Wednesday Bible Study: A radical departure

The story in Chronicles of the death of David and accession of Solomon is very different from the story that bridges the late chapters of Samuel with the first two chapters of Kings. In Kings, David ' s son Adonijah is recognized as his successor, but Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan talk David out of it and persuade him to name Solomon instead. All this, and other complications, are skipped in Chronicles. Most important, there is no hint in the Deuteronomistic history that the reason construction of the Temple is deferred from David to Solomon is that David has been a man of war and shed blood. All of David ' s battles, conquests and genocides, like all of those that preceded him, were not only approved by Yahweh but in most cases were Yahweh ' s idea. David was guilty of other acts of which Yahweh disapproved, most of which the Chronicler omits. However, here the Chronicler seems to signal that the nature of Israel* is changing. The kingdom is no longer imperialist and expansionist, but will now undertake to exist peacefully within established borders.The specifications for the Temple are not found in Kings. Again, whether there is a lost source for this or the Chronicler invented it, we do not know.* After the split between Judah and Israel/Samaria, the Chronicler pays little  attention to the northern kingdom. He is only interested in Judah. which is not surprising since at the time he wrote, in the 6th Century, the northern kingdom no longer existed. From his p...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs