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The Book of Chronicles is a book in the Hebrew Bible (also see Old Testament). It was originally written as one book, but at some time the book came to be divided into two, probably in accordance with more managable scroll sizes, and thus in Christian bibles it is usually published in two parts, I Chronicles and II Chronicles.

In Hebrew the title of this book is Divre Hayyamim, i.e., "History of the Days." Jerome, in his Latin translation of the Bible ( Vulgate), titled this book Chronicon; in English this word translates as "Chronicles."

In the Greek Septuagint the book is also divided into two parts; here it bears the title Paraleipomêna, i.e., "things omitted," or "supplements", because it contains details not found in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings. In the Douai Bible translation the books are accordingly styled the "Books of Paralipomenon".

The book is divided into four parts:

1. The first nine chapters of Book I contain a list of genealogies in the line of Israel down to the time of King David.
2. The remainder of the first book contains a history of the reign of David.
3. The first nine chapters of Book II contain the history of the reign of King SolomonSolomon or Shlomo ( Hebrew: Standard Hebrew: #X160;lomo Tiberian Hebrew: #X160;lomoh meaning "peace") in the Tanakh ( Old Testament), is the third king of Israel (including Judah), builder of the temple in Jerusalem, renowned for his great wisdom and weal.
4. The remaining chapters of the second book contain the history of the separate Kingdom of JudahThe Kingdom of Judah Malchut Yehudah in Hebrew), in the times of the Hebrew Bible, was the nation formed from the territories of the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin after the Kingdom of Israel was divided, and was named after Judah son of Jacob ( Isr to the time of the return from Babylonian exile.

The time of the composition of the Chronicles is believed to have been subsequent to the Babylonian Captivity, probably between 450Centuries: 6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC Decades: 500s BC 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC Years: 455 BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446 BC 445 BC Events Battle of S and 435 B.C.Centuries: 6th century BC 5th century BC 4th century BC Decades: 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 380s BC Years: 440 BC 439 BC 438 BC 437 BC 436 BC 435 BC 434 BC 433 BC 432 BC 431 BC 430 BC Births Philoxenus. The contents of this twofold book, both as to matter and form, correspond closely with this idea. The close of the book records the proclamation of Cyrus the Great permitting the JewThe word Jew is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to either a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or a member of the Jewish culture or ethnicity. This article discusses the term as describing an ethnic group; for as to return to their own land, and this forms the opening passage of the Book of EzraThe Book of Ezra is a book of the Bible in the Old Testament and Hebrew Tanakh. This book is the record of events occurring at the close of the Babylonian captivity. It was at one time included in the book of Nehemiah, the Jews regarding them as one volum, which is viewed as a continuation of the Chronicles, together with the Book of Nehemiah. The peculiar form of the language, being Hebrew in vocabulary but Aramaean in its general character, harmonizes also with that of the other books which were written after the Exile. The author was likely contemporary with Zerubbabel, details of whose family history are given (1 Chronicles 3:19).

According to Jewish tradition, Ezra the scribe was regarded as the author of Chronicles. There are many points of resemblance between Chronicles and the Book of Ezra which seem to confirm this opinion. The conclusion of the one and the beginning of the other are almost identical in expression.

In their general scope and design these books are not so much historical as didactic. The principal aim of the writer appears to be to present moral and religious truth. He does not give prominence to political occurrences, as is done in Samuel and Kings, but to religious institutions, such as the details of the temple service. "The genealogies, so uninteresting to most modern readers, were really an important part of the public records of the Hebrew state. They were the basis on which not only the land was distributed and held, but the public services of the temple were arranged and conducted, the Levites and their descendants alone, as is well known, being entitled and first fruits set apart for that purpose." The Chronicles are an epitome of the sacred history from the days of Adam down to the return from Babylonian Exile, a period of about 3,500 years. The writer gathers up "the threads of the old national life broken by the Captivity." In the Hebrew bible, where the book of Chronicles is usually the last book, it can be said to fulfil a role similar to the end credits of a modern movie: To mention all those also-rans without whom the preceding wouldn't have been possible.

The sources whence the chronicler compiled his work were public records, registers, and genealogical tables belonging to the Jews. These are referred to in the course of the book (1 Chr. 27:24; 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22; 20:34; 24:27; 26:22; 32:32; 33:18, 19; 27:7; 35:25). There are in Chronicles, and the books of Samuel and Kings, forty parallels, often verbal, proving that the writer of Chronicles both knew and used those other books (1 Chr. 17:18; comp. 2 Samuel 7:18-20; 1 Chr. 19; comp. 2 Samuel 10, etc.).

As compared with Samuel and Kings, the Book of Chronicles omits many particulars there recorded (2 Sam. 6:20-23; 9; 11; 14-19, etc.), and includes many things peculiar to itself (1 Chr. 12; 22; 23-26; 27; 28; 29, etc.). Often the Chronicles paint a somewhat more positive picture of the same events, in comparison to the (compared to to other books of their time) unusually critical books of Samuel and Kings. This corresponds to their time of composition: Samuel and Kings were probably completed during the exile, at a time when the history of the freshly wiped out Hebrew kingdoms was still fresh in the mind of the writers, and it was largely considered a colossal failure. The Chronicles, on the other hand, were written much later, after the restitution of the Jewish community in Palestine, at a time when the kingdoms were beginning to be regarded as the nostalgic, rosy-coloured past, something to be at least partially imitated, not something to be avoided.

Twenty whole chapters of the Chronicles, and twenty-four parts of chapters, are occupied with matters not found elsewhere. It also records many things in fuller detail, as (e.g.) the list of David's heroes (1 Chr. 12:1-37), the removal of the ark from Kirjath-jearim to Mount Zion (1 Chr. 13; 15:2-24; 16:4-43; comp. 2 Sam. 6), Uzziah's leprosy and its cause (2 Chr. 26:16-21; comp. 2 Kings 15:5), etc.

It has also been observed that another peculiarity of the book is that it substitutes more modern and more common expressions for those that had then become unusual or obsolete. This is seen particularly in the substitution of modern names of places, such as were in use in the writer's day, for the old names; thus Gezer (1 Chr. 20:4) is used instead of Gob (2 Sam. 21:18), etc.

The Books of Chronicles are ranked among the kethubim or hagiographa, the third section of the tanach, and they usually occupy the final position in Hebrew bibles. They are alluded to, though not directly quoted, in the New Testament ( Hebrews 5:4; Matthew 12:42; 23:35; Luke 1:5; 11:31, 51).

This entry incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation.