Let’s Start at the Beginning: When the Chronicler started writing his version of the history of God’s people, he started at the very beginning: Adam! It is surprising that this history, unlike the Deuteronomistic version, situates the history of God’s people within the history of humankind.

On the one hand, this is already an indication of the Chronicler’s universalist or inclusivist approach (which is also echoed in the closing of the book in 2 Chron. 36:22–23, where Cyrus, the Persian emperor, is described as the great liberator of God’s people). To start right at the beginning suggests that God’s people are part of a wider humanity. Interestingly, Luke opens his gospel with a similar wide perspective, introducing Jesus of Nazareth as God’s very own son and therefore a universal savior (L…