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I & II Chronicles: A Commentary
This volume, a part of the Old Testament Library series, explores the books of I and II Chronicles. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.
1102 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 15, 2024
---Plot/Intro---
“Peculiar” and words like it I’ve encountered many a time in the introductions to certain books of the Bible (at least when it comes to Robert Alter); X is a strange book, Y was an unstable prophet, for example. But really, how much more so can this phrase—“peculiar” at least—be applied to a book that at a glance seems to simply rehash the Book of Kings? Is there more to Chronicles than simply being a whitewashed speed-run through the history of the monarchy? The late Sara Japhet sure seems to believe so as she spent gosh knows how many years penning a 1,600 page (eBook) commentary so renown even thirty years later there’s nothing like it.
---Interesting Highlights---
“The northern kingdom is thus not absent from Chronicles. It is presented – with everything that the Chronicler found in his sources – from the perspective of Judah.”
“Chronicles is a comprehensive expression of the perpetual need to renew and revitalize the religion of Israel. It makes an extremely important attempt to affirm the meaningfulness of contemporary life without severing ties between the present and the sources of the past; in fact, it strengthens the bond between past and present and proclaims the continuity of Israel’s faith and history.”
“The Bible in several places narrates the construction of cities (Gen. 4.17; 10.11; Judg. 1.26; 1 Kings 16.34, etc.), but there is never a woman among the builders. The author here credits Sheerah with founding not only the city which bears her name (Uzzen-sheerah) but two other important towns – upper and lower Beth-horon – in the hill country of Ephraim.”
“A careful comparison of the parallel texts will show how the method followed in the omission of the various elements from the text demonstrates one form of editing characteristic of the Chronicler: a strict adherence to the literal sequence of the source, the transference of certain parts verbatim or with only minor changes, and the complete omission of other elements along the way.”
“Here is another example of how the Chronicler, when he feels that necessity dictates it, can turn a source-text upside-down. Given the strongly negative theological significance of ‘war’ in Chronistic terms, the Chronicler could hardly accept the existence of conflicts during the reign of Asa the just king. Accordingly, his version reads: ‘there was no war’!”
& tons more.
---Review---
As noted in the intro, like most who have read the Bible, Chronicles always has been a tough book to get through. This probably goes double for those reading the Christian ordering as it immediately follows Kings (!). Though even in traditional Jewish ordering after working through all other books only to find two more especially beefy ones full of what at first appears to be a ‘watered down’ historical rehashing of already known (and in some cases by now covered multiple times) events may be a bridge too far.
Hastily reading through Robert Alter’s excellent translation and commentary (though even through the text it felt as if he was getting winded when it came time to comment on Chronicles verses) is something I am guilty of. But an extended promise I kept to myself was to read all the books of of Scripture slowly while reading one or two supplementary commentaries and thus why not conclude with what may just be the largest single volume commentary ever penned?
Fortunately, like other books in the Old Testament Library series, Chronicles was surprisingly engaging. It was no easy read, but Professor Japhet did a wonderful job balancing explaining the text with just the right amount of technical information with no devotional insights (even in Bible commentary, one’s beliefs are best kept in one’s pocket unless the series explicitly is devotional). She took up the challenge of laying out the beauty of Chronicles—how it goes well beyond being Kings 2.0 and while focusing from a Judah standpoint, provides what turns out to be can be an even more detailed account due to using what some scholars believe to be actual historical sources lost in time.
It would be difficult to recommend this book to anyone who has not already read other commentary books given its length, but then again, it’s readability in spite of it may make it a good bedside companion if taken in small chunks (something the author of this review did over several months). By this time, there may be other books about Chronicles, but the mic was dropped with this one and any who even have a smidgen of interest in what surely is the most peculiar book in Scripture would be doing a disservice to themselves if they don’t even attempt the challenge to pick this up.
“Peculiar” and words like it I’ve encountered many a time in the introductions to certain books of the Bible (at least when it comes to Robert Alter); X is a strange book, Y was an unstable prophet, for example. But really, how much more so can this phrase—“peculiar” at least—be applied to a book that at a glance seems to simply rehash the Book of Kings? Is there more to Chronicles than simply being a whitewashed speed-run through the history of the monarchy? The late Sara Japhet sure seems to believe so as she spent gosh knows how many years penning a 1,600 page (eBook) commentary so renown even thirty years later there’s nothing like it.
---Interesting Highlights---
“The northern kingdom is thus not absent from Chronicles. It is presented – with everything that the Chronicler found in his sources – from the perspective of Judah.”
“Chronicles is a comprehensive expression of the perpetual need to renew and revitalize the religion of Israel. It makes an extremely important attempt to affirm the meaningfulness of contemporary life without severing ties between the present and the sources of the past; in fact, it strengthens the bond between past and present and proclaims the continuity of Israel’s faith and history.”
“The Bible in several places narrates the construction of cities (Gen. 4.17; 10.11; Judg. 1.26; 1 Kings 16.34, etc.), but there is never a woman among the builders. The author here credits Sheerah with founding not only the city which bears her name (Uzzen-sheerah) but two other important towns – upper and lower Beth-horon – in the hill country of Ephraim.”
“A careful comparison of the parallel texts will show how the method followed in the omission of the various elements from the text demonstrates one form of editing characteristic of the Chronicler: a strict adherence to the literal sequence of the source, the transference of certain parts verbatim or with only minor changes, and the complete omission of other elements along the way.”
“Here is another example of how the Chronicler, when he feels that necessity dictates it, can turn a source-text upside-down. Given the strongly negative theological significance of ‘war’ in Chronistic terms, the Chronicler could hardly accept the existence of conflicts during the reign of Asa the just king. Accordingly, his version reads: ‘there was no war’!”
& tons more.
---Review---
As noted in the intro, like most who have read the Bible, Chronicles always has been a tough book to get through. This probably goes double for those reading the Christian ordering as it immediately follows Kings (!). Though even in traditional Jewish ordering after working through all other books only to find two more especially beefy ones full of what at first appears to be a ‘watered down’ historical rehashing of already known (and in some cases by now covered multiple times) events may be a bridge too far.
Hastily reading through Robert Alter’s excellent translation and commentary (though even through the text it felt as if he was getting winded when it came time to comment on Chronicles verses) is something I am guilty of. But an extended promise I kept to myself was to read all the books of of Scripture slowly while reading one or two supplementary commentaries and thus why not conclude with what may just be the largest single volume commentary ever penned?
Fortunately, like other books in the Old Testament Library series, Chronicles was surprisingly engaging. It was no easy read, but Professor Japhet did a wonderful job balancing explaining the text with just the right amount of technical information with no devotional insights (even in Bible commentary, one’s beliefs are best kept in one’s pocket unless the series explicitly is devotional). She took up the challenge of laying out the beauty of Chronicles—how it goes well beyond being Kings 2.0 and while focusing from a Judah standpoint, provides what turns out to be can be an even more detailed account due to using what some scholars believe to be actual historical sources lost in time.
It would be difficult to recommend this book to anyone who has not already read other commentary books given its length, but then again, it’s readability in spite of it may make it a good bedside companion if taken in small chunks (something the author of this review did over several months). By this time, there may be other books about Chronicles, but the mic was dropped with this one and any who even have a smidgen of interest in what surely is the most peculiar book in Scripture would be doing a disservice to themselves if they don’t even attempt the challenge to pick this up.
May 23, 2017
Japhet’s volume is the most massive exegetical commentary on I and II Chronicles that I am aware of. It’s actually fatter (1077 pages) than most volumes in the Old Testament Library (OTL) that I’ve seen as well. In addition to its size, I’ve only seen great praise from the entire scholarly world for this highly-respected book. It’s fair to call it an influential volume.
I’d agree with those who would call it “conservatively critical”. In truth, it’s going to appeal to the more scholarly types (that’s another thing that sets this book in a different vein than some others in the series). Still, it’s quite readable.
The Introduction tracks its own course. It jumps in at the name and place in the cannon. She concludes that Chronicles is “one work, composed essentially by a single author, with a very distinct and peculiar literary method.” She looks in depth at the structure of the books. She goes far on sources, but much of it is just about which books of the Bible influenced the Chronicler. She has some conclusions I could never agree with, but there is careful explanation throughout. She summarizes the theology as a constant appeal to the past.
In the vast commentary we find helpful philology and exegetical detail. There’s more work on theology here than in the Introduction, which is a plus to most users. There’s more reference to sources than I like to see, but there’s plenty of helpful history. It’s hard to find anything missing across the pages of the commentary proper. Students will appreciate it.
This book is likely the book to have on Chronicles on the heavy exegesis side of the spectrum. I recommend it.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
I’d agree with those who would call it “conservatively critical”. In truth, it’s going to appeal to the more scholarly types (that’s another thing that sets this book in a different vein than some others in the series). Still, it’s quite readable.
The Introduction tracks its own course. It jumps in at the name and place in the cannon. She concludes that Chronicles is “one work, composed essentially by a single author, with a very distinct and peculiar literary method.” She looks in depth at the structure of the books. She goes far on sources, but much of it is just about which books of the Bible influenced the Chronicler. She has some conclusions I could never agree with, but there is careful explanation throughout. She summarizes the theology as a constant appeal to the past.
In the vast commentary we find helpful philology and exegetical detail. There’s more work on theology here than in the Introduction, which is a plus to most users. There’s more reference to sources than I like to see, but there’s plenty of helpful history. It’s hard to find anything missing across the pages of the commentary proper. Students will appreciate it.
This book is likely the book to have on Chronicles on the heavy exegesis side of the spectrum. I recommend it.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
September 22, 2012
Commentaries are on going reading projcts
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews