The chronicler had no motive for lingering over the last sad days of the monarchy; the rest of his narrative is almost entirely abridged from the book of Kings. Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah pass over the scene in rapid and melancholy succession. In the case of Jehoahaz, who only reigned three months, the chronicler omits the unfavourable judgment recorded in the book of Kings; but he repeats it for the other three, [pg 461] even for the poor lad of eight[437] who was carried away captive after a reign of three months and ten days. The chronicler had not learnt that kings can do no wrong; on the other hand, the ungodly policy of Jehoiachin's ministers is labelled with the name of the boy-sovereign.
Each of these kings in turn was deposed and carried away into captivity, unless indeed Jehoiakim is an exception. In the book of Kings we are told that he slept with his fathers, i.e., that he died and was buried in the royal tombs at Jerusalem, a statement which the LXX. inserts here also, specifying, however, that he was buried in the garden of Uzza. If the pious Josiah were punished for a single error by defeat and death, why was the wicked Jehoiakim allowed to reign till the end of his life and then die in his bed? The chronicler's information differed from that of the earlier narrative in a way that removed, or at any rate suppressed the difficulty. He omits the statement that Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and tells us[438] that Nebuchadnezzar bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon. Casual readers would naturally suppose that this purpose was carried out, and that the Divine justice was satisfied by Jehoiakim's death in captivity; and yet if they compared this passage with that in the book of Kings, it might occur to them that after the king had been put in chains something might have led Nebuchadnezzar to change his mind, or, like Manasseh, Jehoiakim might have repented and been allowed to return. But it is very doubtful whether the chronicler's authorities contemplated the possibility of such an interpretation; it is scarcely fair to credit [pg 462] them with all the subtle devices of modern commentators.
The real conclusion of the chronicler's history of the kings of the house of David is a summary of the sins of the last days of the monarchy and of the history of its final ruin in xxxvi. 14-20.[439] All the chief of the priests and of the people were given over to the abominations of idolatry; and in spite of constant and urgent admonitions from the prophets of Jehovah, they hardened their hearts, and mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against His people, and there was no healing.
However, to this peroration a note is added that the length of the Captivity was fixed at seventy years, in order that the land might “enjoy her sabbaths.” This note rests upon Lev. xxv. 1-7, according to which the land was to be left fallow every seventh year. The seventy years captivity would compensate for seventy periods of six years each during which no sabbatical years had been observed. Thus the Captivity, with the four hundred and twenty previous years of neglect, would be equivalent to seventy sabbatical periods. There is no economy in keeping back what is due to God.
Moreover, the editor who separated Chronicles from the book of Ezra and Nehemiah was loath to allow the first part of the history to end in a gloomy record of sin and ruin. Modern Jews, in reading the last chapter of Isaiah, rather than conclude with the ill-omened words of the last two verses, repeat a previous portion of the chapter. So here to the history of the ruin of [pg 463] Jerusalem the editor has appended two verses from the opening of the book of Ezra, which contain the decree of Cyrus authorising the return from the Captivity. And thus Chronicles concludes in the middle of a sentence which is completed in the book of Ezra: “Who is there among you of all his people? Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up....”
Such a conclusion suggests two considerations which will form a fitting close to our exposition. Chronicles is not a finished work; it has no formal end; it rather breaks off abruptly like an interrupted diary. In like manner the book of Kings concludes with a note as to the treatment of the captive Jehoiachin at Babylon: the last verse runs, “And for his allowance there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.” The book of Nehemiah has a short final prayer: “Remember me, O my God, for good”; but the preceding paragraph is simply occupied with the arrangements for the wood offering and the first-fruits. So in the New Testament the history of the Church breaks off with the statement that St. Paul abode two whole years in his own hired house, preaching the kingdom of God. The sacred writers recognise the continuity of God's dealings with His people; they do not suggest that one period can be marked off by a clear dividing line or interval from another. Each historian leaves, as it were, the loose ends of his work ready to be taken up and continued by his successors. The Holy Spirit seeks to stimulate the Church to a forward outlook, that it may expect and work for a future wherein the power and grace of God will be no less manifest than in the past. Moreover, the final editor of Chronicles has shown himself unwilling that the book should conclude with a gloomy [pg 464] record of sin and ruin, and has appended a few lines to remind his readers of the new life of faith and hope that lay beyond the Captivity. In so doing, he has echoed the key-note of prophecy: ever beyond man's transgression and punishment the prophets saw the vision of his forgiveness and restoration to God.
Footnotes
[1.] Cf. Ezra; Nehemiah; Esther, by Professor Adeney, in “Expositor's Bible.” [2.] Ezra iii. 12. [3.] Isa. lxvi. 22. [4.] Quoted for Asa (2 Chron. xvi. 11); Amaziah (2 Chron. xxv. 26); Ahaz (2 Chron. xxviii. 26). [5.] Quoted for Jotham (2 Chron. xxvii. 7); Josiah (2 Chron. xxxv. 26, 27). [6.] Quoted for Manasseh (2 Chron. xxxiii, 18). [7.] Quoted for David (1 Chron. xxix. 29). [8.] Quoted for David (1 Chron. xxix. 29) and Solomon (2 Chron. ix. 29). [9.] Quoted for David (1 Chron. xxix. 29). [10.] Quoted for Rehoboam (2 Chron. xii. 15). [11.] Quoted for Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. xx. 34). [12.] Quoted for Manasseh (2 Chron. xxxiii. 19). “Seers,” A.V., R.V. Marg., with LXX.; R.V., with Hebrew text, “Hozai.” The passage is probably corrupt. [13.] Quoted for Solomon (2 Chron. ix. 29). [14.] Quoted for Hezekiah (2 Chron. xxxii. 32). [15.] Quoted for Joash (2 Chron. xxiv. 27). [16.] Quoted for Abijah (2 Chron. xiii, 22). [17.] Quoted for Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 22). [18.] Quoted for Solomon (2 Chron. ix. 29). [19.] Cf. pp. 17, 18. [20.] 2 Chron. xx. 34. [21.] Chron. xxxii. 32. [22.] R.V. marg. [23.] R.V. [24.] E.g., the wars of Jotham (2 Chron. xxvii. 7). [25.] 2 Chron. xiii. 22; xxiv. 27. The LXX., however, does not read “Midrash” in either case; and it is quite possible that glosses have attached themselves to the text of Chronicles. [26.] Cf. 2 Sam. vi. 12-20 with 1 Chron. xv., xvi. [27.] Cf. 2 Kings xi.; 2 Chron. xxiii. [28.] The last two classes are not easily distinguished; but the additions which introduce the Levitical system into earlier history are clearly the work of the chronicler or his immediate predecessor, if such a predecessor be assumed, or were found in somewhat late sources. This is also probably true of other explanatory matter. [29.] Cf. 2 Sam. iv. with 1 Chron. viii. 34, also 2 Sam. vii. 7 with 1 Chron. xvii. 6, and 2 Sam. xvii. 25 with 1 Chron. ii. 17. In both these instances Chronicles preserves the correct text. [30.] Cf. [Book II., Chap. IV.] [31.] Oehler, Old Testament Theology, i. 283 (Eng. trans.). [32.] Nestle, Die Israelitischen Eigennamen, p. 27. The present chapter is largely indebted to this standard monograph. [33.] Nestle. [34.] 1 Chron. vii. 14. [35.] Philo, De Cong. Quær. Erud. Grat., 8. [36.] Hiller's Onomasticon ap., Nestle 11. [37.] vii. 8. [38.] i. 35. [39.] xviii. 15. [40.] i. 20. [41.] viii. 36. [42.] ii. 18. [43.] iii. 20. [44.] iv. 3. [45.] Bertheau, i. 1. [46.] iv. 22. [47.] iv. 22. [48.] The translation of these words is not quite certain. [49.] Nestle, p. 68. [50.] Num. i. 10. [51.] Num. i. 12. [52.] Num. i. 6. [53.] Cf. p. 40. [54.] xi. 30; vii. 25 (Nestle). [55.] Nestle. [56.] Joel i. 15; Isa. xiii. 6. It is not necessary here to discuss either the etymological or the theological history of these words in their earliest usage, nor need we do more than recall the fact that Jehovah was the term in common use as the personal name of the God of Israel, while El was rare and sometimes generic. [57.] Ezra ii. 61-63; Neh. vii, 63-65. [58.] Acts xvii. 26. [59.] Col. iii. 11. [60.] Josh. xiv. 6. [61.] 1 Sam. xxvii 10. [62.] Ver. 55. [63.] The occurrence of Caleb the son of Jephunneh in iv, 15, vi. 56, in no way militates against this view: the chronicler, like other redactors, is simply inserting borrowed material without correcting it. Chelubai in ii. 9 stands for Caleb; cf. ii. 18. [64.] viii. 33-40; ix. 35-44. We have used Mephibosheth as more familiar, but Chronicles reads Meribbaal, which is more correct. [65.] Psalm lxxviii. 59, 60, 67-69. [66.] iv. 14, 21-23. [67.] 1 Chron. xv. [68.] Cf. 2 Chron. xxix. 12 and xxx. 22. [69.] 2 Chron. xvii. 8. [70.] Exod. xxv-xxxix.; 1 Kings vi.; 1 Chron. xxix.; 2 Chron. iii., v. [71.] 1 Chron. xv. 4-10. [72.] 1 Chron. xii. 23-37. [73.] John iii. 8. [74.] i. 10. [75.] i. 19. [76.] i. 46. [77.] Cf. Gen. xxxvi. 24 and 1 Chron. i. 40. [78.] I.e., Achan (ii. 3, 7). [79.] 1 Sam. ii. 7, 8. [80.] Vv. 17, 18, as they stand, do not make sense. The second sentence of ver. 18 should be read before “and she bare Miriam” in ver. 17. Mered and Bithiah formed a tempting subject for the rabbis, and gave occasion for some of their usual grotesque fancies. Mered has been identified by them both with Caleb and Moses. [81.] Deut. vii. 3; Josh. xxiii. 12; Ezra ix. 1, x.; Neh. xiii. 23. [82.] iv. 9, 10. [83.] The reading on which this translation is based is obtained by an alteration of the vowels of the Masoretic text; cf. Bertheau, i. 1. [84.] Gen. xxviii. 20; xxxiii. 20. [85.] This translation is obtained by slightly altering the Masoretic text. [86.] iv. 41; cf. R.V. [87.] 1 Sam. xv. [88.] Judges i. 17. [89.] Judges i. 22-26. [90.] Judges xviii. [91.] Vv. 7-10, 18-22. [92.] Deut. xxxiii. 20; 1 Chron. xii. 8, 21. [93.] Gen. xxv. 15. [94.] Gen. xvi. 12. [95.] Lay of the Last Minstrel, iv. 3. [96.] Vv. 25, 26. Note the curious spelling Tilgath-pilneser for the more usual Tiglath-pileser. [97.] Cf. Bertheau, i. 1. [98.] In Josh. xix. 42, xxi. 24, Aijalon is given to Dan; in Judges i. 34 it is given to Dan, but we are told that Amorites retained possession of it, but became tributary to the house of Joseph; in 2 Chron. xi. 10 it is given to “Judah and Benjamin.” As a frontier town, it frequently changed hands. [99.] 2 Chron. xvi. 9. [100.] 2 Chron. xx. 20. [101.] 2 Chron. xxix. 6. [102.] 1 Chron. vi. 31-48, xv. 16-20; cf. psalm titles. [103.] 1 Chron. vi. 33, 37; cf. Psalm lxxxviii. (title). [104.] 1 Chron. xvi. 38, 42. [105.] 1 Chron. ix. 26-32; cf. 1 Chron. xxiii. 24-32. [106.] 2 Chron. xxix.-xxxi.; xxxiv.; xxxv. [107.] 2 Chron. xxix. 27, 28. [108.] Num. iv. 3, 23, 35. [109.] 1 Chron. xxiii. 24, 27. Probably “twenty” should be read for “thirty” in ver. 3. [110.] 1 Chron. xxiv. 6. [111.] 2 Chron. xxxiv. 13; xxxv. 3. [112.] 2 Chron. xxxv. 3; cf. 1 Chron. xxiii 26. [113.] 1 Chron. xxvi. 29. [114.] 2 Chron. xvii. 7, 9. [115.] Wellhausen, History of Israel, p. 191; cf. 2 Chron. xix. 4-11. [116.] 1 Chron. ix. 31, 32. [117.] Ezra ii. 36-39. [118.] 1 Chron. xxiv. 1-19. [119.] Luke i. 5. [120.] Bell. Jud., IV. iii. 8. [121.] 1 Chron. xxiv. 20-31; 2 Chron. xxxi. 2. [122.] 1 Chron. xxv. [123.] 1 Chron. xxvi.; Ezra vi. 18; Neh. xi. 36. [124.] Recently a complaint was received at the General Post-office that some newspapers sent from France had failed to arrive. It was stated that the names of the papers were—Il me manque; Plusieurs; Journaux; i.e., I am short of “Several” “Papers.” [125.] 1 Chron. ix. 3. [126.] Luke ii. 36. [127.] Levi of course excepted. [128.] 1 Chron. iii. [129.] ii. 55. [130.] iv. 21-23. [131.] Maspero, Ancient Egypt and Assyria, p. 60. [132.] Craddock, Despot of Bromsgrove Edge. Teck Jepson is, of course, an imaginary character, but none the less representative. [133.] Cave, Scripture Doctrine of Sacrifice, p. 163. [134.] George Eliot, Janet's Repentance, chap. xix. [135.] 2 Chron. xii. 1, 6. [136.] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 18. [137.] Ezra ii. 2. [138.] Isa. xlix. 6. [139.] Isa. ix. 7. [140.] Isa. xvi. 5. [141.] Isa. xxxvii. 35. [142.] Isa. xxxviii. 5. [143.] Acts ii 29. [144.] Hos. iii. 5. [145.] Amos ix. 11. [146.] Micah v. 2. [147.] Jer. xxiii. 5, 6; cf. xxxiii. 15 and Isa. iv. 2, xi. 1. The Hebrew word used in the last passage is different from that in the preceding. [148.] Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24; xxxvii. 24, 25. [149.] Zech. iii. 8; the text in vi. 12 is probably corrupt. [150.] Hag. ii. 23. [151.] Zech. xii. 8. [152.] Written after the death of Pompey. [153.] Schultz, Old Testament Theology, ii. 444. [154.] An incidental reference is made to these facts in 1 Chron. xii. 19. [155.] 2 Sam. iii. 39. [156.] 2 Sam. v. 21; 1 Chron. xiv. 12. [157.] Deut. xxiv. 16, quoted in 2 Chron. xxv. 4. [158.] 2 Sam. xxi. 19; 1 Chron. xx. 5. [159.] 1 Chron. x. 14. [160.] Cf. xi. 1-9; xii. 23-xiii. 14; xv. [161.] 1 Chron. xi. 2. [162.] 1 Chron. ii. 15. [163.] 1 Chron. xii. 1, 19. There is no certain indication of the date of the events in xi. 10-25. The fact that a “hold” is mentioned in xi. 16, as in xii. 8, 16, is not conclusive proof that they refer to the same period. [164.] xii. 20. [165.] 1 Chron. xxix. 27. [166.] xi. 10-47; xx. 4-8. [167.] xiii. 14-xvi. [168.] xvii. [169.] xviii.; xx. 3. [170.] I.e., virtually Jehovah our God and the only true God. [171.] For a more detailed treatment of this incident see chap. ix. [172.] xxi.-xxix. [173.] xxix. 20-22, 28. [174.] xvi. 8-36. [175.] xvii. 16-27. [176.] For a short exposition of this passage see Book. IV., Chap. i. [177.] 1 Chron. xi. 15-19. [178.] xxix. 20. [179.] Rom. xiv. 22. [180.] 2 Sam. xii. 31; 1 Chron. xx. 3. [181.] Hodgkin, Italy and her Invaders, i. 205. [182.] x. 14; xi. 3. [183.] xii. 38. [184.] xxix. 1, 22. [185.] xiii. 2-4. [186.] 1 Sam. xxiii. 9-13; xxx. 7, 8. [187.] xxv. 1, 2. [188.] xiii. 1. [189.] xxviii. 1. [190.] xxix. 22. [191.] But cf. 2 Chr. xxvi. [192.] Cf. xvii. 4-15 and xxviii. 2-10. [193.] xiii. 1-14. [194.] The casual reference in Jer. lii. 20 is only an apparent exception. The passage is really historical, and not prophetic. [195.] Deut. xvii. 16, 17; cf. 2 Chron. i. 14-17 and 1 Kings xi. 3-8. [196.] Psalms lxxii. and cxxvii. are attributed to him, the latter, however, only in the Hebrew Bible. [197.] Ecclus. xlvii. 12-21. [198.] Matt. xii. 42. [199.] Matt. vi. 29. [200.] Acts vii. 47. [201.] 1 Chron. xxix. 25. [202.] 2 Chron. ix. 22, 23. [203.] 2 Chron. viii. 11. [204.] Neh. xiii. 26. [205.] Such changes occur throughout, and need not be further noticed unless some special interest attaches to them. [206.] Kings v. 13; ix. 22, which seems to contradict this, is an editorial note. [207.] 2 Chron. ii. 2, 17, 18; viii. 7-10. [208.] 1 Kings ix. 11, 12. [209.] 2 Chron. viii. 1, 2, R.V. [210.] 1 Chron. xxii. 9. [211.] 1 Chron. xxix. 23, 24. [212.] 2 Chron. i. 7-13. [213.] 2 Chron. i. 14-17. [214.] v. 11, 12, peculiar to Chronicles. [215.] vi. 41, 42, peculiar to Chronicles, apparently based on Psalm cxxxii. 8-10. [216.] 1 Chron. xxi. 26; 2 Chron. vii. 1-3, both peculiar to Chronicles. [217.] vii. 8-10, mostly peculiar to Chronicles. The text in 1 Kings viii. 65 has been interpolated from Chronicles. [218.] vii. 13-15, peculiar to Chronicles. [219.] viii. 3, 4, peculiar to Chronicles. Hamath is apparently referred to as a possession of Judah in 2 Kings xiv. 28. [220.] viii. 12-16, peculiar in this form to Chronicles, but based upon 1 Kings ix. 25. [221.] ix., as in 1 Kings x. 1-13. [222.] ix. 31. [223.] ix. 28. [224.] It is not suggested that the chronicler intended to convey this impression, or that it would be felt by most of his readers. [225.] xiv. 3, 5, contradicting 1 Kings xv. 14 and apparently 2 Chron. xv. 17. [226.] xv. 8-14, peculiar to Chronicles. [227.] xv. 18, 19. [228.] xvii. 6 contradicts 1 Kings xxii. 43 and 2 Chron. xx. 33. [229.] xvii. 7-9, peculiar to Chronicles. [230.] xxiv. 1-14. [231.] xxi. 11, peculiar to Chronicles. [232.] xxv. 4. [233.] 2 Chron. xxviii. 24-xxxi., mostly peculiar to Chronicles; but compare Kings xviii. 4-7, which mentions the taking away of the high places. [234.] xxxiii. 16. [235.] xxxiv.; xxxv. [236.] xxx. 2. [237.] xxii. 1; xxiii. 1-15; xxvi. 1; xxxiii. 25; xxxvi. 1. [238.] xxv. 12. [239.] xvi. 12. [240.] xx. 37. [241.] xxiv. 20-27. [242.] xxv. 14-27. [243.] xxvi. 16-23. [244.] xxxii. 25-33. [245.] xxxv. 20-27. [246.] Milton, Hymn to the Nativity. [247.] Tennyson, In Memoriam. [248.] 2 Chron. ix. 1. [249.] Prov. xxxi. 1-9. [250.] Articles XXI. and XXXVII. [251.] Eph. ii. 12. [252.] 2 Chron. xii. 12, peculiar to Chronicles. [253.] 1 Kings xv. 3. [254.] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11-20, peculiar to Chronicles. [255.] 2 Kings xxiii. 32. [256.] 2 Kings xvi. 5. [257.] Isa. viii. 2. [258.] 2 Chron. xxxiii. 9. [259.] 2 Chron. xxxvi. 5, 8, 11. [260.] 2 Chron. xxviii. 5-15, peculiar to Chronicles; cf. 2 Kings xvi. 5, 6. [261.] 2 Chron. xxviii. 16-25, peculiar to Chronicles; cf. 2 Kings xvi. 7-18. [262.] xxviii. 27, peculiar to Chronicles. [263.] 2 Chron. xi. 13, 14, xxix. 34, xxx. 27, all peculiar to Chronicles. In xxx. 27 the text is doubtful; many authorities have “the priests and the Levites.” [264.] I.e., in the view given us by the chronicler of the period of the monarchy, after the Return the priests were far more numerous than the Levites. [265.] 1 Chron. xxvi. 30-32. [266.] 2 Chron. xix. 4-11. [267.] 2 Chron. xv. 3. In the older literature the phrase would bear a more special and technical meaning. [268.] Exod. xxxii. 26-35. [269.] Num. xxv. 3. [270.] Psalm cvi. 30, 31. [271.] 1 Chron. xii. 23-28. [272.] 1 Chron. xxvii. 5; cf. however, R.V. marg. [273.] 2 Chron. xiii. 12. [274.] 2 Chron. xxiii. 7. All the passages referred to in this paragraph are peculiar to Chronicles. [275.] Neh. iv. 17. [276.] 1 Macc. v. 67. [277.] 1 Chron. xiii. 8; xvi. 2. [278.] 1 Chron. xxix. 10-19. [279.] 2 Chron. vi. [280.] 2 Chron. xx. 4-13; xxx. 6-9, 18-21, 27. [281.] 2 Chron. xxxv. [282.] 1 Chron. xiii. 10. [283.] 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-23. [284.] 2 Chron. xxxi. 3-5. [285.] Mal. i. 8; iii. 4, 10. [286.] 2 Chron. xxxi. 10. [287.] Exod. xv. 3. [288.] Psalm lxxiv. 8, 9. This psalm is commonly regarded as Maccabæan, but may be as early as the chronicler or even earlier. [289.] 1 Macc. iv. 46. [290.] Ezra ii. 63. [291.] 2 Chron. xxix. 25, peculiar to Chronicles. [292.] 2 Chron. xii. 5-8, peculiar to Chronicles. [293.] 2 Chron. xv.-xvi. 10, peculiar to Chronicles. [294.] 2 Chron. xix. 2, 3, xx. 14-18, 37, all peculiar to Chronicles. [295.] xxi. 12-15, peculiar to Chronicles. [296.] xxiv. 18-22, peculiar to Chronicles. [297.] xiv. 15, 16, peculiar to Chronicles. [298.] 2 Kings xix. 5-7, 20-34. [299.] xxxii. 20. [300.] xxxiii. 10, 18. [301.] xxxv. 21, 22, 25, peculiar to Chronicles. [302.] 1 Esdras i. 28. [303.] Ezra v. 1; vi. 14. [304.] Neh. vi. 14. [305.] 1 Chron. xii. 18, peculiar to Chronicles. [306.] Acts ii. 30. [307.] 2 Kings iv. 42. [308.] Abbott, Through Nature to Christ, p. 295. [309.] Jer. xv. 10. [310.] Deut. xviii. 18. [311.] Ecclus. xlix. 10. [312.] R.V. “delight in” is somewhat too strong. [313.] It is, however, possible that the text in Samuel is a corruption of text more closely parallel to that of Chronicles. [314.] Noldius and R. Salom. apud Bertheau i. 1. [315.] Josh. xviii. 28; Judges i. 21, as against Josh. xv. 63; Judges i. 8, which assign the city to Judah. [316.] 1 Chron. xxvii. 23, 24. [317.] Ver. 7 is apparently a general anticipation of the narrative in vv. 9-15. [318.] Josh. v. 13. [319.] Schultz, Old Testament Theology, ii. 270. [320.] Exod. iv. 21; Josh. xi. 20; 1 Sam. xix. 9, 10; 2 Sam. xxiv. 1; 1 Kings xxii. 20-23. [321.] Prov. xvi. 4; Lam. iii. 38; Isa. xlv. 7. [322.] Zech. iii. 1. [323.] Jer. vii. 12-14; xxvi. 6. [324.] 1 Chron. xxviii. 19. [325.] Heb. vii. 14. [326.] Hos. xii. 13. [327.] Schultz, Old Testament Theology, ii. 353. [328.] 2 Chron. xxx. 6; 1 Kings xviii. 36. [329.] 1 Chron. xvi. 13, 17; Gen. xxxii. 28. [330.] Gen. xxiii. 4; cf. Psalms xxxix. 13, cxix. 19. [331.] Job viii. 9. [332.] Called, however, at that time Antonia. [333.] viii. 9. [334.] xi. 5-xii. 1, peculiar to Chronicles. [335.] xii. 2-8, 12, peculiar to Chronicles. [336.] xii. 14, peculiar to Chronicles. [337.] Ecclus. xlvii. 23. [338.] xiii. 3-22, peculiar to Chronicles. [339.] Josh. xviii. 22. [340.] Judges ix. 8. [341.] Num. xviii. 19. [342.] 2 Chron. x. 15. [343.] This verse must of course be understood to give his whole family history, and not merely that of his three years' reign. [344.] xiv. 1, 7, peculiar to Chronicles. [345.] xiv. 3-9, peculiar to Chronicles. [346.] 1 Chron. xii., etc.; 2 Chron. xi. 5 ff., xvii. 12 ff., xxvi. 9 ff. xxvii. 4 ff., xxxiii. 14. [347.] xiv. 9-15. [348.] So R.V. marg.; R.V. text (with which A.V. is in substantial agreement): “There fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves”; i.e., the routed army were never able to rally. [349.] The second reformation is dated early in Asa's fifteenth year, and Abijah only reigned three years. [350.] xv., based upon 1 Kings xv. 13-15, but the great bulk of the chapter is peculiar to Chronicles; the original passage from Kings is reproduced, with slight changes in vv. 16-18. [351.] 2 Sam. xii. 9-11. “Barak” with LXX. and Peshite; Masoretic text has “Bedan.” [352.] Judges v. 6, 7; vi. 11; viii. 15-17; ix.; xii. 1-7; xx.; xxi. [353.] Cf. 1 Kings xv. 12. [354.] 1 Chron. ix. 3. [355.] Exod. xxii. 20; Deut. xiii. 5, 9, 15. [356.] 1 Kings xv. 16, 32, 33. [357.] xvi. 7-10, peculiar to Chronicles. [358.] Isa. vii. 17. [359.] Isa. xxxi. 1; xxx. 3. [360.] Jer. ii. 36. [361.] Zech. iv. 10. [362.] The date, as before, is peculiar to Chronicles. [363.] xvi. 12b, peculiar to Chronicles. [364.] Time and Tide, xii. 67. [365.] George Eliot, Romola, xxi. [366.] Part II., Chap. IX. [367.] xvii., peculiar to Chronicles. [368.] 1 Chron. xviii. 1-3. [369.] xix. 1-3, peculiar to Chronicles. [370.] xix. 4-11, peculiar to Chronicles. [371.] Milman, Latin Christianity, Book XI., Chap. I. [372.] xx. 1-30, peculiar to Chronicles. [373.] So R.V. marg., with the LXX. The Targum has “Edomites,” the A.V. is not justified by the Hebrew, and the R.V. does not make sense. [374.] Cf. 1 Chron. iv. 41, R.V.; and 2 Chron. xxvi. 7. [375.] One Hebrew manuscript is quoted as having this reading. A.R.V., with the ordinary Masoretic text, have “Syria”; but it is simply absurd to suppose that a multitude from beyond the sea from Syria would first make their appearance on the western shore of the Dead Sea. [376.] 2 Chron. iv. 9. [377.] Ver. 9; cf. 2 Chron. vi. 28, and the whole paragraph (vv. 22-30) of which our verse is a brief abstract. [378.] Not Ziz, as A.R.V. [379.] הדרת קדש, literally, as A.R.V., “beauty of holiness”; i.e., sacred robes. Translate with R.V. marg. “praise in the beauty of holiness,” not, as A.R.V., “praise the beauty of holiness.” [380.] Exod. xiv. 30. [381.] With R.V. marg. [382.] The identification of the valley of Berachah with the valley of Jehoshaphat, close to Jerusalem and mentioned by Josephus, is a mere theory, quite at variance with the topographical evidence. [383.] Kings xxii. 48, 49. [384.] 2 Chron. xxiv. 24, peculiar to Chronicles. [385.] Psalm xx. 7. [386.] 1 Macc. ii. 35-38. [387.] xxi. 2-4, peculiar to Chronicles. [388.] Vv. 5-10; cf. 2 Kings viii. 17-22. [389.] xxi. 11-19, peculiar to Chronicles. [390.] So R.V. marg., with LXX. and Vulgate A.R.V. have “mountains,” with Masoretic text. [391.] Jer. xxix.; xxxvi. [392.] Green's Shorter History, p. 404. [393.] xxii. 1b, peculiar to Chronicles. [394.] The Hebrew original of the A.R.V., “departed without being desired,” is as obscure as the English of our versions. The most probable translation is, “He behaved so as to please no one.” The A.R.V. apparently mean that no one regretted his death. [395.] We need not discuss in detail the question of Ahaziah's age at his accession. The age of forty-two, given in 2 Chron. xxii. 2, is simply impossible, seeing that his father was only forty years old when he died. The Peshito and Arabic versions have followed 2 Kings viii. 26, and altered forty-two to twenty-two; and the LXX. reads twenty years. But twenty-two years still presents difficulties. According to this reading, Ahaziah, Jehoram's youngest son, was born when his father was only eighteen, and Jehoram having had several sons before the age of eighteen, had none afterwards. [396.] xiii. 7a, peculiar to Chronicles. [397.] Cf. p. 20. [398.] Cf. xxv. 2 with 2 Kings xiv. 4, xxvi. 4 with 2 Kings xv. 4, xxvii. 2 with 2 Kings xv. 34, where similar statements are omitted by the chronicler. [399.] 2 Kings xii. 9. [400.] Exod. xxx. 11-16. [401.] Neh. x. 32. [402.] xxiv. 14-22, peculiar to Chronicles. [403.] Curiously enough, Jehoiada's name does not occur in the list of high-priests in 1 Chron. vi. 1-12. [404.] 1 Chron. xxviii. 9; 2 Chron. vii. 19, xii. 5, xiii. 10, xv. 2, xxi. 10, xxviii. 6, xxix. 6, xxxiv. 25. [405.] Cf. 2 Kings xii. 17, 18, of which this narrative is probably an adaptation. [406.] xxv. 5-13, peculiar to Chronicles, except that the account of the war with Edom is expanded from the brief note in Kings. Cf. ver. 11b with 2 Kings xiv. 7. [407.] In the phrase “from Samaria to Beth-horon,” “Samaria” apparently means the northern kingdom, and not the city, i.e., from the borders of Samaria; the chronicler has fallen into the nomenclature of his own age. [408.] For the discussion of the chronicler's account of Ahaz see Book III., Chap. VII. [409.] So R.V. marg., with LXX., Targum, Syriac and Arabic versions, Talmud, Rashi, Kimchi, and some Hebrew manuscripts (Bertheau, i. 1). A.R.V., “had understanding in the visions” (R.V. vision) “of God.” The difference between the two Hebrew readings is very slight. Vv. 5-20, with the exception of the bare fact of the leprosy are peculiar to Chronicles. [410.] Cf. Ezek. xxvi. 9. [411.] Pliny, vii. 56 apud Smith's Bible Dictionary. [412.] Num. xviii. 7; Exod. xxx. 7. [413.] Kimchi interprets “those days” as meaning “after the death of Jotham.” [414.] The reference to the wall of Ophel is peculiar to Chronicles: indeed, Ophel is only mentioned in Chronicles and Nehemiah; it was the southern spur of Mount Moriah (Neh. iii. 26, 27). Vv. 3b-7 are also peculiar to Chronicles. [415.] This is usually understood as Nisan, the first month of the ecclesiastical year. [416.] xxix. 3-xxxi. 21 (the cleansing of the Temple and accompanying feast, Passover, organisation of the priests and Levites) are substantially peculiar to Chronicles, though in a sense they expand 2 Kings xviii. 4-7, because they fulfil the commandments which Jehovah commanded Moses. [417.] Exod. vi. 18, 22; Num. iii. 30, mention Elizaphan as a descendant of Kohath. [418.] So Strack-Zockler, i. 1. [419.] Lev. i. 6. [420.] According to 2 Kings xviii. 10, Samaria was not taken till the sixth year of Hezekiah's reign. It is not necessary for an expositor of Chronicles to attempt to harmonise the two accounts. [421.] Cf xxx. 11, 18. [422.] xxx. 14; cf. 2 Kings xviii. 4. The chronicler omits the statement that Hezekiah destroyed Moses's brazen serpent, which the people had hitherto worshipped. His readers would not have understood how this corrupt worship survived the reforms of pious kings and priests who observed the law of Moses. [423.] Cf. xxix. 34, xxx. 3. [424.] Lev. xv. 31. [425.] So Bertheau, i. 1, slightly paraphrasing. [426.] A.R.V., with Masoretic text, “the priests the Levites”; LXX., Vulg. Syr., “the priests and the Levites.” The former is more likely to be correct. The verse is partly an echo of Deut. xxvi. 15, so that the chronicler naturally uses the Deuteronomic phrase “the priests the Levites”; but he probably does so unconsciously, without intending to make any special claim for the Levites: hence I have omitted the word in the text. [427.] xxxii. 2-8, peculiar to Chronicles. [428.] xxxii. 30. [429.] xxxiii. 11-19, peculiar to Chronicles. [430.] So R.V.: A.V., “among the thorns”; R.V. marg., “with hooks”, if so in a figurative sense. Others take the word as a proper name: Hohim. [431.] Ezek. xviii. 20. [432.] Peter iv. 18. [433.] Ezek. xviii. 21-23. [434.] Psalm cxxx. 4, probably belonging to about the same period as Chronicles. [435.] 1 Chron. xxiii. 26, peculiar to Chronicles. [436.] 2 Chron. vii. 5. The figures are peculiar to Chronicles; 1 Kings viii. 5 says that the victims could not be counted. [437.] Jehoiachin. The ordinary reading in 2 Kings xxiv. makes him eighteen. [438.] 2 xxxvi. 6b, peculiar to Chronicles. [439.] Mostly peculiar to Chronicles.