Consensus has it that Chronicles was written some time between 350 BCE and 250 BCE. My thoughts are that this assessment is misleading. I suspect the books were written earlier than that. It was shortly before the period mentioned that the Torah was translated into Greek. Before the end of that period the remainder of the Hebrew Scriptures was translated into Greek. It seems more reasonable to assume that the books of Chronicles were compiled at least 100 to 200 years earlier, before the rabbis and scholars would have included them in the translation. My best guess is that they were written during or soon after the Babylonian exile, some 150 years before the above-mentioned era. Many of the names of the people mentioned in these first few chapters would have long been forgotten much later than that.
The chronicler seems to exhibit a strong sense of religious and moral commitment to recording the history of Judea primarily. He was probably a priest, or possibly even the high priest. Starting with Adam, he describes early history by recording the names of some of the principal actors in the Torah, Joshua, and Samuel. In the first nine chapters he gives a relatively complete genealogy, with occasional gaps. He seems to be concentrating on the heads of the families through the generations. He goes into considerable detail once he gets to the events depicted in the four books of Samuel and Kings. Throughout he appears to be a firm believer in God’s rewards for faithfulness and punishments for sins, and frequently stresses the need for obedience to God’s word.
In my opinion, the books of the Chronicles do not belong after 2Kings, as they are positioned in the Christian bible. Because of the many discrepancies between the Chronicles books and the books of Samuel and Kings, they were obviously written at a later time. As a reprise of the history of the entire Hebrew bible, they indeed belong at the end of the bible.
אָדָם שֵׁת אֱנוֹשׁ׃ 1:1
1Chr. 1:1 Adam, Seth, Enos,
קֵינָן מַהֲלַלְאֵל יָרֶד׃ 1:2
1Chr. 1:2 Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared,
חֲנוֹךְ מְתוּשֶׁלַח לָמֶךְ׃ 1:3
1Chr. 1:3 Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech,
נֹחַ שֵׁם חָם וָיָפֶת׃ 1:4
1Chr. 1:4 Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
בְּנֵי יֶפֶת גֹּמֶר וּמָגוֹג וּמָדַי וְיָוָן וְתֻבָל וּמֶשֶׁךְ וְתִירָס׃ 1:5
1Chr. 1:5 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal and Meshech, and Tiras.
וּבְנֵי גֹּמֶר אַשְׁכֲּנַז וְדִיפַת וְתוֹגַרְמָה׃ 1:6
1Chr. 1:6 And the sons of Gomer were Ashenaz, and Diphath, and Togarmah.
וּבְנֵי יָוָן אֱלִישָׁה וְתַרְשִׁישָׁה כִּתִּים וְרוֹדָנִים׃ 1:7
1Chr. 1:7 And the sons of Javan were Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim.
בְּנֵי חָם כּוּשׁ וּמִצְרַיִם פּוּט וּכְנָעַן׃ 1:8
1Chr. 1:8 The sons of Ham were Cush, and Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
וּבְנֵי כוּשׁ סְבָא וַחֲוִילָה וְסַבְתָּא וְרַעְמָא וְסַבְתְּכָא וּבְנֵי רַעְמָא שְׁבָא וּדְדָן׃ 1:9
1Chr. 1:9 And the sons of Cush were Seba, and Havilah, and Sabta, and Raama, and Sabteca. And the sons of Raama were Sheba and Dedan.
וְכוּשׁ יָלַד אֶת־נִמְרוֹד הוּא הֵחֵל לִהְיוֹת גִּבּוֹר בָּאָרֶץ׃ 1:10
1Chr. 1:10 And Cush begot Nimrod; he hoped to become a mighty one on the earth.
וּמִצְרַיִם יָלַד אֶת־(לוּדִיִּים) [לוּדִים] וְאֶת־עֲנָמִים וְאֶת־לְהָבִים וְאֶת־נַפְתֻּחִים׃ 1:11
1Chr. 1:11 And Mizraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
The word in the parentheses, translated as Ludim, is spelled with an extra yad. The correction in the brackets eliminates it.
וְאֶת־פַּתְרֻסִים וְאֶת־כַּסְלֻחִים אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מִשָּׁם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וְאֶת־כַּפְתֹּרִים׃ 1:12
1Chr. 1:12 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (that came out from the Philistines), and Caphtorim.
וּכְנַעַן יָלַד אֶת־צִידוֹן בְּכֹרוֹ וְאֶת־חֵת׃ 1:13
1Chr. 1:13 And Canaan begot Zidon, his first born, and Heth,
וְאֶת־הַיְבוּסִי וְאֶת־הָאֱמֹרִי וְאֵת הַגִּרְגָּשִׁי׃ 1:14
1Chr. 1:14 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,
וְאֶת־הַחִוִּי וְאֶת־הַעַרְקִי וְאֶת־הַסִּינִי׃ 1:15
1Chr. 1:15 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
וְאֶת־הָאַרְוָדִי וְאֶת־הַצְּמָרִי וְאֶת־הַחֲמָתִי׃ 1:16
1Chr. 1:16 and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite.
בְּנֵי שֵׁם עֵילָם וְאַשּׁוּר וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד וְלוּד וַאֲרָם וְעוּץ וְחוּל וְגֶתֶר וָמֶשֶׁךְ׃ 1:17
1Chr. 1:17 The sons of Shem were Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram, and Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Meshech.
וְאַרְפַּכְשַׁד יָלַד אֶת־שָׁלַח וְשֶׁלַח יָלַד אֶת־עֵבֶר׃ 1:18
1Chr. 1:18 And Arpachshad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber.
וּלְעֵבֶר יֻלַּד שְׁנֵי בָנִים שֵׁם הָאֶחָד פֶּלֶג כִּי בְיָמָיו נִפְלְגָה הָאָרֶץ וְשֵׁם אָחִיו יָקְטָן׃ 1:19
1Chr. 1:19 As for Eber, he begot two sons; the name of the first was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided. And the name of his brother was Joktan.
The name Eber can mean a region beyond, and Peleg can mean a channel.
וְיָקְטָן יָלַד אֶת־אַלְמוֹדָד וְאֶת־שָׁלֶף וְאֶת־חֲצַרְמָוֶת וְאֶת־יָרַח׃ 1:20
1Chr. 1:20 And Joktan begot Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,
וְאֶת־הֲדוֹרָם וְאֶת־אוּזָל וְאֶת־דִּקְלָה׃ 1:21
1Chr. 1:21 and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,
וְאֶת־עֵיבָל וְאֶת־אֲבִימָאֵל וְאֶת־שְׁבָא׃ 1:22
1Chr. 1:22 and Ebal, and Abimael, and Sheba,
וְאֶת־אוֹפִיר וְאֶת־חֲוִילָה וְאֶת־יוֹבָב כָּל־אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי יָקְטָן׃ 1:23
1Chr. 1:23 and Ophir, and Avilah, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.
שֵׁם אַרְפַּכְשַׁד שָׁלַח׃ 1:24
1Chr. 1:24 Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah,
עֵבֶר פֶּלֶג רְעוּ׃ 1:25
1Chr. 1:25 Eber, Peleg, Reu,
שְׂרוּג נָחוֹר תָּרַח׃ 1:26
1Chr. 1:26 Serug, Nachor, Terah,
אַבְרָם הוּא אַבְרָהָם׃ 1:27
1Chr. 1:27 Abram (he was Abraham).
בְּנֵי אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיִשְׁמָעֵאל׃ 1:28
1Chr. 1:28 The sons of Abraham were Isaac and Ishmael.
אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹתָם בְּכוֹר יִשְׁמָעֵאל נְבָיוֹת וְקֵדָר וְאַדְבְּאֵל וּמִבְשָׂם׃ 1:29
1Chr. 1:29 These were their generations. The first born of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Keder, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
מִשְׁמָע וְדוּמָה מַשָּׂא חֲדַד וְתֵימָא׃ 1:30
1Chr. 1:30 Mishma, and Dumah, Massa, Hadad, and Tema,
יְטוּר נָפִישׁ וָקֵדְמָה אֵלֶּה הֵם בְּנֵי יִשְׁמָעֵאל׃ 1:31
1Chr. 1:31 Jetur, Naphish, and Kedem. They were the sons of Ishmael.
וּבְנֵי קְטוּרָה פִּילֶגֶשׁ אַבְרָהָם יָלְדָה אֶת־זִמְרָן וְיָקְשָׁן וּמְדָן וּמִדְיָן וְיִשְׁבָּק וְשׁוּחַ וּבְנֵי יָקְשָׁן שְׁבָא וּדְדָן׃ 1:32
1Chr. 1:32 Then the sons of Keturah, concubine of Abraham. She bore Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And the sons of Jokshan were Sheba and Dedan.
Keturah is described as Abraham’s wife in Gene. 25:1. This relationship, with Keturah being one of a number of concubines, is more believable by bible scholars. None of her offspring could claim the rights given to Isaac, Abraham’s only son by Sarah. Also interesting is the position of this verse in the chapter; it comes before the verse about Isaac’s birth, although it occurred some decades later.
וּבְנֵי מִדְיָן עֵיפָה וָעֵפֶר וַחֲנוֹךְ וַאֲבִידָע וְאֶלְדָּעָה כָּל־אֵלֶּה בְּנֵי קְטוּרָה׃ 1:33
1Chr. 1:33 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah.
וַיֹּולֶד אַבְרָהָם אֶת־יִצְחָק בְּנֵי יִצְחָק עֵשָׂו וְיִשְׂרָאֵל׃ 1:34
1Chr. 1:34 And Abraham begot Isaac. The sons of Isaac were Esau and Israel.
בְּנֵי עֵשָׂו אֱלִיפַז רְעוּאֵל וִיעוּשׁ וְיַעְלָם וְקֹרַח׃ 1:35
1Chr. 1:35 The sons of Esau were Eliphaz, Reuel, and Jeush, and Jalam, and Korach.
בְּנֵי אֱלִיפָז תֵּימָן וְאוֹמָר צְפִי וְגַעְתָּם קְנַז וְתִמְנָע וַעֲמָלֵק׃ 1:36
1Chr. 1:36 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, and Omar, Zephi, and Gatam, Kenaz, and Timna, and Amalek.
בְּנֵי רְעוּאֵל נַחַת זֶרַח שַׁמָּה וּמִזָּה׃ 1:37
1Chr. 1:37 The sons of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizah.
וּבְנֵי שֵׂעִיר לוֹטָן וְשׁוֹבָל וְצִבְעוֹן וַעֲנָה וְדִישֹׁן וְאֵצֶר וְדִישָׁן׃ 1:38
1Chr. 1:38 And the sons of Seir were Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah, and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan.
וּבְנֵי לוֹטָן חֹרִי וְהוֹמָם וַאֲחוֹת לוֹטָן תִּמְנָע׃ 1:39
1Chr. 1:39 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam. And the sister of Lotan was Timna.
בְּנֵי שֹׁובָל עַלְיָן וּמָנַחַת וְעֵיבָל שְׁפִי וְאֹונָם וּבְנֵי צִבְעֹון אַיָּה וַעֲנָה׃ 1:40
1Chr. 1:40 The sons of Shobal were Alian, and Manahath, and Ebal, Shephi, and Onam. And the sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah.
בְּנֵי עֲנָה דִּישֹׁון וּבְנֵי דִישֹׁון חַמְרָן וְאֶשְׁבָּן וְיִתְרָן וּכְרָן׃ 1:41
1Chr. 1:41 The sons of Anah, Dishon. And the sons of Dishon were Hamran, and Eshban, and Ithran, and Cheran.
בְּנֵי־אֵצֶר בִּלְהָן וְזַעֲוָן יַעֲקָן בְּנֵי דִישׁוֹן עוּץ וַאֲרָן׃ 1:42
1Chr. 1:42 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, and Zaavan, Jaakan. The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.
וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלָךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בֶּלַע בֶּן־בְּעוֹר וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ 1:43
דִּנְהָבָה׃
1Chr. 1:43 And these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king was made king for the children of Israel: Bela, the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah.
וַיָּמָת בָּלַע וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו יוֹבָב בֶּן־זֶרַח מִבָּצְרָה׃ 1:44
1Chr. 1:44 And Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah, from Bozrah, became king in his place.
וַיָּמָת יוֹבָב וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו חוּשָׁם מֵאֶרֶץ הַתֵּימָנִי׃ 1:45
1Chr. 1:45 And Jobab died, and Husham from the land of the Temanite became king in his place.
וַיָּמָת חוּשָׁם וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו הֲדַד בֶּן־בְּדַד הַמַּכֶּה אֶת־מִדְיָן בִּשְׂדֵה מֹואָב וְשֵׁם עִירֹו (עֲיֹות) [עֲוִית]׃ 1:46
1Chr. 1:46 And Husham died and Hadad, the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moab, became king in his place, and the name of his city was Avith.
The word in the parentheses, translated as Avith, is misspelled. The yad and vav are interchanged in the brackets.
וַיָּמָת הֲדָד וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו שַׂמְלָה מִמַּשְׂרֵקָה׃ 1:47
1Chr. 1:47 And Hadad died, and Samlah from Masrekah became king in his place.
וַיָּמָת שַׂמְלָה וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו שָׁאוּל מֵרְחֹבוֹת הַנָּהָר׃ 1:48
1Chr. 1:48 And Samlah died, and Shaul from Rehoboth of the river became king in his place.
וַיָּמָת שָׁאוּל וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו בַּעַל חָנָן בֶּן־עַכְבּוֹר׃ 1:49
1Chr. 1:49 And Shaul died and Baal-hanan, the son of Achbor, became king in his place.
וַיָּמָת בַּעַל חָנָן וַיִּמְלֹךְ תַּחְתָּיו הֲדַד וְשֵׁם עִירוֹ פָּעִי וְשֵׁם אִשְׁתּוֹ מְהֵיטַבְאֵל בַּת־מַטְרֵד בַּת מֵי זָהָב׃ 1:50
1Chr. 1:50 And Baal-hanan died, and Hadad became king in his place, and the name of his city was Pai, and the name of his wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab.
וַיָּמָת הֲדָד וַיִּהְיוּ אַלּוּפֵי אֱדֹום אַלּוּף תִּמְנָע אַלּוּף (עַלְיָה) [עַלְוָה] אַלּוּף יְתֵת׃ 1:51
1Chr. 1:51 And Hadad died. And the chieftains of Edom were chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth,
The word in the parentheses, translated as Alvah, is misspelled. The correction in the brackets replaces the yad with a vav.
אַלּוּף אָהֳלִיבָמָה אַלּוּף אֵלָה אַלּוּף פִּינֹן׃ 1:52
1Chr. 1:52 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon,
אַלּוּף קְנַז אַלּוּף תֵּימָן אַלּוּף מִבְצָר׃ 1:53
1Chr. 1:53 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar,
אַלּוּף מַגְדִּיאֵל אַלּוּף עִירָם אֵלֶּה אַלּוּפֵי אֱדוֹם׃ 1:54
1Chr. 1:54 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom.
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