The books of Chronicles : $b With maps, notes and introductionElmslie, W. A. L. (William Alexander Leslie)
History
The books of Chronicles : $b With maps, notes and introduction
Elmslie, W. A. L. (William Alexander Leslie)
Bible. Chronicles -- Commentaries
(1) The new _genealogical lists_, which are so prominent a feature of
Chronicles. Some of these lists are certainly not trustworthy records
of pre-exilic times¹. But others, e.g. parts of the Calebite and
Levitical genealogies, probably embody facts concerning the kinships
and distribution of various South Judean families in pre-exilic and
exilic times, and furnish valuable evidence of a northward movement
(see S. A. Cook, _1 Esdras_, p. 12 in Charles’s _Apocrypha_, or his
articles on _Caleb_, _Judah_, _Levites_ in _Encyclopedia Britannica_¹¹).
It is certain that in post-exilic Jerusalem a considerable part of
the population were descendants of these south Judean clans. Surely
it would be surprising if no valid traditions of their relationships,
their movements and fortunes, had been preserved amongst them. There
is therefore good reason for holding that some historical information
(e.g. 1 Chronicles iv. 34‒43) may be found in these lists, and it
is possible that a close study of certain of the genealogies will
yield most valuable light on some of the main questions of Old
Testament history and literature. Unfortunately the study of the
intricate problems involved is not yet sufficiently advanced to permit
conclusions which meet with general acceptance.
¹ On the other hand they may have historical value as
regards the families of Judah and Jerusalem in or about
the Chronicler’s own generation――a point, however, which
properly falls to be discussed under B below.
(2) Much of the _topographical_ and _archaeological_ information
scattered here and there in the books of Chronicles does not inspire
confidence, but part may rest on old tradition; compare the headnote
to 1 Chronicles xii. 1‒22. Many of the references in chapters i.‒ix.
(e.g. vii. 24, viii. 12, etc.) to Judean townships, whether explicitly
mentioned (e.g. 1 Chronicles vi. 54 ff.), or lightly disguised in
the genealogical tables (e.g. 1 Chronicles ii. 18 ff., 50 ff.), are
valuable not only for information regarding the relationship of Jewish
families and movements of southern peoples, Edomites and Arabians
(see (1) above, and the note on 1 Chronicles ii. 42), but also as
evidence of the extent (small indeed!) of the territory occupied by the
post-exilic Jewish community (compare Hölscher, _Palästina_, pp. 18‒23,
26‒31). It is further plausibly suggested that notices of certain
tribes of the Northern Kingdom (e.g. Ephraim and Manasseh) may be
regarded as indications of the extension of Judaism in Samaria and
Galilee about the Chronicler’s period (see note on 2 Chronicles xv.
9). The Chronicler was singularly interested in building operations
(see, e.g. 2 Chronicles xxvi. 9, xxxii. 30, xxxiii. 14) and some
of his references to the building of fortified townships in Judea
(2 Chronicles xi. 5 ff., xiv. 6, xvi. 1‒6, xvii. 12) and to the origin
of buildings and gates in Jerusalem may be correct (see 2 Chronicles
xxvi. 5‒10, note).
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