Reading a Bible in the Canon: Receptions of Chronicles Through the Ages

Abstract

Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3 Chapter One: Chronicles' Inception……………………………………………………..11 Chapter Two: The Reception of Chronicles' Manasseh ……………………………….46 Chapter Three: Epitomes of an Epitome…………………………………………………86 Chapter Four: Julius Wellhausen's Use and Abuse of Chronicles……………………...121 Chapter Five: Chronicles in the Twenty-First Century………………………………... 151 Conclusion………………………………………………………...………………….....181 Appendix: A Historical Survey of Chronicles' Reception……………………………...187 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………….....227 Chronicles' Dependence on (MT) Genesis-Kings According to the Babylonian Talmud (the Bavli), the composition of Chronicles postdates the writing of the books of the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets. Moses recorded the Pentateuch (with the exception of the record of his death, Deut 34.5-12), Joshua authored Joshua and Deut 34.5-12, Samuel wrote the books of Samuel and Judges, and Jeremiah composed Kings. Ezra began Chronicles and Nehemiah finished it. 12 Modern biblical scholars largely concur with the Bavli on Chronicles' placement in the chronology, as there is almost universal agreement that the book derives its history from the traditions preserved in Genesis-Kings. Gary Knoppers, in his commentary on Chronicles, best expresses this position: By the time the author of Chronicles wrote, much of the literature that we associate with the Hebrew Bible was already written. Chronicles draws extensively upon these rich literary traditions. ….The dependence upon Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Joshua is evident in the genealogies (1 Chr 1-9), the dependence upon Samuel is patent in the narration of Saul's demise and of David's reign (1Chr 10-29), and the dependence on Kings is unmistakable in the narration of Solomon and the kingdom of Judah (2 Chr 1-36). In each case, the book quotes extensively from earlier materials. 13 Konrad Schmid, in his study of the formation of Genesis-Kings, similarly holds that the two books of Chronicles "presuppose and accept the existing context of Genesis-2 Kings, including 12 b. B.Bat. 14b-15a. 13 Gary Knoppers, I Chronicles 1-9 (2 vols.; AB 12; New York: Doubleday, 2003), 66. Knoppers points out that Chronicles also alludes to or cites some of the prophetic books and the Psalms. Knoppers, I Chronicles 1-9, 68. Isaac Kalimi's opening sentence in The Reshaping of Ancient Israelite History in Chronicles is: "Chronicles is the only comprehensive book of the Bible whose sources are, for the most part, available to us." In his conclusion, he states, "…[T]he Chronicler worked from the full range of 'biblical' sources-to mention some of them: the complete Torah, early historical writings, early and late prophetic sources, Psalms, and even