Chapter 5 - THE CHRONICLER AS A HISTORIAN: BUILDING TEXTS

Summary

The Chronicler presents to the readers of 1–2 Chronicles a number of reports about building activities outside Jerusalem. These reports explicitly associate the activities with particular kings of Judah and with Solomon (see 2 Chron. 8.4–6; 11.5–12; 14.5–6; 16.6; 17.12–13; 26.2, 6, 10; 27.4; 32.29) and likely serve multiple functions in the shaping of the message of 1–2 Chronicles for its readers. This thematic paper will address the question of how these specific accounts illuminate both the historiographical work of the Chronicler and the value of the Chronicler's testimony for a critical reconstruction of the history of Judah in the monarchical period. To this purpose, it will first attempt to clarify basic methodological issues and premises underlying the study of these accounts. Then it will address in particular the reports that have no parallel in Kings and will advance a proposal concerning the criterion that led to their inclusion in Chronicles. Finally, it will explore the implications of this criterion for the study of the Chronicler's historiography and for the use of Chronicles in the reconstruction of monarchical Israelite and Judahite history.

1. Methodological Issues

On the surface, the most natural approach to the study of the building accounts and their respective degrees of historical accuracy (as understood in modern historical-critical research; hereafter and simply, accuracy or historical accuracy) is to take them at face value and then compare their specific claims with archaeological evidence.