1 Chronicles

Currents in Theology and Mission, June, 2007 by William J. Urbrock

1 Chronicles. Hermeneia. By Ralph W. Klein. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2006. xxi and 561 pages. Cloth. $55.00.

This amazingly comprehensive commentary, published in the prestigious Hermeneia series, is a genuine magnum opus by the esteemed editor of Currents. Contents include a substantial Introduction (including discussion of such items as date, author, and place of composition; nature and extent of the work; place in the canon; textual criticism, sources, and language; outline and central themes) followed by two major sections that contain chapter-by-chapter commentary on the genealogies of chapters 1-9 and on the reign of David in chapters 10-29.

Central themes identified and discussed by Klein include kingship, temple and cult. Israel, reward and retribution, attitude toward the Persians (the Chronicler "seems relatively content with life under Persian suzerainty, provided that the worship at the temple in Jerusalem is able to continue without restraint"), personal piety, and possible hopes for the future. Each of the chapter subsections in the commentary proper contains Klein's translation from Hebrew into English, extensive text critical notes (with much attention to the Greek Septuagint), a discussion of the structure of the section, detailed commentary, and a conclusion summing up the major content and significance of the section.

Publication of this commentary is a cause for celebration for Klein and for his spouse, Marilyn, to whom the volume is dedicated. The volume already has been greeted with what can only be deemed rave reviews by several prominent scholars (S. L. McKenzie: "monumental achievement, which every scholar interested in Chronicles will welcome warmly"; P. D. Miller Jr.: "will be the standard against which other commentaries on Chronicles are measured for years to come"; E. S. Gerstenberger: "priceless insights for everyone interested in Hebrew Scriptures and Biblical theology"). The commentary appears some 26 years after Klein was invited to write it, a span of time during which he organized the Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, wrote the articles on Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah for the Anchor Bible Dictionary, published commentaries on 1 Samuel in the Word Bible Commentary and on Ezekiel: The Prophet and His Message for the University of South Carolina Press, all the while serving as editor of Currents. During this time he also served eleven years as Dean at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and taught graduate seminars there and at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. His prolific scholarly achievements were acknowledged by a Festschrift presented to him at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2003: The Chronicler as Theologian: Essays in Honor of Ralph W. Klein, ed. M. P. Graham, S. L. McKenzie, and G. N. Knoppers (T & T Clark, 2003).

The appearance of this volume is a cause for celebration also for those whose scholarly pursuits are concentrated on the history and religion of ancient Israel during the exilic and post-exilic periods and specifically for those who engage in Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah studies. Preceding the Introduction are nine double-columned pages listing more than 150 scholarly journals, more than 200 commentaries, and other titles that are referred to in the volume. Many other books and articles are first referenced in the body of the commentary itself. Significantly, these hundreds of sources are not simply listed as window dressing. Klein is very much at home in his sources, including many that represent European (especially German) scholarship, and engages in extensive critical conversation with them in the commentary. For example, already in his Introduction, Klein offers critical comment on the views of McKenzie, E. C. Ulrich Jr., and W. E. Lemke on the textual characteristics of the Chronicler's Vorlage in Samuel as well as on the dramatically differing views of C. F. Keil and A. G. Auld on sources for Chronicles from Samuel, Kings, and Psalms.

In the commentary proper, Klein gives an abundance of fascinating thumbnail sketches of various scholarly positions. For example, in the commentary on chapters 2-4 one finds interesting discussions of H. G. M. Williamson's detection of a chiastic arrangement in the genealogy of Judah, T. Willi's thoughts on the geographical notices in several of the genealogies, a juxtaposition of the opinions of legendary scholars J. Wellhausen, M. Noth, and W. Rudolph on the structure of these chapters, and comment on the opposing ideas of M. Kartveit and Willi on how much of these chapters the Chronicler may have derived from older sources. Another example: In his commentary on chapter 12, Klein includes an extended discussion of three scholarly strategies that have been proposed for making sense of the inflated numbers in the military units said to have rallied to David. His own view is to read a primarily theological motive at work here, reflecting the Chronicler's all-Israel agenda. A third example: While commenting on the Chronicler's presentation of Davidic dynastic succession and Temple building in chapter 17, Klein offers a convincing alternative to W. M. Schniedewind's argument that Chronicles must have been written in the early Persian period (539-460 B.C.E.), since the Chronicler's royalist and pro-Temple message would have been applicable only in that time. (Elsewhere, Klein argues for a date of composition in the first half of the fourth century B.C.E., toward the end of the Persian period and the arrival of Alexander the Great.) These sorts of discussions, which appear throughout the commentary, provide a marvelous entrance into the scholarly literature on Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, and the exilic and post-exilic periods.