History:
1 Chronicles

It begins rather hopelessly from a modern reader's perspective.  For nine full chapters of 1 Chronicles, we encounter what must seem to be the dullest and driest of material:  genealogies.  Only then does the story shift to the life of King David.  Yet here too the modern reader might be disappointed.  After all, the King David of Chronicles is not the slayer of Goliath or the adulterer turned killer condemned by Nathan.  No, this is a sanitized King David.  In Chronicles, we see a hopeful history of Israel penned for the returning exiles.  What once was, the Chronicler seems to say, can be again if Israel will renew its covenant with the Lord.

Left: David dances before the ark as it is returned to Jerusalem.

 

The Bare Facts

Who: The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles were written by an author known as the Chronicler.  That's simple enough.  Since the last verses of 2 Chroniclers are nearly identical with the first ones of Ezra, the writers of the Talmud identified Ezra as the Chronicler.  The books make it clear that whoever the Chronicler was, he worked from various historical sources.Where:  If Ezra or a contemporary is taken as the author, then we can reasonably assume that these books were penned in or around Jerusalem.When:  The contents of the books make it clear that they were not completed until after the Babylonian captivity.  A growing consensus of scholars places the books in the second half of the fifth century B.C.

What:  The Chronicler, writing for the population who had returned from exile, focused not so much on the sins of the past as on the continuation of tradition and the hope of a glorious future built on that tradition and the covenant relationship that underlay it.  First Chronicles deals with the reign of David after a long and rather dull (to modern ears) genealogy.

Also Known As: Paralipomenon (Catholic); Divrei Yamim A (Jewish)

Memorable Passages
4:9-10	The Prayer of Jabez

Overviews and Outlines

An Introduction to First and Second Chronicles

An outlined introduction by David Malick.

An Argument of First and Second Chronicles

One of David Malick's rhetorical outlines.

First and Second Book of Chronicles

An introductory commentary by Arend Remmers.

Bible Basics

A very brief list of facts, but it includes a wav file pronouncing the book's title.

Easton Bible Dictionary: Chronicles, Books of

The article from M.G. Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary.

Catholic Encyclopedia: Paralipomenon (Chronicles)

The appropriate entry from the public domain edition of this venerable reference work.

Columbia Encyclopedia: Chronicles

A brief article from the 2001 edition of this reference work.

Bible Explained

This is a commentary by an energetic fellow named Ted Wade.  He provides brief notes on each chapter and most verses for the entire Bible.

Luther Productions

A very brief overview including key verses.

The Blue Letter Bible

An excellent source for text, cross-references, concordance, language helps, commentaries, and more.

Jewish Encyclopedia

An article from the 1901-06 reference work.  Generally liberal in its critical presuppositions.

JPS Bible

The JPS 1917 Bible text and another Jewish version.  There are links that supposedly go to two Hebrew and one Aramaic text but they don't seem to work.

Bible Studies: Whole Book

Love the Lord Bible Studies: 1 Chronicles

A 32-lesson study with questions from an Arkansas-based ministry.  They seem orthodox enough, although the statement of faith makes me wonder if they're not into prosperity gospel teachings.

Meditations on the First Book of Chronicles

An outline and commentary by H.L. Rossier.

Geneva Notes

In 1599, English Puritans, working in Geneva, published the first study Bible.  These are the notes from that edition.

Coffman's Commentary

A verse-by-verse commentary by Dr. James Burton Coffman, a leading Church of Christ scholar.

Matthew Henry's Commentary

The chapter-by-chapter 1712 commentary by the great English Puritan writer..

John Wesley Notes

Over his career, the founder of Methodism maintained notes on the entire Bible.

JFB Commentary

The comments of Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown from Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871).

Clarke's Commentary

The first chapter for this book from Adam Clarke's nineteenth-century commentary.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The commentary of the 17th century Baptist theologian and preacher.

Class Notes on Sacred History

An 1893 commentary by J.W. McGarvey.

Scofield Reference Notes

The notes from the 1917 edition of the great study Bible.  From a dispensationalist viewpoint.

Old Testament Life and Literature

Gerald Larue's 1968 overview of the Old Testament is, oddly enough, hosted at an atheist website.  Larue is decidedly liberal in his outlook.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

A combination brief commentary and thorough cross-reference.  Developed by R.A. Torrey.

The Jerome Bible Commentary

A commentary by a Catholic doctor, Jerome Dominguez, M.D.  Is English isn't perfect, but you have to admire his energy.  Although Catholic in orientation, this source has some good material for study.

Bible Studies: Part of Book

The Prayer of Jabez (4:9-10)

A study of the prayer by Hugo Bouter

Prayer for Increase--Jabez

An address given by Frank Wallace.

Morning and Evening (4:22)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.

Morning and Evening (4:23)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.

Morning and Evening (5:22)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.

Morning and Evening (9:33)

One of C.H. Spurgeon's devotions.

Dancing Lessons from King David (ch. 13-16)

An article by Bruce Guenther.

1 Chronicles 23-29

A short study by William Kelly.

Conceptions of Davidic Hope in Ezekiel, Zechariah, Haggai, and the Chronicles

The final lesson from the six-part series Regal Images from Scripture by Greg Herrick.

Sermons

1 Chronicles: David and the Ark of God

The appropriate sermon from Ray C. Stedman's Adventuring through the Bible series.

C.H. Spurgeon

A listing of sermons, some of which are available online, by the great British Baptist.

Sermon Outlines

Links to sermon outlines from SermonLinks.

Articles, Books, and Bibliographies

The Ethical Appeal of Chronicles and the Ethics of the Chronicler

An article from Queen, a rhetoric journal, by Rodney Duke.

Selected Bibliography of the Books of Chronicles

A brief list of sources compiled by David Malick.

Two-Age Bibliography

A list of recommended sources, mostly scholarly in nature, provided by a website devoted to the "Redemptive Historical" school of theology.

Oxford Bibliography

A brief list of sources from the Theology School at Oxford University.