Description

The book of Chronicles, written in the late Persian period, presents an alternative version of the history of pre-exilic Israel. The scholarly consensus is that the Chronicler knew and used as a source an early (pre-Masoretic) form of Samuel–Kings. This course focuses on the literary-historiographical elements differentiating Chronicles from its source text. Its purpose is to clarify the hermeneutical principles and theological motives that guided the Chronicler’s rewriting or reshaping of the history of Israel.

The first part of the course will offer a short survey of the state of the research on the book of Chronicles, discussing topics such as the relationship between Chronicles and Samuel–Kings, Chronicles’ date and purpose, its textual history, and the history of interpretation. In the second part of the course, we will study in depth the accounts of the reigns of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28:1-27) and Manasseh (2 Chronicles 33:1-20) as well as the narrative of the final years of the kingdom of Judah (2 Chronicles 36:1-23). Adopting a comparative approach, this study will highlight the techniques and tendencies of the Chronicler’s historiographical method.

Objectives

This course aims to introduce the students to the literary and historiographical elements that shaped the Chronistic representation of Israel’s past. It will also deepen their understanding of the characteristics and purposes of biblical historiography.

Method

Lectures and text-based discussions.

Evaluation

Active participation (20%) and a written exam (80%). The exam will consist of three parts: 1) the translation and grammatical analysis of a short Hebrew text studied in class without the use of a dictionary; 2) questions about the articles and book chapters assigned as mandatory reading (c. 250 pages provided during the course); 3) the exegetical analysis of a text from Chronicles (not studied in class), applying the tools acquired during the course. The languages accepted are English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.