families, this statement was corrected to read, "And the sons of David were chief about the king" (1 Chr. xviii. 17). Finally, in the officials of the Temple—Priests and Levites—the Chronicler manifests the deepest interest. Throughout his narrative he is vigilant to exalt the honour and privileges of those classes. In particular, he brings the guilds of Levitical singers into prominence so frequently that it is generally supposed he was himself a member of that order of Levites.
These remarks on the principal features of the book indicate in general the purpose and method of the Chronicler. Yet in a sense they do so externally, and behind all else, as the animating force, there lies the Chronicler's religious faith, his zeal for God. That truly is his ultimate motive; but it will be convenient to reserve what may be said concerning it until a later stage (§ 8).
§ 7. The Historical Value of Chronicles
Until recent times the burning question in the exposition of Chronicles has been the problem of reconciling its statements with those in Samuel-Kings, finding explanations for the inconsistencies, and combining the additional matter given in Chronicles so as to form one harmonious narrative. So baffling was the task that even the Talmudists, masters in the arts of subtle exegesis, doubted the accuracy of Chronicles, and were inclined to treat it, not as an authority for the history, but as a book for homiletic interpretation (see references in the Jewish Ency. iv. 60). As soon as the character and purpose of the book, the circumstances and opinions of the writer, are understood, the demand for harmonising the variant accounts at all costs is seen to be mistaken, and the exposition of Chronicles is thereby freed from a burden by which it has been sorely hampered. The question of the historical value of its narratives remains one of great importance, but on literary and scientific, not on religious, grounds (cp. p. xxx).
It will make for clearness if we approach the subject by
