This book analyses a much neglected writer's contribution to the debate within Judaism in the post-exilic period about who might legitimately be included within the reconstituted Jerusalem community, and notably the Chronicler's attitude to the status of the Samaritan sect. It has been almost universally accepted that Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah are all parts of a single work, and so the rather 'exclusive' attitude of Ezra-Nehemiah has been read back into Chronicles. Many believe that the Chronicles intended to reject the Samaritan claim to inclusion. Dr Williamson challenges both the assumption of unity of authorship and the attribution of an exclusive attitude to the Chronicler, providing evidence to support the case for separate authorship, and examining Chronicles in its own right. A study of the use of the word 'Israel' and an analysis of the narrative structure jointly lead to the conclusion that the Chronicler reacted against the over-exclusive attitudes of some of his contemporaries, and looked for the reunion of 'all Israel' around Jerusalem and its temple. This study will interest both Old Testament scholars and students of Jewish history and culture.
The book analyses and assesses the various methods and approaches used by nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century scholars researching into the theme of the unity and diversity of the compositional structure of the Old Testament book of Isaiah. It considers the differences between the traditional, historical–critical, form of Old Testament study and the more modern, post‐critical literary reading, and argues that a more intensive application of the traditional methods would be of great value in studying the unity of the book of Isaiah and in interpreting its message. Focusing on one particular phase in the composition of Isaiah and on the relationship of the central section, known as ‘Deutero‐Isaiah’, to the other parts of the book and to other Old Testament writings, it investigates the literary influences on Deutero‐Isaiah and analyses his subsequent editorial contribution to the continuing prophecy of the judgement and salvation of Israel, thereby reinforcing the argument that critical analysis must precede interpretation.
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