 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Between Babel and Beast
(America and Empires in Biblical Perspective)
The Glory of Kings: A Festschrift for James B. Jordan
Fyodor Dostoevsky
(Christian Encounters Series)
Athanasius
(Foundations of Theological Exegesis and Christian Spirituality)
The Four: A Survey of the Gospels
Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom
From Behind the Veil: The Epistles of John
Deep Exegesis:The Mystery of Reading Scripture
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
Gary Knoppers argues in a JBL article that, contrary to accepted scholarship, the Chronicler shows the signs of influence of Greek historiography. I find this kind of article tedious and this kind of evidence unconvincing, but along the way Knoppers makes some useful comments about the organization of the Chronicler’s genealogies. In particular, he shows (following many others) a chiastic outline of 1 Chron 1-9:
A. Peoples of the world, 1:1-54
B. Judah, 2:3-4:23
C. Simeon and transJordanian tribes, 4:24-5:26
D. Levi, 5:27-6:66
C. Northern tribes, 7:1-40
B. Benjamin, 8:1-40
A. Persian inhabitants of Jerusalem, 9:2-34
A couple of things emerge from this outline, which Knoppers unfortunately doesn’t pursue. First, the genealogies center on Levi. This is consistent with the Pentateuchal genealogies, which come to a climax in Ex 6 with the genealogy of Moses and Aaron. The whole purpose of genealogies in Scripture is to trace the fleshly lineage of a fleshly priesthood (Heb 7). Second, and related to this, the organization shows a gradual focus on the priestly tribe. From among all the nations of the world, Yahweh has selected the tribes of Israel to be priests, and withint the priestly people the Levites have been selected as the priestly tribe.
Finally, the A-A parallel is especially intriguing. At the beginning of the genealogies, the Chronicler is showing Israel within the context of Adamic humanity, within the context of the Gentile world. The genealogies close on the same note, with Israel set in the midst of the sea of nations. The situation of post-exilic Israel, in short, is nothing new, but in some respects a throwback to the original state of Israel and of Abraham.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, February 10, 2004 at 11:48 am
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
