In this latest addition to the esteemed Anchor Bible series, scholar Gary Knoppers examines one of the most neglected books of the Hebrew Bible and establishes its importance to understanding the nation of Israel. What was the place of the monarchy in the history of ancient Israel? Was Israel's first king Saul a hero or a disaster? Was David a highly gifted leader and accomplished king or a murderer and a cheat? Did Solomon preside over the most glorious epoch in Israelite history or did he lead the nation into a fateful decline? Knoppers show how the Bible itself contains a variety of fascinating perspectives on major events and characters. One of the most misunderstood books of the Bible, Chronicles presents a distinctive and important viewpoint on much of Israel's past, especially the monarchy. Knoppers shows how Chronicles defends the transition from Saul to David and upholds the Davidic-Solomonic monarchy as a time of incomparable Israelite achievement and glory, a period in which the nation's most important public institutions--the Davidic dynasty, the Jerusalem Temple, the priests, and the Levites--took formative shape. I Chronicles 10-29, part of a two-volume set on I Chronicles, is the first to employ systematically the witness of the Dead Sea Scrolls to reconstruct the biblical author's text. Knoppers shows how Chronicles is related to and creatively drawn from many earlier biblical books and presents a fascinating look at its connections in both compositional style and approach to historical writings attested in ancient Mesopotamia and classical Greece.

Matthew Lynch examines ways that the one God became known and experienced through institutions according to the book of Chronicles. Chronicles recasts Israel's earlier histories from the vantage point of vigorous commitments to the temple and its supporting institutions (the priesthood and royal house), and draws out the numerous ways that those institutions mediate divine power and inspire national unity. By understanding and participating in the reestablishment of these institutions, Chronicles suggests that post-exilic Judeans could reconnect to the powerful God of the past despite the appallingly impoverished state of post-exilic life. However, Chronicles contends that God was not beholden by those participating in the temple system. As such, it constitutes a via media between two regnant perspectives on the relationship between biblical monotheism and particularism.

Until recently, most non-biblical manuscripts attested in the Qumran library were regarded as copies of texts that were composed after the books of the Hebrew Bible were written. Students of the Hebrew Bible found the Dead Sea Scrolls therefore mostly of interest for the textual and interpretative histories of these books. The present collection confirms the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls for both areas, by showing that they have revolutionized our understanding of how the text of the biblical books developed and how they were interpreted. Beyond the textual and interpretative histories, though, many texts attested in the Qumran library illuminate the time in which the later books of the Hebrew Bible were composed and reworked as well as Jewish life and law in the time when the canon of the Hebrew Bible developed. This volume gives important examples as to how the early texts attested in the Dead Sea Scrolls help to better understand individual biblical books and as to how the later texts among them illustrate Jewish life and law when the canon of the Hebrew Bible evolved. In order to find an adequate expertise for the seminar »The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew Bible«, the editors invited both junior and senior specialists in the fields of Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, Dead Sea Scrolls and Rabbinics to Rome.

In this book, Louis C. Jonker considers more sophisticated and nuanced models for applying the heuristic lens of "identity" in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible book of Chronicles. Not only does he investigate the potential and limitations of different sociological models for this purpose, but the author also provides a more nuanced analysis of the socio-historical context of origin of late Persian-period biblical literature by distinguishing between four levels of socio-historic existence in this period. It is shown that varying power relations were in operation on these different levels which contributed to a multi-levelled process of identity negotiation. Louis C. Jonker shows the value of the chosen methodological approach in his analysis of Chronicles, but also suggests that it holds potential for the investigation of other Hebrew Bible corpora.

Taking on the established view of Chronicles, which uses retribution theology - the view that the author of Chronicles re-worked the texts in Samuel-Kings to demonstrate that Yahweh rewards the good and punishes the wicked - Troy Cudworth argues that this cause-effect relationship is maintained primarily through the treatment of the themes of war and temple-faithfulness. Cudworth identifies a division of kings into categories, with the immediate exception of David, who belongs in his own category as he pioneered the two most foundational elements of the temple cult. For this reason, he also won many battles to secure Israel's place in the land. The next two groups of kings can be dichotomised in the following way: those who show faithfulness to the temple cult and its practices, and those who neglect it. Based on their attitude to the temple, the Chronicler illustrates how the kings either prosper in the land through military victory or suffer attack. Although many kings begin as faithful in supporting orthodox temple practices, and thus prosper on the battlefield, none of these kings are consistent and persevere in their faithfulness and so their success either stops immediately, or they suffer attack. Conversely, other kings are illustrated who, despite committing some of the worst sins in Israel's history, repent immediately after their swift punishment. Across all of these cases, it is shown how temple faithfulness always ultimately guarantees peace and security for Israel.

The T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism provides a comprehensive reference resource of over 600 scholarly articles aimed at scholars and students interested in Judaism of the Second Temple Period. The two-volume work is split into four parts. Part One offers a prolegomenon for the contemporary study and appreciation of Second Temple Judaism, locating the discipline in relation to other relevant fields (such as Hebrew Bible, Rabbinics, Christian Origins). Beginning with a discussion of terminology, the discussion suggests ways the Second Temple period may be described, and concludes by noting areas of study that challenge our perception of ancient Judaism. Part Two presents an overview of respective contexts of the discipline set within the broad framework of historical chronology corresponding to a set of full-colour, custom-designed maps. With distinct attention to primary sources, the author traces the development of historical, social, political, and religious developments from the time period following the exile in the late 6th century B.C.E. through to the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt (135 C.E.). Part Three focuses specifically on a wide selection of primary-source literature of Second Temple Judaism, summarizing the content of key texts, and examining their similarities and differences with other texts of the period. Essays here include a brief introduction to the work and a summary of its contents, as well as examination of critical issues such as date, provenance, location, language(s), and interpretative matters. The early reception history of texts is also considered, and followed by a bibliography specific to that essay. Numerous high-resolution manuscript images are utilized to illustrate distinct features of the texts. Part Four addresses topics relevant to the Second Temple Period such as places, practices, historical figures, concepts, and subjects of scholarly discussion. These are often supplemented by images, maps, drawings, or diagrams, some of which appear here for the first time. Copiously illustrated, carefully researched and meticulously referenced, this resource provides a reliable, up-to-date and complete guide for those studying early Judaism in its literary and historical settings.