Appendix 56

PARALLEL PASSAGES OF THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

The following table, showing one hundred and eleven parallel passages between the books of Samuel and Kings on the one hand, and the books of Chronicles on the other, will be useful.

1.  It will show the mutual relation of the selections, and will enable the reader to find at a glance the corresponding portions, and thus serve the purpose of ordinary and ready reference.

2.  It will help to exhibit the special design of the two great principles governing the whole of these books.

In the former (Samuel and Kings) we have the history from the exoteric point of view; in the latter (Chronicles) we have, for the most part, the same history, but from the esoteric point of view.

In the former we have the events viewed from the human standpoint, as they would be seen by the natural eye; in the latter we have the same events viewed from the Divine standpoint, and as seen and understood by the spiritual mind.

Consequently, while in the former we have the event in its historical aspect; in the latter we have it in its moral aspect.  In the former we have the historic record; in the latter we have the Divine reason for it, or the Divine "words" and judgment on it.  (Cp. Saul's death, 1Sam. 31:6, and 1Chron. 10:13, 14).

It is this principle which determines the amount of literary space accorded to the same historic event.  For example :  in the former books we have three chapters (or 88 verses) given to the secular events of Hezekiah's reign (2Kings 8, 19, and 20), and only three verses (2Kings 18:4-6) given to his great religious reformation.  In Chronicles this is exactly reversed.  Three chapters (or 84 verses) are devoted to his reformation (2Chron. 29-31), while one chapter (or 32 verses) suffices for the secular events of his reign.

In the same way Jehoshaphat's three alliances with Ahab can be spiritually and morally understood only from 2Chron. 17, of which there is not a word in Kings.

3.  This principle determines also the order in which the events are treated.  In the books of Kings the events are recorded in chronological order; while in Chronicles this order is sometimes ignored, in order to bring the moral causes or consequences of the two events together, for the purposes of comparison or contrast.  (Cp. the list of David's mighty men; David's numbering the People, and the account of the plague).

4.  The object of these two great principles is further seen in the fact that in the design of the former is to give the whole history of Israel's kingdom complete; while the design of the latter is to give only that which pertains to the house of David and the tribe of Judah, as being founded on Jehovah's covenant in 2Sam. 7 and 1Chron. 17.

5.  The conclusion is that the book of Chronicles is entirely independent of the books of Samuel and Kings; and that the differences between them are independent and designed.  The critics create their own difficulties by first assuming that the books ought to be alike; and then, because they are not what they are assumed to be, treating the variations as "discrepancies," or "corruptions of the text:, instead of as being full of Divine instruction "written for our learning".

The following is the table :