The trauma of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the exile of thousands of Judea's citizens, and the subsequent return after seventy years to the homeland with the difficult task of starting the new covenant community virtually from scratch-- all contributed to a reassessment of Israel's meaning and destiny. The chronicler-theologian thus composed his work not just as a history of his people from their ancient beginnings but as an interpreted history, one designed to offer hope to the beleaguered community as well as to issue warnings that should they fall back into the ways of their fathers they could expect the judgment of God to be repeated.

Eugene Merrill's work on 1 and 2 Chronicles promises to be a significant contribution to the academic dialogue on these important books. This volume is helpful for the scholar but accessible and useful for the pastor. Merrill provides an exegetical study of each passage in these books, examining a number of themes, especially drawing out three principal theological subjects: (1) David and his historical and eschatological reign; (2) the renewal of the everlasting covenant; and (3) the new temple as a symbol of a reconstituted people. Merrill offers astute guidance to preachers and teachers in his insightful doctrinal commentary on the text.

In this latest addition to the esteemed Anchor Bible series, scholar Gary Knoppers examines one of the most neglected books of the Hebrew Bible and establishes its importance to understanding the nation of Israel.

What was the place of the monarchy in the history of ancient Israel? Was Israel's first king Saul a hero or a disaster? Was David a highly gifted leader and accomplished king or a murderer and a cheat? Did Solomon preside over the most glorious epoch in Israelite history or did he lead the nation into a fateful decline? Knoppers show how the Bible itself contains a variety of fascinating perspectives on major events and characters. One of the most misunderstood books of the Bible, Chronicles presents a distinctive and important viewpoint on much of Israel's past, especially the monarchy. Knoppers shows how Chronicles defends the transition from Saul to David and upholds the Davidic-Solomonic monarchy as a time of incomparable Israelite achievement and glory, a period in which the nation's most important public institutions--the Davidic dynasty, the Jerusalem Temple, the priests, and the Levites--took formative shape.

I Chronicles 10-29, part of a two-volume set on I Chronicles, is the first to employ systematically the witness of the Dead Sea Scrolls to reconstruct the biblical author's text. Knoppers shows how Chronicles is related to and creatively drawn from many earlier biblical books and presents a fascinating look at its connections in both compositional style and approach to historical writings attested in ancient Mesopotamia and classical Greece.

The Old Testament book of Chronicles presents unique problems to students of the Bible. Here Dr. Roddy Braun takes a fresh look at the biblical text and sheds light upon its meaning for God's people in both Old Testament times and today. Taking careful note of Chronicles' dependency upon earlier Old Testament writings, he leads the serious Bible student through such issues as: The relation of 1 Chronicles to parallel passages in Samuel and Kings What "the Chronicler" intended to convey with his own independent contributions to Israel's history and theology The role of Solomon's temple as a uniting force for the Chronicler, who faced the reality of the division between Israel in the north and Judah in the south The book's emphasis upon God's covenant with David as reaching its goal in the construction of the temple.

Dr. Braun investigates thoroughly the effect of God's covenant with David in this important part of Scripture. Did the tragic division of the kingdom following Solomon's death mean God had forsaken the covenant? Were the northern tribes too a part of that "all Israel" that was being summoned to return to faithful observance of the priestly services at Solomon's temple in Jerusalem? What was the meaning of such a summons at the time of the Exile, when both Israel and Judah lay in ruins? Such questions are explored with an expert's eye to history and background, theology, and textual considerations.

The author-with his remarkable combination of scholarly insights and pastoral experience-also notes the themes of unity, joy, and generosity in worship emphasized by the Chronicler. He was apparently anxious not simply to reunite the kingdom, but also to restore spiritual depth and enthusiastic support to worship-issues that continue to be vital to the people of God today.