this time tiie afEdn of each king*s rdgn were re^gokr- ly recorded in a book called at first "the book of the acts of Solomon" (Ttt^xi "^^a? "Ifib, 1 Kin^ xi, 41), by the name of the king, as before of Dmvid, but after wards in both kingdoms by the general name of dma- ides, as in the constantly-recurring formnlJ^ '^Kov the rest of the acts (Q'^'^nn) of Behoboam, AbQam, etc. ; Jeroboam, Nadab, ett., are they not wiilUsii m the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Jadah^ at "of Israel" (1 Kings xiv, 28; xv, 7, etc)? Th» continues to the end of Jehoiakim's reign, a* appears ftt>m 2 Kings xxiv, 6; S^Chron. xxxvi, 8. It wai doubtless from this common source that the pasaaget in the books of Samuel and Kings identical with the books of Chronicles we^e derived. All these eevenl works have perished, but the most important matten in them have been providentially presenred to as k the Chronicles.
VII. Ducrtpancies and Contradietiotu, — ^The CTe£- bOity of the books of Chronicles has been greatly con- tested by rationalistic writers, but by none with more tenacity than De Wette, first in his Beiirage tur £m^ Ititung (Halle, 1806, i, 1-182), and subsequenUy in the successive editions of his JEWifetftoi^, where* he hat brought together eveiy sort of difficulty and alleged contradiction, many of which rest only on assnmp- tions which would not be tolerated if applied to any other than a Biblical writer. It indeed cannot be de- nied that many difficulties do exist in this portion of Scripture, and not a few apparent contradictiona be- tween its statements and those of the other historical books, particularly as regards proper names and mm- bers ; but these, even if they cannot be sattsfacton- ly exphiined, scarcely warrant calling in qocetion the sincerity or the credibility of the writer. Thoa, fer instance, it is objected that 1 Chron. ii, 6 is a ftlse combination of 1 Kings v, 11 [iv, 81] ; but nothing is more common than the recurrence of the same nam« in different fieunilies and tribes, and at different peri- ods; and although H&vemick unnecessarily a^nitE that some of the names in the two passages are identi- cal, it would certainly indicate rare confusion on the part of the writer of the Chronicles to bring together Umes and persons so far apart from one another. Ethan the Ezrahite, of the family of Herari (1 Chron. vi, 29 [44]), was one of David's masters of song (1 Chron. xv, 17), and the author of Psa. Ixxxiz. He- man, also an Ezrahite, and author of Psa. Ixxxvni, was a leader of David's sacred choir (1 Chron. xr, 17), and it is utterly inconceivable that persons, as it would appear, so well known to the writer of the Chronidca, should so inconsiderately be reckoned among the pos- terity of Judah, and assigned to a time so long ante- cedent to that of David. See Hkman.
There are, however, real difficulties, particularly in the genealogical tables, and also in various nnm^ical statements, and these, it may be supposed, aroae in a great measure from corruption of the text ; for it is in such cases that there is the greatest facility for the rise and the perpetuation of false readings, the context affi>rding little aid for their detection, or rectification if detected. The text of the Chronicles ftimishes many instances of such corruptions, although in cev^ eral cases, where it differs frx)m the corresponding pas- sages in the books of Samuel and of Kings, it is just as possible that it shows the true reading. A remark- able case is 1 Chron. vi, 18 [28], "And the sons of Samuel, the first-bom Vashni and Abiah," comp. with 1 Sam. viii, 2, " Now the name of his first-bom was Joel, and the name of his second Abiah." It is easr to see how this contradiction has arisen. The name Joel had fallen out of 1 Chron. vi, 18, and some tran- scriber, seeing the necessity for some name after ** the first-bom," transformed *^31^n|l (veJuxik-ehemy, **attd the second," into a proper name, Vashni. The miff- take is as old as the Sept. — o x/Ottrrorocof £a>«( coi
CHRONICLES
291
CHRONICLES
'Afitd, The Syriac and AiaUc read as in Samnel {Jomr. of Sac Lit. April, 1862, p. 196).
(1.) Passages where the readings in Chronicles are obyVmsly corrupt; sometimes the work itself showing the erroneousness of the reading, e. g. 2 (^hron. iii, 16 ; iy, 6, compared with 1 Kings Til, 16, 26, etc
(2.) Passages where the correct reading is that of the Chronicles. The father of Amasa is designated in 1 Chion. ii, 17, '* Jether, the IthmadUef in 2 Sam. xrii, 25, '* Ithra, an IsraeUie,** Examples of numer- ical statements: 1 Chron. xriii, 4, compared with 2 Sam. Tiii, 4 ; 1 Chron. xiz, 18, oomp. with 2 Sam. x, 18 ; 1 Chion. xxi, 12, with 2 Sam. xxiv, 18 ; 2 Chron. ill, 16. and 1 Kings vii, 16, with 2 Kings xxv, 17, where the Inight of the ** chapiters'* on the brasen pillars, as given in the first two passages, is confirmed by Jer. 1H,22; 2 Chron. ix, 26, compared with 1 Kings iv, 26; 1 Chron. i^ 11, compared with 2 Sam. xxtii, 8; 2 Chron. xxri, 1, 8, 8, etc comp. with 2 Kings xt, 1, 6, etc