Tag: Aramaic

Commentary Roundup: “1-2 Chronicles (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary Series)” by Mark Boda

~ Bob Hayton

Commentary Roundup posts are a series of short reviews or overviews of Bible commentaries. I’m working my way through a variety of commentaries, new and old, and hope to highlight helpful resources for my readers.

Book Details:
• Author: Mark J. Boda
• Series Editor: Philip W. Comfort
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (2010)
• Format: hardback
• Page Count: 442
• ISBN#: 9780842334310
• List Price: $29.99
• Rating: Recommended

Series Description:
The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary provides students, pastors, and laypeople with up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. It’s designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God’s word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text.

Structure:
The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary brings together a wealth of scholarship in a clearly presented and highly accessible format. Each larger section of text gets its own introductory section. Then each textual unit, usually of a chapter or two in length, gets its own separate treatment. The full text from the New Living Translation opens the section, then footnotes to the text, and detailed notes follow. The commentary section is next and covers sources used by the Chronicler, the structure and content of the section – which is where the primary exegesis happens, and then a concluding section titled “significance” where the author brings home the main themes from the text.

Features:
A detailed introduction to the books of Chronicles opens the work, and enumerates the setting, author, date, and audience. The canonicity and textual history of Chronicles are detailed, and literary and theological concerns are addressed. Space is also devoted to the major themes of the books of Chronicles, of which the author finds covenant relationship, an emphasis on renewing the present through remembering the past, and the prophetic office as key. And while the Chronicler emphasizes Judah’s history, he repeatedly refers to “all Israel,” Boda sees in this a concern for the fulfillment of a truly united Israel “comprised of inhabitants from both north and south united around the Temple, King, and Jerusalem” (p. 18). And intriguingly, he argues that “The omission of the history of the northern kingdom throughout the account is not intended as a slight against these tribes, but rather is used to play down the schism and to include them in ‘all Israel'” (p. 18). The introduction also includes a detailed outline of the books of Chronicles.

Other features of the commentary include a proprietary numbering system from Tyndale for the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek words – similar to Strong’s numbers, but coded to other reference works from Tyndale. Some numbers are also provided that key to Zondervan resources as well. A detailed list is also provided of key textual witnesses to 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the Old and New Testaments as a whole. Also included is an extensive explanation of the transliteration and numbering system employed in the commentary. Throughout the volume, charts, maps, chiastic structures, and timelines are provided, but all in black and white. The commentary makes thorough use of end notes after every section and introduction, as well. This allows it to remain highly technical but also more accessible to the average reader.

Excerpt:
The books of Chronicles are full of lists and genealogies, and the technical bent of this commentary proves helpful in catpuring what is being communicated theologically by the Chronicler. The following excerpt captures well the attention to detail shown by the author of this commentary. It also illustrates how helpful this commentary is for exegesis.

David’s Commission of the Military (27:1-15). With chapter 27 the Chronicler leaves behind the enumeration of the Levitical families, moving to the “secular” leadership of his kingdom. He begins with the military (27:1-15), then moves to the tribes (27:16-22), and finally, after a short note on the census, concludes with the property managers (27:25-31) and royal advisers (27:32-34).

Because this chapter, as part of the unit of chapters 23-27, stands out as the only one unconcerned with sacred personnel, some have suggested it was a later addition. However, although the Chronicler’s focus has been on the commissioning and organization of the sacred orders due to his concern for the Temple, the royal secular infrastructure of the kingdom is also important for sustaining the Temple worship. In addition, in the discussion of 23:1-2 it is noted that the term “summoned” (‘asap [TH622, ZH665]) in 23:2 is a literary signal from the Chronicler that summarizes the content of chapters 23-27. There David is depicted as assembling “all the leaders of Israel” (kol-sare yisra’el), a term that is distinguished in the list from “the priests and Levites.” Thus, it is now in chapter 27 that the Chronicler presents the “leaders” of Israel, with the term “leader” (sar [TH8269, ZH8569]) used seven times in the chapter (27:1, 2, 5, 8, 22, 31, 34). Finally, the national assembly that David convenes in chapters 28-29 is comprised of the very groups introduced in chapter 27. Thus, chapter 27 is not only appropriate in a work focused on the Temple but is expected both by the introduction to chapters 23-27 and also the introduction to chapters 28-29.

The first section of chapter 27 focuses on the organization of the army. The term “list” here (mispar [TH4557, ZH5031]) is the one used regularly throughout chapters 23-27 for “numbering” (23:3, 24, 27, 31; 25:1, 7; 27:1). It is also the term used in 21:5 when Joab presents the results of the census to David, an event reflected in 27:23-24, where again the term appears twice. The initial list of personnel in 27:1 appears to reflect organization of groups through a chain of command, moving from the Israelites to “heads of the fathers” (not reflected in NLT) to generals and captains (lit., “[the leaders of] thousands and hundreds”) to their officers. The role of this chain of command was to supervise the army divisions, and they did this under the authority of the king. This is an important development in the sociology of Israel, signaling that the army was no longer linked to tribal chieftains and tribal authority but rather to a centralized royal figure and that military affairs would no longer be conducted ad hoc but would be directed by a standing army.

These army divisions are identified as those who “went in and went out” (habba’ah wehayyotse’th [TH935/3318, ZH995/3655]; NLT, “on duty”), a phrase related to the ancient “changing of the guard,” which is illustrated in 2 Kings 11:9 and 2 Chronicles 23:8. These latter passages identify the Sabbath as the time of the changing of the Levitical guard; they distinguished between “men reporting for duty that Sabbath” and “those who were going off duty [on the Sabbath],” a process dependent on an act of dismissal (“Jehoiada the priest did not let anyone go home after their shift ended,” 2 Chr 23:8). The specific duties of these troops is not made clear, although it obviously would have entailed battle in times of war, and in times of peace, as Japhet (1993:469) notes, “These reserves would be given the duty of guarding the kindom’s borders, doing police service and maintaining order in conquered territories, manning strongholds and castles, attending to the weapons and equipment–chariots, horses, etc.” For the royal army in chapter 27, the cycle was monthly rather than weekly, a fact reinforced by the list in 27:2-15. Although the list is based on the principle of 12 units, it is interesting that the division is not based on the 12 tribes, further evidence of the social transformation under David’s reign. The number 12, however, also bolsters the Chronicler’s presentation of this perfect kingdom and echoes the earlier divisions in chapters 24-26, which were based on the number 24. However, the fact that it is only half the number may privilege the role and organization of the sacred orders. (pg. 204-205)

Evaluation:
This commentary over and again proves faithful to a high view of Scripture. Yet it is also extremely helpful in sorting out the technical details in the text and catching the underlying theological vision of the Chronicler. Some of my readers may not be aware of how very different the books of Chronicles are from the books of Kings, and this commentary helps underscore and interpret these differences as being loaded with theological import rather than evidence against the divine inspiration of both groups of books. The material is presented in a clear way and remains accessible to a wide variety of readers. I recommend this book for anyone who desires to study the books of Chronicles. I’m confident that it will prove helpful and steer you right.

About the Author:
Mark J. Boda (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) has authored numerous articles and books in addition to editing several collections of scholarly essays on various topics related to the Old Testament and Christian Theology. He taught for nine years at Canadian Theological Seminary before joining McMaster Divinity College in 2003. Mark enjoys mentoring students and teaches with enthusiasm about the Old Testament and its continued relevance to the Christian life today.

Where to Buy:
  • Westminster Bookstore
  • Amazon
  • Christianbook.com
  • Direct from Tyndale

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Dr. Michael Wise on the Dead Sea Scrolls

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at Northwestern College here in Minneapolis with my good friend Shaun Tabatt. It was “An Evening with Dr. Michael Wise” — a very informative and enjoyable presentation on the history and nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS).

Dr. Wise is best known for coauthoring The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation with Martin Abegg and Edward Cook (published by Harper San Francisco, 1986). The book was the first translation intended for the public and included many scrolls that had not previously been published. Dr. Wise is proficient in 9 ancient languages and is a true scholar. His ability to read and pronounce Hebrew and Aramaic was certainly on display last night, as was his extensive knowledge of the DSS.

His presentation followed along the lines of a brief article in the NWC college magazine entitled: Christians, Questions and Ancient Mysteries, also by Dr. Wise. I wasn’t able to find the presentation online, and so I will only be able to highlight the parts I remember.

Background

At least some of the DSS were likely removed from the temple and other areas before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were secretly stashed in the caves on the north western edge of the Dead Sea near the site of Qumran. Dr. Wise described the scrolls as being more like the “Dead Sea Scraps”, with some being no larger than a thumbnail. But all told, there are 931 manuscripts found in the 11 caves of Qumran, and some of them include entire biblical and non-biblical books. These scrolls represented a substantial monetary value as the production of books was quite expensive in antiquity. Materials were so scarce, that many of the DSS were written on gazelle skins (an unclean animal).

Most of the DSS were in Hebrew (5/6), some were in Aramaic (1/6) and 20 were in Greek. About 1/3 of the scrolls were Biblical texts (225 or so), and the rest were religious texts some of which scholars believe were sectarian in nature (about 115 by his count). The sectarian aspect in Wise’s view attaches to texts about the “Teacher of Righteousness”, a messianic type figure from abut 100 years or more before Christ. Wise has some views on that figure that are not widely held among scholars, see this article in the New York Times for more.

Where Wise really shined was in drawing out the significance of the find. By all accounts it is one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Dr. Wise showed how both the Biblical and non-Biblical texts both have revolutionized our understanding in many key ways.

Significance of Biblical Scrolls

The Biblical manuscripts (which represent every OT book except for Esther), have moved our earliest copies of individual books of the OT up more than 1,000 years from what we had before. There was some understandable apprehension among scholars when the scrolls were first found. Would they show that our copies of the Bible were extremely flawed? Dr. Wise showed a picture of the Aleppo Codex from A.D. 954 the earliest mostly complete Hebrew Bible we had before the discovery of the DSS. Then he showed a picture of 4QDeutM, a manuscript dating to 150 B.C. (1100 years older than the Aleppo Codex). The passage contains the 10 Commandments from Deuteronomy and is identical — word perfect — to the Aleppo Codex! The accuracy level generally of the Hebrew text of our Bibles has been proven to be very high.

The scrolls also helped correct minor faults with the later copies that we have. He pointed out two cases in Isaiah 53 where letters were mis-copied resulting in unique and difficult readings. One of the largest scrolls found is a copy of the entire book of Isaiah (all 66 chapters), and that scroll corrects those readings that were handed down imperfectly by the Masoretes who gave us the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT). He also showed where a paragraph in 1 Samuel was found in one of the scrolls that had completely dropped out of the MT.

New questions have also been raised by these biblical texts, however. A Hebrew text that follows the Greek LXX of Jeremiah for instance, was discovered in 2 scrolls. We used to think the Greek was a late corruption, but now there is evidence that two competing Hebrew forms of the book of Jeremiah were to be found in Jesus’ day. It is now known that two or three editions of most books of the Old Testament existed and were current at the time of Jesus. This is an area biblical scholars are now focusing on, the development of the Hebrew canon of Old Testament Scripture. Dr. Wise thinks we shouldn’t be afraid of this kind of inquiry, as all truth is God’s truth. He compared the differences between the editions to the sometimes widely differing English translations of the Bible available today.

Significance of Non-Biblical Scrolls

The non-biblical texts illumine the world of Jesus’ day for us like never before. There are commentaries on the biblical books which help us understand the methods of interpretation which were in vogue in the years before the New Testament authors published their interpretation of the Old Testament. We find a great degree of similarity between the methods used by second Temple Judaism and the authors of the New Testament, according to Dr. Wise. The texts also reveal the kind of ideas and themes which were common in religious thought of the day. Several scrolls reveal a great emphasis on the obscure Biblical character Melchizedek. He is viewed as a heavenly priest just one notch below Jehovah God in status. It is no wonder then that the New Testament book of Hebrews addresses how Jesus compares with Melchizedek.

Perhaps the most fascinating non-biblical find is the presence of a description declaring that the Messiah will “cause the dead to live” (or raise the dead). Nowhere in the canonical Hebrew Bible do we find a description of the Messiah raising the dead. Yet in Luke 7:22, Jesus tells the followers of John the Baptist how they can be certain that he (Jesus) is the Messiah. He lists off the things he is doing, healing the sick, proclaiming good news to the poor, restoring sight to the blind, and raising the dead. Jesus knew it was a current belief in the thought of his day that the Messiah would raise the dead. This Dead Sea Scroll (the Messianic Apocalypse) testifies to that widespread belief as well.

Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the MN Science Museum

The event ended with Dr. Wise encouraging us to go see the Scrolls on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I blogged about my visit to the exhibit before. I would add my recommendation to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls while they are here (through October 24). It is a chance to view and appreciate a piece of history, and share in the wonder of the Bible itself.