Historical Books: 1 Chronicles–2 Maccabees

Abstract

Historical Books1 Chronicles–2 Maccabees Todd R. Hanneken 942. [Chronicles] Eugene H. Merrill, "The Theology of the 'Chronicler': What Difference Does It Make?" JETS 59 (2016) 691-700. The thesis of M.'s paper is that the unknown author or compiler of the Book of Chronicles, who lived most likely at the end of the 5th cent. b.c.e., wrote from the vantage point of postexilic Judah (Yehud), a part of the Persian Empire. His interpretation of the history of his people varied right from the start from that of the composer of Samuel–Kings, the difference between them reflecting the trauma of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 b.c.e. and the ensuing deportation of the bulk of Judah's population to Babylonia. The small community in which the Chronicler lived was burdened with fear and hopeless despair. The book, however, offers that community hope of revival and future redemption. Evidence of that hope is the very last verse of 2 Chronicles 36 which quotes from the decree of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return to their homeland. As Cyrus had been God's instrument to deliver the exiles from Babylon, so a Cyrus yet to come would effect an eschatological deliverance. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 943. [1 Chronicles 1–9, etc.] Andrew Tobolowsky, "Reading Genesis through Chronicles: The Creation of the Sons of Jacob," JAJ 7 (2016) 138-69. Scholars are increasingly aware of the dynamic nature of the interaction between the nine-chapter long genealogy that begins the Book of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 1–9) and its source material. However, little attention has been paid hitherto to the role this interaction might have played in the creation of some key biblical ideas, particularly in the "eponymous imagination" of the tribes as literally the sons of Jacob. By way of comparison with scholarly approaches to the pseudo-Hesiodic Catalogue of Women and an investigation into the ramifications for biblical studies of ethnic theory and historical memory on the fluidity of ethnicity and memory over time, T. seeks to reassess the dynamic power of the Chronicles genealogy as an ethnic charter for the elites of Persian-era Yehud. A focus on the distinctive imagination of Israel in the crucial narratives in the Book of Genesis, as compared with those elsewhere in the Primary History, and on the contribution of the Chronicles genealogy to the re-definition of these narratives, allows us to address the Bible's dependence upon the lens the Chronicles genealogy imposes upon it. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 944. [2 Chronicles 29–31] David A. Glatt-Gilad, "Echoes of Solomon and Nehemiah: Hezekiah's Cultic Reforms in the Book of Chronicles," in Cana Nerman (ed.), From Author to Copyist: Essays on the Composition, Redaction, and Transmission of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Zipi Talshir (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2015). Pp. xxiv + 390. $62.50. ISBN 978-1-57506-350-8, 189-200. G.-G. examines the literary analogy between Hezekiah and his two Temple-building ancestors David and Solomon in 2 Chronicles in order to portray the greatness of Hezekiah. G.-G. identifies 12 specific links between the Chronicler's account of Hezekiah's rededication and David and Solomon's building of the Temple: (1) Hezekiah's direct reference to the sorry state of the cult during the time of his immediate predecessor (2 Chr 29:6-7); (2) Hezekiah's use of the expression "I intend," stressing his dedication to the service of [End Page 296] God (2 Chr 29:10); (3) the ritual purification of the Levites as first step in preparing the Temple (2 Chr 29:14-15, 34); (4) the description of Hezekiah as carrying out the cultic legacy of David (2 Chr 35:4, 14); (5) the prostration of the entire assembly as the sacrifices are consumed (2 Chr 29:25-27, 30); (6) the large number of sacrifices at Hezekiah's rededication ceremonies (2 Chr 29:28-30); (7) the successful completion of service and rededication of the Temple (2 Chr 29:35); (8) the addition of seven days of rejoicing...