Na.me. — The name of Chronicles in Hebrew is Dihk^rf ITayt/fimSm (c'T.'C '■';i), a |ihr.a.se occurring frequently in K and Ch with the meaning onnci/,*, or rerorih of such and such a king (lit. the arts of t/ie r/ay.i of, etc.). The LXX (followed by the Vulg.) adopted the name T4 Uapa\enrineva, of doubtful meaning ; the usual inter^iretation is of things passed over, by Sam. and Kings, but this
does not explain the present tense of the participle. The En", name Chronicles is a fairly good trans- lation of the Heb. name. It can be traced back to Jerome (Prologus Galeat. ; introduction prefixed to his trans, of S and K) : 'Septimus [liber] Dabre Ajamim (d-d-.t nan), id est verba dierum, quod signiticantius XponKiK totius divinaj historiae pos- sumus appellare. Qui liber apud nos llafiaKetToiUyuii primus et secimdus inscribitur' (Migne, Hicron., ed. Vallarsi, ix. 554).
Contents.— The period embraced in Ch extends from Adam to the Restoration of the Jews under Cyrus.
(1) 1 Ch 1-9 contain chiefly genealogies (begin- ning 'Adam, Seth, Enosh '), coming down through Noah's sons, and then particularly through the line of Shem to Esau and Israel and their sons, with their descendants. The last twelve w. of ch. 1 contain a list of Edomitish kings and chiefs. In the various genealogies many problems arise, due in part to defective text, in part to lack of completeness in the tables, in part to a confusion between names of persons and names of places and peoi>le3. Brief narratives, from various periods, are interspersed among the genealogies (e.g. 2^ 4». 10. «^« 5^. 10. 18-ffl. as. .8). The last genealogy in this collection, 9*"" (repeated, with some dilterences, from 8^"*), makes a kind of transition to the following section.
(2) a. 1 Ch 10-29 are concerned with David's reign, the introduction being the last battle and the death of Saul (ch. 10), and the conclu.sion the accession of Solomon (23' 28»"- 29--''-). b. 2 Ch 1-9 are devoted to Solomon's reign, c. 2 Ch 10-36 contain the history of the kingdom of Judah down to the fall of Jerus., with the division of the kingiioiiis as preface, and the Uestoration-edict of Cyrus as ap|ieiidix, or, more exactly, as intro- duction to the history of the Kestoration and the early Jewish community given in Ezr-Neh. (On the parallels, see below.)
Style. — The style of Ch is strongly marked. The genealogical lists, the religious interests, and the edifying tendency of the author (see below) of themselves impart a certain tone to it ; thus there is often comparative brevity and lack of precision in describing external affairs, — even such important ones as the temple-building, Sennacherib's invasion, and the fall of Jerus., ^while pedi-jrees, speeches, and matters relating to ritual are given at length. Other essential features of it area peculiar vocabu- lary, peculiar syntactical habits, and noteworthy idiosyncrasies in pliraseology (see esp. Driver, LOT 50211., and C. C. Torrey, Ezra-Nehemiah).
The following words and phrases occur (in Heb.) only in Ch (incl. Ezr-Neh), and in writings certainly still later (Est, Dn, Ec, I's-titles)* :—
1. S;t< howbeit, but, t 2 Ch 1* 19" 33", Ezr 10"; also Dn 10'- ■".
2. m:K letter, t 2 Ch 30>- «, Neh 2'- »• » 6» "■ '» ; also Est 9=«'^.
3. p.nx purple, T 2 Ch 2' (Heb. v.'), cf. Aram. t(;\ptf t)n 5'- ''■ -'; — the more common Heb. \~p,tf is most frequently late, and occurs in 2 Ch 2" 3'*.
4. nis^(< laruis, as a designation of the territory of Israel, T 2 Ch 15° ; this territory is certainly included (if not solely designated) in Ezr 3' (text dub.) 9'"-", Neh 10-^(Heb. v.'*') ; even Ski?" nimK
1 Ch 13^; nnm; n'lriK 2 Ch 11^; Sxi.if -.z^ xei ms^ttn-S;
2 Ch 34''. (The pi. form niinK is chiefly late in' all senses.)
5. pa, p bijssus, T 1 Ch 4" 15" (but emend after 2 S C"), 2 th 2" (Hell. v.'») 3" 5" ; also Est 1« ; it occurs also MT Ezk 27" but del. (5 Cornill.
• In this ftrt. the ttitrn t IndicaU-a Ihftt alt the pasjyipes am cited in wliich a, pnrlicular word or plinuo occurH. 43 = Or. version o( hXX. (BLBLucian'8 reconuion. ffi = Svr. viTnion (I'tshUta). U = Vulgat«.
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CHRONICLES, I. AND II
390
~6 n,3 ,noU, T 2 Ch 14" 25» 28". Ezr 9', Neh 4* (Heb. '3»)'= alsJ Dn 11- ». Est Q- - ' ,
7 na skilled, skilled (m), T.l Ch ^^ :% ,^'' 2 Ch 34" (other kindred meanings are chiefly late).
1^: TnZln^^ n"; i' o b^n 10" (cf Aram..
. ^^V-"^"n ;^ShT6"^»«%^'45»t»'-'2^^^^^^^ ^fr-; k''2^\2 CWS E^ J.-. -4" t Ezr 3", Neh 5" : ^^n abs., T 1 Ch 23», 2 Ch 7 » 23" aO" 3P, Neh 12«. , ,,
14. nji Hiph. reyect, t 1 Ch 28», 2 Ch 11 ^9 •
15. Al cZe out, appear, of leprosy^. T 2 Ch 26 .
16. B^-en? binders, jotnts, l},^,^Y\9ChlS^-»-
17. pio Uitnp. sq. jw „, ^g9 ^ gq. Dy=A«W strongly with, 1 Ch 11 . -s ».>a lo . «"
^'l8^.*^., = royal P^eM 2 Ch 12;26..; also Dn U.
19. nnn;03/, t 1 Ch IB'', ^eh »
20. B>o fie «oA;, T 2 Ch 16'» (usually rhr}).
occurs t f r 18^*, 2 tih 21"^ 22