(1) Samuel’s second son, who, along with his older brother Joel, served as judge in Beersheba, but whose corruption drove Israel’s elders to ask Samuel to appoint a king (1 Sam. 8:2–5). (2) Son of Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom (930–909 BC). He died as a boy, in accordance with Ahijah’s prophecy, because of Jeroboam’s idolatry (1 Kings 14:1–18). (3) Son of Rehoboam, called “Abijam” in 1 Kings 15:1–8. He was the second king of the southern kingdom (913–910 BC). He followed in his father’s sinful footsteps but was allowed to rule for David’s sake. His reign was marked by warfare against Jeroboam, which is recounted in more detail and in a more positive light in 2 Chron. 13:1–22 (Abijah defeated Jeroboam, and the Lord struck Jeroboam down). He is listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (1:7). (4) The mother of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:1 [“Abi” in 2 Kings 18:2, the parallel passage]). (5) The wife of Hezron in the genealogy of Caleb (1 Chron. 2:24 [though some emend the name away; cf. NAB]). (6) A son of Becher, a descendant of Benjamin (1 Chron. 7:8). (7) The leader of the eighth of the twenty-four divisions of priests serving in the temple (1 Chron. 24:10). (8) One of the priests in Nehemiah’s time who signed a pledge to lead Israel in covenant obedience (Neh. 10:7). See also Abi; Abijam.

(1) Samuel’s second son, who, along with his older brother Joel, served as judge in Beersheba, but whose corruption drove Israel’s elders to ask Samuel to appoint a king (1 Sam. 8:2–5). (2) Son of Jeroboam, the first king of the northern kingdom (930–909 BC). He died as a boy, in accordance with Ahijah’s prophecy, because of Jeroboam’s idolatry (1 Kings 14:1–18). (3) Son of Rehoboam, called “Abijam” in 1 Kings 15:1–8. He was the second king of the southern kingdom (913–910 BC). He followed in his father’s sinful footsteps but was allowed to rule for David’s sake. His reign was marked by warfare against Jeroboam, which is recounted in more detail and in a more positive light in 2 Chron. 13:1–22 (Abijah defeated Jeroboam, and the Lord struck Jeroboam down). He is listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (1:7). (4) The mother of Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:1 [“Abi” in 2 Kings 18:2, the parallel passage]). (5) The wife of Hezron in the genealogy of Caleb (1 Chron. 2:24 [though some emend the name away; cf. NAB]). (6) A son of Becher, a descendant of Benjamin (1 Chron. 7:8). (7) The leader of the eighth of the twenty-four divisions of priests serving in the temple (1 Chron. 24:10). (8) One of the priests in Nehemiah’s time who signed a pledge to lead Israel in covenant obedience (Neh. 10:7). See also Abi; Abijam.

One of three sons of Caleb by his wife Azubah (1 Chron. 2:18).

Son of either Hezron or Caleb (1 Chron. 2:24). The Hebrew text suggests that he was conceived in Caleb Ephrathah, while other ancient versions suggest that he was born to Caleb and Ephrathah after the death of Hezron. If the latter is correct, he may be identified as the same person as Hur in 1 Chron. 2:19. He also perhaps established the village of Tekoa, since he is identified as the “father” or “founder” of Tekoa (1 Chron. 2:24; 4:5).

(1) The wife of Caleb who bore him three sons (1 Chron. 2:18–19). (2) The mother of King Jehoshaphat and daughter of Shilhi (1 Kings 22:42; 2 Chron. 20:31).

(1) One of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land by Moses (Num. 13:1–14:45). He represented the tribe of Judah. When the spies returned, they reported that the land was beautiful and fertile, flowing with “milk and honey.” However, they also described the inhabitants as fearsome and dangerous. The majority of the spies gave a counsel of despair, saying, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are” (Num. 13:31). Caleb, supported by Joshua of Ephraim, gave a minority report, advising that they attack the land. The advice of the ten spies convinced the people who lacked faith in God’s ability to give them victory. In response to their complaints, God determined that the generation of Israelites who came out of Egypt would die in the wilderness. Thus, they spent forty years wandering before they were permitted to enter the land. The faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua, were exceptions, the only ones in their generation allowed to actually enter the Promised Land.

Caleb was forty when he served as a spy and eighty-five at the time the land began to be distributed to the tribes. Caleb came forward and asked that Joshua give him the land around Hebron. To actually possess the city, he successfully drove out the dreaded Anakites, who particularly put terror in the hearts of the Israelites (Josh. 14:6–15; 15:13–15).

(2) A descendant of Ju­dah through Perez and Hezron (1 Chron. 2:9, 18–20).

A place mentioned only in 1 Chron. 2:24 as the location where Hezron, the father of Caleb, died. Some have suggested that Caleb Ephrathah may have been the place where Caleb and his wife Ephrath (1 Chron. 2:19) lived, possibly Bethlehem (see Mic. 5:2). Others, however, preferring the LXX reading, see Eprathah as a woman: “After the death of Hez­ron, Caleb went in to Ephrathah” (cf. ESV, NET).

“Ephrathah” (NIV), “Ephratah” (KJV), and “Ephrath” (both versions) represent variant spellings of the same Hebrew word. The word can designate a person, a location, or a clan and familial designation related to both the person and the location.

(1) Ephrath was the wife of Caleb (the great-grandson of Judah) and the mother of Hur (1 Chron. 2:19, 50). Hur, the son of Ephrathah, is called the “father of Bethlehem” (1 Chron. 4:4), perhaps denoting civic leadership.

(2) Ephrath is the location where Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, died giving birth to Benjamin while they were in the process of moving from Bethel to Bethlehem (Gen. 35:16, 19). Genesis 35:19 adds the editorial comment that Ephrath is the same location as Bethlehem, although it is possible that the two were separate towns at first and that only later Ephrath was absorbed into Bethlehem. This story and its identification of Ephrath with Bethlehem is repeated in Gen. 48:7 when Jacob blesses his children before his death. By the time of the prophet Micah, the two place names had become synonymous. Micah’s famous messianic promise that the ruler would come from a small town, and not Jerusalem, praised “Bethlehem Ephrathah” (Mic. 5:2).

(3) David, when preparing to fight Goliath, is recorded as “the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse” (1 Sam. 17:12). Later in the same chapter David says that he is a son of “Jesse of Bethlehem” (1 Sam. 17:58). Thus, the designation between location and being a descendant of Ephrath is blurred (of course, most members of a clan would have lived closely together). This is also the case in Ruth 1:2 when Naomi’s husband and sons are recorded as being Ephrathites from Bethlehem, thus tying the name “Ephrathah” to the geographic location of Bethlehem (see also Ruth 4:11). Similarly, Caleb’s name is associated with Ephrathah in 1 Chron. 2:24, where it is recorded that Hezron, Caleb’s father, dies at Caleb Ephrathah. Because “Caleb Ephrathah” is an unusual place name (cf. KJV: “Calebephratah”; NRSV: “Caleb-ephrathah”) and the Hebrew syntax of this verse is awkward, some prefer to emend the text, giving, for example, “After the death of Hezron, Caleb had relations with Ephrathah, the widow of his father Hezron, and she bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (NAB).

“Ephrathah” (NIV), “Ephratah” (KJV), and “Ephrath” (both versions) represent variant spellings of the same Hebrew word. The word can designate a person, a location, or a clan and familial designation related to both the person and the location.

(1) Ephrath was the wife of Caleb (the great-grandson of Judah) and the mother of Hur (1 Chron. 2:19, 50). Hur, the son of Ephrathah, is called the “father of Bethlehem” (1 Chron. 4:4), perhaps denoting civic leadership.

(2) Ephrath is the location where Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, died giving birth to Benjamin while they were in the process of moving from Bethel to Bethlehem (Gen. 35:16, 19). Genesis 35:19 adds the editorial comment that Ephrath is the same location as Bethlehem, although it is possible that the two were separate towns at first and that only later Ephrath was absorbed into Bethlehem. This story and its identification of Ephrath with Bethlehem is repeated in Gen. 48:7 when Jacob blesses his children before his death. By the time of the prophet Micah, the two place names had become synonymous. Micah’s famous messianic promise that the ruler would come from a small town, and not Jerusalem, praised “Bethlehem Ephrathah” (Mic. 5:2).

(3) David, when preparing to fight Goliath, is recorded as “the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse” (1 Sam. 17:12). Later in the same chapter David says that he is a son of “Jesse of Bethlehem” (1 Sam. 17:58). Thus, the designation between location and being a descendant of Ephrath is blurred (of course, most members of a clan would have lived closely together). This is also the case in Ruth 1:2 when Naomi’s husband and sons are recorded as being Ephrathites from Bethlehem, thus tying the name “Ephrathah” to the geographic location of Bethlehem (see also Ruth 4:11). Similarly, Caleb’s name is associated with Ephrathah in 1 Chron. 2:24, where it is recorded that Hezron, Caleb’s father, dies at Caleb Ephrathah. Because “Caleb Ephrathah” is an unusual place name (cf. KJV: “Calebephratah”; NRSV: “Caleb-ephrathah”) and the Hebrew syntax of this verse is awkward, some prefer to emend the text, giving, for example, “After the death of Hezron, Caleb had relations with Ephrathah, the widow of his father Hezron, and she bore him Ashhur, the father of Tekoa” (NAB).

(1) An agricultural region east of the Sea of Galilee, settled about 2000 BC, whose population was not expelled during the Israelite conquest (Josh. 13:11, 13) and increased in the eleventh century BC. As an independent Aramean kingdom, Geshur allied with David when he married the Geshurite princess Maakah (2 Sam. 3:3). Their son Absalom lived in Geshur for three years after killing his half brother Amnon (2 Sam. 13:37–38). Geshur later allied with Aram-Damascus to capture Israelite territory in Gilead (1 Chron. 2:22–23), but it was decimated by the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III in 734 BC. (2) A region south of Philistia mentioned in Josh. 13:2 as territory yet to be taken in the Israelite conquest, but later won by David while he was among the Philistines (1 Sam. 27:8–11).

A group of Amorite villages captured by the Manassehite Jair (Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14) during the Israelite conquest of the land east of the Jordan River. The name means “the villages of (the person) Jair.” These villages were located in the Bashan region east of Galilee. Moses granted these villages to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:13). Curiously, the sons of a later Gileadite judge, also named “Jair,” are said to have controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which are also called “Havvoth Jair” (Judg. 10:4), apparently implying a connection between the judge Jair and the naming of the region.

The number of villages that comprised the region appears to fluctuate somewhat throughout Israelite history. Some biblical texts (Deut. 3:13–14; Josh. 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13) indicate that Havoth Jair consisted of sixty villages, while Judg. 10:4 seems to view thirty villages comprising the region (associated with the thirty sons of the Gileadite judge). Alternatively, 1 Chron. 2:22 indicates that Jair comprised twenty-three villages, which together with the surrounding villages of Kenath total sixty villages (1 Chron. 2:23). This may be due to differing traditions as to which villages were to be included within the region proper, or it may indicate fluctuations in population and/or actual changes in territorial boundaries throughout Israelite history.

(1) A grandson of Jacob and son of Reuben (Gen. 46:9; Exod. 6:14; 1 Chron. 5:3). His descendants were the Hezronite clan of Reuben (Num. 26:6). (2) A great-grandson of Jacob, grandson of Judah, son of Perez, and the father of Ram (also known as Aram and Arni), listed in the ancestry of David and Jesus (Gen. 46:12; Ruth 4:18–19; 1 Chron. 2:5–9; 4:1; Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33). The Chronicler makes a point to note that Hezron married again in old age (sixty) and fathered Segub and Ashhur, who was born after Hezron died (1 Chron. 2:21–24). His descendants were the Hezronite clan of Judah (Num. 26:21). (3) One of the cities marking the southern border of the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah in the conquest of Canaan, lying somewhere between Kadesh Barnea and Addar (Josh. 15:3).

(1) An important leader in the time of the exodus. While Joshua was fighting against the Amalekites in Rephidim, Aaron and Hur helped Moses keep his hands raised for the Israelites’ victory (Exod. 17:10–13). While Moses was away at Mount Sinai, he put Aaron and Hur in charge (24:14). (2) A Judahite and the grandfather of Bezalel, who worked on the tabernacle with his divinely gifted craftsmanship (Exod. 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 2 Chron. 1:5). He was a descendant of Caleb, whose wife was Ephrath, and he was the grandfather of Bethlehem (1 Chron. 2:19–20; 2:50; 4:1, 4). Josephus and Jewish tradition made him the husband of Miriam and identified him with the Hur of Exod. 17:10–13; 24:14. (3) One of the five kings of Midian killed along with Balaam as the Israelites applied “the Lord’s vengeance” on the Midianites for having seduced them in the “Peor incident” (Num. 31:3, 16; cf. 25:16–18). These kings are recorded as the princes who allied with Sihon, an Amorite king (Josh. 13:21). (4) According to 1 Kings 4:8 (KJV), Hur was the father of one of Solomon’s twelve district governors responsible for supplying provisions from the hill country of Ephraim for the king and the royal household. Since the Hebrew word ben can be translated “son of,” the proper name “Ben-Hur” (NIV) can be used to replace “son of Hur.” (5) The father of Rephaiah, who helped repair the wall of Jerusalem under the direction of Nehemiah and was ruler of a half-district of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:9). If in Neh. 3:9 Hur is understood to be the ancestor rather than the father of Rephaiah, then he could be the same person as in Exod. 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 2 Chron. 1:5.

(1) A descendant of Manasseh through Makir. He took control of the territory in Gilead that had been given by Moses to Makir. He called the towns, located in the region of Bashan, “Havvoth Jair,” which means “villages of Jair” (Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14; Josh. 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chron. 2:22). (2) A Gileadite who judged Israel for twenty-two years following Tola (Judg. 10:3–5). He had thirty sons, each of whom controlled his own city in Havvoth Jair. His Gileadite lineage and occupation of Havvoth Jair make his association with the Jair of Num. 32:41 likely. (3) A Benjamite and the father of Mordecai, the cousin of Esther (Esther 2:5). (4) The father of Elhanan, who killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath (1 Chron. 20:5). He is referred to as “Jaare-Oregim” in 2 Sam. 21:19 (NIV mg.). See also Jaare-Oregim.

A wife of Caleb (1 Chron. 2:18). The text is unclear, however, and Jerioth could be a concubine wife of Caleb (NIV) or alternatively another name for Azubah. Some English Bibles (NEB, NJB) understand Jerioth to be the child of Caleb and Azubah.

The first of Caleb’s three sons with his wife Azubah (1 Chron. 2:18).

A city on the extreme northeast border of the Israelite territory (eastern Gilead). Nobah took it from the Amorites and gave it his name (Num. 32:42). The city was known as Kenath at a later time when it passed into the hands of Aram and Geshur (1 Chron. 2:23). Kenath was the easternmost of the ten cities of the Decapolis. It usually is identified with modern Qanawat.

(1) The oldest son of Manasseh and a grandson of Joseph (Josh. 17:1). He was the father of Gilead, Peresh, and Sheresh (Josh. 17:3; 1 Chron. 7:16) and an unnamed daughter (1 Chron. 2:21). His children were “placed at birth on Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23), an idiom for legal adoption and inheritance rights. This places the Makirite clan, which Makir headed (Num. 26:29), in Egypt and under the house of Joseph. Makir had a brother, Asriel (1 Chron. 7:14), and a wife, Maakah (1 Chron. 7:16).

After assisting the other Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan (Num. 32:39–40), the descendants of Makir captured Transjordan Gilead, which Moses earlier had allotted to Makir (Deut. 3:15). In the Song of Deborah, Makir is named in a geographical listing of the tribes as they leave to battle Sisera (Judg. 5:14). Makir occurs in the list (after Ephraim-Benjamin and before Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali) where Manasseh typically would be listed.

(2) The son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and a descendant of Manasseh. Saul’s son Mephibosheth lived in his house (2 Sam. 9:4–5). Makir also brought beds, basins, vessels, and food to support David and his people during the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 17:27–29).

(1) The oldest son of Manasseh and a grandson of Joseph (Josh. 17:1). He was the father of Gilead, Peresh, and Sheresh (Josh. 17:3; 1 Chron. 7:16) and an unnamed daughter (1 Chron. 2:21). His children were “placed at birth on Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23), an idiom for legal adoption and inheritance rights. This places the Makirite clan, which Makir headed (Num. 26:29), in Egypt and under the house of Joseph. Makir had a brother, Asriel (1 Chron. 7:14), and a wife, Maakah (1 Chron. 7:16).

After assisting the other Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan (Num. 32:39–40), the descendants of Makir captured Transjordan Gilead, which Moses earlier had allotted to Makir (Deut. 3:15). In the Song of Deborah, Makir is named in a geographical listing of the tribes as they leave to battle Sisera (Judg. 5:14). Makir occurs in the list (after Ephraim-Benjamin and before Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali) where Manasseh typically would be listed.

(2) The son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and a descendant of Manasseh. Saul’s son Mephibosheth lived in his house (2 Sam. 9:4–5). Makir also brought beds, basins, vessels, and food to support David and his people during the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 17:27–29).

(1) The youngest son of Hiel. His life, and that of his brother Abiram, were lost when Hiel rebuilt the foundations and gates of Jericho, fulfilling the curse pronounced by Joshua (1 Kings 16:34; Josh. 6:26). (2) The son of Hezron and the father of Jair (1 Chron. 2:21–22).

(1) The second of Caleb’s three sons with his wife Azubah (1 Chron. 2:18). (2) One of the sons born to David while he reigned in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:14; 1 Chron. 3:5; 14:4). His mother was Bathsheba.

A town in the territory of Judah about 7.5 miles south of Bethlehem, perhaps at the modern site of Khirbet et Tuqu’. Tekoa is associated with the Hezronites (1 Chron. 2:24; 4:5), as the son of Hezron (who was Judah’s grandson) was the leader, or “father,” of Tekoa. Jeremiah 6:1 indicates that it was south of Jerusalem. The Greek translation of Josh. 15:59 may refer to Tekoa in association with Bethlehem. Rehoboam included it in a line of defensive fortifications (2 Chron. 11:6).

Tekoa was the birthplace of Ira, one of David’s mighty warriors (2 Sam. 23:26). It is better known as the birthplace of Amos, the shepherd and caretaker of sycamore-fig trees turned prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel (Amos 1:1; 7:14). Tekoa also was the origin of a wise, or skilled, woman whom Joab recruited as part of petitioning David to restore Absalom after he had killed Amnon (2 Sam. 14).

(1) Of the tribe of Judah, he was the son of Hur and the father of Bezalel, the divinely gifted craftsman directed by Moses (Exod. 31:2; 35:30; 38:22; 1 Chron. 2:20; 2 Chron. 1:5). (2) The father of Geber, a Gileadite (1 Kings 4:19). (3) A gatekeeper in the time of Ezra who pledged to put away his foreign wife (Ezra 10:24).

A group of Amorite villages captured by the Manassehite Jair (Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14) during the Israelite conquest of the land east of the Jordan River. The name means “the villages of (the person) Jair.” These villages were located in the Bashan region east of Galilee. Moses granted these villages to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Deut. 3:13). Curiously, the sons of a later Gileadite judge, also named “Jair,” are said to have controlled thirty towns in Gilead, which are also called “Havvoth Jair” (Judg. 10:4), apparently implying a connection between the judge Jair and the naming of the region.

The number of villages that comprised the region appears to fluctuate somewhat throughout Israelite history. Some biblical texts (Deut. 3:13–14; Josh. 13:30; 1 Kings 4:13) indicate that Havoth Jair consisted of sixty villages, while Judg. 10:4 seems to view thirty villages comprising the region (associated with the thirty sons of the Gileadite judge). Alternatively, 1 Chron. 2:22 indicates that Jair comprised twenty-three villages, which together with the surrounding villages of Kenath total sixty villages (1 Chron. 2:23). This may be due to differing traditions as to which villages were to be included within the region proper, or it may indicate fluctuations in population and/or actual changes in territorial boundaries throughout Israelite history.

These books originally formed a single book and were first divided into two in the Greek translation, the LXX. Chronicles tells the history of Israel from the creation of the world to the end of the Babylonian exile, focusing at length on the history of David and Solomon. In Jewish tradition, Chronicles is the last book in the OT, which may be due to its late acceptance into the canon or because it forms a fitting conclusion to the Hebrew Bible. Like Genesis, which opens the canon, Chronicles begins with creation (Gen. 1:1; 1 Chron. 1:1) and ends with a prophecy of a return to the land (Gen. 50:24; 2 Chron. 23) and the hope of redemption.

Authorship

Chronicles does not name anyone as its author. Some have suggested that Ezra, Haggai, Malachi, or Zechariah may have written Chronicles, but such suggestions are pure speculation. It is most common to refer to the author simply as the Chronicler (hereafter, Ch). Ch clearly had scribal training, since he was familiar with the biblical books that preceded his work and had access to archival sources. Other than these broad generalizations, the identity of the author remains anonymous, as he intended.

In the past many believed that Ch also wrote Ezra-Nehemiah because of similarities in language and how Chronicles ends by quoting the opening of Ezra (which implies that they were once connected). Common authorship is unlikely, however, since Ezra-Nehemiah stresses Abram’s election, the exodus, the conquest of the land, and the fall of northern Israel, while Chronicles does not explicitly mention any of these events. Also Ch emphasizes “immediate retribution” (obedience/disobedience brings immediate blessing/punishment), whereas Ezra-Nehemiah allows that good behavior can bring problems rather than blessing (e.g., those building the wall of Jerusalem are persecuted). Also, some differences in terminology may suggest different authors for these books (e.g., Ezra-Nehemiah calls the high priest “great priest,” whereas Chronicles uses the term “head priest”).

Ch primarily used previous OT books as sources, drawing on the Pentateuch and Joshua (for his genealogies) and on Psalms (cf. Pss. 96; 105–106 with 1 Chron. 16:7–36) and Ezra (cf. Ezra 1:1–3 with 2 Chron. 36:22–23). However, Ch relied most heavily on Samuel-Kings, as can be seen by his extensive verbatim quotation of them throughout his stories. Noncanonical sources probably also were employed (e.g., the reference to Hezekiah’s tunnel in 2 Chron. 32:30, which is unparalleled in Kings but is historically accurate), though they do not survive today.

Date

An exact date of composition is not known. However, the mention in 1 Chron. 29:7 of Persian darics (coins), which were not minted until 515 BC, makes a date after 500 BC likely (since we must allow time for the spread of darics throughout the empire). Most telling is Jehoiachin’s genealogy in 1 Chron. 3:17–24 (since the last names listed must predate or be contemporary with Ch), which extends at least six generations after Zerubbabel, making a date around 450 BC (assuming twenty years per generation) the earliest possible date for the composition of Chronicles. Also, Chronicles is likely to have been written before Alexander the Great’s conquest of Palestine in 333 BC, since there is no perceivable Greek influence in Chronicles. Therefore, the date for the composition of Chronicles is most likely between 450 and 333 BC, during the Persian period.

Audience and Historical Background

Some historical background is necessary to understand Chronicles’ purpose and to identify its original audience. In 586 BC Jerusalem was destroyed, and the bulk of the population was deported to Babylon (2 Kings 25); however, the Jewish community in Babylon retained its identity and longed to return home. When Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon in 539 BC, he offered to send the exiles back to their homeland to rebuild Jerusalem and their temple. Those who returned faced many challenges and struggled with how to rebuild “Israel” in the land that was given to them by God but now was ruled by the Persians and settled by a mixed population. Even with their temple rebuilt and Jerusalem resettled, this community still questioned how their new life would work and what their relationship to God would be like. Chronicles was written for this beleaguered restoration community.

Genre

Chronicles is perhaps best known for its long genealogies, which open the book (1 Chron. 1–9). In addition, there are many lists in other parts of the book that seem to detract from its otherwise interesting narratives. The genre of Chronicles is “historiography” (history writing) as it presents an account of Israel’s past. The nature of the historiography that Ch wrote has been the subject of much debate due to the difficulty of explaining the considerable freedom that Ch exercised in selecting, arranging, and even changing his source material. All written histories involve creative writing, selectivity, and interpretation of sources. Ch’s selectivity can be seen in his omissions—for example, stories that deal only with northern Israel, David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, and Solomon’s many wives and idolatry. Ch’s selectivity, however, should not be taken as intentional deception on his part, since he probably assumed that his audience knew the full story of David and Solomon’s sin.

Ch’s interpretation of his sources can be seen in how he rewrote 2 Sam. 24:1. The writer of 2 Samuel describes God inciting David to take a census, but Ch holds Satan responsible for inciting him (1 Chron. 21:1). Writing at a later time when it was understood that God worked through divine intermediaries, Ch interpreted his source in light of this new revelation. Just as NT writers quoted the OT interpretively, Ch felt free to make explicit what he saw as implied in his sources.

However, it must be admitted that not all the changes that Ch makes to his sources can be easily explained. It must be remembered that, unlike modern historiography, Chronicles was written with mainly theological interests in mind. If omitting certain stories or writing additions to his narrative were necessary to drive home the message that God wanted him to deliver, that is what Ch did. Such practices were standard procedure in history writing in the ancient world and were acceptable in his day. Yet Ch was constrained by his sources. Despite his desire to highlight David’s role in the establishment of the temple, he could not present David as temple builder, since history recorded that Solomon built the temple. Historiography is a creative attempt to interpret past events and bring out their significance for the present. In this way, Chronicles is definitely historiography, though not the type of historiography that would be written today.

Themes

David and the Davidic kings. The main characters in Chronicles are the Davidic kings. Although the narrative begins with Saul as Israel’s king (1 Chron. 10:1–3), he is quickly disposed of (10:4). David’s kingship is immediately established (without the long struggle to become king as described in 1 Samuel) and is for Israel’s benefit (1 Chron. 14:2). David is presented as the ideal monarch, who sought God with his whole heart and also instituted proper worship. Although Solomon builds the temple, in Chronicles David prepares for its construction (1 Chron. 22) and its administration (1 Chron. 23–25).

Presenting David as the founder of proper worship underscores Ch’s emphasis on the responsibility of Davidic kings to maintain proper worship in Israel. Some kings turned from proper worship (e.g., Manasseh), while others held true and restored it when it had been forsaken (e.g., Josiah). The Davidic king sat on God’s throne (1 Chron. 17:14; 28:5; 29:23) and represented the people in prayer to God (2 Chron. 6:18–42). When northern Israel rejected the Davidic king, they rejected God (2 Chron. 13:4–12). This elevation of the importance of the Davidic monarchy held out hope of a coming Davidic king despite the current situation of Persian rule.

The temple and the Levites. Chronicles focuses on Israel’s relationship to God, which is shown in the emphasis on the Davidic king as Israel’s representative to God but is best expressed through the focus on the temple and its institutions. Chronicles shows how Israel’s relationship to God was dependent on maintaining proper temple worship. The Levitical priesthood together with the Davidic king maintained the worship of God. The Levites even stepped in to preserve the Davidic line when it was threatened (2 Chron. 22:10–23:21), and only they could administer proper worship in the temple (26:16–18). Interestingly, this emphasis on Davidic kings and Levitical priests reflects the conditions of rule under which the original audience lived when they returned from exile (cf. Zech. 2:4).

All Israel. In Chronicles the term “all Israel” is used for northern Israel (2 Chron. 13:4), southern Judah (2 Chron. 11:3), or all the Israelites together (1 Chron. 11:1). For Ch, “Israel” indicates a people who are in a special relationship with God and accountable to him. The Davidic king and the Levitical priests are important, but the people themselves are also accountable to God (e.g., 2 Chron. 11:3–4, 16–17; 13:14; 15:9–15). This allows Ch to emphasize the responsibility of each generation to have a proper relationship with God.

Prophecy

In Chronicles there are many prophets known by the traditional titles “prophet” or “seer,” but also others who speak prophetically but are not designated by such titles. These other prophetic speakers mostly address the people rather than kings (like official prophets) and are portrayed as interpreting and applying earlier prophetic tradition to their current situation. Chronicles represents a transitional stage when the “word of the Lord” is beginning to be seen not only as oral prophecy but also as referring to written prophecies (such as those of Moses) or Scripture (e.g., 2 Chron. 34:21 rewrites 2 Kings 22:13, “the words of this book,” as “the word of the Lord”). This development to written Scripture creates the foundation for both Judaism and Christianity as text-based faiths.

Theological Message

Ch encouraged his community by retelling the old story in new ways. The old story (Samuel-Kings) taught its audience why the exile happened (their sin), but Ch’s audience needed to be assured that God was still interested in them. Chronicles reminds the restoration community of the continuity between preexilic and postexilic times and their heritage as God’s people and heirs of the promises to David. Whereas Samuel-Kings emphasized idolatry as the reason for the exile (2 Kings 17:7–18), Chronicles looks past this surface symptom to the root problem of “forsaking the Lord,” characterized by neglecting their relationship with God through proper worship. “Seeking the Lord” calls for a complete response of his people to him.

Whereas Samuel-Kings explains the exile by the cumulative buildup of the sins of the monarchy (2 Kings 23:26; 24:3), in Chronicles the fate of Israel is never sealed. Any generation can seek God wholeheartedly and thereby receive blessing. The thematic verse for Chronicles is perhaps 2 Chron. 7:14: “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Ch’s message demands a response in the present. In retelling the history of his people, his audience could see the cause-and-effect relationship between seeking and forsaking God and apply it to their current situation. They themselves were “all Israel” and needed to seek God wholeheartedly in proper worship. Only through faithfulness to God would Israel recapture the glory days of its past. In a message as applicable now as it was millennia ago, Chronicles calls for its readers to have a proper relationship with God and holds out expectation that blessing will follow.

Outline

I. Genealogical Prologue: Adam to the Present (1 Chron. 1–9)

II. United Monarchy: Saul, David, and Solomon (1 Chron. 10–2 Chron. 9)

III. The History of Judah: The Later Davidic Kings (2 Chron. 10–36:16)

IV. The Exile and Return (2 Chron. 36:17–23)

The name given to the son of Hezron in 1 Chron. 2:9 (KJV, RSV), otherwise identified as Caleb in 1 Chron. 2:18, 42.

(1) A grandson of Jacob and son of Reuben (Gen. 46:9; Exod. 6:14; 1 Chron. 5:3). His descendants were the Hezronite clan of Reuben (Num. 26:6). (2) A great-grandson of Jacob, grandson of Judah, son of Perez, and the father of Ram (also known as Aram and Arni), listed in the ancestry of David and Jesus (Gen. 46:12; Ruth 4:18–19; 1 Chron. 2:5–9; 4:1; Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33). The Chronicler makes a point to note that Hezron married again in old age (sixty) and fathered Segub and Ashhur, who was born after Hezron died (1 Chron. 2:21–24). His descendants were the Hezronite clan of Judah (Num. 26:21). (3) One of the cities marking the southern border of the territory allotted to the tribe of Judah in the conquest of Canaan, lying somewhere between Kadesh Barnea and Addar (Josh. 15:3).

A biblical genealogy is a listing of names showing the interrelationships of individuals, clans, or nations. They are found mainly, though not exclusively, in the Pentateuch, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles. The arrangement of names in such listings is most often forward in time, from ancestor to descendant (e.g., Ruth 4:18–22, tracing a family line down to David), and this is the genealogy proper. At other times, names are listed in the opposite direction, backward in time, from the individual to ancestor (e.g., Ezra 7:1–5, where Ezra’s ancestry is traced back to Aaron “the chief priest”), and this is, strictly speaking, a pedigree. The unusually lengthy pedigree (even by biblical standards) of Ezra “the priest” is an effective way to highlight his temple interest when he is first introduced to the reader. The pedigree of 1 Chron. 6:33–47 shows the impeccable Levitical credentials of Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, who served before the ark of the covenant under the leadership of David. Genealogical information is always supplied for a reason.

Types of Genealogies

The two main terms used in the OT are toledot (“genealogical history”; e.g., Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; NIV: “account”) and yakhas (“genealogical record”; only in Neh. 7:5, but the related verb, “to register by genealogy,” occurs in Ezra 2 // Neh. 7 and elsewhere). In Ezra-Nehemiah the supplying of a credible genealogy is necessary for acceptance as an Israelite (Ezra 2:59–60) or for securing priestly privileges (Ezra 2:61–63). The concern is not racial purity as such, but rather Israel’s theological integrity (Ezra 9:1–2). The pejorative references to “genealogies” in 1 Tim. 1:4 and Titus 3:9 do not condemn the OT lists but instead reject the concocted genealogies in the mythic speculations of Jewish intertestamental books such as Jubilees.

Lineage is almost invariably traced through the male line. Most often in biblical narrative an individual is supplied only with a patronym (e.g., “Isaiah son of Amoz” [Isa. 1:1]), or sometimes three generations are specified (e.g., “Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur” [Exod. 35:30]). In Exod. 6:16–20 the foreshortened genealogy of Aaron and Moses is not to be understood as saying that there were only four generations between them and Levi.

Some genealogies involve ethnic and geographical relations—for example, between the nations of the ancient world in Gen. 11, and between Israel and surrounding peoples in Gen. 19:37–38; 25:1–4. In lists, the father-son relation can be broader than immediate descent and may refer to remote ancestors (grandson, great-grandson, etc.) (e.g., Ezra 5:1; cf. Zech. 1:1).

The Importance of Genealogies

Genealogies are an important feature of biblical storytelling. The modern reader should not simply leap over them, and the works of J. R. R. Tolkien show that genealogy is not dead in literary terms. When a biblical genealogy is supplied, it has a narratorial role. It contributes something essential to the presentation of the biblical writer. For example, 1 Chron. 1 is not a bare listing of names but rather, beginning with Adam, provides a world context for the history of Israel that follows; and 1 Chron. 2–9 emphasizes the twelve-tribal structure of God’s people, thus preventing the misapprehension that Chronicles is just a history of the southern kingdom of Judah. Also, lists are usually not just names; they include thematically significant material contributing to the overall message of the particular book—for example, the technological advances of Cain’s descendants told in Gen. 4:17–22 and the military exploits recounted in 1 Chron. 5:18–22.

The ten-generation genealogy of Gen. 5 bridges the antediluvian and the deluge eras. The repeated refrain “and he died” depicts the reign of death over the human race. Another ten-generation genealogy joins the flood generation to Abram (Gen. 11:10–26). In this case, the deleterious effect of sin on humans is shown by the gradual decrease in human life span. There is often an element of schema in biblical genealogies (e.g., the limitation of generations to ten). Genesis 5 displays the convention of the seventh generation, which is deemed worthy of special attention (Enoch). There is also the Bible’s delight in multiples of seven—for example, the seventy nations in Gen. 10, the 3 × 14 generational schema in Matt. 1, and the seventy members in the pedigree of Christ in Luke 3:23–38. Hence, none of these genealogies should be understood as comprehensive in scope; rather, they are highly selective and stylized. Their purpose is to support and underscore the writer’s theological message.

Because it is rare for females to be mentioned in biblical genealogies, when they are there is special significance—for example, Sarai in Gen. 11:29: though barren, she will become the mother of the line of promise; Rebekah in Gen. 22:23: she will become the wife of Isaac; the daughters of Zelophehad in Num. 26:33: their story will be elaborated in Num. 27; 36; the five women in the genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1): several of them are non-Israelites, suggesting that Jesus comes as the Savior of the world.

A son of Ezrah (1 Chron. 4:17), he is one of many descendants of Judah whose genealogical record is given prominence in Chronicles to emphasize the importance of the Davidic line (1 Chron. 2:3–4:23).

(1) The oldest son of Manasseh and a grandson of Joseph (Josh. 17:1). He was the father of Gilead, Peresh, and Sheresh (Josh. 17:3; 1 Chron. 7:16) and an unnamed daughter (1 Chron. 2:21). His children were “placed at birth on Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23), an idiom for legal adoption and inheritance rights. This places the Makirite clan, which Makir headed (Num. 26:29), in Egypt and under the house of Joseph. Makir had a brother, Asriel (1 Chron. 7:14), and a wife, Maakah (1 Chron. 7:16).

After assisting the other Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan (Num. 32:39–40), the descendants of Makir captured Transjordan Gilead, which Moses earlier had allotted to Makir (Deut. 3:15). In the Song of Deborah, Makir is named in a geographical listing of the tribes as they leave to battle Sisera (Judg. 5:14). Makir occurs in the list (after Ephraim-Benjamin and before Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali) where Manasseh typically would be listed.

(2) The son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and a descendant of Manasseh. Saul’s son Mephibosheth lived in his house (2 Sam. 9:4–5). Makir also brought beds, basins, vessels, and food to support David and his people during the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 17:27–29).

(1) The oldest son of Manasseh and a grandson of Joseph (Josh. 17:1). He was the father of Gilead, Peresh, and Sheresh (Josh. 17:3; 1 Chron. 7:16) and an unnamed daughter (1 Chron. 2:21). His children were “placed at birth on Joseph’s knees” (Gen. 50:23), an idiom for legal adoption and inheritance rights. This places the Makirite clan, which Makir headed (Num. 26:29), in Egypt and under the house of Joseph. Makir had a brother, Asriel (1 Chron. 7:14), and a wife, Maakah (1 Chron. 7:16).

After assisting the other Israelite tribes in the conquest of Canaan (Num. 32:39–40), the descendants of Makir captured Transjordan Gilead, which Moses earlier had allotted to Makir (Deut. 3:15). In the Song of Deborah, Makir is named in a geographical listing of the tribes as they leave to battle Sisera (Judg. 5:14). Makir occurs in the list (after Ephraim-Benjamin and before Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali) where Manasseh typically would be listed.

(2) The son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and a descendant of Manasseh. Saul’s son Mephibosheth lived in his house (2 Sam. 9:4–5). Makir also brought beds, basins, vessels, and food to support David and his people during the time of Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 17:27–29).

A mineral cluster or rock. Although the terms “rock” and “stone” are occasionally used synonymously, “rock” usually refers to a large geological formation such as a cliff, cave, outcropping, or bedrock, while “stone” is preferred when the rock is small enough to be fashioned or handled by human beings. “Stone” can also function as an adjective, referring to a material made of stone, or as a verb, referring to the casting of stones.

Rocks and stones were found naturally on the ground (Job 8:17; Ps. 91:12; Isa. 5:2; Mark 5:5; Luke 3:8). They could be heaped or piled up as a sign of disgrace (Josh. 7:26; 8:29; 2 Sam. 18:17), as a marker or memorial (Gen. 31:46–50), or as an altar (Exod. 20:25). A single rock or stone could also be used as a place marker (Gen. 28:22; 35:14, 20; 1 Sam. 7:12), especially standing stones (Deut. 27:2–8; Josh. 4:3–9). Large stones could also be used to cover a well (Gen. 29:2–3) or to seal a cave or tomb, such as at the tombs of Lazarus (John 11:38–39) and of Jesus (Matt. 27:60; Mark 16:3–4).

Stone was used as a construction material, particularly for the temple (1 Kings 5:15–18; 1 Chron. 2:22; Ezra 5:8; Hag. 2:15; Mark 13:1–2). Stone was used in a building’s foundation and for the cornerstone or capstone (1 Kings 5:17; Jer. 51:26; Isa. 28:16), as well as for the walls (Hab. 2:11). Psalm 118:22 refers metaphorically to the stone rejected by the builders becoming the cornerstone. In the NT, this is interpreted as referring to Jesus (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet. 2:7; cf. Eph. 2:20). Stone could also function as a writing material (Josh. 8:32), such as the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed (Exod. 24:12; Deut. 9:9–11; 1 Kings 8:9; cf. 2 Cor. 3:3, 7). Stone was also carved, although at Sinai the Israelites are instructed not to use cut or “dressed” stones when constructing an altar (Exod. 20:25; cf. Josh. 8:31). The phrase “carved stone” refers specifically to idols, since stone was one material used for crafting false gods (Lev. 26:1; cf. Deut. 4:28; 29:17; 2 Kings 19:18; Isa. 37:19; Rev. 9:20); the term “stone” itself can therefore be used to refer to an idol, especially in the phrase “wood and stone” (Jer. 3:9; Ezek. 20:32).

Stones were used as a weapon or instrument of destruction, whether thrown by hand (Num. 35:17, 23) or flung with a sling (Judg. 20:16; 1 Sam. 17:40, 49–50; Prov. 26:8). The verb “to stone” refers to the throwing of stones at an individual, which typically functioned as an official manner of execution (Exod. 19:13; 21:28–29; Deut. 21:20–21; 1 Kings 21:13–15; John 8:5; Acts 7:58–59), although it was at times the action of an angry crowd (Exod. 17:4; 1 Kings 12:18; cf. John 8:59).

The phrases “precious stones” and “costly stones” refer to gems (2 Sam. 12:30; Esther 1:6; Isa. 54:12; 1 Cor. 3:12). Gems were used as a display of wealth or honor (1 Kings 10:2, 10–11; 2 Chron. 32:27; Ezek. 27:22) and for decoration (1 Chron. 3:6; Rev. 17:4; 18:16). The two stones on the high priest’s ephod and the twelve precious stones on his breastpiece represented the twelve tribes (Exod. 25:7; 28:9–12, 17–21), a symbolism echoed in the twelve types of precious stones adorning the foundations of the new Jerusalem (Rev. 21:19–20).

Rocks and stones are used often in metaphors or similes (e.g., hard as a rock, still as a stone). They can represent something that is common (1 Kings 10:27; Job 5:23; Matt. 3:9; 4:3), strong (Job 6:12), hard (Job 38:30; 41:24), heavy (Exod. 15:5; Prov. 27:3), motionless (Exod. 15:16), or immovable (Zech. 12:3). A “heart of stone” describes coldheartedness (Ezek. 11:19; 36:26). A “stumbling stone,” which is literally a stone that causes one to stumble (Isa. 8:14), is used in the NT as a metaphor for an obstacle to faith in Jesus (Rom. 9:32–33; 1 Pet. 2:8).

Sons of Jacob

Genesis 29–30, 35 records the birth of the sons of Jacob, which provides a covenantal and family basis for the later confederation of a dozen independent tribes of Semitic peoples. They shared a common history, culture, religion, and set of traditions that served for a time to bind them together as a single nation. According to the family records, the tribes were named after their forebears, who were born in the following manner. Jacob’s first (and unloved) wife, Leah, bore Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, in that order. Then his beloved Rachel gave him her maid Bilhah, who bore Dan and Naphtali. Leah’s maid then bore Gad and Asher. Then Leah bore Issachar and Zebulun. Finally, Rachel bore Joseph and Benjamin. At root, the later history of the tribes is a family history, traceable to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thus, the story of the tribes begins in the early second millennium BC.

Genesis was written at a period considerably after the time of the patriarchs, and thus written with the awareness that the characterizations of the patriarchs reflected in some way the temperament of the individual tribes. The first story told about the actions of Jacob’s sons is how Simeon and Levi took terrible vengeance on the city of Shechem for the rape of their sister Dinah. This brought about Jacob’s rebuke. Jacob feared that this action would bring further retaliation upon his family (Gen. 34). The history of the patriarchs comes to its high point in the story of Joseph, an account that spans Gen. 37–50. Joseph was the brother revealed in dreams to be elected by God to rule. His brothers’ jealousy led them to seek to rid themselves of him. Reuben, the firstborn, is characterized as being the responsible one, wanting to do him no harm. But in Reuben’s absence, Judah led the others in selling Joseph into slavery. God was with Joseph, however, and through a series of events God made Joseph the leader of Egypt, fulfilling the prophetic dreams.

Genesis connects this family story with later tribal history. As prophetic dreams revealed Joseph’s destiny to rule over Egypt, Jacob’s blessing in Gen. 49 reveals the destiny of the later tribes. Reuben lost his double-portion inheritance of the firstborn due to his dishonoring his father (Gen. 35:22). This honor is tacitly conferred on Joseph in Gen. 48. Jacob said that Levi would be dispersed among Israel. As the priestly tribe, Levi inherited no land. Judah was predicted to be the tribe of kings.

Wilderness and Conquest

In the wilderness wanderings of Israel, the campsite was organized by tribe (Num. 2). At its center was the tabernacle. The tribe of Levi formed an inner circle that surrounded it. At the entrance to the tabernacle (facing east) were the priests, the sons of Aaron. The other divisions of Levi were the Merarites, the Gershonites, and the Kohathites. These together formed the inner circle that guarded the holy place. Levi was the holiest tribe of Israel, the only tribe allowed to maintain and service God’s dwelling place. The outer perimeter of the encampment was formed by twelve tribes (the tribe of Joseph counted as two). The eastern front was dominated by Judah and included Issachar and Zebulun. Dan, Asher, and Naphtali were to the north; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad to the south; and to the west were Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin.

When the people were on the move, the priests went in the front carrying the ark of the covenant, following the pillar of cloud. When it came to rest over a place, there the priests would set down the ark. Behind them followed Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. After them came the Gershonites and the Merarites, carrying the bundled tabernacle, which they set up around the ark when the people made camp. Reuben, Simeon, and Gad took their places. Then came the Kohathites, who carried the furnishings and vessels for the tabernacle. Next followed Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin. Finally, as a rearguard, came Dan, accompanied by Asher and Naphtali (Num. 10:11–33).

Once their sojourn in the wilderness was over, the Israelites began to conquer the land of Canaan. Joshua allotted portions of land to each tribe (Josh. 13–21). The descendants of Joseph constituted two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. Each of those two received an inheritance; thus, Joseph can be said to have received a double portion as though firstborn. The Jordan River formed a natural border down the middle of the land. To its east were parts of Manasseh, Gad, and Reuben. The other tribes were to the west. The southernmost tribe was Judah. Within Judah was Simeon, which over time was absorbed into Judah. Levi had no land for an inheritance, since Yahweh was Levi’s inheritance—fulfilling Jacob’s prophecy of Levi and Simeon being scattered throughout Israel. Immediately north of Judah were Dan and Benjamin. The remaining tribes were more northern still. So that they would not forget Yahweh, the tribes across the Jordan built an alternative altar, not for sacrifice but rather as a reminder of the true and living God (Josh. 22).

Judges

The history of the conquest underscores the fact that the tribes failed to drive out the inhabitants of the land completely. Many cities remained centers for non-Israelite culture and religion. “When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, ‘You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over’” (Josh. 13:1). Judges 1 lists many peoples that continued to live alongside the Israelites.

Some of these peoples became incorporated into the mix of tribes. Rahab and her family from Jericho became integrated into the tribe of Judah (Josh. 2–6). The Gibeonites were a Canaanite people group who were incorporated into Israel (Josh. 9). Ruth the Moabite married into Judah (Ruth 4). Uriah the Hittite is an example of a Canaanite who was fully naturalized, to the extent that he kept himself ceremonially pure and fought in God’s holy wars for Israel (2 Sam. 11:11).

The book of Judges records the relative success or failure of each tribe to subdue and settle its own territory, and Judah consistently stands out as superior in this respect. Judges 1:2 puts Judah first. Judah provided leadership and support to Simeon, helping it to fulfill its own calling (1:17). After describing Judah’s success, Judg. 1 delineates the other tribes’ failures.

Two stories at the end of Judges illustrate the character of Judah in this period. Whenever Bethlehem and the other cities of Judah are the setting, sojourners and others are treated hospitably, have no fears, and prosper. This is true also of the book of Ruth. But when folk travel elsewhere—to Moab or north to Ephraim or Benjamin—they meet only trouble. Ephraim provided no protection to Micah when the lawless Danites overran his house (Judg. 18). Moab brought only famine, barrenness, and death (Ruth 1).

But the worst case of all is the Benjamite city of Gibeah (Judg. 19–20). There, the sin of Sodom was repeated as men surrounded the host’s house and demanded the sojourner. All Israel took up arms to destroy the wicked city and to punish the wicked tribe. As in the first two verses of Judges, God appointed Judah to the leadership position (Judg. 20:18). Judah then did to Benjamin what God had done to Sodom, almost wiping out the tribe.

United Kingdom

Nevertheless, when the tribes came together and demanded a king, the first king whom God gave them, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin (1 Sam. 9:17). Benjamin was situated midway between Judah of the south and the northern tribes. Saul was successful in leading the army of Israel, and for a time he enjoyed God’s blessing. But in the end, God rejected him and sent Samuel the prophet to anoint a Bethlehemite, David, to become the next king. However, upon Saul’s death, his son Ish-Bosheth (Ishbaal) claimed the throne (2 Sam. 2:8–9), around 1011 BC.

There followed a bitter civil war between the house of Saul, backed by the northern tribes, and the house of David, backed by Judah. After seven years, David had grown stronger and Ish-Bosheth weaker, until at Hebron David was finally acknowledged as king of all Israel (2 Sam. 5:3). David’s throne would last for centuries, until the destruction of Jerusalem. In the NT, David’s greater son Jesus inherited the throne. Thus, Jacob’s prophecy that the tribe of Judah would hold the scepter was fulfilled.

The northern tribes did not forget that they had once fought against David. David was caught in a scandal when his troops were in battle, and this may have further lessened their loyalty to him (2 Sam. 12). When his son Absalom rebelled and proclaimed himself king, the northern tribes once more allied themselves against David, and another civil war ensued. Although David won back his throne, the dissatisfaction of the northern tribes with the house of David continued (2 Sam. 15–19).

After David died, Solomon inherited his throne (971 BC). Throughout his reign, Solomon placed burdens on the tribes. He divided his kingdom into administrative districts that did not exactly correspond to the tribal territories. Dan and Zebulun were folded into other territories, and Asher seemed to have been ceded to Phoenicia (1 Kings 4). Thus, Solomon’s kingdom systematically weakened tribal identities. He laid a levy upon the tribes of Israel of thousands of men to provide a labor force for his building projects (1 Kings 5). Solomon built and consecrated the temple, and Jerusalem thus became both the political and religious center of the nation. The price for this, however, was the exacerbated discontent of the northern tribes.

Upon Solomon’s death, the tribes confronted his son Rehoboam with a demand to lighten Solomon’s “harsh labor and . . . heavy yoke” (1 Kings 12:4). Rehoboam foolishly replied, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions” (1 Kings 12:14). The northern tribes finally abandoned David’s house and thus became an independent political and religious state (931 BC).

Divided Kingdom

Throughout the period of the divided kingdom, tribal identities became less important, for their loyalties were now dominated by the reigning king of either nation. The border between the northern and the southern kingdoms was more or less a straight line, from Joppa on the west near the Mediterranean, to the upper tip of the Dead Sea. This cut through Dan, Ephraim, and Benjamin, leaving Simeon surrounded by Judah. Jerusalem was just south of the border. The first king of the north, Jeroboam, placed golden calves just north of the border, in Bethel, and also at the northern end of his kingdom, in the city of Dan. These served as cultic alternatives to the temple in Jerusalem for the duration of the northern kingdom. He also modified the law of Moses to allow for non-Levitical priests and a different liturgical calendar. The northern kingdom was called “Israel” (its capital was Samaria), and the southern kingdom was called “Judah” (1 Kings 12:25–33).

For half a century war ensued between the two kingdoms. The two formed an alliance during the reigns of Ahab and his sons. King Ahab of Israel gave his daughter Athaliah to be married to King Jehoshaphat’s son Jehoram. Together the kingdoms fought against common enemies, such as Syria and Moab. They successfully turned back the superpower of the day, Assyria.

Under King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, Baal worship was aggressively promoted at the expense of traditional Yahwism. During this period Elijah and Elisha called the people back to the God of their ancestors, but with little success (1 Kings 17–2 Kings 13). A small group of faithful worshipers called the “sons of the prophets” did remain true to Yahweh, but most of Israel abandoned him. Hosea and Amos later also warned Israel, but their calls went unheeded. Ahab and Jezebel’s daughter Athaliah married Jehoram, and both of them promoted Baal worship in Judah just as in Israel. Thus, the people of Yahweh had become the people of Baal. Jezebel’s son Joram ruled Israel upon Ahab’s death, and Athaliah’s son Ahaziah ruled Judah upon Jehoram’s death.

Elisha secretly anointed one of Joram’s generals, Jehu, to bring the Omride dynasty to an end in Israel and to become the next king (2 Kings 9). Jehu killed both kings and Jezebel, and he destroyed all remnants of Ahab’s family. He also slaughtered the worshipers of Baal: “so Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel” (10:28). Upon the death of her son the king, Athaliah seized the throne and did to David’s house what Jehu had done to Ahab’s: she had every family member killed.

But one infant survived: Joash. He was secretly raised in the temple of Yahweh until he was seven years old. Then his supporters proclaimed him king. Athaliah cried out, “Treason! Treason!” (2 Kings 11:14), and the priest Jehoiada had her put to death. The place and objects of Baal worship were destroyed, ending state-sponsored Baalism in Judah (11:17–18).

Fall of Both Kingdoms

After both kingdoms’ period of infatuation with Baal (under the domination of the Omrides), their history as nations continued to their final fall. In Israel, the people never gave up Jeroboam’s perversion of the law of Moses. In Judah, kings varied widely in their regard for the law of Moses; sometimes they were faithful, sometimes very unfaithful. Meanwhile, Assyria was a constant threat. During the reign of the good king Hezekiah, Judah was overrun by the forces of the Assyrian king Sennacherib. God miraculously delivered Jerusalem (2 Kings 18). However, there was no such deliverance for Israel. Samaria was besieged for three years and finally taken (722 BC). Most of the population was deported (17:5–18). Other people groups were transplanted there who learned the law of Moses and feared Yahweh along with their own gods (17:24–41).

At this point in their history, only Judah remained as a political entity; the northern tribes of Israel were lost. After the faithful king Hezekiah, Judah’s next significant king was Manasseh. He is described in 2 Kings as the king most offensive to God. To categorize him, it was not enough to compare him unfavorably with David (see 2 Kings 14:3) or to equate him with Ahab and Jezebel (see 8:18). Rather, Manasseh was compared to the pagan nations that Joshua had driven out of the land, which were destroyed because of their wickedness. Manasseh was the last straw. Because of his complete abandonment to idolatry, God determined to make an end of Jerusalem (21:11–15).

Yet still the judgment was delayed. Two years after Manasseh’s death, Josiah reigned on the throne of David, and early in his career the Book of the Law was rediscovered in the temple. Josiah called for national repentance, and for a time Judah got rid of its idols and returned to God (2 Kings 23). But this repentance was relatively short-lived.

Josiah was the last good king of Judah. God sent Judah prophets such as Jeremiah, but they went unheeded. In the end, God sent King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon up against his own beloved city, Jerusalem. Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, many of its people killed, and most of those who were left carried into exile to Babylon.

Exile and Restoration

The fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC essentially ended the existence of the tribes as independent political entities. For the remainder of their history they were, almost without exception, under the heel of great foreign powers. At this point, they were called “Jews.” Nebuchadnezzar conscripted some of the younger men to serve in his court (Dan. 1). The deportees remained in Babylon until its empire fell to the Medes and the Persians under Cyrus the Great in 539 BC.

Cyrus issued a decree at that time allowing the Jews to return to their ancestral land and rebuild the temple of Yahweh. They began to migrate back to the land of promise and began their efforts to rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem. These efforts continued under a succession of Persian kings. Although the Jews were home and able once again to worship God in the way he had specified in the law, Nehemiah lamented that they were little more than slaves, since they were subject to Persia (Neh. 9:36). Gone was the dynasty of David, gone were most of the tribes, and gone was the greatness of days past. The sins of their fathers had brought them to this sad situation.

In the return to the land, the genealogies of the returnees were very important. These preserved family and tribal identities so that their lineages would not be lost. The books that originated in the restoration period preserve these lists (see 1 Chron. 1–9).

Persia and the entire ancient world eventually were conquered by Alexander the Great. His successors divided the land after his death; two generals controlled Syria to the north and Egypt to the south of Palestine. They constantly squabbled over their borders, which included Palestine. Finally, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175–164 BC), king of Syria, decided to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city. He brought great pressure on the Jews to abandon their faith. Jews found with a copy of the law were killed, and circumcision of infants was forbidden. He ransacked the temple and placed an idol in it. Some Jews abandoned their faith, but others resisted. Finally, Antiochus died, and the Jews for a short time enjoyed independence. Over time, the Roman Empire engulfed Palestine. Herod the Great ruled as king of the Jews for Rome in the years 37–4 BC. Upon Herod’s death, his kingdom was divided among his sons.

New Testament

The Jews in Judea in Jesus’ day had learned to find their national, ethnic, and cultural identity in the law of Moses. They dutifully followed the purity laws, especially in keeping the Sabbath. Their religion was centered on the temple, and they kept Passover and the other prescribed obligations. Although the one remaining tribe, Judah, no longer could boast of a king on the throne of David or even independence, it was a nation whose people thought of themselves as Yahweh’s people. By Jesus’ time, they anticipated that a descendant of David, a Messiah, would arise to restore the lost kingdom of David.

Although the northern tribes were lost, there was some limited continuing awareness of tribal identity in this period. The book of Esther’s Mordecai is from the tribe of Benjamin, and there are a number of references to Benjamin in the intertestamental literature (e.g., 2 Macc. 3:4). Anna the prophetess was from the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36). Paul knew himself to be from the tribe of Benjamin (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5). He used his knowledge of this fact to help bolster his argument that he was truly a Jew. The Levites also survived the exile, and the priestly caste continued. The kingly and priestly tribes remained, with a few others.

Jesus is presented in Matt. 1 as a direct descendant of David through the line of kings. He is the promised Messiah (John 1:41), the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5). Jesus promised his twelve disciples that some day they would rule over the tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28). In Christ, the definition of the tribes of Israel had changed. Gentiles were now grafted onto the olive tree of Israel (Rom. 11:17). Revelation 7:4–10 records the number from each tribe who bear the seal of the Lamb. After hearing this, John turned and saw them: they were revealed to be a vast company of the redeemed from every tribe on earth. Thus, the church had spiritually become the twelve tribes of Israel.

In AD 70 the temple was destroyed. Soon afterward, Israel was scattered, not to be a nation again in the promised land until 1948.