1 Chronicles: Tyndale Old Testament Commentary

Tyndale Old Testament Commentary #10

by Martin J. Selman

The Chronicler wrote as a pastoral theologian. The congregation he addressed was an Israel separated from its former days of blessing by a season of judgment. The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles bring a divine word of healing and reaffirm the hope of restoration to a nation that needed to regain its footing in God's promises and to reshape its life before God. The Chronicler expounds the Bible as he knows it, skillfully weaving his commentary into the linear text of Israel's history. His theme is straightforward--the promises of God revealed in the Davidic covenant are as trustworthy and as effective as the God who first uttered them. In two volumes Martin Selman provides an excellent interpretation of these sorely neglected yet profound books of the Old Testament. The first volume on 1 Chronicles provides a full introduction that surveys the Chronicler's method, summarizes major theological themes and serves as a valuable entr?e into the heart of the work we now know as 1 & 2 Chronicles. The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series.

Genres: Reference, Christian, Biblical Studies, Nonfiction, Old Testament, Theology

274 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Thomas Creedy]

Gearing up to work on the replacement, but this is a gem. A good example of faith-fuelled and thoughtful scholarship. Helpful and careful - long (30%) intro relevant to the text - this is a solid commentary.

I appreciated Selman’s honesty and clarity, and application.

[John]

Pity the commentator who has to write a commentary on 1 Chronicles. The first 12 chapters are nothing but genealogies!?! The amazing thing about Mr. Selman's commentary is that he carries it off nicely. How nicely, let me count the ways:

1. Excellent Introductory Essay. 1 Chronicles is paralleled in much of the books of Kings and Samuel and so the commentator must take those passages into account and even explain why there might be differences in the differing accounts of particular events. Mr. Selman does this very well in his opening essay explaining what the author's various emphases were and how we see those played out in the narrative. Indeed, this is one of the best introductions I've read in a commentary in regards to searching out and understanding what the author thought was important when he penned his narrative.

2. Mr. Selman is upfront with the various places where Kings/Samuel and 1 Chronicles differ. Sometimes he has excellent possible explanations for why this might be so, but when he doesn't, he is quite frank and honest, as in, "we can't account for the differences here." I like that.

3. Good summaries of the various passages. Mr. Selman sets each literary unit into the broad scope of 1 Chronicles and the author's aims and desires, again, I liked this very much, I find it often lacking in commentaries.

4. Finally, Mr. Selman does a good job of pointing the passage (and the reader) forward to Christ, but at the same time doesn't OVERDO it, if you know what I mean.

[John]

Basic and fairly thin.

[Joe Stevens]

The introduction, which covers 1 & 2 Chronicles in the digital copy of the Tyndale Commentaries I own, is superb. It orients the Chronicler and his work in time and space and also explains the different purpose of the book when compared to Samuel and Kings. The vast summing up of virtually the entire Old Testament also helps you appreciate even the seemingly impenetrable beginning and most of the ending of 1 Chronicles.

The 9 chapters of vast genealogies at the start and the lists of Levites and others at the end are simply dull reading to a modern. While the commentator tried to make them interesting, he sometimes slipped into that droning voice of history teachers. Often a commentary is offered for a section of the text and then is somewhat repeated in the verse by verse commentary. When given the opportunity in the middle of the book to comment on David's reign, the commentary improves.

Much like Leviticus and the second half of Joshua, it is tough to write an "introductory" commentary for 1 Chronicles. While brevity might have been given a higher priority in the commentary and 1 & 2 Chronicles combined in in one volume, the obvious amount of effort that went into this work along with the fine introduction make it a commentary worth reading.

PS Did I win the prize for most frequent use of the word commentary in a review?

[Sae-chan]

This was the first time I knew that the Hebrew bible put Chronicles after Ezra-Nehemiah. After reading this commentary and re-read the bible, I tend to agree that this book is not appendix to Samuel-Kings, rather it is a compilation of the whole history of Israel. And with this view, I kind of look at Chronicles in a different way and it becomes more interesting. Thanks Mr. Selman :-)

What I didn't really fond of was that the author tried to connect a lot of the events to the new testament, or even to contemporary reader. I felt that he couldn't resist the temptation to preach to the readers. I think people who read bible commentaries don't need any more sermons in their life. It is not the time to be spoon-fed anymore.

[Phil]

Excellent comments, very orthodox, thought provoking.