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Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible
1 & 2 Chronicles: (A Theological Bible Commentary from Leading Contemporary Theologians - BTC)
Peter Leithart, a respected theologian known for his ability to communicate to a broad audience, offers a theological reading of 1 and 2 Chronicles. Leithart uncovers the narrative logic of Chronicles, highlights the role of music and government in Israel and in the church, and shows how Judah's history moves from the world of the monarchy to the postexilic world in which Israel is scattered among Gentiles. This commentary is designed to serve the church, providing a rich resource for preachers, teachers, students, and study groups.
267 pages, Hardcover
Published August 20, 2019
About the author
Peter J. Leithart
130 books374 followersPeter Leithart received an A.B. in English and History from Hillsdale College in 1981, and a Master of Arts in Religion and a Master of Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in 1986 and 1987. In 1998 he received his Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge in England. He has served in two pastorates: He was pastor of Reformed Heritage Presbyterian Church (now Trinity Presbyterian Church), Birmingham, Alabama from 1989 to 1995, and was founding pastor of Trinity Reformed Church, Moscow, Idaho, and served on the pastoral staff at Trinity from 2003-2013. From 1998 to 2013 he taught theology and literature at New St. Andrews College, Moscow, Idaho, where he continues to teach as an adjunct Senior Fellow. He now serves as President of Trinity House in Alabama, where is also resident Church Teacher at the local CREC church. He and his wife, Noel, have ten children and five grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 6, 2021
Although I am quite critical of much of Leithart’s project, I do concede that his handling of the biblical text--when he stays at the level of the text--is usually quite good. If you want perceptive outlines of books of the Bible, you could do much worse than Leithart.
1-2 Chronicles echoes the creation account. Leithart suggests the Chronicler “is retelling the entire history of the Old Testament in, with, and under the history of kings.” He proposes the following pattern:
* The genealogies in 1 Chr. 1-9 echoes Genesis
* Saul’s death in 1 Chr. 10 echoes Slavery in Egypt.
* David in 10-29 is Exodus and Sinai
* Solomon in 2 Chr. 1-9 is Joshua’s conquest
* The divided kingdom in 2 Chr. 10-35 is the period of Judges, ending with Saul.
* The decree of Cyrus in ch. 36 is the establishment of the monarchy.
Another main theme is music. “Chronicles tells us who sings when and why.” Leithart suggests that music is a form of “guarding” (1 Chr. 25:8; the term for duties, mishmeret, is derived from shamar, guard).
Key idea: Biblical genealogies lean eschatologically, not protologically.
By beginning with Adam, the Chronicler is telling us that Yahweh is forming a new humanity. David is the Royal Moses. Regarding David's wars, Leithart observes that the geography here contains a “four-cornered theme.” This would suggest the rule of a future Davidic king. He further notes that the Old Testament land is symbolic of the whole world. Section D of the chiasm gives the point for David’s wars: they mediate Yahweh’s justice.
Yahweh’s acts of dividing the people mimics the earlier act of creation. Israel is first divided (badal) from the peoples as Yahweh’s own. Within Israel the Levites are divided from other tribes. Priests are divided from the Levites (Numb. 16:9). They create holiness boundaries, pronouncing clean and unclean.
David and the RPW
David actually innovates. In 1 Chr. 23:30-32 he includes song within the Levitical order. He further organizes them into mishmeret, watches (1 Chr. 25:8).
Key idea: by including musicians in the center of genealogies, the Chronicler identifies music as the key vocation of man.
A problem with David’s wars and bloodshed. Even just, wars contaminate the land (a large scale application of Num. 19). The first creation is by Yahweh’s Word. The second creation is by the Moses’s conformity to the tabnit on the mountain. The tabnit of New Creation is imprinted on David’s heart and then passed to Solomon
Key idea: Manasseh is alienating himself from Yahweh’s hosts, whether angelic or human army--Yahweh’s human army, if Israel is seen as the earthly sacrament.
Why did Josiah go out to attack Egypt? Leithart, following Pratt (2006), suggests that Josiah might have been a functioning vassal of either Assyria or Babylon. Leithart suggests a deeper, more theological problem. Judah’s kings are vessels of Yahweh’s kingship. They aren’t supposed to meddle with the kings of other nations. Neco, ironically, is a Gentile ruler much like Sheba and Cyrus. He acts on behalf of Yahweh.
Despite advertising itself as a theological commentary, the book is usually sensitive to the nuances of the Hebrew text. To be sure, we don’t have any reconstructions of the textual history, but no one would read that, anyway. I read this book in one day.
1-2 Chronicles echoes the creation account. Leithart suggests the Chronicler “is retelling the entire history of the Old Testament in, with, and under the history of kings.” He proposes the following pattern:
* The genealogies in 1 Chr. 1-9 echoes Genesis
* Saul’s death in 1 Chr. 10 echoes Slavery in Egypt.
* David in 10-29 is Exodus and Sinai
* Solomon in 2 Chr. 1-9 is Joshua’s conquest
* The divided kingdom in 2 Chr. 10-35 is the period of Judges, ending with Saul.
* The decree of Cyrus in ch. 36 is the establishment of the monarchy.
Another main theme is music. “Chronicles tells us who sings when and why.” Leithart suggests that music is a form of “guarding” (1 Chr. 25:8; the term for duties, mishmeret, is derived from shamar, guard).
Key idea: Biblical genealogies lean eschatologically, not protologically.
By beginning with Adam, the Chronicler is telling us that Yahweh is forming a new humanity. David is the Royal Moses. Regarding David's wars, Leithart observes that the geography here contains a “four-cornered theme.” This would suggest the rule of a future Davidic king. He further notes that the Old Testament land is symbolic of the whole world. Section D of the chiasm gives the point for David’s wars: they mediate Yahweh’s justice.
Yahweh’s acts of dividing the people mimics the earlier act of creation. Israel is first divided (badal) from the peoples as Yahweh’s own. Within Israel the Levites are divided from other tribes. Priests are divided from the Levites (Numb. 16:9). They create holiness boundaries, pronouncing clean and unclean.
David and the RPW
David actually innovates. In 1 Chr. 23:30-32 he includes song within the Levitical order. He further organizes them into mishmeret, watches (1 Chr. 25:8).
Key idea: by including musicians in the center of genealogies, the Chronicler identifies music as the key vocation of man.
A problem with David’s wars and bloodshed. Even just, wars contaminate the land (a large scale application of Num. 19). The first creation is by Yahweh’s Word. The second creation is by the Moses’s conformity to the tabnit on the mountain. The tabnit of New Creation is imprinted on David’s heart and then passed to Solomon
Key idea: Manasseh is alienating himself from Yahweh’s hosts, whether angelic or human army--Yahweh’s human army, if Israel is seen as the earthly sacrament.
Why did Josiah go out to attack Egypt? Leithart, following Pratt (2006), suggests that Josiah might have been a functioning vassal of either Assyria or Babylon. Leithart suggests a deeper, more theological problem. Judah’s kings are vessels of Yahweh’s kingship. They aren’t supposed to meddle with the kings of other nations. Neco, ironically, is a Gentile ruler much like Sheba and Cyrus. He acts on behalf of Yahweh.
Despite advertising itself as a theological commentary, the book is usually sensitive to the nuances of the Hebrew text. To be sure, we don’t have any reconstructions of the textual history, but no one would read that, anyway. I read this book in one day.
October 15, 2019
It’s difficult for me to give any book five stars. This book is very close. As with his other commentary in this series (on 1&2 Kings), this book is really incredible as a practical, pastoral commentary. Academically, it is also clear that Leithart is aware of the difficulties in many texts, knowing certain pitfalls to avoid by just sticking with the literary craftsmanship in hand.
Leithart plows through the narrative of 1&2 Chronicles with typological fervor, exploiting every liturgical innuendo and motif imaginable—and with persuasive profundity—thereby leaving the interested reader with far more answers than questions. This is a very hands-on commentary. It preaches.
One cannot cannot study this commentary and walk away from the Chronicler’s account, thinking that what remains on record is a careless hodgepodge of revisionist history (as some critical scholars suggest). Although I have my own reservations about some verses intentionally glossed over, and some questions still left unanswered, this particular commentary remains at the top of my list for useful and edifying commentaries, for both laypeople and academicians. A must have.
Leithart plows through the narrative of 1&2 Chronicles with typological fervor, exploiting every liturgical innuendo and motif imaginable—and with persuasive profundity—thereby leaving the interested reader with far more answers than questions. This is a very hands-on commentary. It preaches.
One cannot cannot study this commentary and walk away from the Chronicler’s account, thinking that what remains on record is a careless hodgepodge of revisionist history (as some critical scholars suggest). Although I have my own reservations about some verses intentionally glossed over, and some questions still left unanswered, this particular commentary remains at the top of my list for useful and edifying commentaries, for both laypeople and academicians. A must have.
April 9, 2022
I was disappointed with Kings, so I was curious to see how Chronicles would do. This book has proved surprisingly useful to me as I read through the books of Chronicles.
This isn't peak Leithart. My favorite Leithart BT books would be House for My Name, A Son to Me, and The Four. I also really like Leithart's literature books. Those books are really substantial and they are dense with cool stuff. More recent stuff like Delivered from the Elements and the Revelation commentary are more eccentric, and there's a little of that free association-style symbolism here too and it annoyed me a bit. But there's some really thoughtful stuff: for instance, Leithart does not assert that Obed-edom must have been a Gentile who became a member of the temple staff. He's very judicious and does careful reads of various things.
One of the best things he points out is that the term "Ma-al" is important in Chronicles, and he has a nice little sensitive bit of grammar on p. 52: "David does not commit a ma'al. Instead, because of his faithfulness in seeking Yahweh, his kingdom is "highly exalted" in the eyes of Gentile rulers like Huram (1 Chr. 14:2. "Highly" translates the Hebrew lema'lah, which contains the same consonants as ma'al (sacrilege). The verb 'alah, "to assend or go up," is the root of the word for "ascension offering" (burnt offering) and a commonly used term for social, spiritual, or physical ascent." Nice.
Leithart is great at point out the good of bureaucracy (this helped me get why we hear about David's mighty men at the beginning of the story of David) and he's also good at geography, pointing out that often enemies attack or are subdued to each side of Israel, if you look at the locations carefully. He points out that silver gets added to the temple in far greater quantities. The lampstands, utensils, and tables are made of silver, which Leithart connects with the Levites who have far greater prominence in the Davidic age than in the Mosaic age, particularly with their duty to praise God.
I really love Leithart in the second half of the book where he talks about the kings. Leithart gets how moral decay happens, and he's really great at noticing things like the kings setting up fortifications. I would recommend this book for simply a great window into how churches and traditions can decay, as well as for how it helps us appreciate such an under-appreciated book.
This isn't peak Leithart. My favorite Leithart BT books would be House for My Name, A Son to Me, and The Four. I also really like Leithart's literature books. Those books are really substantial and they are dense with cool stuff. More recent stuff like Delivered from the Elements and the Revelation commentary are more eccentric, and there's a little of that free association-style symbolism here too and it annoyed me a bit. But there's some really thoughtful stuff: for instance, Leithart does not assert that Obed-edom must have been a Gentile who became a member of the temple staff. He's very judicious and does careful reads of various things.
One of the best things he points out is that the term "Ma-al" is important in Chronicles, and he has a nice little sensitive bit of grammar on p. 52: "David does not commit a ma'al. Instead, because of his faithfulness in seeking Yahweh, his kingdom is "highly exalted" in the eyes of Gentile rulers like Huram (1 Chr. 14:2. "Highly" translates the Hebrew lema'lah, which contains the same consonants as ma'al (sacrilege). The verb 'alah, "to assend or go up," is the root of the word for "ascension offering" (burnt offering) and a commonly used term for social, spiritual, or physical ascent." Nice.
Leithart is great at point out the good of bureaucracy (this helped me get why we hear about David's mighty men at the beginning of the story of David) and he's also good at geography, pointing out that often enemies attack or are subdued to each side of Israel, if you look at the locations carefully. He points out that silver gets added to the temple in far greater quantities. The lampstands, utensils, and tables are made of silver, which Leithart connects with the Levites who have far greater prominence in the Davidic age than in the Mosaic age, particularly with their duty to praise God.
I really love Leithart in the second half of the book where he talks about the kings. Leithart gets how moral decay happens, and he's really great at noticing things like the kings setting up fortifications. I would recommend this book for simply a great window into how churches and traditions can decay, as well as for how it helps us appreciate such an under-appreciated book.
October 30, 2019
Riveting. So many insights into the text, full of biblical-theological connections, brimming with pointed pastoral glosses, and plain well written. Leithart is a master guide.
January 27, 2021
This was disappointing after the 1&2 Kings volume in the same series, as it was so completely different in style. Rarely did leithart get beyond the chiasms and the intertextual connections into the significance of the text in the way he did in the other volume. Just not as stimulating as I'd hoped.
February 24, 2022
Overall, a solid, text-sensitive and theologically robust reading of Chronicles. My one critique is that Leithart finds chiasms EVERYWHERE, and many of them appear strained...
June 11, 2021
I absolutely love the Brazos Theological Commentary series. Generally, it is pastoral and winsome, pressing the text into our everyday lives by sharing the fruit of technical academic scholarship married to the spiritual meditations and reflections of those very scholars. I have utilized many of the volumes in this series, but Peter Leithart's "1 & 2 Chronicles" was (I believe) the first I have read cover to cover.
Leithart is an interesting choice. He is a theologian more than a scholar of biblical studies, yet is incredibly well-versed in relevant scholarship and displays a great facility with Hebrew. Having contributed the 1 & 2 Kings volume for this same series, I can see the logic in inviting him back to do Chronicles. It helps him highlight the continuities and discontinuities in each text, and maintain a firm grasp on the overall purpose of the writings in the life and identify formation of Israel. His opening discussions introducing the book and walking through the opening genealogy of the book are incredible contributions in and of themselves.
Leithart maintains a tether to his heart as a minister, and his connections to Christianity, his distillation of scholarly and technical findings, and linking of the text to one's own spiritual and sacramental life are beautiful, moving, and helpful. He does not get bogged down with trying to "reconcile" contradictions or "defend" the text. He takes it as it is received, walking chapter-by-chapter, unfolding the narrative for us, putting things in historical and canonical context very helpfully and (at times) beautifully.
However, it is difficult to recommend this book as a commentary to read from front-to-back. Leithart really gets into the weeds of each chapter in a way that is helpful if you have been studying the text or are turning to this commentary among others to study a particular part of the biblical book. I admit, having read this book all the way through, I can't say I remember anything specific from the first half (or more) of the book. There are a few running threads thematically, but they are broad enough that they don't serve as a framing to keep things in order. The book feels less like a whole and more like an essay collection, or at times something worse: a text where all the parts just kind of blend together in one's mind.
There are a couple of other quirks specific to academic biblical studies-types that make this difficult to read at times. Yes, the Hebrew is transliterated into English, but there's a lot of it, as well as a lot citations. I appreciate this in scholarly works, but it clutters up a page you may be trying to read for pleasure. There are also no section headers beyond naming the section of the text being discussed.
Most irritatingly, Peter J. Leithart never seems to have met a text out of which he cannot pull out some sort of chiastic structure. EVERY SINGLE section of biblical text discussed in this book has significant page space devoted to the chiastic breakdown of a text, whether it helps in understanding it or not, and whether the structure seems legitimate or not. He seems to simply assume that this is the shape of the ancient Hebrew mind, and every written creation is fundamentally shaped around chiasms. Biblical scholarship, however, has long shown this not to be the case and, what's more, it has shown that even when there is a chiastic structure, it is not as necessary to meaning as once thought--it may just be how it's organized and has no deeper meaning.
There was one last frustration I had with this text, and I admit some of it may be my fault. Throughout, Leithart writes as if you have the specific chapter in question either right in front of you or mostly internalized. I do not. I read this commentary because of my lack of familiarity with Chronicles. But most all the time he speaks as if you just read the section under discussion or know what he's talking about. I probably should have read the text beside this book, but it just wasn't feasible most times.
But more to the point, that's not been how this commentary series usually has worked. It is a "theological" commentary series, not a "biblical" one, meaning it's not so much about the ins and outs of Hebrew grammar and historical context (though those play a role for sure), but MORE about how these ancient texts shape our theological imagination and spiritual lives. And for that end, I find this lacking. Most other volumes summarize the text being discussed or include longer quotations of a verse or section. They recognize that the book is not supposed to be a verse-by-verse close examination of the text, but an application of the text to the theology and life of the reader. The Christian connections here, when present, are beautiful and profound, but they are not frequent (even when they'd seem obvious!). I wish there were more.
But still, as one among other commentaries you turn to when studying, teaching, or preaching through anything in Chronicles, this book is invaluable and helpful. I think it deviates somewhat from the overall mission of the commentary series, but not at all in a way that makes it bad or unhelpful overall.
Leithart is an interesting choice. He is a theologian more than a scholar of biblical studies, yet is incredibly well-versed in relevant scholarship and displays a great facility with Hebrew. Having contributed the 1 & 2 Kings volume for this same series, I can see the logic in inviting him back to do Chronicles. It helps him highlight the continuities and discontinuities in each text, and maintain a firm grasp on the overall purpose of the writings in the life and identify formation of Israel. His opening discussions introducing the book and walking through the opening genealogy of the book are incredible contributions in and of themselves.
Leithart maintains a tether to his heart as a minister, and his connections to Christianity, his distillation of scholarly and technical findings, and linking of the text to one's own spiritual and sacramental life are beautiful, moving, and helpful. He does not get bogged down with trying to "reconcile" contradictions or "defend" the text. He takes it as it is received, walking chapter-by-chapter, unfolding the narrative for us, putting things in historical and canonical context very helpfully and (at times) beautifully.
However, it is difficult to recommend this book as a commentary to read from front-to-back. Leithart really gets into the weeds of each chapter in a way that is helpful if you have been studying the text or are turning to this commentary among others to study a particular part of the biblical book. I admit, having read this book all the way through, I can't say I remember anything specific from the first half (or more) of the book. There are a few running threads thematically, but they are broad enough that they don't serve as a framing to keep things in order. The book feels less like a whole and more like an essay collection, or at times something worse: a text where all the parts just kind of blend together in one's mind.
There are a couple of other quirks specific to academic biblical studies-types that make this difficult to read at times. Yes, the Hebrew is transliterated into English, but there's a lot of it, as well as a lot citations. I appreciate this in scholarly works, but it clutters up a page you may be trying to read for pleasure. There are also no section headers beyond naming the section of the text being discussed.
Most irritatingly, Peter J. Leithart never seems to have met a text out of which he cannot pull out some sort of chiastic structure. EVERY SINGLE section of biblical text discussed in this book has significant page space devoted to the chiastic breakdown of a text, whether it helps in understanding it or not, and whether the structure seems legitimate or not. He seems to simply assume that this is the shape of the ancient Hebrew mind, and every written creation is fundamentally shaped around chiasms. Biblical scholarship, however, has long shown this not to be the case and, what's more, it has shown that even when there is a chiastic structure, it is not as necessary to meaning as once thought--it may just be how it's organized and has no deeper meaning.
There was one last frustration I had with this text, and I admit some of it may be my fault. Throughout, Leithart writes as if you have the specific chapter in question either right in front of you or mostly internalized. I do not. I read this commentary because of my lack of familiarity with Chronicles. But most all the time he speaks as if you just read the section under discussion or know what he's talking about. I probably should have read the text beside this book, but it just wasn't feasible most times.
But more to the point, that's not been how this commentary series usually has worked. It is a "theological" commentary series, not a "biblical" one, meaning it's not so much about the ins and outs of Hebrew grammar and historical context (though those play a role for sure), but MORE about how these ancient texts shape our theological imagination and spiritual lives. And for that end, I find this lacking. Most other volumes summarize the text being discussed or include longer quotations of a verse or section. They recognize that the book is not supposed to be a verse-by-verse close examination of the text, but an application of the text to the theology and life of the reader. The Christian connections here, when present, are beautiful and profound, but they are not frequent (even when they'd seem obvious!). I wish there were more.
But still, as one among other commentaries you turn to when studying, teaching, or preaching through anything in Chronicles, this book is invaluable and helpful. I think it deviates somewhat from the overall mission of the commentary series, but not at all in a way that makes it bad or unhelpful overall.
April 16, 2021
Okay, a big statement: this is probably the best commentary on any book of the Bible I've ever read. Leithart reads the text at just the right level to bring out the big thematic structures, the narrative detail, the Christological significance and the practical application of the text. 1 and 2 Chronicles probably suffer from being placed next to Kings in our bibles, whereas Jewish collections have the two Chronicles scrolls at the end of the inspired writings of the Old Testament. Leithart shows how Chronicles is both a historical and a theological summary, as well as a signpost to the coming Messiah and the fuller inclusion of the nations into God's people. If you love the Bible and want to go deeper in Chronicles, read this book.
April 27, 2023
Appreciated a lot of nuggets in this BTC but felt it somewhat thin as a commentary. Possibly more political than theological at points. But a useful amount of NT echo and pastoral allusion mean it’s probably worth getting hold of if preaching 1+2 Chron.
October 21, 2019
extremely helpful, clear, overview of Chronicles. Would highly, highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews