The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought

by Sara Japhet

Overview

In the last several decades, interest in the Exilic and Postexilic periods of ancient Israel’s history has grown, especially as this era has been recognized to be important for the formation of the Hebrew Bible. One of the scholars at the forefront of interest in this period is Sara Japhet, now Yehezkel Kaufmann Professor Emeritus in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This volume, which is based on Japhet’s 1973 Ph.D. dissertation at the Hebrew University (published in Hebrew in 1978), was first published in English in 1989 and rapidly was recognized as a major distillation of the themes underlying the ideology of the book of Chronicles.

The book of Chronicles, written at the end of the fourth century B.C.E., relates the history of Israel from its beginnings with the creation of man to the return from exile with the declaration of Cyrus. The historical and theological points of departure of the Chronicler’s description are to be found in the realities of his own day. Through this historical composition, he attempts to imbue with new meaning the two components of Israel’s life: the past, which through its sublimation and transformation into a norm was in danger of becoming remote and irrelevant, and the present, which is granted full legitimization by demonstrating its continuity with this past. The one is interpreted in terms of the other. Japhet’s study strives to reveal the Chronicler’s views and perspectives on all the major issues of Israel’s history and religion, unveiling his role as a bridge between biblical and postbiblical faith.

The book has been out of print for a number of years; this edition, which has been completely retypeset (so that it is more readable), makes an important contribution to the growing body of literature that explores the development of Israelite religion during the time of the formation of the Hebrew Scriptures. Japhet’s ground-breaking work continues to make a lasting contribution to our understanding of the historical and theological position of the Chronicler.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781575061597
Publisher:	Penn State University Press
Publication date:	06/30/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.54(d)

About the Author

The Author: Sara Japhet was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. She studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the Departments of Bible, Literature, Hebrew Language, Ancient Near East and History. She received her Ph.D. in 1973. In 1966, as an Assistant, she became a staff member in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. At present she is a professor, and serves as the Yehezkel Kaufmann Professor of Bible at the Hebrew University.

Table of Contents

Contents: The concept of God - God's Relationship with Israel and his acts in its history - Worship: practical and spritual dimensions - The people of Israel: The idea of «all Israel», attitudes toward the northern kingdom, Samaritans, and aliens; the people and the land - Historical and theological aspects - Kingship: the concept of kingship; personality, status and functions of the king; the Davidic dynasty - Hopes for redemption and messianism.

Editorial Reviews

«...(eine) für die Chronikforschung grundlegende monumentale Arbeit. (...) Man ist dankbar, daß diese immer noch im Mittelpunkt der gegenwärtigen Diskussion über das Chronistische Geschichtswerk stehende Arbeit nun auch für den des Modernhebräischen unkundigen Leser zugänglich geworden ist.» (H. C. S., Zeitschrift für Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft)
«Man kann J.s Arbeit...allen, die sich über die Theologie der Chr. informieren möchten, zur eindringlichen Lektüre empfehlen.» (Dietmar Mathias, Theologische Literaturzeitung)

From the Publisher