Chronicles Through the Centuries Wiley Blackwell Bible Commentaries Series

Offers a history of the interpretation of Chronicles in theology, worship, music, literature and art from the ancient period to the present day, demonstrating its foundational importance within the Old Testament

• Explores important differences between the same topics and stories that occur in Chronicles and other biblical books such as Genesis and Kings, including  the pious depiction of David, the clear correlation between moral behavior and divine reward, and the elevation of music in worship
• Examines the reception of Chronicles among its interpreters, including rabbis of the Talmud, Jerome, Martin Luther, Johann Sebastian Bach, Cotton Mather, and others, 
• Features broad yet comprehensive coverage that considers Jewish and Christian, ancient and modern, and secular and pop cultural interpretations
• Organizes discussions by verse to illuminate each one?s changing meaning across the ages

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Part 1: The Genealogies 13

1. The Genealogies 15

Part 2: The Reign of David 41

2. David’s Reign from Election to Dynastic Promise 45

3. David’s Reign from the Census to the Selection of the Temple Site 63

4. David’s Reign from His Preparations for the Temple to His Death 82

Part 3: The Reigns of Solomon and the Kings of Judah 103

5. The Reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, Abijah, and Asa 107

6. The Reigns of Jehoshaphat, Joash, Uzziah, and Ahaz 129

7. The Reigns of Hezekiah, Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah 148

8. The Reign of Manasseh 166

Coda A 187

Coda B 190

Glossary of Names and Terms 193

Abbreviations 201

Bibliography 203

Author Index 219

Scriptural Index 223

Subject Index 231

Blaire A. French is an adjunct lecturer in Biblical Hebrew at the University of Virginia, USA. She holds a doctorate in Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity from the University of Virginia. She is the author of The Ticking Tenure Clock: An Academic Novel (1998) and The Presidential Press Conference: Its History and Role in the American Political System (1982).