In this fifth session of our series on the Kings of the Old Testament, we look to the developments in the Southern Kingdom of Judah from the time of Solomon through to the Babylonian Captivity. We consider some of the most important kings of the North and the South, and look at the books of Chronicles.
Listen online, part 1 [here]!
Listen online, part 2 [here]!
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The Kings
of the Old Testament
Adult
Faith Formation Series, May/June 2022
Session 5:
The Kingdom of Judah up to the Babylonian Exile
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
May 17th –
Introduction: Goals for this Course, Historical Background, Biblical Books
May 24th – Saul and
David (1 and 2 Samuel)
May 31st – Solomon and
the Divided Kingdom (1 and 2 Kings)
June 7th – The Divided
Kingdom up to the Assyrian Invasion of Israel (Elijah and Elisha)
June 14th – Kings of
Judah up to the Babylonian Captivity (and 1 and 2 Chronicles)
June 21st – No Class,
Preparing for Ordination of Bishop Elect Fleming
June 28th – The Return
to Jerusalem (and Historical Context)
I. The Composition of 1 and 2 Chronicles
These
two books were, again, originally only one – being separated to fit the scrolls
better in the Septuagint Greek edition. They are sometimes called
“Paralipomenon” which means “the things left out” – indicating that the book
will include those details left out by 1 and 2 Kings. However, this is hardly
an accurate description! The Hebrew title is “The Acts of Days” (hence,
Chronicles) and St Jerome considers this work to be the “epitome of the Old
Testament” insofar as it is a summary of the history of the Old Testament from
Adam through the return from the Exile.
The
Book must have been written after the return from Exile, and many suggest it
was written by Ezra around 450 BC with then some last updates being added to genealogies
etc between 300 and 250 BC. As we will see, the book focuses almost entirely on
the Kingdom of Judah and the legal prescripts of the Law, which was also the
great focus of Ezra at the time of the return from the Babylonian Captivity.
Furthermore, and most interestingly, the book of Chronicles ends in an unusual
way, with a broken sentence referring to and edict from Cyrus the King of
Persia – “whomever among you of his people may go up, and may the Lord his God
be with him…” (2 Chronicles 36:23) – but this edict is also the first lines of
the book of Ezra, “Who is there among you of all his [i.e. the Lord God’s]
people? His God be with him. Let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judea, and
build the house of the Lord the God of Israel: he is the God that is in
Jerusalem.” (Ezra 1:3)
The book of Ezra originally included also the book of Nehemiah, which comes
directly after it. In fact, in old Catholic Bibles, you will see 1 Esdras for
Ezra and 2 Esdras for Nehemiah – we note that there are other books called 3
and 4 Esdras which are not canonical but were held in esteem both by the Jews
and by many early Christians (these last two books are not by Ezra, but were
written later). Furthermore, although the book of Chronicles in the Hebrew
ordering of the Bible comes at the very end and after Ezra, the Catholic
ordering of the books (and, in this instance, the Protestant bibles also)
places Chronicles directly before the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Hence, the ending of Chronicles with the
broken sentence, flows straight into the completion of that thought with the
first verses of Ezra.
Therefore,
it is possible the 1 and 2 Chronicles not only formed on book originally, but
that this book was actually the first of a two part series which was followed
by Ezra-Nehemiah as a single book; and perhaps all written by Ezra! A final
note about the priest-scribe Ezra who was so influential in the
re-establishment of the Jewish people and religion after the return from the
Exile: It is also possible that he may be the prophet Malachi (because
“Malachi” is not a name but rather a title meaning “my messenger”)!
II. Overview
and Structure of 1 and 2 Chronicles
1 and 2
Chronicles are divided at a natural place in the narrative: The death of David
and the beginning of the reign of Solomon.
There
are three basic sections of 1 and 2 Chronicles
1) The
genealogies from Adam through the time of Saul (1 Chronicles 1-9)
2) The
reigns of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 10 - 2 Chronicles 9)
3) The history
of the divided Kingdom, focusing on Judah up to the Exile (2 Chronicles 10-36)
A more
detailed breakdown of the contents:
1) The
genealogies from Adam through the time of Saul
a) From Adam to Jacob (1 Chronicles
1)
b) The genealogy of the Twelve
Tribes (1 Chronicles 2-8)
c) The families of Judah, Benjamin
and Levi living in Jerusalem after the Exile (1 Chronicles 9)
2) The
reigns of David and Solomon
a) The death of Saul and the reign
of David (1 Chronicles 10-29)
b) The reign of Solomon (2
Chronicles 1-9)
3) The
reigns of the kings of Judah (2 Chronicles 9-36)
Epilogue:
The edict of Cyrus that the Jews return and rebuild the Temple (2 Chronicles
36:22-23)
Although
Chronicles covers much of the same history as Samuel and Kings, it is hardly a
mere retelling of the story. A few
things stand out, straight away: Chronicles focusses almost entirely on the
Southern Kingdom (whereas many of the most memorable portions of Kings are set
in the Northern Kingdom) and Chronicles does not dwell on the faults of King
David.
The
object of Chronicles is not merely to supplement what was written before, but
to present David as the great king and emphasize the necessity of proper
worship in the Temple. Saul’s story is reduced practically to being a mere
introduction for the reign of David. Many of David’s weak moments and sins are
brushed by or even omitted all together. (For example, there is no mention of
David’s adultery, or the rebellion of Absalom). Instead, Chronicles focusses on
the commandments of God regarding the building of the Temple and the rites of
worship to be performed there, as well as detailed related to the priests and
Levites who minister in the Temple.
Chronicles
also focuses much attention on the good kings of Judah who revived piety and
insisted on proper Temple worship: Asa, Josaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah.
All of this is particularly striking considering the final conclusion of
Chronicles, in which the edict of Cyrus is given. Chronicles is clearly written
with a view to instruct the Jewish people upon their return from the Exile,
guiding them in the rebuilding of the Temple and the reinstitution of right
worship there. There is a moral lesson as well: When the people rebel against
God and refuse to follow his commandments, there is ruin and desolation for
Judah; but God will deliver his people and grant them prosperity, if they are
true to his commandments.
III.
Important Kings to Remember (both Good and Bad, both North and South)
Obviously,
we think first of Saul, David and Solomon.
But of the subsequent kings, a few deserve special mention:
A.
Rehoboam/Jeroboam (c. 930 BC) -- This is
the time of the split between the northern and southern kingdoms, very shortly
after Solomon died and his son Rehoboam had assumed the throne. Rehoboam was a
wicked and foolish king, but Jeroboam is particularly evil for leading the
split of the kingdom.
B.
Asa/Jehoshaphat (c. 900 BC) – The 3rd and 4th Kings of
Judah after Solomon, father and son. They were good, and are presented in
Chronicles as being models of peacefulness (Asa) and strength (Jehoshaphat).
C Omri (c.
880 BC) – Wicked King of Israel, father of Ahab. He build Samaria.
D. Ahab
(c. 860 BC) – The most wicked King of Israel, the Northern Kingdom. Married
Jezebel and promoted false worship of Baal. Persecuted Elijah.
E. Jehu
(c. 830 BC) – King of Israel, who ruled about 12 years after Ahab. He was a
murderous king, but was chosen by God to inflict punishment upon the
family/house of Ahab (destroying all his descendants). God used Jehu to
initiate the final movements towards the destruction of the Northern Kingdom.
F.
Uzziah (c 750 BC) – King of Judah, who was mostly good and brought great
prosperity to Judah. A famous story from his life is that he was struck with
leprosy when attempting to offer incense in the Temple (and action which seems
to have been reserved to the priests). He remained leprous the rest of his
life. Also, a great earthquake occurred during his reign, and this event is referenced
by Amos (contemporary to Uzziah) and Zechariah (some 200 years later).
G. Ahaz
(c 730 BC) – A wicked King of Judah, who was chastised by the prophet Isaiah.
It was to him that the famous prophecy was given, “Behold, a Virgin shall
conceive and bear a son.”
H.
Hezekiah (c 700 BC) – The son of Ahaz, but one of the best kings of Judah. Held
off the Assyrians when they attempted to take Jerusalem. “No king of Judah,
among either his predecessors or his successors, could ... be compared to him.”
(2 Kings 18:5) He purified the Temple,
restored proper worship, celebrated the Passover with glory which had not been
seen since the days of Solomon. Unfortunately, it was during his reign that a
messenger from Babylon first realized the wealth in Judah – a discovery which about
100 years later would lead to the Babylonian Captivity.
I. Manasseh (c 660) – The son of Hezekiah, but a very wicked
king. He was the first king of Judah live entirely after the fall of the
Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians. He turned back nearly all of the positive
reforms of his father Hezekiah, reintroduced false worship – including even the
worship of pagan gods through the sacrificing of children. He was condemned by
the prophets of his day (probably Isaiah, Habakkuk, Nahum, and Zephaniah), and
for this responded by persecuting the prophets of the Lord. There is a
tradition that Isaiah was the grandfather of Manasseh (through his mother), but
that Manasseh nevertheless had him tortured and ultimately killed. We note that Chronicles mentions that
Manasseh was humbled by the Lord, and suffered a temporary imprisonment by the
Assyrians, and that after this he reformed his life.
J. Josiah (c 620) – The grandson of Manasseh, but a very good
King of Judah. He once again brought proper reform in Judah and insisted on
right worship of the true God in the Temple. It was under Josiah that the book
of the Law was found (apparently, the Torah or possibly the Book of
Deuteronomy) – this discovery prompted all the reforms of Josiah. Many point to
this time period as a major turning point in Jewish history for the greater
focus on the Torah and the Law of Moses. Interestingly, Josiah was helped by a
prophetess Huldah (she is the only prophetess named in the Bible, though the
Judge Deborah is something like a prophet, as well as Moses’ sister Miriam; and
there is an unnamed prophetess mentioned in Isaiah). Josiah was killed in the Battle
of Megiddo when fighting against the Egyptians.
H. Jehoiakim (c 600 BC) – After the Babylonians had defeated the
Egyptian army at a battle in 605 BC, the Kingdom of Judah was then forced to
pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. At this time, some of the nobility of
Judah were also taken to Babylon. It was Jehoiakim who refused to pay further
tribute to Babylon which lead to another siege of Jerusalem culminating in the
death of Jehoiakim and the exile of his successor Jeconiah. The next successor,
Zedekiah, was also taken into exile. Jerusalem was finally destroyed in about
587 BC, and a further mass deportation/exile occurred.
IV. The
Prophetic Books in Relation to the Kings of the Old Testament
I. Key
Historical Notes
A.
Divided Kingdom from after Solomon (around 930 BC)
B. The
Fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians (about 722 BC)
C. The
Fall of the Southern Kingdom to the Babylonians (about 587 BC)
D. The
Return of the Jews to Judea (about 539 BC)
II.
Four Major Prophets
A.
Isaiah
Isaiah
was among the earlier of the prophetic books, written around 730 BC. However,
the prophet foresees the exile and even the return of the Jewish people which
will not occur for over 150 years!
[modern scholars do not think Isaiah could have written the whole book
of Isaiah, but we hold to the traditional view that the prophet could have
foreseen all these things and written in varying styles in order to relate to
the Jews at different points of their history – modern scholars would argue
that parts of Isaiah were written much later, even after the return from the
Exile]
Isaiah
is a prophet of the Southern Kingdom, before the time of the Assyrian invasion
of the North.
The
Fathers of the Church say that Isaiah is like an Evangelist, because his book
so clearly speaks of the mysteries of our Lord’s life.
B.
Jeremiah (Lamentations, Baruch)
Jeremiah
preached and wrote around the time of the 600 BC, but had the longest ministry
of any of the prophets (called in his young years [maybe as young as 14] and
ministering into old age)! He preached against the sins of the southern kingdom
and warned against the Babylonian invasion. He told the people to accept God’s
punishment and not fight the Babylonians – but they people refused. Thus the
Temple was destroyed. Tradition tells us that Jeremiah was taken captive by his
own people and brought to Egypt where he was killed. Jeremiah represents to us
the Lord Jesus in his sufferings.
The
book of Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible.
C.
Ezekiel
Ezekiel
was called as a prophet while the people were in exile in Babylon. He is a
prophet of hope, to encourage the people in their great suffering – to tell
them that God will redeem them.
Ezekiel
also explains that the Temple wasn’t destroyed by the power of false gods, but
only because the True God allowed it as a chastisement to call the Chosen
People to conversion.
Ezekiel
is most famous for speaking of the resurrection, and also of the Temple of God.
D.
Daniel
Daniel
is a prophet of the time of Exile and also encourages the people to be faithful
in the midst of trials. Daniel is
apocalyptic – pointing to the end of time.
In some
ways, Daniel also foretells the future sufferings of the Jewish people during
the time of the Maccabees when Antiochus Epiphanies will attack Judea and
defile the Temple and kill many of the people (about 160 BC). [modern scholars
would say Daniel wasn’t written until the Maccabees]
III.
The 12 Minor Prophets: “Minor” only because their books are much shorter.
A.
Northern Kingdom (all before Assyrian Invasion): Amos, Jonah, Hosea.
B.
Southern Kingdom
1.
Before the fall of the Northern Kingdom: Joel, Micah
2.
After the fall of the Northern but before the fall of the Southern Kingdom:
Obadiah
3.
After the fall of the Southern Kingdom: Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk
4.
After the return from Exile: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
C. The
prophets who preach before an invasion generally call the people to repentance
and give warning of destruction for the sins of the people. The prophets who
preach during a time of exile generally speak words of encouragement so that
the people will not lose hope. The
prophets after the return from exile preach most explicitly the New Covenant
which will be established and how all the gentile nations will find salvation
through the Jews, since the Messiah will come through the Jewish people.
V. The Babylonian
Captivity
At the
end of the reign of Josiah, the kingdom of Judah lost the Battle of Megiddo
(609 BC) to the Egyptians who were seeking to pass through Judea in order to
join the Assyrians in battle against the Babylonian Empire. At this point,
Judah became a vasal state of Egypt; however the Assyrians quickly lost power
to the Babylonian Empire, and this also weakened the Egyptians. The Egyptians
and Assyrians lost to the Babylonians at the battle of Carchemish (605 BC), and
then Jehoiakim was forced to pay tribute to Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon.
There
was then a split among the ruling nobles of Jerusalem, some supporting Egypt
and seeking to break from Babylonian dominance, others arguing it was safer to
continue to be a vassal of Babylon and continue paying tribute to the
Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar was defeated by Egypt in battle in 601 BC and this
made many side with Egypt and decide to revolt against Babylon. This revolt
culminated in the three month siege of Jerusalem in 598/597 – Jehoiakim died in
the siege and was succeeded by Jeconiah (aka Jehoiachin). After the city fell,
Nebuchadnezzar defiled the Temple and took Jeconiah into exile as well as other
prominent citizens (included the prophet Ezekiel).
The
prophet Jeremiah sided with the “pro-Babylonian” party, warning that continued
revolt against the Babylonians would only result in the distruction of
Jerusalem and the mass deportation of the people. However, Zedekiah (who had
been appointed as king after Jeconiah was taken into Exile) ultimately sided
with the “pro-Egyptian” party and revolted against Nebuchadnezzar. This
resulted in another siege and the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC, including
the destruction of both the Temple and the city’s defensive wall. Zedekiah was forced to watch his sons be
executed before him, and then his own eyes were plucked out – he, and many many
others were then taken into exile in Babylon.
Some Jews
fled to Egypt at this time. Leaders of
the “pro-Egyptian” party forcibly took Jeremiah and Baruch (Jeremiah’s scribe
and servant) with them into Egypt – it is most likely that Jeremiah there
suffered martyrdom.
Jeremiah’s
prophecy of seventy years: The end of the Babylonian Captivity
“Behold
I will send, and take all the kindreds of the north, saith the Lord, and
Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant: and I will bring them against
this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all the nations
that are round about it: and I will destroy them, and make them an astonishment
and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. And I will take away from them the
voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the
voice of the bride, the sound of the mill, and the light of the lamp. And all
this land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment: and all these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And when the seventy
years shall be expired, I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation,
saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans: and I will
make it perpetual desolations. And I will bring upon the land all my
words, that I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book, all
that Jeremias hath prophesied against all nations.” (Jeremiah 25:9-13)
