By James M. Rochford

The Hebrew title for 1 and 2 Chronicles is “the accounts of the days” or “the words of the days” (Diḇ^erê hāyyāmɩ̂m).^[1] The Chronicler recounts biblical history from the beginning of the human race all the way until the Babylonian Exile and edict to restore the Temple. He focuses his attention on the kings of Judah, rather than Israel.

Authorship

Jewish tradition states that Ezra wrote these books (Baba Bathra, 15a). Ezra would have had sufficient motive for writing a book that records the spiritual and moral history of Israel, and his role as a priest is “in perfect agreement with that of the author of this work, and he would be very apt to lay the stress just where the Chronicler has.”^[2]

Later Jewish history records that Nehemiah had a vast library of the biblical and extrabiblical books: “[Nehemiah] founded a library and collected the books about the kings and prophets, and the writings of David, and letters of kings about votive offerings. ¹⁴ In the same way Judas also collected all the books that had been lost on account of the war that had come upon us, and they are in our possession” (2 Macc. 2:13-14). Since Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries, this would add support to Ezra’s authorship.

The style, language, and contents of Ezra and Chronicles are similar. Moreover, the final verses of Chronicles (2 Chron. 36:22-23) are identical to the opening verses of Ezra (Ezra 1:1-3a).

Half of the material in Chronicles is contained in other OT books—especially Genesis, Samuel, and Kings.^[3] The author also claims to have access to various historical books that were not canonical Scripture.

Date

The internal evidence of the book points to a date sometime between 450-425 BC.^[5] The final event recorded in Chronicles is the edict to restore the Jewish Temple in 538 BC (2 Chron. 36:22-23). The genealogies include Zerubbabel who led the people home (1 Chron. 3:17-21), as well as his grandsons (Pelatiah and Jeshaiah) which would place the date closer to 500 BC.

The external evidence supports this. One of our manuscripts for Chronicles from the DSS (Qumran Cave 4) is very ancient, making the third century BC date “very difficult to maintain.”^[6] Moreover, Josephus (Against Apion, 1.8) states that the canon closed under Artaxerxes I (who died in 424 BC).

What about the discrepancies in the numbers between Chronicles and the other historical books?

Critics argue that the Chronicler was trying to exaggerate the status of Israel over time. Therefore, under this view, the numbers in Chronicles reflect an evolution on behalf of the Chronicler.

In response, however, the vast majority of numbers are identical between Chronicles and Samuel/Kings. There are 629 numbers in both books.^[7] Only 18 to 20 discrepancies can be found. Moreover, in roughly one third of these discrepancies, Samuel/Kings have a higher number—not a lower one (1 Chron. 11:11 and 2 Sam. 23:8; 1 Chron. 21:5b and 2 Sam. 24:9b; 2 Chron. 3:16b and 1 Kings 7:20b, cf. v. 42; 2 Chron. 8:10 and 1 Kings 9:23; 2 Chron. 36:9 and 2 Kings 24:8).^[8]

The notation for numbers was easy to accidentally change. Archer notes that the Hebrew “letter nun with two dots above it would signify 50,000.”^[9] The Elephantine Papyri implies that the Hebrews had a number system with either vertical or horizontal dashes above the numbers with special symbols to indicate large numbers.^[10] Regardless, the transmission of these numbers was very difficult to maintain identically.

Purpose of the book

1 and 2 Kings ends in defeat, but the Chronicles were written after Kings and after the edict to restore the Temple. One of the messages of the book is that faith leads to success (2 Chron. 20:20, 22). The book focuses on the kings of Judah.

Commentary on 1 Chronicles

Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

1 Chronicles 1-9 (GENEALOGIES)

1 Chronicles 1

(1:1-4) It’s interesting that this book does not begin with an introduction. It just jumps into the genealogies for nine chapters (!). He starts with Adam which could “point to the unity of the race” and the “universality of God’s redemptive program within history.”^[11]

The chronicler omits Cain and Abel from his list—likely because they didn’t have descendants. Another possibility is that the chronicler favors genealogies that point toward a certain direction or line. At minimum, we know that these genealogies are not exhaustive lists. He also doesn’t tell us that “Shem, Ham, and Japheth” are all Noah’s sons, rather than son, grandson, and great-grandson. It’s assumed that all three are Noah’s sons.

Table of nations

(1:5-23) This comes from the so-called “table of nations” (Gen. 10:2-29). This section shows where the various nations came from.

Verse 8 is where the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) got the hair brained idea that the African nations were under the curse of Ham (Gen. 9:24ff), and therefore, they should be enslaved.

(1:24-27) This recounts and abbreviates the table given in Genesis 11:10-26. This takes us from God favoring the Semitic people in general (Gen. 9:26 “the God of Shem”) to the Israelite people in particular (Gen. 12, Abram).

(1:28-34) This recounts Genesis 25:1-4, 9, 13-16.

(1:35-41) This summarizes the table of Esau’s descendants (Gen. 36).

(1:42) Uz was the name of Job’s home (Job 1:1; cf. Lam. 4:21).

(1:51) Moses doesn’t mention the death of King Hadad. This could be because Hadad outlived Moses.^[12] But the chronicler is writing 1,000 years after Moses.

1 Chronicles 2

(2:1) This is a list of the men in Genesis 35::22-26 and Exodus 1:1-5.

(2:2) The focus of this list is not on Esau, but Jacob/Israel.

(2:3-4) The focus here is on Tamar (Gen. 38; Mt. 1:3).

(2:5) This recounts Judah’s sons (cf. Gen. 46:12; Num. 26:21).

(2:6) These were later descendants (1 Kin. 4:31). Heman and Ethan became authors of the Psalms (Pss. 88-89).

(2:7) This figure Achar could refer to Achan (Josh. 7).

(2:10-11) This is taken from Ruth 4:19-22.

(2:15) This is supplementary material to 1 Samuel 16:6-9.

(2:16-17) The mothers of these four warriors were step-daughters of Jesse—David’s father (2 Sam. 2:18; 17:25).

(2:18) The Caleb mentioned here is not the spy alongside Joshua (cf. 4:15).

(2:20) Bezalel was the craftsman who helped design the Tabernacle (Ex. 31:2-5).

(2:21-22) This is recorded in Numbers 32:41 and Deuteronomy 3:14.

(2:23) Jair had 23 towns and Kenath had 37, making 6o total.

(2:25-41) The Jerahmeelites occupied a large section of the Negev.

(2:42-55) Caleb was Jerahmeel’s brother, and this section describes his descendants.

1 Chronicles 3

(3:1-9) This recounts earlier lists of David’s descendants (2 Sam. 3:2-5; 5:13-16; 13:1). The three older brothers of Solomon died in family conflict (v.5). Tamar’s rape was recounted in 2 Samuel 13 (v.9).

(3:10-15) This section (vv.10-16) take us from Solomon forward.

This passage (v.11) demonstrates that the genealogies were not chronologies. Here, we go from Joram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, to Azariah (or Uzziah; cf. Isa. 6:1). However, Matthew 1:8 jumps from Joram to Uzziah (or Azariah). This means that he jumps three generations. Is Joram Uzziah’s father or is he his great, great grandfather? The point was to show descent—not dating.

Johanan is only mentioned here (v.15), because he “may have died young.”^[13]

(3:22) One of the names “must have fallen out”^[14] in textual transmission, because only five are mentioned—not “six.”

1 Chronicles 4

These genealogies (vv.1-23) are all unique to Chronicles—not found anywhere else.^[15] Yet, it still doesn’t make them any less boring to read (!).

(4:1) Payne understands Carmi to be to be a “scribal error,” perhaps a case of dittography from 1 Chronicles 2:7. In his view, this should read Caleb—not Carmi.^[16]

(4:10) Jabez asked God to be rescued from some form of suffering or “pain.” God was very gracious to him. It can’t hurt to ask.

(4:13) Othniel was the first judge (Judg. 3:9-11). He was Caleb’s brother (Judg. 1:13; 3:9).

(4:17) Bithia was a daughter of Pharaoh. Payne suggests that this was under Joseph’s leadership in Egypt (~1,800 BC).^[17]

Descendants of Simeon

(4:24) This list comes from Numbers 26:12-13 (cf. Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15).

(4:40) The Canaanites were a branch of the Hamites, so the Canaanites “seem to be intended here.”^[18]

1 Chronicles 5

These are the Transjordan tribes: Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. They were wiped out by the Assyrian conquests.

(5:1) Reuben lost the right of the firstborn, because he slept with his father’s concubine (Gen. 35:22). Reuben gave his double portion to Joseph, whose heirs became a double tribe Ephraim and Manasseh.

(5:2) Judah took the rights of the firstborn and the messianic line, as Jacob foretold (Gen. 49:8-10).

(5:3) Reuben had four sons (Gen. 46:9; Ex. 6:14; Num. 26:5-6).

(5:4) We don’t know which son Joel descended from.

(5:6) The Assyrians took over these tribes in ~733 BC.^[19]

(5:8) These are also mentioned in Numbers 32:38.

(5:14) Buz is not Abraham’s nephew (Gen. 22:21), but an otherwise unknown person.^[20]

(5:16) Sharon is not the coastal land north of Philistia (Josh. 12:18), but to somewhere else in the Transjordan. It is mentioned in the Mesha inscription.^[21]

(5:20) God answered the prayers of these men in their battle.

(5:23) Senir was the Amorite name for Mount Hermon (Deut. 3:9).^[22]

(5:26) Regarding Pul, Payne writes, “Pul was the private name of Tiglath-pileser III prior to his accession in 745 BC.”^[23]

1 Chronicles 6

This shows Levi’s genealogy, which is important to show the priestly line. From Levi comes Kohath who starts the high priesthood. This genealogy skips around quite a bit. It does not mention Jehoiada (2 Kings 12:2), Urijah (2 Kings 16:10-16), Azariah (2 Chron. 26:17), Eli (1 Sam. 1:9; 14:3), or Abiathar (2 Sam. 8:17). When we compare this list with Ezra, we see that Ezra does not include certain names in his list in Ezra 7:1-5, even though Ezra is a scribe (Ezra 7:6). Ezra omits some names, and it appears that he adds two names. This isn’t a scribal error? Once again, this shows that genealogies were not chronologies. They were meant to show descent rather than dating.

(6:1) Levi’s sons are always ordered according to their age (Gen. 46:11; Ex. 6:16; Num. 3:17; 26:57).

(6:2) Levi’s son Kohath started the priesthood (Ex. 6:18; Num. 3:19).

(6:3) Amram is separated by 250 years from Moses and Aaron’s father (Ex. 6:20; Num. 26:59).^[24]

(6:4) Eleazar carried on the priesthood, because Nadab and Abihu were struck dead by God (Lev. 10:2). Many names are omitted in this genealogy.

(6:8) Zadok served David in ~1,000 BC (2 Sam. 8:17; 15:24).

(6:9) Azariah was the high priest under Solomon (1 Kin. 4:2).

(6:13) Hilkiah discovered the Law during Josiah’s day in 622 BC (2 Chron. 34:14).

(6:33) Heman (~1,000 BC) is one of the authors who contributed to the Psalms.

(6:54) The rest of the chapter shows the cities given to the priests and their families.

1 Chronicles 7

Here are more names added and omitted that cannot be attested in the other genealogies. Once again, these are not errors. Rather, they show that genealogies showed what was important for ancestry.

(7:1) This is taken from Numbers 26:23-24 (cf. Gen. 46:13).

(7:2) One of the descendants may have been the judge who carried on the name Tola (Judg. 10:1).

(7:3-4) Payne understands these extremely large numbers to refer to chiefs (ʾallûp), rather than thousands (ʾelep).^[25]

(7:12) These could be shortened forms of Iri (v.7) and Aharah (1 Chron. 8:1).^[26]

(7:13) These lists are also found in Genesis 46:24 and Numbers 26:48-49.

(7:14) The “Aramean concubine” could be included to show Ezra’s contemporaries how having interfaith marriages leads to drastic consequences.

(7:15) Zelophehad had daughters who inherited his land (Num. 26:33; 27:1-11; 36:1-12).

(7:30-31) This comes from Genesis 46:17 (cf. Num. 26:44-46).

(7:35) Helem is another form for Hotham in verse 32.^[27]

1 Chronicles 8

Chronicler zooms in on Benjamin’s line. This was Saul’s line. 8:6-27 is completely unique to chronicles.

(8:1) Aharah is likely another spelling for Ahiram (Num. 26:36).

(8:6) There is at least a 500 year gap between Ehud and Geba.^[28]

(8:28) “These” modifies Shema’s sons, grandsons, and brothers.^[29]

(8:33) Ner was the grandfather of Saul.

(8:40) This brings the reader to the Exile (586 BC).

1 Chronicles 9

(9:1) The book of Kings refers to “a court record now lost.”^[30]

(9:2) The “first” ones seem to refer to the pre-exilic Jews.

(9:5) This should be read Shelanites (cf. Num. 26:20).

(9:21) This “tent” seems to refer to God’s tabernacle before Solomon’s Temple was built.^[31]

(9:25) If you total up guard stations and gatekeepers, there were nine people for each post. Payne writes, “If we assume eight-hour shifts, this would require 72 men on duty, one week out of every three; twelve-hour shifts would require 48 on a week’s duty, once every four or five weeks.”^[32]

(9:33) These are the people mentioned in verses 14-16.

(9:35-44) This is a reproduction of Benjamin’s line from 1 Chronicles 8:29-38. Why is it repeated here? Payne suggests, “Its purpose here is to introduce the tragic conclusion to his reign (ch. 10).”^[33]

1 Chronicles 10

David is the focus of the rest of 1 Chronicles (chs. 10-29). We find the parallel passage in 1 Samuel 31. Therefore, roughly all of 1 Samuel is skipped in Chronicles, and we pick up with David’s replacement of Saul.

(10:1) The Philistines remained even after Joshua’s conquest (Josh. 13:2-3) and still retained various cities (Judg. 1:18). King Saul had originally held back the Philistines (1 Sam. 7:13; 14:31). This passage shows their final attack against King Saul, which ended in Saul’s death.

(10:2) The Philistines were brutal—not just killing Saul but also his sons.

(10:3) This fits with 1 Samuel 31. Saul was mortally wounded, but not yet dead, from the archers.

(10:4) Saul was concerned with being “abused” by the Philistines. Samson was abused by the Philistines, when they gouged out his eyes and put him to work as slave labor (Judg. 16:21). Saul commits suicide which is unknown up to this point in the OT, though it occurs later (2 Sam. 17:23; 1 Kin. 16:18).

(10:5) The armor bearer also killed himself. He must have feared the “abuse” of the Philistines as well.

(10:6) Saul died with his sons and “all his men” (1 Sam. 31:6).

(10:7-9) When the people of Israel saw that Saul had died, they fled their homes. The Philistines rushed in to fill the vacancy, stripping Saul until he was nude and decapitating him. Apparently, he was “abused” after all (v.4).

(10:10) 1 Samuel 31 adds that the Philistines hung Saul’s body on the walls of Beth Shan (1 Sam. 31:10). This was done in order to worship Ashtoreth—the goddess of sex and war. They placed his head in the temple of Dagon—the god of vegetation (cf. 1 Sam. 5:2-5).^[34]

(10:11-12) Saul had rescued these people 30 years earlier (1 Sam. 11:1-11). It’s no wonder that they are the ones who rescue Saul’s body.

(10:13-14) The chronicler summarizes why Saul died: Saul didn’t seek God’s will, but instead, he consulted occult practice (1 Sam. 28). Notice that the text states that “He [God] killed him,” even though the earlier text makes plain that Saul killed himself. This shows God’s sovereignty over free will decisions.

1 Chronicles 11

These next ten chapters (chs. 11-20) document the time from 1003-995 BC, when David rose to power.^[35] The parallel passage for this chapter can be found in 2 Samuel 5:1-10.

(11:1-3) David’s example of leadership—even without the official title—led the people to follow him. Samuel had predicted that David would be king (1 Sam 15:28; 16:1-13), and David fulfilled his calling. The David made a covenant with the elders to follow God’s leadership, even as he gave leadership to the people (v.3).

(11:4-5) The parallel passage only mentions “David’s men” (2 Sam. 5:6), but this passage states that “all Israel” went to Jerusalem and conquered it (v.5).

(11:6) The parallel passage is found in 2 Samuel 5:8. Joab was David’s nephew.

(11:7) Jerusalem was a good base and capital. It was in the middle of Judah and the northern tribes, and it was a strongly fortified city.

(11:8-9) David built up and fortified the city and its surroundings. The reason that David succeeded was that God was with him (v.9).

David’s mighty men

(11:10-47) This list of David’s mighty men is almost exact to the list given in 2 Samuel 23:8-39 “with minor variations, such as spelling.”^[36]

1 Chronicles 12

Summary: The mighty men were the men who helped David when he was at Ziklag, as he was being chased by Saul (1 Sam. 27:6-7). This verse sums up the quality of David’s mighty men: “He who was least was equal to a hundred and the greatest to a thousand” (12:14). All of the tribes of Israel came to Hebron to support David’s kingship. They were of “one mind to make David king” (12:38).

(12:1) This was roughly 16 months before David’s takeover (~1010 BC).

(12:2-3) King Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin; so, these men should be loyal to Saul, but they recognized God’s hand on David instead.

(12:4-7) Ishmaiah must have commanded the thirty at this point, which implies that he was incredibly powerful (v.4).

(12:8-15) The Gadites probably joined David in the cave of Adullam (1 Chron. 11:15; 12:16; cf. 1 Sam 22:1). The fact that they attacked during the Jordan’s spring flood makes their attack all the more impressive (v.15).

(12:16-18) David gave these men an opportunity to join up with him, and the Holy Spirit led their leader (Amasai) to agree.

(12:19) David didn’t actually fight in this battle (1 Sam. 29), and the Philistines didn’t trust David (1 Sam. 29:4-5).

(12:20-21) Many from Manasseh defected to David from Saul, and this is described more fully in 1 Samuel 30.

(12:22) David’s army was empowered by God, and so, it shouldn’t surprise us to see that it was also compared to God’s army in power and stature.

(12:23-40) This describes the soldiers and officers who joined David over the next 7.5 years to join David.^[37]

The sons of Issachar were men who “understood the times.” That is, they realized that they should throw in with David, rather than Saul (v.32).

This long feast is a microcosm of the messianic feast of Christ (v.39), according to Payne (Ps. 22:29; Isa. 25:6; Rev. 19:7).^[38]

1 Chronicles 13

Summary: This chapter parallels 2 Samuel 6. David decides to bring the ark to the city of David. He first says that he’ll do this if it “seems good to you [the people], and if it is from the LORD our God” (13:2). But, later it only says that “the thing was right in the eyes of all the people” (13:4). It doesn’t say that the Lord approved. They put the ark on a “new cart” (13:7), and it was about to fall. Uzza went to steady the Ark, and God killed him (13:9-10). We have to do God’s work in God’s way. David is angry at God at first, but later he learns the lesson: you can’t follow God in your own way; you need to follow his prescriptions. David writes, “The LORD our God made an outburst on us, for we did not seek Him according to the ordinance” (1 Chron. 15:13). They were transporting the ark on a cart, when it was supposed to be carried on poles by the Levites (Num. 7:9; 4:5-6; 15; Lev. 10:1-2). Uzza knew this, but the Philistines did not know this. God has mercy on those with less revelation (Mt. 11:23-24).

(13:1) This is similar to 2 Samuel 6:1.

(13:2-4) The chronicler adds that David appealed to all the people to make this decision. Notice that David stipulated that this should be good (1) in the eyes of God and (2) the eyes of the people. However, it was only found good in the eyes of the people—not God (v.4).

(13:5) This was 30,000 men (2 Sam. 6:1), and they went to Baalah to get the ark (v.6).

(13:7) These were sons of Abinadab (2 Sam. 6:3). They put it on a “new cart,” rather than using the prescribed poles by hand (1 Chron. 15:13).

(13:8) The people were celebrating before Ark had made it back to Jerusalem safely.

(13:9-10) The people should never have used a “new cart” (v.7). They needed to carry the Ark by hand (1 Chron. 15:13). Even though the Philistines used a wagon (1 Sam. 6:11), they had less revelation than the Jewish people. God had warned them that they would die if they touched the holy objects (Num. 4:15).

(13:11-12) David seems to fluctuate between anger (v.11) and fear (v.12). He is angry that God would judge Uzza in this way. But he is also afraid at the same time.

(13:13-14) David sent the Ark to Obed-edom, who was a Levite (1 Chron. 26:1, 4). There was no reason to be afraid. In fact, because Obed-edom was willing to follow God’s plan, his entire house was blessed.

1 Chronicles 14

Summary: David takes more wives (v.3). The Philistines find out that David is the new king, and they attack him. They probably think that this is a time of weakness for Israel. David defeats them. God commands him to strike the army of the Philistines, but this is obviously self-defense (v.16).

(14:1-2) Some commentators date Hiram’s reign to the time of Solomon—not David. However, it’s possible that Hiram is being referred to as king, but he wasn’t actually the king at the time of the event in question.^[39]

(14:3) David’s polygamy was against the Law (Deut. 17:17), and it led to grievous problems down the road for his family. Where were the prophets (like Nathan) to speak the truth to him at this time? Maybe God didn’t send prophets, because David already had enough revelation from his word (Deut. 17:17). We definitely see that David’s spirituality declined after he lost his friend Jonathan.

(14:4-7) This list appeared in 3:5-8.

(14:8-9) The valley of Rephaim was southwest of Jerusalem and was a boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Josh. 15:8).

(14:10-11) David was encouraged by this word from God that he would defeat the Philistines. Of course, once God says that you will win the war, you can have full confidence that you’ll win. Christians should be equally confident in how we will be on the right side of history when God judges Satan and those who have rejected him.

(14:12) It was required to burn idols in Deuteronomy 7:5, 25.

(14:13-15) This didn’t mean that an army was actually marching on the tops of the balsam trees. Instead, this could be God giving them a miraculous sound to signal them for war (cf. 2 Kin. 7:6).

(14:16-17) David’s victory over the Philistines spread far and wide. This would have shown the surrounding nations that God was powerfully endorsing David as his man.

1 Chronicles 15

Summary: David orders the Levites to move the Ark in the proper and prescribed way (15:15). There might be some foreshadowing in 15:29. It says that Michal—the daughter of Saul—saw David leaping and celebrating with the ark, and she “despised him in her heart.” The parallel passage is 2 Samuel 6.

(15:1) The time was right to build a tent for God’s Ark. The people were at peace (2 Sam. 6:12) and David wanted a central place to worship God (1 Chron. 16:4).

(15:2) David remembered the last time the people tried to move the Ark (1 Chron. 13:10), and he followed God’s way this time (Deut. 10:8).

(15:3) David wanted the entire nation to see their crown jewel—the Ark of the Covenant.

(15:4-10) This shows how many priests came.

(15:11-15) The priests washed themselves as prescribed, and they carried the Ark as God had prescribed.

(15:16) The worship of God was not boring. It was exciting, energizing, and joyful.

(15:17-20) Heman was the grandson of Samuel the prophet (1 Chron. 6:28). These men went on to write some of the inspired Psalms.

(15:21) The title sheminith occurs in Psalm 6 and 12. The word comes from the word “eight” and could refer to a lower octave of music, though this isn’t sure.^[40]

(15:22) Chenaniah could be a head singer. Payne, however, understands him to be in charge of carrying the Ark.^[41] Though he is mentioned again in verse 27 as singing.

(15:23-24) This further describes workers around the Ark.

(15:25-26) It’s interesting that David was “helping the Levites” to carry the Ark, but he wasn’t struck down (cf. 1 Chron. 13:10).

(15:27) The ephod was a robe that the priest wore (Ex. 28:6; 1 Sam. 2:18).

(15:28-29) Payne comments, “David’s uninhibited love for God stands in stark contrast to the rigid, unsympathetic attitude of this daughter of Saul.”^[42] Compare with 2 Samuel 6:21-23 for more detail.

1 Chronicles 16

(16:1-2) Payne holds that David did not offer his own sacrifice; rather, “they” (i.e. the priests) offered it on his behalf and he was with them.^[43]

(16:3-7) David passed out gifts of food to celebrate the housing of the Ark. From what we know of David, he really liked to celebrate. In fact, he appointed some priests for the express purpose of simply “celebrating” and playing music (vv.4-7). David liked to party!

(16:8-12) The repetition of this psalm is to remember what God had done. This is similar to Psalm 105.

(16:13) This substitutes Israel for Abraham (Ps. 105:6).

(16:14-17) The Abrahamic Covenant is described as an “everlasting covenant.”

(16:18-22) The word “anointed” is used for the Messiah, but it is used throughout the OT for prophets (1 Kin. 19:16), priests (Ex. 29:7), and kings (1 Sam. 2:35).

(16:23-26) David cites from Psalm 96 throughout this section.

Idolatry is forbidden because God is the Creator of the universe (v.26).

(16:27-28) God should be worshipped.

(16:29) This is probably where modern churches get the idea of wearing suits and dresses to church each week.

(16:30) This was a key passage used in the days of Copernicus and Galileo to argue for geocentrism, rather than heliocentrism. The purpose is not that the universe moves around the Earth, but that God has created a planet that isn’t going anywhere.

(16:31-33) They were happy (“sing for joy”) that God was coming to “judge the Earth.” The expression “He is coming” is a reference to the Second Coming of Jesus.

(16:34-36) David cites from Psalm 106. At the end, all of the people agree with David’s prayer by saying, “Amen.”

(16:37-43) There was a daily ministry in front of the Ark. The chronicler describes the various people involved in the priesthood—both inside and outside of Jerusalem. The text concludes with David sending everyone home (v.43).

1 Chronicles 17

The parallel passage is 2 Samuel 7 dealing with the Davidic Covenant.

(17:1) David wanted to build a temple for the tabernacle (v.1). God just wanted a mobile home or “tent” that could move around, but David wanted to build something beautiful.

(17:2-3) Nathan told David to build the temple, but he wasn’t inspired to say this. It wasn’t until that night that God spoke to Nathan (v.3).

(17:4) In the parallel passage, God asks David a question, while in this version, God gives him a declaration. It could be that God asked a question first, and he followed up later with an answer to his own question.

(17:5-6) God dwelled in Eli’s building in Shiloh (1 Sam. 3:3). Clearly, this isn’t a permanent dwelling.

(17:7-8) God seems to emphasize that he was with David everywhere—even among the sheep in the fields. God doesn’t want to be isolated in a certain location. Furthermore, instead of David giving something to God, God wanted to give something to David. Never forget that we cannot out give God!

(17:9) God promises to protect his people in the land.

(17:10-11) God would set up a “house” or dynasty for David through one of his sons.

(17:12) This is the David Covenant. Even though the word covenant isn’t used that way here, it is used that way elsewhere (2 Sam. 23:5; Ps. 89:3, 34; 132:11-12).

(17:13) This is similar to Psalm 2:7, 12. It couldn’t be fulfilled in anyone besides Jesus who was sinless.

(17:14-15) Only Jesus was installed as a king “forever.”

(17:16) It could be that David “sat before the Lord” in prayer, or that he sat before the tabernacle (cf. 1 Chron. 16:1).

(17:17-21) David knew that he was a nobody, but God made him a somebody. He was standing in awe of God’s love and gracious gifts on him and the nation.

(17:22) The Jewish people will be God’s people “forever.”

(17:23-27) God’s promises and words to David gave him confidence to pray (v.25).

1 Chronicles 18

17. Barton Payne argues that this chapter comes chronologically before chapter 17.^[44] The parallel passage is 2 Samuel 8.

(18:1) Gath was a central city of the Philistines. By taking this city, David struck right at the heart of Philistia.

(18:2) This includes the conquering of Moab, but it doesn’t include the killing of half of the soldiers (2 Sam. 8:2).

(18:3) Zobah was from the Arameans.

(18:4) 2 Samuel 8:4 states that there were 1,700 chariots. Payne believes that 2 Samuel was a “scribal slip,”^[45] and 7,000 is the correct number.

(18:5) Zobah’s support was also defeated by David.

(18:6) The text makes it clear that God was empowering David—not self-effort.

(18:7-8) David pillaged the materials for the Temple, storing them up for Solomon to later use on the bronze sea (2 Chron. 4:2-4).

(18:9-11) Tou—the king of Hamath—was an enemy of Hadadezer. This is a case where “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” This is also why Tou gave so many materials to David to honor him. Hadadezer must have been a thorn in the side of Tou.

(18:12) In the parallel passage, David is said to be military commander (2 Sam. 8:13). Joab is mentioned in Psalm 60. Multiple battles and commanders were likely in view.

(18:13-14) Once again, God is the one who is empowering David.

(18:15-17) The rest of the chapter describes David’s cabinet.

1 Chronicles 19

18. Barton Payne argues that this chapter comes chronologically before chapter 18.^[46] The parallel passage is in 2 Samuel 10-12; however, the chronicler omits David’s sin with Bathsheba.

(19:1) The Ammonites were from the incestuous relationship of Lot with his daughters (Gen. 19:36-38). They repeatedly attacked the Israelites (Judg. 3:13; 10:7-9, 17-11:33), but Saul had defeated them on multiple occasions (1 Sam. 11:11; 14:47).

(19:2-3) Nahash was probably the son of the Nahash in Saul’s day (1 Sam. 11:1). David wanted to bring peace (v.2), but Hanun’s advisors thought this was disingenuous (v.3).

(19:4-5) The shaving of the beards was a massive insult (2 Sam. 10:4).

(19:6) 1,000 talents was thirty seven tons of silver.^[47] They were trying to hire mercenaries to support them.

(19:7) 32,000 must have included foot soldiers.

(19:8) Joab was one of David’s strongest military leaders.

(19:9-12) This entire failure of diplomacy resulted in war. Joab worked together with his brother (Abishai). If one army failed, then the other would come to their aid.

(19:13-16) This is a good balance of human agency and trust in God (v.13). It resulted in victory (v.14).

(19:17) David entered into the battle at this point. It seems that the Arameans were in major trouble at this point, fighting men whom God had empowered.

(19:18) 1 Chronicles 18:4 seems to have the right numbers. There were 7,000 horseman (rather than 700, 2 Sam. 10:18).^[48]

(19:19) The Arameans gave up their fighting at this point, seeing that David had a superior military.

1 Chronicles 20

(20:1) The parallel passage includes David’s adultery and murder at this point (2 Sam. 11), but the chronicler omits this.

(20:2) The crown wasn’t worn regularly, because a “talent” of gold is 75 pounds.^[49]

(20:3) This refers to forced manual labor (2 Sam. 12:31).

(20:4) Sibbecai was one of David’s “thirty” mighty men (1 Chron. 11:29). This man, Sippai, wasn’t a giant, but he descended from them (cf. Deut. 3:11).

(20:5) The parallel passage is thought to be a corruption (2 Sam. 21:19).

(20:6-8) Even though these mutant giants were fierce, strong, and intimidating, they were no match for David and his men.

1 Chronicles 21

The parallel passage is 2 Samuel 24.

(1 Chron. 21:1) Did God move David to take the census, or did Satan?

(21:2-3) David likely took this census out of pride and self-sufficiency. Joab could see that their victory was not due to their population, but to God’s power. Later, David learned his lesson (1 Chron. 27:23).

(21:4) This took about ten months (v.8). The parallel passage elaborate this verse (2 Sam. 24:4-6).

(21:5) The parallel passage states there were 800,000 men—not 1.1 million. This passage includes “all” of Israel, while 2 Samuel 24:9 does not. Samuel states that Judah had more men (500,000), while Chronicles states 470,000, which is likely the use of a round number.^[50]

(21:6) These were religious tribes, so they were likely excluded on this basis.

(21:7-8) When God brought judgment (v.7), David immediately repented (v.8). Perhaps David remembered Joab’s reproof (v.3).

(21:9) Gad was a “seer” or prophet who had counseled David before (1 Sam. 22:5) and later (2 Chron. 29:25). He later wrote documents for the chronicler (1 Chron. 29:29).

(21:10-12) All three options were equally terrible.

(21:13) David entrusted himself directly to God—not humans.

(21:14) God took so many people because David had trusted in people (i.e. the census).

(21:15) Regarding God being “sorry,” Selman writes, “This astonishing idea does not refer to any moral change in God, but to a particular change of plan arising from his deep grief or compassion. It is mentioned especially when God withholds judgment, often in response to intercession (Exod. 32:12-14; Amos 7:3-6) or human repentance (Jer. 18:8; Jon. 3:9-10).”^[51] See comments on Exodus 32:11 and Genesis 6:6.

(21:16) David had made the right choice, trusting in God’s “mercy” (v.13).

(21:17) David wanted to intercede for the people. This is different from Christ, because in this case David had sinned.

(21:18-22) God commanded David to build an altar as a consequence of his repentance. God didn’t accept David’s life as a substitute, but instead, he had him build this altar.

(21:23-25) David wanted to pay for this altar and the sacrifices—not accepting it for free from Ornan.

(21:26-30) God accepted David’s offering (v.26), yet David was still scared of God’s judgment (v.30). This must have really shaken his confidence and closeness with God.

1 Chronicles 22

(22:1) David is already getting ready for the building of the Temple (2 Chron. 3:1; Ps. 30).

(22:2) David used the resident aliens as labor to cut stone.

(22:3) Archaeologically, the use of iron fits with the change to the Iron I age.^[52]

(22:4) David used Israelites to move the timber and logs.

(22:5) Solomon was too young to get the materials read. David was setting his son up for success—even as a boy. David set up Solomon for success—even though he couldn’t build the Temple himself.

(22:6-9) Solomon—not David—was told to build the Temple. David had shed too much blood (v.8). God even predicted Solomon by name (v.9). Solomon had a life of peace. He only needed to act in one battle (2 Chron. 8:3).

(22:10) David quotes the Davidic Covenant giving to him by God through Nathan (1 Chron. 17:12-14; cf. 28:6).

(22:11-13) David blesses Solomon.

(22:14) David prepared 40,000 tons of gold and silver.^[53]

(22:15-18) David also left Solomon with a great and massive workforce.

(22:19) David tells the leaders to seek God first, and these other projects would fall into line. The fruition of all of this occurs later (2 Chron. 5:7).

1 Chronicles 23

(23:1) David starts to give Solomon his “last words” (v.27). This is parallel to 1 Kings 2.

(23:2-4) They needed to number the Levites to see how many were needed to do the work (cf. Num. 4:3, 23).

(23:5) David was a master musician. Apparently, David made (or perhaps bought?) musical instruments himself (cf. Amos 6:5).

(23:6-23) This is repeated from 1 Chronicles 6:16-30.

(23:24) David took men 20 years and older, while Moses took men 30 years and older (Num. 4:3, 23). Yet, Moses dropped the age to 25 (Num. 8:24), and David dropped the age requirement even more.

(23:25-32) David wanted the Levitical priests to be in order so that they could take care of the city of Jerusalem after he was gone.

1 Chronicles 24

(24:1) The focus of this is how David arranged the priests into divisions.

(24:2) This occurred in Leviticus 10:1-2.

(24:4) David created 24 total divisions.

(24:5) David separated them by God’s direction (“by lot”), not his own innovation.

(24:6) There were three witnesses to see the lot that was cast.

(24:7-19) Here we get specific detail to see the arrangements.

(24:20-31) These others were not descended from Aaron, but served in the Temple.

1 Chronicles 25

(25:1-7) This addressed how David arranged the 4,000 musicians (1 Chron. 23:5). We get a number of our psalmists from this section: Asaph (Pss. 50; 73-83), Jeduthun (Pss. 39; 62), and Heman (Pss. 42-49, 84-85, 87-88),

(25:8-31) This outlines the divisions of the musicians. Since there were 4,000 of them, this was quite an administrative accomplishment to arrange them all.

1 Chronicles 26

(26:1-28) These are the temple guards or “gatekeepers.” There were 4,000 of them (1 Chron. 23:5). Like the others above, they cast lots to assign these men (v.13).

(26:29-32) This explains the 6,000 officials and judges (1 Chron. 23:4).

1 Chronicles 27

The previous chapters dealt with the religious organization in Jerusalem, and this chapter deals with the civil organization, including the military and governmental leadership.

(27:1-15) This section addresses the fact that the military men served for one month each year. It details the different military leaders. The leaders were accomplished military men. Jashobeam was one of David’s three mighty men (1 Chron. 11:11).

(27:16-24) This section deals with the leaders of each Hebrew tribe.

(27:25-34) This section deals with David’s royal cabinet.

1 Chronicles 28

(28:1-2) David gathered all of the people outlined in the previous chapters, including the leaders and military men. David had wanted to build the Temple himself (v.2; 1 Chron. 17:1-4), but God had not allowed him.

(28:3) See 1 Chronicles 22:8.

(28:4) The promises of the Messiah was being further narrowed down from Israel to Judah to Jesse’s house to David’s line.

(28:5) Solomon would carry on the line.

(28:6-8) David cites the Davidic Covenant (1 Chron. 17; 2 Sam. 7). However, Solomon would disobey God (v.7; 1 Kin. 11:1-11). God was showing the only a perfectly obedient heir would inherit the throne “forever.”

(28:9) This is similar to 1 Kings 2:2-4. The Davidic Covenant was unconditional, even if Solomon’s part in it was conditional on seeking God.

(28:10) David had prepared all of the materials and men to serve to build the Temple. David now exhorts Solomon to be strong and act!

(28:11-12) David gave Solomon all of the designs. These were revealed to David by God himself (v.19), just as the designs for the Tabernacle were directly to Moses (Ex. 25:9, 40; 27:8).

(28:13-15) David also had all of the men ready to serve.

(28:16-17) There were ten tables (2 Chron. 4:8), not one (Ex. 37:10).

(28:18) God rode on the cherubim (Ps. 18:10; Ezek. 1). These figures were likely the large statues of wood covered in gold inside the Holy Place (2 Chron. 3:10-13).

(28:19) Payne understands this to mean that God didn’t simply dictate these blueprints, but literally wrote them for David.^[54]

(28:20-21) Even though all of the materials were ready, Solomon still needed to act. Leadership is more about trusting God than trusting in materials and men—a lesson David had learned over and over.

1 Chronicles 29

(29:1) David knew that Solomon was young, and needed all the help he could get (1 Chron. 22:5).

(29:2-3) David prepared all of the stones needed to adorn the Temple. This is like a ready-set package for Solomon to assemble, rather than starting from scratch. David even gave his personal treasures to make the Temple work (v.3). Rather than pouting, David did all that he could to see God’s plans move forward under Solomon’s leadership.

(29:4) This was roughly 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of silver!^[55]

(29:5) Payne makes an astute observation here: “The king’s appeal for each giver to ‘consecrate himself’ reads literally ‘to fill his hand.’ This was a technical phrase used to describe ordination to the priesthood; and Scripture, significantly, places the act of giving on this same level of devotion.”^[56]

(29:6) The men rose to the challenge and call that David gave to them.

(29:7) This was equivalent to 190 tons of gold and 375 tons of silver.^[57] These men almost doubled David’s own gift! (v.4)

(29:8) See 1 Chronicles 26:21.

(29:9) God loves cheerful givers who go above and beyond what was needed (2 Cor. 9:7).

David prays

(29:10) David saw God as the Father over all of Israel the nation.

(29:11-13) This is similar to Matthew 6:13. This led David to share his grateful heart to God (v.13).

(29:14) Since everything belongs to God (Ps. 24:1), they were only giving back what God already owned. No wonder they were so cheerful and generous (v.9).

(29:15) This seems to be saying that our time on Earth is short, so we should give to God to make it count forever.

(29:16-18) David was proud of the generosity of the people.

(29:19) David prayed for his son Solomon that he would have a heart that followed God—just as David himself was a “man after God’s own heart.”

(29:20) The entire leadership agreed and bowed down to God (first and foremost), as well as David (second).

(29:21-25) When Solomon was accepted as the king, the people joyfully accepted his leadership (1 Kin. 1:40), despite Adonijah’s attempted coup (1 Kin. 1:25, 39). This could be why the expression “second time” is used (v.22).

(29:26-30) The chronicler concludes with the death of David and the mention that all the other kingdoms were aware of this transition.

Commentary on 2 Chronicles

Unless otherwise stated, all citations are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

Just as 1 Chronicles is primarily related to David, 2 Chronicles is largely devoted to Solomon—at least at the beginning.

2 Chronicles 1

This parallels 1 Kings 3:4-15.

(1:1) God was behind Solomon as the next king. David was following God’s will by installing Solomon.

(1:2-4) The only places for worship were Gibeon and Jerusalem. Of course, Gibeon is seven miles northwest of Jerusalem.

(1:5) The altar was made of wood, but it was covered with bronze (Ex. 38:1-2).

(1:6) Solomon began his reign by giving a massive amount of sacrifices to God (“a thousand burnt offerings”). At the very least, he started his kingship right.

(1:7) God “appeared” in a dream according to the parallel passage (1 Kin. 3:5, 15).

(1:8) God’s “kindness” (ḥeseḏ) is his “loyal love.”

(1:9) Solomon is citing the Abrahamic Covenant here (Gen. 13:16; 22:17), and he says that it has been “fulfilled” (cf. 1 Kin. 4:20). This does not mean that it was permanently or eternally fulfilled—only that Solomon was blessed enough to live at a time where he ruled over a massive amount of Israelites as God promised. Note, as well, that this has nothing to do with the promise of the land—only the people.

(1:10) Solomon’s father has prayed that Solomon would have “discretion and understanding” (1 Chron. 22:12). Here we see the fulfillment of this prayer, as well as Solomon praying for it as well. Looking at the massive responsibility of leadership, Solomon realized that he needed wisdom to lead. After all, he was a young man with little experience.

(1:11) Solomon prayed in God’s will (1 Jn. 5:14-15) and with the right motives (Jas. 4:3). This must have been a test from God.

(1:12-13) Because Solomon had his priorities right, God gave him other things added on. However, if Solomon had asked for these first, he wouldn’t have received anything. This is illustrative of Jesus’ statement that we need to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness first, and everything will be added on (Mt. 6:33).

(1:14-15) This shows that God was faithful to his promise. God made Solomon incredibly wealthy.

(1:16) Kue (Cilicia NIV) is modern day Turkey.

(1:17) This could be showing that Solomon was already beginning to slip. After all, Moses forbade kings amassing too many horses from Egypt (Deut. 17:16).

2 Chronicles 2

(2:1) This is a little bit suspicious. Solomon builds a nice Temple for God, but next, he wants one for himself.

(2:2) These all add up to 153,600 (v.17; cf. 1 Kin. 5:15-16).

(2:3-4) Huram is another name for Hiram (1 Kin. 5:18). Hiram had sent delegates to Solomon to offer condolences for David’s death (1 Kin. 5:1). Solomon sent word back—presumably through delegates—to ask for wood. Solomon explains that he would use the wood for building the Temple (v.4).

(2:5) This doesn’t affirm henotheism. Instead, Solomon is stating—to a pagan king!—that the God of Israel is the greatest of all.

(2:6) Solomon knew that God was omnipresent and couldn’t be confined to a Temple. The purpose of the Temple was for religious sacrifices (“incense”). Realizing the greatness of God, Solomon humbly asks, “Who am I that I should build a house for Him?” Even as he built the house, Solomon knew that God didn’t need him or his house.

(2:7) Apparently, Solomon didn’t have anyone that could match the artisans from Tyre.

(2:8-9) Solomon specifies the certain types of wood that he wanted. He was very particular in how he wanted to build the Temple.

(2:10) Solomon asked for their fee in the parallel passage (1 Kin. 5:6). Chronicles has higher figures than Kings. Payne resolves this by noting that Chronicles is also referring to all of the Phoenician servants—not just Hiram.^[58]

Hiram’s response

This material isn’t in the parallel passage (1 Kin. 5).

(2:11) Honestly, this would have been a touching note to receive. Imagine someone telling you, “God love these people so much that he chose you to lead them.”

(2:12) This isn’t fictitious material, as critics claim. 1 Kings does mention that Hiram says, “Blessed be the LORD today.” This could be an abridged version of Hiram’s longer statement. Payne also suggests that Hiram was an apt businessman, and he could’ve been praising God for financial reasons—not theological ones.^[59]

(2:13) Remember, Solomon asked for a skilled craftsman and artisan to sculpt the precious metals (v.7). This is the man Hiram put forward: Huram-abi.

(2:14) Regarding Huram-abi’s descent, Payne writes, “The fact that his father came “from Tyre” gave Huram-Abi a combined Phoenician-Hebrew endowment, which enabled him to deal both linguistically and culturally with the two nationalities of workmen who Would be responsible to him.”^[60]

Earlier, Bezalel was the master craftsman who built the Tabernacle through the power of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 31:2-5).

(2:15) Hiram asks for payment.

(2:16) Joppa was the port from which they would carry the timber.

(2:17-18) Solomon recaps all of those involved in the building project. Based on the numbers, this was going to be a huge enterprise!

2 Chronicles 3

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 6.

(3:1) Abraham had brought Isaac up to sacrifice him on Mount Moriah. Now, Solomon is building the Temple on this mountain.

(3:2) Solomon spent four years planning and preparing to embark on this massive building project (966 BC).

(3:3) Apparently, the “old standard” of a cubit was an extra three inches long. This would make the Temple 105 feet by 35 feet.^[61]

(3:4) 120 cubits seems high, and Payne (among other textual critics) argues that this is a textual corruption.^[62] 20 cubits seems more likely.

(3:5) This main hall was the Holy Place.

(3:6-7) These precious stones were likely inlaid in the floor. We aren’t sure where Parvaim was located.^[63]

(3:8) The parallel passage doesn’t mention these 600 talents of gold. This was an immense amount of gold, but small compared to the total amount (1 Chron. 22:14).

(3:9) This is a relatively small amount for the nails.

(3:10-13) The cherubim were specific angels that guarded the tree of life. This may be why they are in the Temple—namely, to guard the access to God. These were enormous in size—perhaps 35 in wingspan! They hung over the Ark.

(3:14) This veil showed that people couldn’t waltz into the presence of God. This communicated a distinct separation. This veil wouldn’t be torn apart until the death of Christ (Mt. 27:51).

(3:15-17) Payne contends that 35 cubits could be a copyist error, because the height of the whole building was only 20 cubits high.^[64]

2 Chronicles 4

(4:1) The altar was a 30 foot square of bronze.

(4:2-3) This was much larger than the bronze laver in the Tabernacle (Ex. 30:18). This is where they would wash (Ex. 30:21). This might prefigure the washing of the believer in regeneration (Titus 3:5; Heb. 9:10). It was surrounded by oxen.

(4:4) Underneath were twelve bulls (perhaps symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel).

(4:5) A handbreadth refers to the width of the hand (i.e. thumb to pinky). 1 Kings 7:26 states that this is 2,000—not 3,000. Again, numbers were hard to transmit by copyists, and this is most likely a copyist error. We don’t see errors creepy into the Hebrew text anywhere as much as in the realm of numbers.

(4:6) These basins were for the priests to wash.

(4:7) The ten lampstands were most likely made according to the designs of Exodus 25:31-40. Payne sees this as prefiguring the light of the future Church (Mt. 5:14),^[65] which is mere word association and speculation. We’re simply not sure.

(4:8) The bread on the tables showed communion with God.

(4:9-11) This describes the upper and inner court versus the outer and lower court. It showed a distinction between the priests. Huram was the artisan hired from Tyre to create the artistry.

(4:12-15) This gives further description of the artistic work.

(4:16) This is Huram (cf. 2 Chron. 2:13).

(4:17-20) Solomon didn’t spare any expense. Here, we read about how he made the utensils out of precious metals.

(4:21) This refers to the lampstands (Ex. 25:33).

(4:22) This describes the entrance to the Holy of Holies.

2 Chronicles 5

(5:1) David had additional treasure to store in the Temple. Not all of it was used on the construction of the Temple.

(5:2) David had placed the Tabernacle in the tent for 40 years (1 Chron. 15:1; 16:1). Now, it is finally being moved to the Temple to be housed there.

(5:3) Payne suggests that the chronological took eleven months for them to dedicate the Temple.^[66]

(5:4-5) The priests moved the Ark.

(5:6) Solomon sacrificed far more animals than his father David (1 Chron. 15:26; 16:1-3).

(5:7) They finally landed in the Holy of Holies.

(5:8) These cherubim could be the massive ones in the room, or the small ones on the Ark itself.

(5:9) The priests were commanded to move the Ark with these poles.

(5:10) Moses also added the manna (Ex. 16:32-34) and Aaron’s budded rod (Num. 17:10-11; Heb. 9:4). Perhaps these rotted and were long gone at this point (?).

(5:11) David set up these “divisions” earlier (1 Chron. 24).

(5:12) There were 24 priestly divisions, so perhaps five came from each division.

(5:13) This “lovingkindness” (ḥeseḏ) is the dominant theme throughout the OT. God’s presence came in the form of a cloud and entered the Temple, just as it had filled the Tabernacle under Moses (Ex. 40:34-35). When the people later turned from God, the presence left the Temple (Ezek. 10:18-19; 11:23).

(5:14) God’s presence was so powerful that it made the priests—the holy men!—back away from God. Today, all believers have this presence in their bodies as Temples of the Holy Spirit.

2 Chronicles 6

(6:1) God came in the form of a cloud (1 Chron. 5:11-14; cf. Ex. 19:9; 20:21; Lev. 16:2).

(6:2) The people would have the Temple, but this was conditional on obedience (1 Chron. 7:19-20). God destroyed the Temple twice. For now, the Church is God’s Temple on Earth. In the Millennial Kingdom, he will build another Temple (Ezek. 40-48).

(6:3) Solomon must have been facing the Temple when he said the words in verses 1-2. Here, he turns around to face the people.

(6:4) This refers to the Davidic Covenant (1 Chron. 17; 2 Sam. 7). It was “fulfilled” in Solomon’s day, and it would continue to be fulfilled in the future.

(6:5-6) God chose Jerusalem and the line of David to bless the nations—not to suppress the nations.

(6:7-9) See 1 Chronicles 28:2-3.

(6:10-11) The temporary blessing or cursing still revolved around the Mosaic Law (i.e. the “covenant” in the “ark”), even though the Davidic Covenant was permanent and unconditional.

(6:12-13) Solomon was not inside the Temple, but rather, he stood outside and prayed over the Temple.

(6:14-17) Solomon distinguishes God from any other so-called “god” by God’s loving and faithful character. This faithfulness was given through the Davidic Covenant. Solomon was in awe that God would give out a promise like this.

(6:18-21) Solomon knew that an omnipresent God could not be retained in a Temple—even though he would choose to be specially active in that location. While God was in “heaven” (v.21), God would answer prayers directed toward the Temple (v.20).

(6:22-23) Legal oaths were validated in the sanctuary (Ex. 22:10-11; Lev. 6:3-5). Solomon prays that God would adjudicate legal matters when people swore such oaths.

(6:24-25) Solomon gives another example of how God could work through the Temple—namely, if the people repented during times of war.

(6:26-27) Another example would be God listening to their prayers during times of drought.

(6:28-31) Another example was in the case of disease. Since God knows the heart of people (v.30), Solomon prayed that God would bless or curse the people accordingly. The goal of the Temple was not for people to have outward religion without inner transformation.

(6:32-33) The Temple was supposed to be a house of prayer for “all nations” (Isa. 56:6-8).

(6:34-35) This is similar to verses 24-25.

(6:36-39) Solomon understood total depravity (v.36). He anticipated that the people would sin, but he prayed that God would forgive them when they repented.

(6:40-42) This is similar to Psalm 132:8-10. God’s “lovingkindness” (ḥeseḏ) toward his “anointed” referred to the installed king(s). It has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.

2 Chronicles 7

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 8.

(7:1) The “fire” of the Lord was a symbol of his presence (Lev. 9:24).

(7:2) Even the holy men of Israel—the priests—couldn’t enter. Imagine if we could tell these OT believers that the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the believer! They would be shocked, while we daily take this for granted.

(7:3) The people “hit the deck” so to speak, realizing they were in the presence of ultimate goodness and greatness.

(7:4) Encountering God only made them want to give more to him.

(7:5) The parallel passage confirms this number (1 Kin. 8:63).

(7:6) The priests struck up the music.

(7:7) The fat offerings were peace offerings.^[67]

(7:8-9) Solomon had waited to dedicate the Temple so that it would line up with the Feast of Tabernacles and “all Israel” would be coming into the city (Ex. 23:16-17). The Day of Atonement would have happened during this time (Lev. 16).

(7:10) The people were sent back to their tents to celebrate more.

(7:11) 13 years went by (compare 1 Kin. 7:1; 9:10). So, the date is 947/946 BC.^[68]

(7:12-13) God tells Solomon how and why he will answer his prayers—namely, if the people pray and turn back to God. This is an answer of Solomon’s earlier petition (2 Chron. 6:26).

(7:14-16) American fundamentalists often cite this passage to refer to how God will bless the United States. We are disappointed to see J. Barton Payne affirming this interpretation, when he writes, “The stipulations that God lays down for a nation to experience his blessing, whether that nation be Solomon’s, Ezra’s, or our own.”^[69] This is simply not the case. This promise was given to Solomon and the nation of Israel. The condition was given through the Davidic Covenant and the Temple, which we have no claim to (see verse 16, as well as the greater context of the chapter and book). This may reveal Payne’s covenantalism.

(7:17-18) This language is very similar to Micah 5:2, which is also messianic.

(7:19-22) Sadly, God’s stipulations for the covenant were not followed, and this is exactly what ended up happening (1 Kin. 11:1-8; 2 Chron. 36:16).

2 Chronicles 8

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 9.

(8:1) This date corresponds to 2 Chronicles 7:11.

(8:2) Payne understands this to refer to 20 cities that Solomon had given Hiram for unpaid building debts (1 Kin. 9:11-13).

(8:3) This is Solomon’s only recorded military campaign. Hamath is in modern day Lebanon.

(8:4) Tadmor was 150 miles northeast of Damascus. It was a key trading route with Babylon.

(8:5) These Beth-Horons were in between Ephraim and Benjamin.

(8:6) Baalath was near Dan.

(8:7-9) The Canaanites were used as conscripted, forced labor. This was poor duty, but surely better than death. Moreover, these Canaanite people repeatedly kept trying to kill and frankly annihilate the Israelites, so this would be mild punishment by comparison. By contrast, Solomon spared the Israelites from forced labor (v.9).

(8:10) Here is a case where Kings “exaggerates” the number (1 Kin. 9:23). Once again, no exaggeration was occurring either way. Rather, Hebrew numbers were very difficult to transmit.

(8:11) Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh as a young man (1 Kin. 3:1). Solomon knew enough to keep her out of the “holy” place, but not enough to keep from marrying her in the first place! This would be his downfall (1 Kin. 11:1-4).

(8:12-13) Payne understands this to mean that Solomon offered these sacrifices via the priests—not directly himself.^[70] This is similar to how the text says that Solomon “built” the altar and various cities (vv.1-6), when we know that he conscripted labor to do this.

(8:14) David had broken these groups up into divisions (1 Chron. 23-26), and Solomon was respecting these divisions.

(8:15-16) Solomon completed his work on the Temple.

(8:17) These were strategic commercial ports on the Red Sea.

(8:18) The location of Ophir is not known with certainty. 450 talents of gold is equivalent to seventeen tons of gold!^[71]

2 Chronicles 9

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 10.

(9:1-3) Sheba was in eastern Ethiopia, across the Red Sea. It was known for its gold and spices. The parallel account states that she came to “test” Solomon (1 Kin. 10:1). Payne writes, “Such verbal interchange remains a familiar Arabic custom up to the present.”^[72]

(9:4) She was also amazed at his wealth.

(9:5-6) Word spread quickly in the ancient world.

(9:7-8) This Gentile woman could understand that Solomon was appointed by Yahweh.

(9:9) This would’ve been 4.5 tons of gold.^[73]

(9:10-11) Hyram (Huram) brought more gold, precious stones, and wood for building.

(9:12) Even though she gave Solomon 4.5 tons of gold (v.9), she got everything she paid for from Solomon. In Ethiopic and Jewish tradition, it’s thought that the Queen and Solomon had a baby, but nothing from the text substantiates this.

(9:13-14) This is equivalent to 25 tons of gold coming in each year! ^[74] There is no significance to the number 666 as referring to the Antichrist or anything demonic (cf. Rev. 13:18), as some fundamentalist interpreters have argued.

(9:15-20) This shows what Solomon used the money for—shields (vv.15-16) and the throne (vv.17-20).

(9:21-23) The combination of Solomon’s sea travels and trading, along with Solomon’s fame, led many of the ancient Near Eastern kings to flock to Solomon. Perhaps this had somewhat of an evangelistic effect on the surrounding nations. The text is clear that the wisdom was that which “God put in Solomon’s heart.”

(9:24) The kings brought gifts to Solomon and his men.

(9:25) 1 Kings 4:26 states there were 40,000 stalls—not 4,000—which can be ascribed to “scribal corruption.”^[75]

(9:26) This aligns with God’s promise to Abraham (Gen. 15:18). However, this is far from saying that the Abrahamic Covenant was fulfilled.

(9:27) This is a clever way of saying that Solomon was multiplying money.

(9:28) See 2 Chronicles 1:16.

(9:29) 1 Kings 11:41 adds the “books of the annals of Solomon.”

(9:30-31) The chronicler skipped over Solomon’s many wives. Instead, he focuses on Solomon’s success and godliness.

2 Chronicles 10

This final section (2 Chron. 10-36) relates to the kingdom of Judah.

(10:1) After Solomon’s death, his son (Rehoboam) became king. Shechem was 30 miles north of Jerusalem, bordering on Manasseh (Josh. 17:7).^[76]

(10:2-3) Jeroboam was appointed to be the ruler of Israel (1 Kings 11:26-40). He had been in Egypt to flee from Solomon. Now that Solomon was gone, Jeroboam returned to regain his throne.

(10:4) Jeroboam pled for the worker’s rights being abused under Solomon. Earlier, Solomon had harshly worked these men in order to build his palaces.

(10:5-6) It seems like Rehoboam wanted to buy some time, stalling for three days (v.5). Rehoboam asked his counselors for guidance.

(10:7) The counselors told Rehoboam to lighten up on the workers.

(10:8-14) Rehoboam clearly didn’t want good counsel from the elders. He went to people who supported his own sinful decision. The young men counseled him to treat the workers even harsher than Solomon.

(10:15) Rehoboam’s free decision was “a turn of events from God that the LORD might establish His word.” God used his decision to bring about the division of Israel from Judah (1 Kin. 11:29-33).

(10:16) The people of Israel separated from Judah.

(10:17) Rehoboam took over the southern kingdom of Judah.

(10:18-19) The people killed Hadoram—the man Rehoboam appointed to be cruel to the workers—and Rehoboam escaped. Kings describes how Jeroboam took over Israel (1 Kin. 12:20). However, the Chronicler focuses on Judah from here to the end of the book.

2 Chronicles 11

(11:1) Only Judah and Benjamin stayed loyal. The figure of 180,000 is consistent with 1 Kings 12:21.

(11:2) Shemaiah later confronts Rehoboam after his failure and defeat by Egypt (2 Chron. 12:5-7). This prophet is also one of the sources for the Chronicler (2 Chron. 12:15).

(11:3-4) God talked them down from fighting against Jeroboam in the north.

(11:5) Rather than going to war, Rehoboam fortified the existing cities and towns in Judah.

(11:6-10) Interestingly, these fifteen cities all lay along the western and southern borders of Judah. This could be to defend themselves against Egypt.^[77]

(11:11-13) Rehoboam also fortified the other cities, stocking them with food and weaponry.

(11:14) Jeroboam (in the north) wanted to fully disconnect from any religious dependence on Judah (in the south). So, the priests migrated south to live and serve in Judah.

(11:15) Jeroboam completely reformed the religion into idolatry. The “calves” reminds us of the Golden Calf (Ex. 32). The “satyrs” (Śeʿîrîm) or “goats” (NIV, NET) remind us of the worship of demons outlined in Levitical law (Lev. 17:7).

(11:16) The faithful believers abandoned the northern nation when they saw this. They went to Judah to worship properly.

(11:17) God used Jeroboam’s sin and idolatry to strengthen Judah. They may have only served for three years because Rehoboam fell away from God after this amount of time (2 Chron. 12:1-2).

(11:18-20) Payne explains, “Mahalath was thus, simultaneously, Rehoboam’s second cousin (via Eliab) and half-cousin (via her father Jerimoth’s unnamed mother), while Maacah was the king’s half-cousin once removed.”^[78]

(11:21) This was directly against God’s command for a king to not multiply wives (Deut. 17:17). This is foreshadowing of Rehoboam’s fall.

(11:22-23) Rehoboam appointed Abijah (as a coregent?) to rule alongside him. Rehoboam “acted wisely” because he dispersed his sons and gave them plenty of wealth, women, and food. This would have kept them happy while Abijah took power alongside Rehoboam.

2 Chronicles 12

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 14.

(12:1) The term “Israel” is here referring to Judah.^[79] At his legal peak, Rehoboam turned away from God, leading others with him.

(12:2) Shishak is known in history as Sheshonk I—the founder of the Twenty-Second Dynasty and an ambitious military commander.^[80]

(12:3-4) We do not have a parallel passage for these numbers in 1 Kings 14. The Chroniclers must have had separate sources. The Sukkiim are most likely mercenary soldiers, fighting for Egypt.^[81]

(12:5-7) Shemaiah the prophet rebuked Rehoboam, speaking for God. Rehoboam quickly repented, and God relented on his intended judgment. However, Rehoboam’s repentance was short-lived (v.14).

(12:8) God gave some judgment on Judah. This could be because they needed to learn the severity of their decisions and the consequences. It could also be because Rehoboam’s repentance wasn’t entirely genuine (v.14), or it could be that they vacillated between rebellion and repentance (v.12).

(12:9-11) Rehoboam had to replace what was taken out of his self-effort. It would’ve been so much easier to have followed God’s way in the first place.

(12:12) God was faithful to protect the people when they humbled themselves.

(12:13-16) The Chronicler concludes that Rehoboam was not a sincere seeker of God (v.14). Abijah took over after his death.

2 Chronicles 13

The parallel account is very brief in 1 Kings 15:1-8.

(13:1-3) Jeroboam outnumbered Abijah two-to-one. Jeroboam wanted to wipe him out. After all, this was a time of leadership transition from Rehoboam to Abijah, and the southern kingdom of Judah had just been attacked by Egypt (ch.12).

(13:4) This mountain is unknown. The town of Zemaraim was in the realm of Benjamin (Josh. 18:22).

(13:5) Abijah cites the Davidic Covenant (1 Chron. 17:14). He is reminding Jeroboam that God had given the kingdom to Judah—not Israel.

“Salt” could refer to how some covenants were made over a meal with salt (Ex. 24:11; Lev. 2:13). More likely, it refers to being a preservative, and this fits with the language that the covenant was “everlasting” (Num. 18:19).

(13:6-7) Jeroboam refused to listen, and he persisted in attacking. The “worthless men, scoundrels” (b^elîyaʿal) is the root word for Belial (KJV). At this time, it simply meant worthless—not Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 6:15).

Abijah was 41 years old, but he still felt too weak and immature to fight against these men.

(13:8-9) Abijah argues that Jeroboam would let anyone become a priest—as long as he could lift the sacrifices and fog a mirror!

(13:10-11) This statement is true. However, Abijah may have lost his convictions later, or he may have been exaggerating his loyalty to God. He was a polygamist (v.21) and he was like his father Rehoboam (1 Kin. 15:3). At the very least, Abijah held to the ceremonial worship in the Temple (v.11).

(13:12-14) Abijah gave one last word of surrender, but Jeroboam set an ambush.

(13:15-16) God showed up to defend Judah—despite their lack of numbers and strategic inferiority.

(13:17) This was roughly more than half of Israel’s military (vv.1-3).

(13:18) God empowered the men of Judah to win because they “trusted in the Lord.” Their faith won the battle—or rather, God was the battle through their trust in him.

(13:19) Bethel was the epicenter of Jeroboam’s idolatry and calf worship (1 Kin. 12:29, 33).

(13:20) Jeroboam never recovered from this humiliating and devastating loss.

(13:21-22) Again, the parallel passage states that Abijah was not a faithful man (1 Kin. 15:3). Perhaps his acquisition of power and wealth led to his demise—much like his grandfather Solomon.

2 Chronicles 14

The parallel passage is quite brief in 1 Kings 15:9-24, while the Chronicler devotes three chapters to Asa (chs. 14-16).

(14:1) Asa entered his reign with a decade of peace. This was probably because he was riding on the coat tails of his father Abijah’s stunning defeat of Israel.

(14:2-6) Asa followed God’s command to tear down pagan altars (Deut. 12:2-3), yet the people seem to have continued to build them (1 Kin. 15:17). These were fertility cults (Baal and his goddess Asherah). He encouraged people to follow God, and he spent the time of freedom and protection to fortify the cities in case enemies attacked.

(14:7-8) Asa also had a massive army, and he prospered under God’s leadership.

(14:9) Asa’s preparations were well founded, because Zerah—an Ethiopian king—had a massive army that attacked Judah.

(14:10) We cannot identify the valley of Zephathah. However, the town of Mareshah was between Gaza and Jerusalem—about 25 to the northeast.^[82]

(14:11) What a prayer! Asa was putting his full trust in God—not in human power or effort (Gen. 18:14).

(14:12) After a short prayer, we get an even shorter explanation: God crushed this invading army.

(14:13-15) The Ethiopians returned to Egypt. The fact that they “could not recover” is substantiated in history. Payne writes, “Israel experienced no more interference from the decadent Twenty-Second and Twenty-Third dynasties.”^[83] 160 years passed before Egypt reappeared to attack Israel (2 Kin. 17:4).

2 Chronicles 15

(15:1) We only know of Azariah son of Obed from this passage. He was a strong prophet that helped Asa in his reforms.

(15:2) Azariah reminds the people that they need to continue to seek God. The good news is that God wants to be found—if only we seek!

(15:3-6) This anarchical time probably refers to the period of the judges (Judg. 21:25).^[84] Even during this dark period of Israel’s history, Azariah points out that God was faithful to the people when they were seeking after him.

(15:7) God is not only faithful to be found, but he is a “rewarder of those who seek him” (Heb. 11:6).

(15:8) Asa had already removed the land of idols (2 Chron. 14:3), but people likely continued to build them. So, Asa came through again to demolish these centers of idolatry.

(15:9) People from apostate Israel defected, because they could tell that God was with Asa in Judah. Asa didn’t need to run a public relations campaign or work on his image-management as a leader. The truth had a resonating effect on this remnant, and they came to follow his leadership.

(15:10-11) They were likely celebrating the Festival of Weeks, and this is likely in 895 BC.^[85]

(15:12) God wants our “heart and soul” completely. This is not some abstract concept. For these people, it centered around being in a “covenant” with God, expressing their loyalty to him.

(15:13) Those who willfully refused to follow God faced capital punishment (Deut. 17:2-6). Remember, the nation was a theocracy, and apostate people had an effect on the nation. Payne writes, “The principle is based on the fact that it is preferable for a man to be restrained in this life than for him, or for others who may be affected by him, to be lost for eternity (Deut 13:12-15; Mark 9:43-48).”^[86]

(15:14) Falling in line with the covenant (v.12), the people were swearing an oath to be loyal to God’s ways.

(15:15) This political and military “rest” is typological of the rest that we find in Christ (Heb. 4:9-11).

(15:16) Asa was more loyal to God than to his mother. In this case, he smashed his mother’s idol, rather than following her errant way.

(15:17) This doesn’t seem like an indictment on Asa, but on the people.

(15:18) The treasures came from Abijah’s battle with Jeroboam (2 Chron. 13:19) and his own battles (2 Chron. 14:13-15).

(15:19) There was war with Baasha (2 Chron. 16), who died in Asa’ 26^th year (1 Kin. 15:16, 33). One way to harmonize this is to begin the 35 years from the division of Judah and Israel (930 BC). A second way to understand this is as a scribal err that should actually refer to the 25^th year of Asa—not the 35^th year.^[87]

2 Chronicles 16

(16:1) Baasha had overthrown Jeroboam and taken control of Israel (1 Kin. 15:27-29, 33). Baasha was probably angry that many of his people had defected to Judah (2 Chron. 15:9).

Ramah was only five miles north of Jerusalem.

(16:2-3) This was a terrible move! Instead of trusting in God, Asa turned to a pagan king (from Damascus) for help.

(16:4-6) This pragmatic solution worked: Ben-hadad took the bribe, broke his treaty with Baasha, and attacked numerous cities in the north. Baasha backed off from his advance (v.5.). For all intents and purposes, Asa’s pragmatism looked like it was working.

(16:7) Hanani—the prophet—rebuked Asa’s unbelief, and he told him what would have happened if he had been faithful. Hanani later counseled Asa’s son, Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 19-20).

(16:8-9) Hanani’s argument was based on appealing to God’s faithfulness in the past with the Ethiopians. God can see into the heart and see a lack of faith.

(16:10) This is “the OT’s first recorded royal persecution of a prophet.”^[88] By rejecting the prophet, Asa lost his faith even more than before.

(16:11) This source cannot refer to 1 and 2 Kings, because 1 Kings contains “only a fraction of what appears in Chronicles.”^[89]

(16:12-14) Asa further continued along a downward spiral. Instead of turning to God, he only consulted the physicians. Some commentators think that these were pagan, occultic physicians. Payne, however, thinks that Asa’s sin was in only seeking physicians, rather than God.^[90] This resulted in Asa’s death.

2 Chronicles 17

(17:1-2) Jehoshaphat fought against king Ahab in the north. Jehoshaphat began by fortifying the vulnerable cities.

(17:3-5) God saw Jehoshaphat as following the way of David’s early years—a spiritual paradigm for the kings. This is why God blessed Jehoshaphat’s reign so much (v.5).

(17:6) Jehoshaphat was loyal to God, tearing down the places of idolatry. The people, however, continued to rebuild idols and centers of idolatry despite the king’s edicts.

(17:7-9) Jehoshaphat probably had a three year coregency with Asa, as Asa was dying. Jehoshaphat raised up leaders to teach the people God’s word. This was a faithful and spiritual king—much unlike what he saw at the end of his father’s life.

(17:10-12) Again, God was faithful in protecting Jehoshaphat. In this case, he did this by inculcating fear into the surrounding nations. To appease their fear, the nations brought Jehoshaphat treasure and money.

(17:13-19) Jehoshaphat also raised up military leaders to protect the cities in his kingdom.

2 Chronicles 18

The parallel passage is 1 Kings 22.

(18:1) Out of the blue, he makes a marriage-alliance with none other than… Ahab!! Jehoshaphat was doing so well. But like his ancestor Solomon, the “great riches and honor” poisoned his spiritual life.

(18:2-3) Ramoth-Gilead was on a trade route to Damascus in the north. Ahab schmoozed Jehoshaphat with livestock to urge him to join in fighting this city.

(18:4-6) Jehoshaphat had already agreed to fight alongside Ahab. However, he abruptly stopped to inquire from God. These 400 supposed prophets were actually counterfeits, and Jehoshaphat asked for a real prophet (v.6). Regardless, Jehoshaphat ignored God’s guidance anyhow (v.28). So, this may have all been outward religiosity, rather than true spirituality—like a man consulting a dozen doctors to get the diagnosis that he wants.

(18:7-9) We don’t know Micaiah, son of Imla outside of this passage. Ahab kept him away because he would actually speak the truth. These two kings sat on their thrones, and brought in Micaiah (v.9). It’s interesting that Ahab had already built a throne for Jehoshaphat, which shows that Jehoshaphat was making himself cozy in apostate Israel.

(18:10-11) Zedekiah—the false prophet—referred to their victory as having horns that would “gore” the Arameans. In this culture, horns “were superstitiously believed to contain magical potency.”^[91]

(18:12-13) The king’s messenger set Micaiah up with a menacing message. He was basically saying that everyone is in agreement on this plan, so you need to conform with the uniform view of the other several hundred prophets. Imagine how daunting it would be to disagree at this moment! Yet Micaiah asserted that he couldn’t improvise or change what God told him.

(18:14-15) Based on verse 15, Micaiah’s words must have been sarcastic and ironic.^[92] This is similar to saying, “Why do you want my opinion if you’ve already made up your mind? Go ahead and do what you’ve already decided.”

(18:16-17) This was literally fulfilled in verse 30 and 34.

(18:18-22) God asked which evil spirit would go to render judgment. The Hebrew literally reads “the spirit” (v.20), which likely refers to Satan or at the very least a high class of demonic being. Payne notes that this reflects what we see in the book of Job.

(18:23) Zedekiah (vv.10-11) was under the influence of a demon. He accuses Micaiah of lying. Therefore, we here have two prophets pointing fingers at each other, and calling one another a liar.

(18:24) We don’t know when this was fulfilled. It may have been after Zedekiah’s prophecy was shown to be false. Micaiah is basically saying, “We’ll see who is telling the truth when you’re hiding for your life after your prophecy turns out false!”

(18:25-26) Ahab threw Micaiah back in prison with only enough food and water to survive.

(18:27) Micaiah placed his prophetic credibility on his short term prophecy coming true.

(18:28-30) Why was Ahab disguising himself? Perhaps he didn’t want to stick out as a target in battle (v.30). Perhaps Ahab knew that the Arameans were gunning for him.

(18:31-32) By crying out, this may have been a cry of repentance. Consequently, God rescued Jehoshaphat—despite his sinful decision.

(18:33-34) This is one form or miracle: an archer shot “at random” and it hit Ahab right between the armor. In reality, we know that Micaiah the prophet had predicted this the entire time. Ahab bled out by the end of the day and died (v.34).

2 Chronicles 19

(19:1) This seems like a fulfillment of Micaiah’s prophecy (2 Chron. 18:16).

(19:2) Hanani was the prophet who rebuked Asa decades earlier (2 Chron. 16:7). Now, Hanani’s son, Jehu, rebuked Jehoshaphat. He’s asking, “Why are you loving people who hate God??”

(19:3) We usually think of the prophets as very binary, black-and-white thinkers. However, Jehu was able to see that Jehoshaphat wasn’t completely good or bad: “There is some good in you.” This really captures many of the kings that we see in the Chronicles—being both good and bad, sometimes simultaneously.

(19:4) This prophetic word got Jehoshaphat back on track.

(19:5-7) The appointment of judges would allow each city to have a direct contact with a godly judge. Jehoshaphat warned them to consider their judgments as being before God—not men. This implies integrity, rather than corruption (v.7).

(19:8-11) Even the Levites were appointed as local judges.

2 Chronicles 20

The parallel passage is in 1 Kings 22.

(20:1) Jehoshaphat was triple-teamed by the nations around him. The Meunites were the people of Mount Seir in Edom, or perhaps the people of Maon near Petra.^[93]

(20:2-4) Jehoshaphat encouraged a “fast” in order to pray to God (cf. 1 Sam. 7:6; Mt. 6:16-18).

(20:5-9) Jehoshaphat quoted Solomon regarding judgment (v.9; 2 Chron. 6:28-30; 7:13-15).

(20:10-11) Jehoshaphat refers back to the time when God wouldn’t allow the Israelites to invade (Deut. 2:5). He is, in effect, sharing with God how these people were violent—even though the Israelites were peaceful.

(20:12) What a prayer! Instead of relying on self-effort, Jehoshaphat relied fully on God!

(20:13) The mention of women and infants intensifies the account. It shows how much was at stake. It’s one thing to have faith for your own life, but it’s quite another to have faith for your wife and children.

(20:14-17) Jahaziel the son of Zechariah had a prophetic word from the Holy Spirit. God can speak through believers. In this instance, he told the people that this battle would be fought by God himself. There was nothing to fear, because God was with them (v.17).

(20:18-19) Even before the prayer was answered, the people praised God and worshipped him. Believers who pray in God’s will can know that their prayers will be answered (1 Jn. 5:14-15).

(20:20) Isaiah quotes these words a century later (Isa. 7:9).

(20:21) The people were so confident in God that the singers (not the archers or the cavalry!) went to the front of the line.

(20:22-30) These ambushes are similar to the battle with Gideon (Judg. 7:22).

(20:31-34) The Chronicler gives us an evaluation of Jehoshaphat: he was a good king. However, he wasn’t able to destroy all of the places of idolatry in his reign (v.33).

(20:35-37) Jehoshaphat lost it right at the finish line! At the end of his life, he turned to alliances with apostate Israel, rather than trusting in God. Consequently, God destroyed whatever Jehoshaphat was trying to build.

2 Chronicles 21

(21:1-3) Just like his great-grandfather Rehoboam (2 Chron. 11:23), Jehoshaphat wisely gave gifts to the young sons, so there wouldn’t be sibling rivalry with the new king, Jehoram.

(21:4-6) Even though Jehoshaphat was a good king and had set Jehoram up with a great kingdom, Jehoram immediately ruined it! Payne comments, “The king’s personality had thus become twisted to the point that he apparently suspected others of acting as he would have, if they were given the opportunity. Yet his brothers’ principles were, in point of fact, much higher than his own (v.13).”^[94]

(21:7) Even though the king was guilty of mass murder, God still remained loyal to his promise in the Davidic Covenant (!!).

(21:8-9) Through brute force and pure strength of will, Jehoram put down the rebellion in Edom. However, it was only temporary; Edom continued to revolt over time (v.10).

(21:10) Libnah was a semi-Philistine city—perhaps “Tell Bornat in the vicinity of Gath.”^[95]

(21:11) Jehoram reversed the religious policies of his father and grandfather, rebuilding idolatrous temples. “Play the harlot” (zānāh) refers to fornication. This has a double-meaning: Canaanite idol worship involved actual promiscuity, but the result was that it “led Judah astray.”

(21:12-15) Critics argue that this account is likely fabricated, because Elijah served in the north (Israel), not the south (Judah). However, the prophet Elijah made it as far as Beersheba in Judah (1 Kin. 19:3) and even Mount Sinai (1 Kin. 19:8). Therefore, it isn’t unlikely that Elijah would confront Jehoram in Judah. This event would’ve been at the very end of Elijah’s life—or maybe even a posthumous message.^[96] Note that the text says that “a letter came to him,” not that Elijah appeared in person.

(21:16) The Philistines used to pay tribute to Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 17:11), but now, they are attacking Judah.

(21:17) Losing your wife (wives) and children would be an unimaginable loss! Jehoram faced the same massacre that he incurred on his brothers.

(21:18-20) The sickness was “some extreme form of dysentery.”^[97] This is another case of a short term prophecy being fulfilled.

2 Chronicles 22

The parallel passage is 2 Kings 8:25-10:14.

(22:1) Ahaziah was made king by the people—not through a natural, bloodline succession. This could imply that there was “some uncertainty about the succession,”^[98] which could point to instability in his ascendancy.

(22:2) 2 Kings 8:26 states that Ahaziah was 42 years old—not 22 years old. However, if he was 42, he would be older than his father! (2 Chron. 21:20) Again, we see that scribal errors usually creep into the text when numbers are involved.

(22:3-4) Ahaziah’s father wasn’t a good role model, but neither was his mother. He entered into Baal worship.

(22:5-6) Ramoth-gilead was conquered by the Arameans (2 Chron. 18:2). Jehoram was the king of the north. After being wounded (v.5), he returned to Jezreel to be healed (v.6).

(22:7) We find an expanded explanation in 2 Kings 9. God is sovereign over these kings—either blessing them or cursing them.

(22:8-9) Jehu hated Ahaziah because of his father Jehoshaphat’s loyalty to God.

(22:10) This section is a parallel to 2 Kings 11. Athaliah killed her own grandsons in order to secure the throne!—and to institute Baal worship.

(22:11-12) Jehoshabeath the king’s daughter stole the only remaining heir—a one year old boy named Joash. Jehoshabeth kept Joash safe, raising him in secret for six years.

2 Chronicles 23

(23:1) These were the Carites or the Cherethites (2 Kin. 11:4).

(23:2) Kings doesn’t mention the gathering of the Levites, but this was likely a secret gathering, because Queen Athaliah was killing her opponents.

(23:3) Jehoiada made a motion for all the people to anoint Joash as the true king.

(23:4-8) The Levites were told to gather around the king in the Temple to physically protect him, and they followed these orders (vv.8-9).

(23:10) The Levites were not the only bodyguards for the king. Jehoiada “stationed all the people.”

(23:11) This “testimony” was likely the requirements given in Deuteronomy 17.

(23:12-15) Athaliah had unlawfully seized power, and here, she calls Joash and Jehoiada traitors (“Treason!”). It was good that Jehoiada took so many measures, because he was prepared for Athaliah’s attack.

(23:16-17) This political revival was also a spiritual revival (v.16). By executing the priest of Baal (v.17), they were carrying out Deuteronomy 13:5-10.

(23:18) They reinstalled the worship initiatives given under David.

(23:19-21) They officially installed Joash as the king, and this resulted in peace in the land.

2 Chronicles 24

(24:1-2) Joash was mentored by Jehoiada—a godly man. But once Jehoiada died, Joash lost his way. Joash may not have internalized his convictions, and was living off of Jehoiada.

(24:3) Joash had two wives, which was wrong (Deut. 17:17). However, this might be a case where he self-righteously thought this was a vast improvement from his ancestors!

(24:4) Athaliah had desecrated the Temple (v.7).

(24:5-6) Why didn’t the Levites “act quickly” to collect the money to restore the Temple? This isn’t clear. Payne speculates that this may be “natural inertia”^[99] or laziness on their behalf, or perhaps, they were spending money to rebuild their own depleted houses first (2 Kin. 12:7).

(24:7) This is why they needed to restore the integrity of the Temple.

(24:8-9) The priests collected money through the regular offerings in this chest (cf. 2 Kin. 12:8-9).

(24:9-12) They sent out a mass communique to all of the people to explain how they should give to the rebuilding of the Temple.

(24:13-14) The Temple was successfully rebuilt.

(24:15) God must have specially preserved Jehoiada’s life.

(24:16) Jehoiada was so revered that they buried him with the kings. While Jehoiada was a priest—not a king, he exerted such excellent leadership that he really belonged buried among them.

(24:17-18) Jehoiada’s body was cooling in the grave as these new officials came and counteracted all of his work and convictions!

(24:19) God could work through more people than just Jehoida. He raised up more prophets to correct the leadership.

(24:20-22) Jehoiada’s son—Zechariah—spoke from the Holy Spirit to the people to get them back on track. Sadly, even Joash—who learned so much from Jehoida—gave the order to have him stoned to death! Joash owed his life to Zechariah’s father (2 Chron. 23), and here, he takes the life of Jehoida’s son. Zechariah’s prayer is one of imprecation—not forgiveness (see “What about the ‘Cursings’ in the Psalms?”).

(24:23-24) Zechariah’s prayer of God avenging his death was answered: the Arameans killed all of the “officials” in Judah. The fact that this invasion happened so soon after Zechariah’s death implies that God used the Arameans as an agent of judgment. Even a “small number” of Arameans was able to win against the men of Judah.

(24:25-27) Joash’s own servants turned on him in an avenging coup because Joash had Zechariah executed.

2 Chronicles 25

(25:1-2) Amaziah took over after his father Joash. Like his father, he gets off to a good start, but we see foreshadowing that he was not “wholehearted.”

(25:3-4) He killed the killers of his father, but not their sons (Deut. 24:16).

(25:5) The numbers of soldiers had significantly declined from the early days of Asa and Jehoshaphat. This might be the Chronicler’s way of showing the decline of Judah.

(25:6) One hundred talents is nearly four tons of silver.^[100]

(25:7) This prophet was warning Amaziah that God was not with apostate Israel, so he shouldn’t form an alliance with them.

(25:8-9) Amaziah was focused on the numbers and the money. The prophet (“man of God”) made a stunning statement: God has way more resources than this!

(25:10) Amaziah let the mercenaries keep their money, but he didn’t allow them to serve. The mercenaries were angry because they were expecting to plunder more money after the battle.

(25:11-12) The Valley of Salt was a battleground for David (1 Chron. 18:12). Amaziah won and performed a corporate capital punishment on the 10,000 survivors by driving them off of a cliff.

(25:13) The mercenaries took Amaziah’s money, but then they turned on him (v.10).

(25:14) This is so utterly bizarre! After trusting in God’s provision, God protected Amaziah and gave him victory over the men of Seir. Here, Amaziah began to worship their gods! Why? Perhaps Amaziah was bitter at God for allowing the mercenaries to kill 3,000 people (v.13). Maybe he expected God to do something he never promised in the first place.

(25:15-16) God warned Amaziah, but Amaziah refused to listen. Even under the threat of death, the prophet still told Amaziah of God’s coming judgment.

(25:17-19) Amaziah was over confident after defeating Edom, so he thought he could fight Israel.

(25:20-22) Amaziah made a free will decision to fight, but somehow, this was still “of God.” God used this as a form of judgment for Amaziah’s idolatry.

(25:23) The Corner Gate was the weakest defensive line in Judah.

(25:24) All of the treasures that had been collected (2 Chron. 24) were now plundered. The sin of this one king had severe consequences.

(25:25-28) Amaziah never recovered from this. He was hunted down like an animal and killed.

2 Chronicles 26

This material is mostly unique to Chronicles. The parallel passages in Kings only summarize Uzziah’s reign (1 Kin. 14:21-22; 15:1-7).

(26:1) Uzziah is also called Azariah eight times in Kings. Uzziah “was apparently his throne name.”^[101]

(26:2-3) Eloth refers to “Period III of Tell el Kheleifeh.”^[102]

(26:4) This must be a general statement about his rule, because 2 Kings 15:4 states that the high places still existed during his rule.

(26:5) Zechariah—not the minor prophet—was a major influence on this young king.

(26:6) Gath was one of five Philistine city-fortresses. Jabneh is modern day Jamnia (1 Macc. 4:15).^[103]

(26:7-8) Uzziah had a successful military over the enemies of Judah.

(26:9) The Corner Gate was mentioned earlier (2 Chron. 25:23). This was a weak point in Jerusalem’s defenses, so Uzziah reinforced this area.

(26:10) He expanded Judah’s footprint of influence and livelihood.

(26:11-14) Uzziah gathered a significant army to defend Judah.

(26:15) The “engines of war” were likely “shielding mantles, used to cover defending troops as they repelled enemies seeking to scale the walls,”^[104] rather than catapults which hadn’t been invented yet.

(26:16-18) Uzziah’s success went to his head. He not only wanted military power, but also religious power. But this was illegal (Ex. 30:7-8; Num. 18:7), as the priests point out.

(26:19-20) What might have happened to the priests of God didn’t intervene right at this moment? Uzziah would’ve likely killed them. Instead, God revealed what Uzziah really was—namely, unclean. God gave him leprosy on his skin to show the nature of his heart.

(26:21) The people quarantined Uzziah because of his leprosy (Lev. 13:46), and he lost all authority and influence.

(26:22-23) Isaiah’s historical recordings are now lost.

2 Chronicles 27

(27:1-2) Jotham was a godly man, but a poor leader. The people continued in massive idolatry at this time (2 Kin. 15:30).

(27:3-4) Jotham also engaged in rebuilding fortifications and cities.

(27:5) Jotham was so militarily successful that the Ammonites paid him handsomely for peace.

(27:6) The source of Jotham’s power came from staying close with God—not self-effort.

(27:7-9) Jotham reigned for 16 years, and he was overall a strong and godly king.

2 Chronicles 28

(28:1-2) Again we see a pattern: a godly king can very easily leave behind an ungodly son as his successor. Do we attribute this to poor parenting? Free will? The text doesn’t say.

(28:3-4) Ben-hinnom was a horrific place—worse than any horror movie we might see! It was a place of rampant child sacrifice (2 Chron. 33:6) and became a trash dump that burned the refuse of Judah (2 Kings 23:10). Jesus used the term “Gehenna” to describe this place, which he used as a metaphor for hell itself (Mk. 9:43). Child sacrifice was, of course, a capital crime in Israel (Lev. 20:1-5).

What possesses someone to do something so evil? Perhaps he himself was possessed!—by Satan or demonic forces. Regardless, Ahaz was considered a wicked king.

(28:5-7) Rezin and Pekah were the kings who conquered Ahaz.

(28:8) The apostate Israelites wiped out many from Judah, took many away as slaves, and looted their wealth.

(28:9-13) Obed is unknown besides this passage. His message is simply that Israel should not overdo the punishment on Judah. God was using Israel as a judgment against Judah, but this doesn’t mean that the Israelites were without guilt.

(28:14) There must have been some small vestige of spirituality in the people of Israel to make them listen to this prophet.

(28:15) The Israelites did an about-face, treating the captives with respect (Ex. 23:4; Prov. 24:17; 25:21; cf. Matt 5:44).

Ahaz makes a terrible compromise with Assyria

(28:16) Even though God had just rescued his people, Ahaz turned to Assyria. This was a massive breach of faith in God. Isaiah writes about how he tried to persuade Ahaz from doing this (Isa. 7:1-16).

(28:17) Obadiah (1:11) and Joel (3:19) might be referring to this event.

(28:18-20) The Philistines could “smell blood in the water,” attacking Judah while they were weak.

(28:21) Ahaz tried to buy his way out of this problem, but “it did not help him.”

(28:22-23) Ahaz tried to apostatize, thinking that this would buy the loyalty of the Assyrians. But this only dug him deeper into destruction.

(28:24-27) Ahaz’s apostasy didn’t add to worship of God, but actually replaced worshipping God.

2 Chronicles 29

(29:1) Hezekiah got a “life extension” of fifteen years from God (2 Kin. 20:6).

(29:2) The parallel passage states, “There was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor among those who were before him” (2 Kin. 18:5).

(29:3) The evil king Ahaz had shut the doors to the Temple (2 Chron. 28:24). Hezekiah reopened them and rehabilitated the Temple.

(29:4-14) Hezekiah began by consecrating the priests to God. He wanted to renew the covenant with God (v.9).

(29:15-19) Next, Hezekiah had the priests consecrate the Temple again. Hezekiah followed God’s word in reconsecrating the Temple (Deut. 12:2-4). They cleaned out the idols from the Temple (v.16). He replaced all of the sacred utensils that Ahaz had removed (v.19; 2 Chron. 28:24).

(29:20-30) The priests rededicated the sanctuary.

(29:31-36) Hezekiah had the people renew their sacrifices, now that the priests and Temple were reconsecrated. The non-professional priests were godlier than the professional priests (v.34).

2 Chronicles 30

(30:1-4) Hezekiah reinstitutes the Passover celebration and sacrifice. After two centuries of strife with Israel, Hezekiah extends an olive branch to the northern kingdom!—inviting them to the Passover. They celebrated the Passover a month late, but this was even something Moses did out of necessity (Num. 9:10-11). Hezekiah won over the populace with his initiatives (v.4).

(30:5-9) Hezekiah sent a message to the people of Israel, persuading them to repent and come back (cf. Lev. 26:40-42).

(30:10-12) The people of Israel mostly mocked this call for repentance. Payne comments, “Human depravity is so total that men will resist a gospel call even when on the brink of disaster (cf. Amos 4:10; Rev 9:20).”^[105] At the same time, some people did repent and come to the Passover (v.11).

(30:13-17) Hezekiah led the nation into celebrating the Passover again.

(30:18-22) Even though the ceremonial requirements were not met for the Israelites coming down from the north, Hezekiah’s prayer made them ceremonially pure before God.

(30:23-26) The people were so happy and filled with joy that they didn’t want the Passover to stop! They carried it out for another week (v.23). Hezekiah provided plenty of sacrifices for the people to continue (v.24).

(30:27) The decision to follow God’s system of worship reopened prayer to God.

2 Chronicles 31

(31:1) Most of chapter 31 is unique material. Only this first verse is paralleled in 2 Kings 18:4. Hezekiah’s leadership led to a further destruction of idols in the land.

(31:2) David had originally set up these divisions for the priests (1 Chron. 25).

(31:3-9) The sacrifices and tithes paid the priests and Levites, so that they could serve full-time vocationally.

(31:10-21) There was an abundance of giving, and this was fairly distributed to the priests and Levites. God approved of how Hezekiah was leading the people (vv.20-21).

2 Chronicles 32

The parallel passages are found in 2 Kings 18:7; 20:21 and Isaiah 36-39.

(32:1) Ahaz—Hezekiah’s father—had started the momentum of the Assyrian invasion (2 Chron. 28:20-21). Hezekiah had a moment of unbelief when he allied himself with Egypt (Isa. 30:1-5; 31:1-3). This had temporary success, when he captured the Philistine king of Ekron (2 Kin. 18:8). However, the short term success was met with Sargon’s son Sennacherib attacking Judah (2 Kin. 18:13). Sennacherib captured many of Judah’s cities (2 Kin. 18:13; Isa. 36:1) with the exception of Jerusalem.

(32:2-3) Hezekiah cut off the water supply, hoping to dehydrate the Assyrians.

(32:4-5) To get water, the Assyrians would need to travel far to the source of these springs. In the meantime, Hezekiah reinforced Judah’s defenses.

(32:6) The Hebrew for “spoke encouragingly” literally means “he spoke to their heart.”^[106]

(32:7) Hezekiah’s statement is reminiscent of Elisha’s statement (2 Kin. 6:16). Hezekiah saw this battle through the eyes of faith.

(32:8) The prophet Isaiah greatly influenced Hezekiah. In fact, Hezekiah’s statement may have come from Isaiah’s teaching (Isa. 31:3; cf. Jer. 17:5).

(32:9-11) This psychological warfare was meant to intimidate the people into surrender.

(32:12-13) Sennacherib could be saying (1) that these idols and “gods” could have helped them or (2) that he knew the people weren’t happy with Hezekiah’s religious reforms—and he was trying to leverage a mutiny.

(32:14-19) This argument strikes at the theological core: Is Yahweh any different than the patron deities of the other nations who were crushed by Assyria? In other words, many other people had faith in their gods too… but they still died at the hands of the Assyrians! This shows that the sincerity of our faith is less important than the veracity of our faith.

(32:20) See 2 Kings 19:1-34. This is the only mention of Isaiah in Chronicles.

(32:21) Kings tells us that 185,000 Assyrians were killed in one night (2 Kin. 19:35). This was an incredible miracle! God was slamming the outrageous blasphemy of Sennacherib found above. For more on Sennacherib’s death, see 2 Kings 19:36-37 and Isaiah 37-38.

(32:22-23) This event definitely showed that Hezekiah was in the right, and it caused people to trust in God more than ever.

(32:24) God gave Hezekiah the “miraculous sign” of moving the shadow back (2 Kin. 20:8-11).

(32:25) Isaiah had predicted this judgment to Hezekiah (2 Kin. 20:16-18; Isa. 39:6-7). Even seeing an outrageous miracle didn’t stop Hezekiah from disobeying God.

(32:26-29) Hezekiah’s repentance stopped God’s judgment for his lifetime, but it still occurred after his death. He ended his career a wealthy, influential, and notable king.

(32:30) This was a 1,700 foot underwater tunnel. Payne writes, “Archaeological confirmation of this engineering feat came in 1880, with the discovery, at its lower portal, of the Siloam Inscription, written in old Hebrew by the very workers who accomplished it.”^[107]

(32:31-33) These envoys from Babylon wanted to inquire about Hezekiah’s health as a cover story. They really wanted to see how much money he had stored up, and how they could plunder it.

2 Chronicles 33

The parallel passage is 2 Kings 21, though most of this material is unique to Chronicles.

(33:1-2) Manasseh reigned longer than any other Hebrew king. He “more than any other single person was responsible for the final destruction of the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 23:26; 24:3; Jer 15:4).”^[108]

(33:3) Astrology and the worship of the stars was forbidden (Deut. 4:19).

(33:4-5) Manasseh built pagan shrines in God’s sanctuary.

(33:6-7) All of these practices were forbidden (Ex. 22:18; Deut. 18:10-12). He also killed many other people (2 Kin. 21:16).

(33:8-9) God promised to remain with the people through the Davidic Covenant, but he also promised temporary judgment to people who broke from the Law.

(33:10) God spoke through the prophets (2 Kin. 21:10-15), but they refused to listen.

(33:11) Ashurbanipal was the king who attacked Manasseh and took him captive.

(33:12-13) Manasseh had a moment of belief and repentance, presumably caused by his crisis. Even though the crisis led to Manasseh’s repentance, God was still willing to accept him back!

(33:14-16) Manasseh cleared out the idols that he had made, and he led a religious reform in Judah.

(33:17) The half century of idol worship couldn’t be cleared out from Manasseh’s reforms.

(33:18-20) The “Prayer of Manasseh” is found in the Apocrypha—written shortly before the time of Christ. We reject that this document reflects the prayer of the historical Manasseh and is not Scripture.

Amon takes the throne

(33:21-25) Amon only reigned for two years. The parallel passage is in 2 Kings 21:19-26. Amon fell for the sin of his father, worshipping the idols that remained in Judah.

2 Chronicles 34

(34:1-2) Josiah is the final godly king of Judah.

(34:3-4) Josiah was a young man (only 16), but he was old enough to build serious spiritual convictions. He tore down the idols throughout the land.

(34:5-7) Josiah’s reform stretched far beyond the boundaries of Judah.

(34:8-13) Josiah used the money given to him to rebuild the Temple.

(34:14-18) The Bible had been buried for years, but Hilkiah rediscovered it. This was a major source of Josiah’s strength and wisdom as a king.

(34:19-21) Josiah tore his clothes because he could see just how far the nation had fallen. He also realized that God was just in bringing judgment on the people (Lev. 26; Deut. 28).

(34:22-23) Israel had female prophets (“prophetess”). Payne comments, “Ezra’s almost casual reference to the ‘Huldah’ prophetess indicates how foreign the idea of discrimination based on sex was to the spirit of the OT (cf. Judg 4:4; 2 Sam 20:16).”^[109]

(34:24-26) God told the people that judgment was coming.

(34:27-28) Josiah, however, would not face God’s coming judgment, because of his repentance and turning toward God.

(34:29-30) Josiah didn’t know what else to do than to read the Bible to the people. This was the best thing that they could hear from him.

(34:31-33) Josiah renewed the covenant along with the leaders surrounding him. The idols were consistently destroyed, and this national revival lasted until Josiah’s death. Josiah was truly a great king.

2 Chronicles 35

(35:1) Josiah celebrated the Passover as part of his reforms.

(35:2-3) The Ark was still around, and Josiah had it returned to the Temple. One wonders where they had put it before! Regardless, Josiah put it back where it belonged.

(35:4) David had created these divisions (1 Chron. 24).

(35:5-6) Josiah stressed that they perform this in accordance with Moses’ divine directives.

(35:7-11) This is an enormous amount of animals that were sacrificed. However, the text tells us that it was an unprecedented event (v.18).

(35:12-15) They set aside some of the sacrifices as a peace offering (Lev. 3).

(35:16-19) This celebration was a unique event that hadn’t occurred for centuries. The Chronicler is going out of his way to show just how faithful Josiah was.

(35:20) Josiah tried to stop Neco—the Egyptian Pharaoh—from attacking Babylon. Perhaps Josiah saw this as a threat to Judah in some way.

(35:21) Neco’s words about “God ordering him to hurry” would “have had a special appeal for a godly king concerned about keeping God’s word.”^[110]

(35:22-24) Josiah realized that Neco’s words came “from the mouth of God.” Yet he still wanted to fight. Since he was shot and killed, this seems to have been a mistake on Josiah’s behalf.

(35:25-27) Jeremiah loved Josiah, which makes sense of why he wrote songs for him (Jer. 22:15-16).

2 Chronicles 36

In this final chapter, we see a rapid succession of kings (Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, Zedekiah). This shows that the southern kingdom of Judah was breaking down rapidly, ending in judgment and destruction.

(36:1-2) The Chronicler gives a terse explanation of Jehoahaz taking office, but Kings tells us that he was an evil king (2 Kin. 23:30-35).

(36:3-4) Pharaoh Neco wanted a puppet king, so he installed Jehoiakim. Jehoahaz died in Egypt (2 Kin. 23:34; cf. Jer. 22:10).

Jehoiakim

(36:5) The parallel passage is found in 2 Kings 23:36-24:7. Jehoiakim taxed people for Neco (2 Kin. 23:35), persecuted the prophets (Jer. 26:21-24; 32:36), and he oppressed the poor (Jer. 22:13, 17). Meanwhile, Jehoiakim lived in opulence (Jer. 22:14-15).

(36:6-8) The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar beat Neco at Carchemish. This left Palestine exposed. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakim into slavery (v.6), and he plundered the Temple (v.7).

Jehoiachin

(36:9) The parallel passage is found in 2 Kings 24:8-17. His uncle was Jehoahaz. He only reigned for three months.

(36:10) Nebuchadnezzar had a massive deportation of the leadership during this time, and he replaced Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as a puppet king.

(36:11-12) Zedekiah rejected Jeremiah’s teaching (Jer. 34:1-10).

(36:13) Zedekiah had taken an oath before God to serve Nebuchadnezzar, and this was a terrible sin (Ezek. 17:13-19).

(36:14) Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC.^[111] For parallel passages, see 2 Kings 25:1-21 and Jeremiah 39:1-10; 52:4-27.

(36:15-19) He plundered the Temple before destroying it.

(36:20) The survivors were made slaves (see Ps. 137).

(36:21) Jeremiah predicted this in Jeremiah 29:10.

(36:22) The Persian king Cyrus conquered the Babylonians in 539 BC.

(36:23) God used Cyrus as his agent of judgment (Isa. 44:28-45:5). Cyrus himself said, ““Marduk, king of the gods [confessedly, the leading deity of the pantheon of Babylon, but not of Persia!] … designated me to rule over all the lands” (Cyrus Cylinder).^[112]

^[1] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 449). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[2] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 450). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[3] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 452). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[4] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 452). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[5] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 450). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[6] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 305). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[7] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 309). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[8] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 454). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[9] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 455). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[10] Archer, G., Jr. (1994). A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed., p. 455). Chicago: Moody Press.

^[11] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 327). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[12] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 329). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[13] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 338). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[14] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 339). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[15] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 340). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[16] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 341). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[17] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 341). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[18] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 343). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[19] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[20] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[21] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[22] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[23] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 346). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[24] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 350). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[25] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 358). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[26] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 358). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[27] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 358). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[28] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 360). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[29] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 361). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[30] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, pp. 365-366). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[31] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 367). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[32] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 367). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[33] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 367). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[34] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 369). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[35] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 373). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[36] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 375). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[37] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 377). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[38] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 378). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[39] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 382). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[40] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 387). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[41] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 387). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[42] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 388). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[43] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 388). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[44] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 398). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[45] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 398). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[46] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 398). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[47] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 401). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[48] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 402). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[49] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 402). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[50] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 407). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[51] Selman, M. J. (1994). 1 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 10, p. 217). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

^[52] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 411). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[53] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 412). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[54] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 437). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[55] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 437). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[56] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 437). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[57] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 437). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[58] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 446). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[59] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 446). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[60] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 447). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[61] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 450). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[62] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 450). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[63] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 450). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[64] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 451). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[65] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 453). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[66] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 459). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[67] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 464). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[68] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 464). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[69] Emphasis mine. Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 465). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[70] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 468). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[71] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 468). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[72] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 470). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[73] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 470). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[74] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 471). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[75] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 472). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[76] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 474). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[77] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 476). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[78] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 477). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[79] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 479). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[80] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 479). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[81] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 479). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[82] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 486). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[83] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 487). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[84] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 487). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[85] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 488). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[86] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 488). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[87] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 489). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[88] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[89] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[90] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 491). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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^[92] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 499). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[93] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 501). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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^[97] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 507). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[98] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 508). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[99] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 514). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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^[105] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 537). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[106] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 540). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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^[108] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 544). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[109] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 551). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

^[110] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 554). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

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^[112] Payne, J. B. (1988). 1, 2 Chronicles. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job (Vol. 4, p. 560). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.