Review in: Irish Theological
Quarterly 2006 71: 355
Review door: Martin McNamaraGevonden op: http://itq.sagepub.com/content/71/3-4/355.full.pdf+html
1 CHRONICLES 1–9: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Bible, vol. 12).
By
Gary N. Knoppers. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Pp. xxii+1–514; 8 maps. Price $49.95. ISBN 0-385-46928-4.
1 CHRONICLES 10–29: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary (The Anchor Bible, vol.12A).
By
Gary N. Knoppers. New York: Doubleday, 2004. Pp. xxii+515–1045 (continuous pagination for the 2 vols.).
Price $49.95. ISBN 0-385-51288-0.
In
the preface the author acknowledges the privileged position in which he stands
in writing a commentary on Chronicles, thanks to the new scholarly interest in
the Persian era (538–332 BCE) in the past three decades. Long neglected by
commentators, Chronicles is finally being given its due. Knoppers acknowledges
in particular the contributions of Sara Japhet, Thomas Will, and Hugh
Williamson. He begins his treatment with a new translation of 1 Chronicles, and
then in a lengthy ninety-page introduction of nine chapters gives detailed
consideration to titles (of the work), the relevance of textual criticism, the
Chronicler’s use of earlier biblical books, the state of the field: recent
studies on Chronicles, theories of multiple editions, the debate over
authorship and date, the issue of extrabiblical sources, the question whether
Chronicles is a rewritten Bible, and finally Chronicles and Canon. In his
preface he notes Isaac Kalimi’s comprehensive bibliography (The
Books of Chronicles: A Classified
Bibliography, 1990), but after his own introduction gives a
hundred-page bibliography himself.
Knoppers
is strong and informative on textual criticism: the impact of the Dead Sea
Scrolls, the various witnesses to the text of Chronicles and their value (1
Esdras, two major Greek translations, the debated question on the usefulness of
the Old Latin, the Vulgate, the Peshitta, Aramaic targums, Armenian and the
Masoretic text itself). His survey of the recent studies on Chronicles has to
do principally with the unity and extent of the Chronicler’s work, with special
reference to the doublet in 2 Chr 36:22–3 and Ezra 1:1–3a (Cyrus’s decree to
return). While he believes that the ideology of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah is
so different as to indicate separate authors, he notes the points of contact,
and concludes that the cumulative weight of the considerations would suggest
that Chronicles has some points of connection with Ezra and Nehemiah, but that
it is quite unlikely that one individual is responsible for both works. It is
impossible that the author(s) of the narrative portions of Ezra and Nehemiah
are also responsible for Chronicles. In a summary, after examining the evidence
for date, he remarks that, given the limited amount of evidence directly
bearing on the composition of Chronicles, his commentary allows a range of
dates from the late 5th century through the mid-3rd century. His own
inclination is toward a date in the late 4th or early 3rd century.
Knoppers
opens his treatment of Chronicles as a rewritten Bible noting that scholars do
not agree on a precise definition of what a rewritten Bible is (instancing the
definitions by Vermes, Brooke, Crawford and Nickelsberg), and noting that for
some early works so considered (e.g. Jubilees, part of 1 Enoch, Apocalypse of
Moses) the designation ‘Rewritten Bible’ can be anachronistic. He notes that
many features of rewritten Bibles can be found in Chronicles: commentary to
material borrowed from earlier biblical books, Chronicles as midrash or
exegesis, with additions of a theological nature among others. He remarks,
however, that there is nothing in earlier biblical works to compare with the
genealogies in 1 Chr 1–9. The closest analogues that he is aware of stem from
the classical world. The Chronicler’s depiction of the monarchy is not simply a
commentary on the Deuteronomistic History. If Chronicles as a complete work is
to be compared with any corpus of biblical writings, it probably should be the
primary history (Genesis through Kings). In this context, there is something to
be said for viewing Chronicles as a second national epic. Chronicles was
composed not necessarily as a replacement of, but as an alternative to, the
primary history. Indeed, the Chronicler’s work may have had an effect on how
the older works were interpreted by some readers. Given its unique literary
structure and its unparalleled content, Chronicles is more than a paraphrase or
literary elaboration of the primary history. Chronicles must be understood as its
own work.
The
commentary proper is done in sections. For each section the translation is
first given, followed by textual notes and then (commentary) notes on
individual verses, after which come sections on individual questions (e.g.
sources, composition) followed by a general comment. 1 Chr 1–9, the subject of the
first volume, contains genealogies only. Knoppers introduces this with an excursus
on the genealogies. He opens with words from Plato on the subject. According to
Plato, when Socrates asked the famous sophist Hippias, ‘What are the subjects
that the Spartans gladly hear from you?’ Hippias replied: ‘They listen with the
greatest pleasure to the genealogies of their heroes and men, to the settlement
of tribes, and how cities were founded of old and, in a word, to everything
concerning antiquarian knowledge’ (Plato, Hipp. mai. 285d)
– words that will be welcome to students of the New Testament (Matthew, Luke)
and medieval Irish literature. Genealogies of this extent are unique in the
Bible and in the Near East. In Knoppers’s judgement the closest counterpart to
the phenomenon of 1 Chr 1–9 may be found in the works of Greek genealogists. He
notes the artistic arrangement of the nine chapters. The outer frame (1:1–54;
9:2–34) says something of the Chronicler’s view of the larger purpose of divine
history. The imago mundi of 1 Chr 1 reveals that Israel
is akin to its neighbours, but the following genealogies (1 Chr 2–8, concentrating
on Judah, Levi and Benjamin) reveal that the children of Israel occupy a
privileged place among the very nations to whom they are related. The list of
those in the restored community (after the exile: 1 Chr 9) creates continuity
between postexilic society and the Israel of ages past. Knoppers notes the
desire of some to find a messianic interpretation in Judah’s genealogy (he
instances 1 Chr 2:1–55; 4:1–23) and in the name Anani, ‘the cloud man’ in 3:24
(cf. Dan 7:13), a view opposed by other scholars. Knoppers himself, without
wishing to oppose any of those theories, sees in the genealogy of Judah a
desire to establish a continuity between the Yehud of Persian times and earlier
Judah (where the David tradition was central), with an inclusiveness the
opposite of the position of Ezra-Nehemiah. He notes the targumic interpretation
of 21:15, with reference to the sacrifice of Isaac, but does not dwell on what
the object of ‘he (God) saw’ might be for the Chronicler.
The
work ends with eight black and white maps, indexes of biblical references, of
modern authors, and a very detailed (23 pages) index of subjects.
This
work of immense erudition is the fruit of long and deep research. It is a
worthy addition to the Anchor Bible series and will serve students of these books
and other interested researchers for years to come.
MARTIN MCNAMARA MSC
Milltown
Institute,
Dublin
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