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Kindle Notes & Highlights
The Mishnah names Chronicles as one of the books which were read before the high priest on the eve of the Day of Atonement to keep him from sleep (Yoma 1.6),
The division into two parts was first made in the Septuagint and was maintained from then on in the other translations.
The view that one author is responsible for both Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah is the traditional opinion of rabbinical Judaism and mediaeval Christianity; the composition of both is attributed to Ezra the scribe (BT, Baba Bathra 15a;
Chronicles, on the other hand, is more traditional than Ezra–Nehemiah in the form of its history writing and continues to a great measure the literary tradition of earlier biblical historiography, in particular the Deuteronomistic, but at the same time deviates from its predecessor in its theological purpose and general understanding of the history of Israel.
The privilege of building the Lord’s house is denied David and transferred to his son Solomon, but his dynasty is simultaneously confirmed ‘for ever’ (ch. 17).
Chapters 22–29 comprise the longest unit which has no parallel in other biblical texts; except for the final few verses all the material is peculiar to Chronicles.
the establishment of the Temple as the centre of Israel’s religious experience, and the inalienable bond between the house of David and the city of Jerusalem with its Temple – all these had become theological cornerstones.
so well-suited for the present military context. It will become clear presently that the text is an adaptation of Moses’ exhortation at the crossing of the Sea, in Exod. 14.13–14. The tone of confidence is not due
