1 Chronicles (Paperback) by Cyril Barber

The books of Chronicles have had a chequered past. Neglected for many years under the unfortunate name Paraleipomenon or ‘Things Omitted’, meant that they occupied a subordinate position in the scriptures until the 4th century AD when the title ‘A Chronicle of the whole of Sacred History’ was suggested instead. This has since been shortened to Chronicles and the rest is, literally, history.

Probably penned by Ezra, Chronicles is a selective history of the Jews encouraging them to trust that God is intimately involved in their story. Written at a time when the Jews were newly out of captivity and with their capital city in ruins, Chronicles assures them of God’s faithfulness.

If they would obey and serve him then his people would still enjoy his blessing.

Title

1 Chronicles
Author(s)

Cyril Barber
Series

Focus on the Bible
ISBN

9781857929355
Format

Paperback
Publisher

Christian Focus Publications
Bible Book

1 Chronicles
Audience

Church Leaders
Pages

256
Published

01/3/2004

Overall rating

1.0 based on 1 review

1 Chronicles

I'm afraid that I cannot recommend this commentary. Key questions when approaching 1 Chronicles are, why did the author include all these genealogies, what did they signify to the original readers, and how should I understand them today, along with the rest of the book? Mr Barber makes no attempt to explain any of this, rather he dwells on small vignettes eg Jabez' prayer, and expands on them in a speculative way, drawing heavily on psychology. The BST commentary by M Wilcock is much more helpful.