (<span class= "ital">scriptio plena</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> and the Aramaisms which characterise his work, are what were to be expected from a writer of his age. In these latter respects the Chronicle already foreshadows the Targum or “Chaldee” Paraphrase.<p>Many deviations from the older canonical history, especially in the matter of names and numbers, are due to errors of transcription in one or the other text; and many may be ascribed to the licence of editors and copyists, which in those early times far exceeded what would now be considered allowable. To appreciate this argument, it is only necessary to examine the LXX. translation of the Books of Samuel, which obviously represents a Hebrew original differing in many important particulars from the present Masoretic Recension. Discrepancies due to such causes obviously do not affect the credibility of the chronicler. And with regard to excessive numbers, in particular, we have to bear in mind “the tendency of numbers to grow in successive transcriptions,” and the fact already demonstrated (§ 6) that Chronicles was only indirectly derived from the same primary sources as Samuel and Kings. The existing text of the older books is itself not free from exaggerated numbers (see <a href="/1_samuel/6-19.htm" title="And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and three score and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.">1Samuel 6:19</a>; <a href="/1_samuel/13-5.htm" title="And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.">1Samuel 13:5</a>); and in some instances the figures of Chronicles are lower and intrinsically more probable than those of the older history. (Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/9-25.htm" title="And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.">2Chronicles 9:25</a> with <a href="/1_kings/5-6.htm" title="Now therefore command you that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with your servants: and to you will I give hire for your servants according to all that you shall appoint: for you know that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like to the Sidonians.">1Kings 5:6</a>.) After making every allowance upon these and similar grounds, the impartial critic will still acquiesce in the conclusion of Ewald, that “we should deprive ourselves of one of the richest and oldest sources of the Davidical history, if we failed to do justice to the very remarkable remains of the state annals fortunately preserved to us in the Book of Chronicles;” and that “this work, when rightly understood and applied, not only yields very valuable supplements to the history of the (Davidic) monarchy, the foundation of which undoubtedly rested on the original state annals, but also tells us of many prophets, of whose very names we should have otherwise been wholly ignorant” (<span class= "ital">Hist.</span> <span class= "ital">of Israel,</span> Martineau’s Translation, p. 195).<p>§ 8.<span class= "bld"> Literature of the Subject.</span>—A list of the older commentators may be read in Carpzov and in Lange’s <span class= "ital">Bibelwerk.</span> The principal modern works known to the present writer are Bertheau’s (English Trans, in Clarke’s Foreign Library, 2nd ed. 1860); Keil’s, also translated in Clarke’s series (ed. 1872); Zockler’s, in Lange (English trans., 1876); and that of Reuss (ed. Paris, 1878). He has also had before him L’Abbé Martin’s Commentary (ed. Paris, 1880), a recent work by a Roman Catholic priest, which closely follows Keil and Zöckler. The criticisms of Thenius in his <span class= "ital">Die Bücher der Könige</span> (Leipzig, 1873) have always been considered, and specially noticed whenever it seemed advisable.<p>The following have been consulted upon introductory questions:—Gramberg (<span class= "ital">Die Chronik nach ihrem geschichtlicheii Charakter,</span> &c. Halle, 1823). His reasonings are interesting from a historical point of view, but his conclusions are thoroughly unfair, and no longer require refutation. Graf (<span class= "ital">Die gesch. Bücher des alt. Test.</span> Leipzig, 1866), Also a hostile criticism. De Wette’s <span class= "ital">Einleitung,</span> as re-edited by Schrader, who modifies the more extreme <span class= "ital">dicta</span> of the original author. Movers (<span class= "ital">Kritische Untersuchungen iiber die bibl. Chronik.</span> Bonn, 1834); a reply to Gramberg and De Wette. Keil’s<span class= "ital"> Einleitung</span> (Frankfurt, 1853). Zöckler’s <span class= "ital">Handbuch der theolog. Wissenschaften</span> (Nõrdlingen, 1882). Ewald’s <span class= "ital">History of Israel</span> (Martineau’s English Transi., Longmans, 1876). Kuenen’s <span class= "ital">History of Israel</span> (English Transl., 1875) follows Graf in exaggerating the subjective and unhistorical tendency of the chronicler. Wellhausen’s tract, <span class= "ital">De gentibus et familiis Judaeis quae</span> 1 Chronicles 2-4 <span class= "ital">enumerantur</span> (Göttingen, 1870), is very important for the right understanding of the genealogies. The article <span class= "ital">Chronik,</span> by Prof. Dillmann, in Herzog’s <span class= "ital">Real-Encyclopädie</span> is a specially fair estimate of the work; and the same may be said of Prof. Robertson Smith’s <span class= "ital">Chronicles</span> in the <span class= "ital">Encyclopœdia Britannica.</span> The writer has also to acknowledge considerable obligations to the same author’s <span class= "ital">Old Testament in the Jewish Church,</span> and <span class= "ital">The Prophets of Israel,</span> and to Schrader’s <span class= "ital">Keilin-schriften und das Aite Testament</span> (Giessen, 1883). For several important suggestions he is indebted to his friend Prof. Sayce, who kindly looked through the Notes on the greater part of the first book.<p>§ 9.<span class= "bld"> Ancient Versions. State of the Hebrew Text.</span>—The translation of Chronicles in the LXX. is carefully and skilfully done, is strictly literal, and one of the best works of those translators, far surpassing the Books of Samuel and Kings, which proceed from another hand. In many passages it still preserves an unquestionably better reading than that of the Masoretic Recension. In too many instances, however, it has had its readings altered into conformity with later Greek versions of the <span class= "ital">textus receptus,</span> and thus its originality has in part been obliterated by the hands of injudicious editors. (See Movers’ <span class= "ital">Untersuch.,</span> p. 93.) In the Greek of 2 Chronicles 35, 36 there are a few interpolations corresponding to passages in 2 Kings 23, 24<p>The old Latin versions, upon which the Vulgate is based, followed the LXX.<p>The Peshittā (Peshito) Syriac version presents many surprising peculiarities of omission, interpolation, transposition, and paraphrase, insomuch that it resembles a Jewish Targum rather than a literal version. This phenomenon suggests that Chronicles was perhaps not received with the original collection of sacred books in the Peshito (<span class= "ital">Dillmann</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span><p>The Arabic version is a daughter of the Syriac, and possesses little independent value for the criticism of the text.<p>The Targum is late (seventh century?) and is not printed in the Rabbinical Bibles. Lagarde has recently edited another, which I have not been able to procure. The four versions have been consulted in Walton’s <span class= "ital">Polyglot;</span> and for the LXX. Tischendorf’s edition has also been used. The unsatisfactory condition of the Hebrew text, due perhaps to the fact that Chronicles was never so highly valued as other portions of the Canon, may in part be remedied by careful comparison of the data of the versions, as well as of the other books of the Old Testament.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-1.htm">2 Chronicles 1:1</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God <i>was</i> with him, and magnified him exceedingly.</div><span class= "bld">I.</span><p>(<span class= "ital">a</span>) The sacrifice at Gibeon, and Solomon’s dream (<a href="/context/2_chronicles/1-1.htm" title="And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.">2Chronicles 1:1-13</a>). (<span class= "ital">b</span>) The king’s chariots and horsemen, wealth and commerce (<a href="/context/2_chronicles/1-14.htm" title="And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.">2Chronicles 1:14-17</a>).<p>(1) <span class= "bld">And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">showed himself strong over his kingdom;</span> firmly grasped the reins of power, and showed himself a strong ruler. (Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/17-1.htm" title="And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.">2Chronicles 17:1</a>; also <a href="/2_chronicles/12-13.htm" title="So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess.">2Chronicles 12:13</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/13-21.htm" title="But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters.">2Chronicles 13:21</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/21-4.htm" title="Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brothers with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.">2Chronicles 21:4</a>.) The chronicler omits all that is related in 1 Kings 1, 2, as not falling within the scope of his narrative. Comp. with this opening sentence <a href="/1_kings/2-46.htm" title="So the king commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell on him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.">1Kings 2:46</a>, “And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.”<p><span class= "bld">And the Lord his God was with him.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/11-9.htm" title="So David waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him.">1Chronicles 11:9</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/9-20.htm" title="And Phinehas the son of Eleazar was the ruler over them in time past, and the LORD was with him.">1Chronicles 9:20</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Magnified him exceedingly.</span>—<a href="/1_chronicles/29-25.htm" title="And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.">1Chronicles 29:25</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/22-5.htm" title="And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceeding magnificent, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.">1Chronicles 22:5</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-2.htm">2 Chronicles 1:2</a></div><div class="verse">Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers.</div>(2-6) Solomon and the national assembly repair to the Mosaic tabernacle at Gibeon, and sacrifice upon the great altar of burnt offering. (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/3-4.htm" title="And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar.">1Kings 3:4</a>, which the present section supplements and explains.)<p>(2) <span class= "bld">Then Solomon spake unto all Israel.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">commanded all Israel</span> (<a href="/1_chronicles/21-17.htm" title="And David said to God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on your people, that they should be plagued.">1Chronicles 21:17</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/16-11.htm" title="And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeks my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD has bidden him.">2Samuel 16:11</a>; <a href="/2_kings/1-11.htm" title="Again also he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, O man of God, thus has the king said, Come down quickly.">2Kings 1:11</a>; Vulg., <span class= "ital">prœcepit</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span><p><span class= "bld">To the captains of thousands . . . chief of the fathers.</span>—This is an apposition, explaining what is meant by “all Israel” in the first clause, viz., the national representatives. The account in Kings allows only one verse for the sacrifice, and so omits to mention that the princes took part in it (<a href="/1_kings/3-4.htm" title="And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar.">1Kings 3:4</a>). The fact, however, is likely in itself. (Comp. the similar assemblies under David, <a href="/1_chronicles/13-1.htm" title="And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.">1Chronicles 13:1</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/23-2.htm" title="And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.">1Chronicles 23:2</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/28-1.htm" title="And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, to Jerusalem.">1Chronicles 28:1</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Every governor.</span>—Heb. <span class= "ital">nūsî’, prince, emir</span> of a tribe, or <span class= "ital">chief</span> of a clan. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/23-6.htm" title="Hear us, my lord: you are a mighty prince among us: in the choice of our sepulchers bury your dead; none of us shall withhold from you his sepulcher, but that you may bury your dead.">Genesis 23:6</a>; <a href="/numbers/7-10.htm" title="And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their offering before the altar.">Numbers 7:10</a>; <a href="/1_kings/8-1.htm" title="Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, to king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion.">1Kings 8:1</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">The chief of the fathers.</span>—<span class= "ital">The heads of the clans.</span> This defines the preceding phrase.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-3.htm">2 Chronicles 1:3</a></div><div class="verse">So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that <i>was</i> at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.</div>(3) <span class= "bld">The tabernacle of the congregation of God.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">God’s tent of meeting;</span> viz., with man (<a href="/exodus/25-22.htm" title="And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.">Exodus 25:22</a>; <a href="/exodus/27-21.htm" title="In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever to their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.">Exodus 27:21</a>; <a href="/numbers/17-4.htm" title="And you shall lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you.">Numbers 17:4</a>). Solomon repaired to Gibeon because “that was the great high place” (<a href="/1_kings/3-4.htm" title="And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer on that altar.">1Kings 3:4</a>). We learn from our text why Gibeon stood pre-eminent above the other high places. (Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/6-31.htm" title="And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the LORD, after that the ark had rest.">1Chronicles 6:31</a> <span class= "ital">sqq.;</span> <a href="/1_chronicles/16-39.htm" title="And Zadok the priest, and his brothers the priests, before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon,">1Chronicles 16:39</a> <span class= "ital">sqq.</span>)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-4.htm">2 Chronicles 1:4</a></div><div class="verse">But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjathjearim to <i>the place which</i> David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.</div>(4) <span class= "bld">But.</span>—Or, <span class= "ital">But indeed, but no doubt</span> (<span class= "ital">’ăbāl</span>) (<a href="/2_chronicles/19-3.htm" title="Nevertheless there are good things found in you, in that you have taken away the groves out of the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.">2Chronicles 19:3</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/33-17.htm" title="Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet to the LORD their God only.">2Chronicles 33:17</a>). For the transfer of the ark see 1 Chronicles 13, 15; 2 Samuel 6.<p><span class= "bld">To the place which David had prepared.</span>—<span class= "ital">Into that David had prepared for it</span> (the article as relative: comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/26-28.htm" title="And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated; and whoever had dedicated any thing, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brothers.">1Chronicles 26:28</a>).<p><span class= "bld">Pitched.</span>—Or<span class= "bld">,</span> <span class= "ital">spread</span> (<a href="/1_chronicles/15-1.htm" title="And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.">1Chronicles 15:1</a>).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-5.htm">2 Chronicles 1:5</a></div><div class="verse">Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.</div>(5) <span class= "bld">Moreover the brasen altar . . . he put before the tabernacle of the Lord.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">And the brasen altar . . .</span> <span class= "ital">was there before the dwelling of Jehovah.</span> In Hebrew, <span class= "ital">shām</span> is “there”; and <span class= "ital">sām,</span> “he put.” Some MSS., supported by the LXX. and Vulg., read the former; most of the MSS. and the Syr., Arab., and Targ., the latter. The former reading is preferable, as it is not likely that David found the brazen altar separated from the Mosaic sanctuary, and restored it to its place. The sentence further explains why Solomon resorted to Gibeon. The presence of the old brazen altar constituted it the legitimate place of sacrifice. With perfect consistency, the chronicler accounted for David’s <span class= "ital">not</span> going to Gibeon (<a href="/context/1_chronicles/21-28.htm" title="At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.">1Chronicles 21:28-30</a>).<p><span class= "bld">That Bezaleel the son of Uri . . . had made</span>—See <a href="/exodus/31-2.htm" title="See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah:">Exodus 31:2</a>; <a href="/exodus/31-9.htm" title="And the altar of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and his foot,">Exodus 31:9</a>; <a href="/context/exodus/38-1.htm" title="And he made the altar of burnt offering of shittim wood: five cubits was the length thereof, and five cubits the breadth thereof; it was foursquare; and three cubits the height thereof.">Exodus 38:1-8</a>; <a href="/context/exodus/27-1.htm" title="And you shall make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.">Exodus 27:1-8</a>.<p><span class= "bld">And Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">And Solomon and the assembly sought Him</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e.,</span> the Lord. (Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/13-3.htm" title="And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul.">1Chronicles 13:3</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/15-13.htm" title="For because you did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach on us, for that we sought him not after the due order.">1Chronicles 15:13</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/21-30.htm" title="But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.">1Chronicles 21:30</a>.) The old versions translate as A. V.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-6.htm">2 Chronicles 1:6</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which <i>was</i> at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it.</div>(6) <span class= "bld">And Solomon went up thither to the “brasen altar.</span>—So Vulg. incorrectly. Rather, <span class= "ital">And Solomon offered there on the brasen altar;</span> so LXX. and Syriac.<p><span class= "bld">Before the Lord.</span>—The altar stood before the entry of the Lord’s dwellingplace (<a href="/exodus/40-6.htm" title="And you shall set the altar of the burnt offering before the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.">Exodus 40:6</a>). (Comp. <a href="/judges/20-23.htm" title="(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)">Judges 20:23</a>; <a href="/judges/20-26.htm" title="Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came to the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.">Judges 20:26</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">Which was at the tabernacle of the congregation.</span>—<span class= "ital">Which altar belonged to the tent of tryst.</span> In <a href="/1_kings/6-22.htm" title="And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.">1Kings 6:22</a> the golden altar is said in like manner to belong to the Holy of holies, before which it stood. (The Vulg. seems to have read “the brasen altar, before the Lord’s tent of meeting”; comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/1-3.htm" title="So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.">2Chronicles 1:3</a>.)<p><span class= "bld">And offered.</span>—<span class= "ital">He offered</span> (<span class= "ital">I say</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> The verb is repeated before its object for clearness’ sake.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-7.htm">2 Chronicles 1:7</a></div><div class="verse">In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee.</div>(7-13) God’s revelation to Solomon by night. (Comp. <a href="/context/1_kings/3-5.htm" title="In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give you.">1Kings 3:5-15</a>.)<p>(7) <span class= "bld">In that night did God appear unto Solomon.</span>—Kings, “In Gibeon did Jehovah appear unto Solomon in a dream of the night.” Our text fixes the night as that which followed the sacrifices; the parallel passage explicitly states that it was in a dream that God appeared.<p><span class= "bld">Ask what I shall give thee.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">Ash thou! what shall I give thee?</span> So Kings.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-8.htm">2 Chronicles 1:8</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead.</div>(8) <span class= "bld">Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">Thou, thou hast done great kindness with David.</span> (The regular phrase; comp. <a href="/luke/1-72.htm" title="To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;">Luke 1:72</a>.) From this point the relation here is briefer on the whole than that of Kings. The greater part of the long verse (<a href="/1_kings/3-6.htm" title="And Solomon said, You have showed to your servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before you in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with you; and you have kept for him this great kindness, that you have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.">1Kings 3:6</a>) is omitted, and the variations between the two texts become numerous, though the general sense is the same in each.<p><span class= "bld">And hast made me to reign in his stead.</span>—Comp. <a href="/1_kings/3-7.htm" title="And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.">1Kings 3:7</a>; and the similar language of Esarhaddon, king of Assyria (B.C. 681-668): “Ever since Asshur, Samas, Bel, Nebo . . . made me, Esarhaddon, sit securely on the throne of my father” (<span class= "ital">Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia,</span> 3:15, Colossians 2).<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-9.htm">2 Chronicles 1:9</a></div><div class="verse">Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.</div>(9) <span class= "bld">Now, O Lord God, let thy promise unto David my father be established.</span>—A reminiscence of <a href="/1_chronicles/17-23.htm" title="Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as you have said.">1Chronicles 17:23</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.</span>—<span class= "ital">Over a people numerous as the dust of the earth.</span> This last clause freely corresponds with <a href="/1_kings/3-8.htm" title="And your servant is in the middle of your people which you have chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.">1Kings 3:8</a>. (Comp. the common title of Assyrian monarchs, “king of multitudes,” <span class= "ital">sar kissāti.</span>)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-10.htm">2 Chronicles 1:10</a></div><div class="verse">Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, <i>that is so</i> great?</div>(10) <span class= "bld">Give me now wisdom and knowledge.</span>—<span class= "ital">Now wisdom and knowledge give thou me;</span> a petition co-ordinate with that of <a href="/2_chronicles/1-9.htm" title="Now, O LORD God, let your promise to David my father be established: for you have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude.">2Chronicles 1:9</a> : “Now, O Lord God,” &c. The clause answers to <a href="/1_kings/3-9.htm" title="Give therefore your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this your so great a people?">1Kings 3:9</a>. The word rendered “knowledge” (<span class= "ital">madda’</span>) is late, and occurs besides only in <a href="/daniel/1-4.htm" title="Children in whom was no blemish, but well favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans.">Daniel 1:4</a>; <a href="/daniel/1-17.htm" title="As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.">Daniel 1:17</a>; <a href="/ecclesiastes/10-20.htm" title="Curse not the king, no not in your thought; and curse not the rich in your bedchamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which has wings shall tell the matter.">Ecclesiastes 10:20</a>.<p><span class= "bld">That I may go out and come in before this people.</span>—See <a href="/1_kings/3-7.htm" title="And now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.">1Kings 3:7</a>; <a href="/numbers/27-17.htm" title="Which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.">Numbers 27:17</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/31-2.htm" title="And he said to them, I am an hundred and twenty years old this day; I can no more go out and come in: also the LORD has said to me, You shall not go over this Jordan.">Deuteronomy 31:2</a>.<p><span class= "bld">For who can judge.</span>—The simple impf.; Kings has, “who is able to judge?”<p><span class= "bld">This thy people, that is so great</span> (<span class= "ital">gādôl</span>)<span class= "ital">.—</span>Kings: “This thy numerous (<span class= "ital">kôbēd</span>) people.” For the king as judge comp. <a href="/1_samuel/8-20.htm" title="That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.">1Samuel 8:20</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-11.htm">2 Chronicles 1:11</a></div><div class="verse">And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:</div>(11) <span class= "bld">Because this was in thine heart.</span>—For this phrase see <a href="/1_chronicles/22-7.htm" title="And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house to the name of the LORD my God:">1Chronicles 22:7</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Wealth, or honour.</span>—Added by chronicler. Wealth (<span class= "ital">nĕkāsîm</span>) is a late word, common in the Targums, and in Syriac (<span class= "ital">neksîn</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> The phrase “riches, wealth, and honour” occurs in <a href="/ecclesiastes/6-2.htm" title="A man to whom God has given riches, wealth, and honor, so that he wants nothing for his soul of all that he desires, yet God gives him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eats it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.">Ecclesiastes 6:2</a>.<p><span class= "bld">Long life.</span>—<span class= "ital">Many days.</span><p><span class= "bld">But </span>(<span class= "ital">and</span>) <span class= "bld">hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge . . . king.</span>—An expansion of what we find in Kings: “And hast asked discernment for thyself, to hear judgment.” The verb <span class= "ital">hast asked</span> is expressed in better idiom than in Kings.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-12.htm">2 Chronicles 1:12</a></div><div class="verse">Wisdom and knowledge <i>is</i> granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that <i>have been</i> before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.</div>(12) <span class= "bld">Wisdom and knowledge.</span>—<span class= "ital">The wisdom and the knowledge,</span> viz., which thou hast asked for.<p><span class= "bld">Is granted unto thee.</span>—The Hebrew expression is found only here and in <a href="/esther/3-11.htm" title="And the king said to Haman, The silver is given to you, the people also, to do with them as it seems good to you.">Esther 3:11</a>. The parallel passage gives three verses for this one (<a href="/context/1_kings/3-12.htm" title="Behold, I have done according to your words: see, I have given you a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like to you.">1Kings 3:12-14</a>).<p><span class= "bld">And I will give thee.</span>—Kings, “I have given.” The perfect tense (I will certainly give) is more idiomatic than the chronicler’s simple imperfect.<p><span class= "bld">Such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee . . . the like.</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">Such as hath not been to the kings before thee, and after thee shall not be.</span> (Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/29-25.htm" title="And the LORD magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.">1Chronicles 29:25</a> and Note.) The Assyrian kings were fond of similar comparisons between themselves and their predecessors. Kings: “That there hath not been (<span class= "ital">i.e., shall not be</span>) a man like thee among the kings, all thy days,” a different promise. The conditional promise, “And if thou wilt walk in my ways . . . I will lengthen thy days” (<a href="/1_kings/3-14.htm" title="And if you will walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as your father David did walk, then I will lengthen your days.">1Kings 3:14</a>), is hero omitted, although <a href="/2_chronicles/1-11.htm" title="And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches, wealth, or honor, nor the life of your enemies, neither yet have asked long life; but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge my people, over whom I have made you king:">2Chronicles 1:11</a> has mentioned long life; perhaps because Solomon fell short of it. But comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/7-17.htm" title="And as for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and shall observe my statutes and my judgments;">2Chronicles 7:17</a> <span class= "ital">seq.</span> Of course the omission may be a mere abridgment.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-13.htm">2 Chronicles 1:13</a></div><div class="verse">Then Solomon came <i>from his journey</i> to the high place that <i>was</i> at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel.</div>(13) <span class= "bld">Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem.</span>—Heb., <span class= "ital">And Solomon came to the high place that was in Gibeon to Jerusalem.</span> Clearly we should read, <span class= "ital">“from</span> the high place,” with the LXX. and Vulgate. The difficulty is as old as the Syriac version, which reads, “And Solomon came to the great high place [reading <span class= "ital">bûmsâ</span>—<span class= "ital">i.e., </span><span class= "greekheb">βῶμος</span>—with Dr. Payne Smith] that is in Gibeon the city, which is on the east of Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle.”<p><span class= "bld">From before the tabernacle of the congregation.</span>—See <a href="/2_chronicles/1-3.htm" title="So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.">2Chronicles 1:3</a>; <a href="/2_chronicles/1-6.htm" title="And Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings on it.">2Chronicles 1:6</a>. Perhaps “to (or <span class= "ital">at</span>) the high place that was at G-ibeon,” was originally a marginal gloss upon this expression. (Comp. <a href="/2_chronicles/1-3.htm" title="So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness.">2Chronicles 1:3</a>.) The reading, “And Solomon came to Jerusalem from before the tent of tryst,” would be quite intelligible without this addition.<p><span class= "bld">And reigned over Israel.</span>—Syr., <span class= "ital">over all Israel.</span> (Comp. <a href="/1_kings/4-1.htm" title="So king Solomon was king over all Israel.">1Kings 4:1</a>.) But the remark, “and he reigned over Israel,” is by no means “superfluous” (Bertheau), inasmuch as it naturally introduces the following sketch of the reign, which carries us on from God’s promise to its fulfilment.<p>The chronicler does not notice the sacrifices which, on his return, Solomon offered before the ark at Jerusalem (<a href="/1_kings/3-15.htm" title="And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.">1Kings 3:15</a>), nor the story of the king’s wise judgment which there follows (<a href="/context/1_kings/3-16.htm" title="Then came there two women, that were harlots, to the king, and stood before him.">1Kings 3:16-28</a>). It is unreasonable to seek any other ground of such omissions than the free and legitimate exercise of the compiler’s discretion in the choice of his own materials. That he did not depreciate the sanctuary on Mount Zion as a place of sacrifice, is evident from <a href="/1_chronicles/21-18.htm" title="Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar to the LORD in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.">1Chronicles 21:18</a> to <a href="/1_chronicles/22-1.htm" title="Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.">1Chronicles 22:1</a>.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-14.htm">2 Chronicles 1:14</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.</div>(14-17) Solomon’s “riches, and wealth, and honour” illustrated (comp. <a href="/context/1_kings/10-26.htm" title="And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.">1Kings 10:26-29</a>). In the parallel passage of Kings, this short section closes the account of Solomon’s wealth and glory. <a href="/context/2_chronicles/9-25.htm" title="And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.">2Chronicles 9:25-28</a> is very similar; a fact which will not surprise those who bear in mind that the chronicler is careless of repetition.<p>(14) <span class= "bld">And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen.</span>—Word for word as in <a href="/1_kings/10-26.htm" title="And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem.">1Kings 10:26</a>; see the Notes there.<p><span class= "bld">Which he placed.</span>—<span class= "ital">And he placed,</span> or <span class= "ital">bestowed them</span> (<span class= "ital">wayyanhîhem</span>) (<a href="/2_chronicles/9-25.htm" title="And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.">2Chronicles 9:25</a>). Kings <span class= "ital">50100</span> reads, “<span class= "ital">and he brought them</span> into the chariot cities” (<span class= "ital">wayyanhem</span>)<span class= "ital">.</span> The difference turns on the pointing only, and the versions there support our text; LXX., “he put; “Vulg., <span class= "ital">disposuit;</span> Targum, <span class= "ital">’ashrinnūn,</span> “he lodged them;” Syriac, “he left them.” The <span class= "ital">chariots</span> (<span class= "ital">rekeb;</span> see <a href="/1_chronicles/18-4.htm" title="And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven thousand horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: David also hamstrung all the chariot horses, but reserved of them an hundred chariots.">1Chronicles 18:4</a>; <a href="/1_chronicles/19-6.htm" title="And when the children of Ammon saw that they had made themselves odious to David, Hanun and the children of Ammon sent a thousand talents of silver to hire them chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia, and out of Syriamaachah, and out of Zobah.">1Chronicles 19:6</a>) <span class= "ital">and horsemen</span> were, of course, military. The “chariot cities” probably lay in the south towards Egypt. The Simeonite Beth-marcaboth (<span class= "ital">house of chariots</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> and Hazar-susim (<span class= "ital">court of horses</span>) may have been included amongst them. (See <a href="/1_chronicles/4-31.htm" title="And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities to the reign of David.">1Chronicles 4:31</a>.)<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-15.htm">2 Chronicles 1:15</a></div><div class="verse">And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem <i>as plenteous</i> as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that <i>are</i> in the vale for abundance.</div>(15) <span class= "bld">Silver and gold . . . stones . . . cedar trees.</span>—Each of these words has the definite article in the Hebrew.<p><span class= "bld">And gold.</span>—Not in <a href="/1_kings/10-27.htm" title="And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance.">1Kings 10:27</a>, with which the rest of the verse coincides; nor in <a href="/2_chronicles/9-27.htm" title="And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.">2Chronicles 9:27</a>. The Syriac omits it here also, but the other versions have it, and the phrase is a natural heightening of the hyperbole.<p><span class= "bld">The sycomore trees that are in the</span> <span class= "bld">vale.</span>—(Comp. <a href="/1_chronicles/27-28.htm" title="And over the olive trees and the sycomore trees that were in the low plains was Baalhanan the Gederite: and over the cellars of oil was Joash:">1Chronicles 27:28</a>.) The Syriac reads instead. “As the sand which is on the seashore.”<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-16.htm">2 Chronicles 1:16</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.</div>(16) <span class= "bld">And Solomon had horses brought out . . .</span>—Rather, <span class= "ital">And the outcome</span> (export) <span class= "ital">of horses for Solomon was from Egypt, and the company of the king’s merchants</span>—<span class= "ital">a company</span> (of horses) <span class= "ital">they would fetch at a price.</span> The same is read in Kings, only that the word <span class= "ital">company</span> (<span class= "ital">miqwē</span>) is there spelt in the ancient fashion (<span class= "ital">miqwēh</span>)<span class= "ital">,</span> and two words are transposed (“they would fetch a company”). <span class= "ital">Miqweh</span> means <span class= "ital">gathering, collection</span> (<a href="/genesis/1-10.htm" title="And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.">Genesis 1:10</a> [of the waters]). The repetition of this term constitutes a kind of artless play on words, such as is common in the Old Testament. (Comp. <a href="/genesis/15-2.htm" title="And Abram said, LORD God, what will you give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?">Genesis 15:2</a>; <a href="/judges/15-16.htm" title="And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps on heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.">Judges 15:16</a>.) Both here and in Kings the Vulg. renders the word as a proper name, “from Coa.” So also the LXX. in Kings “from Thekkoue” (Tekoa); and the Syriac of Chronicles, “from the city of the Aphelāvē.” These variations only prove that the text was felt to be obscure. The “linen yarn” of the Authorised version is a guess based upon the likeness of the word <span class= "ital">miqweh</span> to <span class= "ital">qaw,</span> “rope,” and <span class= "ital">tiqwāh, “</span>line<span class= "ital">”</span> (<a href="/joshua/2-18.htm" title="Behold, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by: and you shall bring your father, and your mother, and your brothers, and all your father's household, home to you.">Joshua 2:18</a>), and upon the fact that much linen was made in Egypt.<p> <div class="versenum"><a href="/2_chronicles/1-17.htm">2 Chronicles 1:17</a></div><div class="verse">And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred <i>shekels</i> of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out <i>horses</i> for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.</div>(17) <span class= "bld">And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt.</span>—Literally, <span class= "ital">And they caused to come up and to come out.</span> Kings has: “And there came up and came out a chariot from Egypt.” The rest of the verse is identical there and here.<p><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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