The Chronicler As Author

"This collection of 16 essays deals with Chronicles as literature and investigates the work in terms of its literary sources, the techniques by which it was constructed and its perspective advanced, how early readers may have encountered it, and the value of several contemporary reading strategies for making its voice heard clearly once more. Methodological articles explore the contributions of various techniques of literary analysis, while others explore important themes in Chronicles, elaborate its use of other parts of Scripture or focus on specific texts to provide examples of literary criticism."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

The thirteen essays in this volume are largely revised papers which were originally presented as part of the Ancient Historiography Seminar of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and they investigate particular texts of Chronicles, examine central themes, and consider future prospects for Chronicles study. The volume includes chapters by Shannon E. Baines, Ehud Ben Zvi, Mark J. Boda, Keith Bodner, Paul S. Evans, Louis Jonker, Gary N. Knoppers, Christine Mitchell, Peter J. Sabo, Steven J. Schweitzer, and John W. Wright. The essays represent many different perspectives, methodologies, and conclusions regarding the Chronicler's work and this volume will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Chronicles, ancient Israelite historiography and biblical literature in general.

This volume of essays, dedicated to the late Raymond B. Dillard, addresses the question, 'Was the Chronicler a Historian?' It includes profiles of the diverse kinds of material found in Chronicles, and assesses their value for the reconstruction of the history of ancient Israel. This collection represents the best of recent scholarship on a subject that is generating intense discussion in biblical research.

Since the Book of Chronicles is increasingly studied on its own, and not as a copy of 1-2 Samuel and 1-2, this study treats the various aspects and themes of this rich document. It provides an analysis of specific texts and topics uncovering the Chronicler's permanent creativity to transform Israel's tradition(s) into a new theological and ideological system of its own.

Martin Noth's study of the Chronicler's History may not be so widely known as his celebrated Deuteronomistic History (published by JSOT Press in English translation in 1981). However, as Williamson argues in his introduction, written specially to accompany this translation, it was a most significant contribution to the study of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, and a translation of it has been long overdue. In view of the recent revival of interest in this body of literature, it is important that English-speaking readers should have first-hand access to one of the seminal studies in this field.

Daily life in Ancient Israel - Great prophets including, Hosea, Amos, Isaiah - People and lands of the Old Testament.

On the rooftop of a theater in an African port, a ten-year-old boy lies slowly dying of bullet wounds. He is Nelio, a leader of street kids, rumored to be a healer and a prophet, and possessed of a strangely ancient wisdom. One of the millions of poor people ''forced to eat life raw,'' Nelio tells his unforgettable story over the course of nine nights. After bandits cruelly raze his village, he joins the legions of abandoned children living in the city's streets. An act of the imagination, an effort to prove to his comrades that life must be more than mere survival, cuts short Nelio's life.

The fifteen articles in this volume, arising from work in the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, engage with the author's thought and message through analysis of certain critical texts or by identifying and tracing larger themes through the work. The collection follows The Chronicler as Historian and The Chronicler as Author. Like these previous volumes, this book also endeavours to show the diverse approaches employed in Chronicles scholarship. Contributors: Robert H. Smith, Allen W. Mueller, Gary N. Knoppers, Gerrie F. Snyman, Ehud Ben Zvi, Philip Abadie, Mark A. Throntveit, Leslie C. Allen, Christopher T. Begg, Roddy L. Braun, John C. Endres, Isaac Kalimi, Brian E. Kelly, William M. Schniedewind and John W. Wright.

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.

In this insightful, readable commentary, Michael Wilcock shows how the various characters in Chronicles make vivid the truth by which the Lord's people in every generation are to live. This thoughtful exposition on Chronicles sheds light on great overall pattern of God's hand in history, making the book come alive for students, teachers, and anyone seeking to delve deeper in the text.