Sunday Sermonette: Do not mess with the guys who wrote this

The story of Uzziah, including his transgression and consequential leprosy, is told briefly in the Book of Kings, embedded in a much longer discussion of goings on in the northern kingdom at the time. The Chronicler as usual has no interest in the northern kingdom, but he has a great deal of interest in the prerogatives of the priesthood so he makes that the focus. There have been instances in the past when the priests have put kings in their place, although in the early part of the Deuteronomistic History kings sometimes made sacrifices and apparently it was okay.  The Chronicler wants to be very clear that kings cannot get away with usurping the role of the priesthood, even by burning incense, and that Yahweh agrees. The point is all the sharper because Uzziah gets a big build up to that point -- he ' s the most successful king since Jehoshaphat. But that doesn ' t earn him any slack when it comes to the temple.The reference at the end is not to the canonical Book of Isaiah, which only mentions Uzziah in passing, but to some lost book. Since the existing Book of Isaiah was written much later than these events, perhaps around the same time as Chronicles, it could not add any historical reliability. I should mention once again that " leprosy " does not refer to the disease known by that name in modern times (now called Hansen ' s disease) but to what are probably understood to be several different dermatological conditions today. 26 Then all the people of Judah...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs