THE HISTORICAL BOOKS.—(Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "Now the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but, forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph, the son of Israel; and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright [i. e. of the first born, Reuben]. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's)". I Chronicles v: 1, 2.

NOTES.

1. Books of Chronicles: "The two Books of Chronicles counted as one in the Hebrew canon. They give a short history of events from the creation down to the proclamation of Cyrus, allowing the Jews to return to Palestine. The books contain several references to the sources whence information was derived, e. g., "the book of Nathan the prophet, the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer," (II Chron. ix: 29; cf. also II Chron. xii: 15; xiii: 22; xx: 34; xxvi: 22; xxxii: 32; xxxiii: 18.) These passages make it clear that, from the earliest times of the kingdom, writers living amid the events described, and generally of the prophetic order, recorded the history of their own times. These records along with Samuel and Kings, formed the materials out of which our Books of Chronicles were compiled, the compilers choosing such portions as suited the purpose of their composition. Though secular events are not excluded from the compilations thus formed, the writers dwell with most satisfaction upon the ecclesiastical and religious aspects of the history, and the progress of temple worship in Jerusalem. The date of composition cannot be fixed with certainty; it was probably between 300 and 250 B. C." (Cambridge Bible Helps, p. 32.)

2. Catholic View of Chronicles: "These books are called by the Greek interpreters Paralipomenon, that is, 'of things left out, or omitted,' because they are a kind of a supplement of such things as were passed over in the book of the Kings. The Hebrews call them Dibre Hajamim, that is, 'The words of the days,' or The Chronicles. Not that they are the books which are so often quoted in Kings, under the title of the 'Words of the Days of the Kings of Israel, and of the Kings of Juda;' for the Books of Paralipomenon were written after the Books of Kings; but because in all probability they have been abridged from those ancient 'Words of the Days,' by Esdras or some other sacred writer." (Introduction to Chronicles, Douay Bible.)

3. Controversial Value of the Books of Chronicles: "The constant tradition of the Jews, in which they have been followed by the great mass of Christian commentators, is that these books were for the most part compiled by Ezra; and the one genealogy, that of Zerubbabel, which comes down to a later time, is no objection to this statement, without recurring to the strange notion broached by the old commentators, and even sanctioned by Dr. Davidson (in Kitto's Cyclo. of Bibl. Lit., art. Chronicles), that the knowledge of these generations was communicated to Ezra by inspiration. In fact, the internal evidence as to the time when the book of Chronicles was compiled, seems to tally remarkably with the tradition concerning its authorship. Notwithstanding this agreement, however, the authenticity of Chronicles has been vehemently impugned by De Wette and other German critics, whose arguments have been successfully refuted by Dahler, Keil, Movers, and others. It has been clearly shown that the attack was grounded not upon any real marks of spuriousness in the books themselves, but solely upon the desire of the critics in question to remove a witness whose evidence was fatal to their favorite theory as to the post-Babylonian origin of the books of Moses. If the accounts in the books of Chronicles of the courses of priests and Levites, and the ordinances of divine service as arranged by David, and restored by Hezekiah and Josiah, are genuine, it necessarily follows that the Levitical law, as set forth in the Pentateuch, was not invented after the return from the captivity. Hence the successful vindication of the authenticity of Chronicles has a very important bearing upon many of the very gravest theological questions." (Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 429.)

4. Compilation and Spirit of the Books of Chronicles: "Though the latest of all the canonical writings, it represents the workmanship of many generations. It resembles the structure of an ancient cathedral, with fragments of every style worked into the building as it proceeded,—here a piece of the most hoary antiquity, there a precious relic of a lost hymn or genealogy of some renowned psalmist or warrior,—but all preserved, and wrought together, as by the workmen of mediaeval times, under the guidance of the same sacerdotal mind, with the spirit of the same priestly order. Far below the prophetic books of the Kings in interest and solidity, it yet furnishes a useful counterpart by filling up the voids with materials which none but the peculiar traditions and feelings of the Levitical caste could have supplied. It is the culminating point of the purely Levitical system, both in what it relates, in what it omits, and the manner of its relations and omissions." (Dean Stanley, quoted in Smith's Bible Dictionary, p. 432.)

5. The Birth Right to Joseph: "It should be remembered that to Joseph, the son of Jacob, a double portion of honor was granted in Israel. While no tribe is especially called by his name, yet two tribes are his through his sons, viz., the tribe of Ephraim and the tribe of Manasseh. This came about in the following manner: Reuben, the first born of Jacob defiled his father's wife Bilhah. For which awful crime he lost his place as a prince in the house of Israel, which place was given indirectly to Joseph, the son of Jacob, by his wife Rachel. Why I say indirectly is because Ephraim, Joseph's younger son, was the one who received the blessing of the first born from the patriarch Jacob, and it is for this reason that the Lord was wont to say, "I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first born." In proof see Special Text of lesson; also Y. M. M. I. A. Manual 1905-6, p. 330.