Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht King and Temple in Chronicles: A Contextual Approach to their Relations: 234 (Forschungen Zur Religion Und Literatur Des Alten Und Neuen T)

'Chronicles' was written during the late post-exilic period when only the Temple in Jerusalem was a living institution and the monarchy was a memory from the distant past. This is one of the reasons why some commentators consider 'Chronicles' as devoid of any hope for the restoration of a monarchy under a Davidic ruler. In the introduction, some arguments of representative scholars who advocate this lack of hope are presented as well as polemics against this view. The king-temple relationship is seen as the leitmotiv of 'Chronicles' and the given elaboration on the theme consequently begins with an exegesis of the book as a single corpus which is constructed with the dynastic promise as its very core. This theme is developed in the second chapter which shows that the Chronicler expresses a specific attitude to the kingship ideology, presenting David as a second Moses, the epitome of a repentant sinner, and depicting Solomon as an idealised ruler in a golden age. This presentation is interestingly interconnected with the theology of Deuteronomy, the Deuteronomistic history, the post-exilic theology of the 'Psalm' tradition and some of the messianic texts. The following three chapters thus aim to examine 'Chronicles' from the perspective of its relations with the post-exilic theological traditions. The conclusion is the summary of the study outlined above as well as a setting of its effects into the framework of a wider theological and ideological background which is, presumably, contemporary to the Chronicler. This is essential for understanding the motives for the composition of 'Chronicles', and for determining its original scope. The conclusion presents an explanation of both issues.