13 Facts Concerning First Chronicles

1. Like 1st and 2nd Kings 1st and 2nd Chronicles was also at one time one text. It was first divided by Greek translators in the second century B.C.

2. The english title comes from Chronicon, the name given by the Latin translator Jerome. The original Greek name of the text was “Events of the Days”.

3. The text answers important questions for the Israelites once they returned to Israel from their captivity.

4. In order to answer many questions such as….Did they still fit into God’s plan? Were the promises of God still applicable to them? What religious and political institutions were important? and What lessons from the past could they learn from to keep from making the same mistakes?.....a concise history was needed. Chronicles was that history.

5. The long genealogies at the beginning of Chronicles show that God cares for persons as individuals.

6. Salvation is taught in Chronicles in David’s psalm of Thankgiving when the ark of the covenant was finally moved into a tent in chapter 16. The painting with this post is King David. It was painted by Domenico Zampier in the 1500s.

7. Family lines are given in the text to show the Messianic promise of a son of David to rule over Israel.

8. The events in Chronicles occurred during David’s reign (about 1010-970 B.C.)

9. The author is unknown, however, many scholars think Ezra wrote it about 450 B.C.

10. Some of the themes of Chronicles are Davidic Dynasty, temple, blessing of obedience, and punishment of disobedience.

11. The phrase “all Israel” is repeated througout the text because the author was attempting to emphasize to his initial audience that they were God’s people.

12. One of the most striking characteristics of Chronicles is the variety of name lists. Some lists are geneologies, some are lists of warriors, the devisions of the Levites, the divisions of the Priests, musicians, gatekeepers, and secular officials.

13. There are two major divisions in the text. Chapters 1-9 are the genealogies and chapters 10-29 discuss David’s reign.

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