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Introduction
When the Septuagint was first produced, the single book of Chronicles was split into 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. The same sort of split was applied at the same time to the single books of Samuel and Kings. In other words, three books became six. This probably had to do with managing scroll lengths for copying and storage purposes than anything else. Certainly, there’s no obvious theological purpose for splitting the books.
When put together, the books of Samuel-Kings cover the same historical period as the books of Chronicles. The reason that Chronicles could cover the same period as Samuel-Kings with only half the books is mainly that Chronicles focused on David and the kings descended from him. By contrast, Samuel-Kings included extensive coverage of Samuel the priest and Saul the king, both of whom preceded David. Samuel-Kings also covered all the kings of the divided kingdom – not just those of the southern kingdom (Judah) who were descended from David.
Pulling back from the Old Testament and looking at the Bible as a whole, especially as it appears to us in English, there are three sets of books that have some things in common.
- In the New Testament:
- The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
- In the Old Testament:
- Samuel-Kings (1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 2 Kings)
- Chronicles (1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles)
The main thing that these three sets of books have in common is that 1) they are historical in nature, and 2) they focus on the kings of Israel. The two sets in the Old Testament begin with Israel’s first king Saul and end with its last king Zedekiah. The one set in the New Testament begins with Herod (the pretender king) and ends with Jesus (the eternal king) – and no kings in between them.
The main difference in the three sets of books is that they give us two views of Israel’s Old Testament kings (Samuel-Kings and Chronicles) and four views of its New Testament kings (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). Since we get four long looks at Jesus, and just glances and glimpses of all the other kings of Israel, comparatively speaking, it is right for us to infer His greatness even before we begin to read the words about Him. Everything about the Bible – even its literary structure – points to Jesus.
The ancients named Ezra the author of Chronicles. As Ezra laid out an extensive set of genealogies from Adam to David at the beginning of Chronicles, so Matthew laid out a much more compact genealogy from Abraham to Jesus at the beginning of His gospel. It’s important to know where a king comes from – especially if it’s God’s king!
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Because Samuel-Kings covers so much of Israel’s history and Chronicles deals with a subset of it, I have written extensive notes on the books of Samuel-Kings but comparatively little on the books of Chronicles. Instead, I have placed pointers like this – (1 Chr 11:1-3 ~ 2 Sam 5:1-5) – whenever a portion of Chronicles is covered in Samuel-Kings so that you can check the latter for notes. The notation simply means that, in this case, the Bible text in 1 Chronicles 11:1-3 is essentially the same as the Bible text in 2 Samuel 5:1-5. Credit for these linkages goes to the translators of the English Standard Version (ESV). I have modified some of their links for the sake of simplifying use with the NASB.
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The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles are mainly reference – not reading – material. Generally speaking, these chapters consist of genealogies that run from the time of Adam to the time of David. I’m not trying to discourage you from reading them – only from expecting them to be as easy to read as the Bible’s narrative portions.
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1 Chronicles 1
Genealogy from Adam
1 Chr 1:1-27
Descendants of Abraham
1 Chr 1:28-54
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1 Chronicles 2
Genealogy: Twelve Sons of Jacob (Israel)
1 Chr 2:1-8
Genealogy of David
1 Chr 2:9-55
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1 Chronicles 3
Family of David
1 Chr 3:1-24
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1 Chronicles 4
Line of Hur, Asher
1 Chr 4:1-23
Descendants of Simeon
1 Chr 4:24-43
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1 Chronicles 5
Genealogy from Reuben
1 Chr 5:1-26
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1 Chronicles 6
Genealogy: The Priestly Line
1 Chr 6:1-81
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1 Chronicles 7
Genealogy from Issachar
1 Chr 7:1-5
Descendants of Benjamin
1 Chr 7:6-12
Sons of Naphtali
1 Chr 7:13
Descendants of Manasseh
1 Chr 7:14-19
Descendants of Ephraim
1 Chr 7:20-29
Descendants of Asher
1 Chr 7:30-40
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1 Chronicles 8
Genealogy from Benjamin
1 Chr 8:1-32
Genealogy from King Saul
1 Chr 8:33-40
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1 Chronicles 9
People of Jerusalem
1 Chr 9:1-34
Ancestry and Descendants of Saul
1 Chr 9:35-44
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The first nine chapters of 1 Chronicles consist of reference, not reading, material. Specifically, they are genealogies that run from the time of Adam to the time of David.
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1 Chronicles 10
(1 Chr 10 ~ 1 Sam 31 + 2 Sam 1:1-16)
Defeat and Death of Saul and His Sons
1 Chr 10:1-10
Jabesh-gilead’s Tribute to Saul
1 Chr 10:11-14
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1 Chronicles 11
David Made King over All Israel
1 Chr 11:1-3
(1 Chr 11:1-3 ~ 2 Sam 5:1-5)
Jerusalem, Capital City
1 Chr 11:4-9
(1 Chr 11:4-9 ~ 2 Sam 5:6-10)
1 Chr 11:9 – #FJOT (identical to 2 Sam 5:10)
David’s Mighty Men
1 Chr 11:10-47
(1 Chr 11:10-47 ~ 2 Sam 23:8-39)
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1 Chronicles 12
David’s Supporters in Ziklag
1 Chr 12:1-22
Supporter’s Gathered at Hebron
1 Chr 12:23-40
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1 Chronicles 13
Peril in Transporting the Ark
1 Chr 13:1-14
(1 Chr 13:1-14 ~ 2 Sam 6:1-11)
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1 Chronicles 14
David’s Family Enlarged
1 Chr 14:1-7
(1 Chr 14:1-7 ~ 2 Sam 5:11-16)
Philistines Defeated
1 Chr 14:8-17
(1 Chr 14:8-17 ~ 2 Sam 5:17-25)
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1 Chronicles 15
Plans to Move the Ark to Jerusalem
1 Chr 15:1-29
(1 Chr 15:25 through 16:6 ~ 2 Sam 6:12-19)
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1 Chronicles 16
A Tent for the Ark
1 Chr 16:1-7
(1 Chr 15:25 through 16:6 ~ 2 Sam 6:12-19)
Psalm of Thanksgiving
1 Chr 16:8-36
Worship before the Ark
1 Chr 16:37-43
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1 Chronicles 17
God’s Covenant with David
1 Chr 17:1-15
(1 Chr 17:1-15 ~ 2 Sam 7:1-17)
David’s Prayer in Response
1 Chr 17:16-27
(1 Chr 17:16-27 ~ 2 Sam 7:18-29)
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1 Chronicles 18
David’s Kingdom Strengthened
1 Chr 18:1-17
(1 Chr 18:1-17 ~ 2 Sam 8:1-18)
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1 Chronicles 19
(1 Chr 19:1-19 ~ 2 Sam 10:1-19)
David’s Messengers Abused
1 Chr 19:1-9
Ammon and Aram Defeated
1 Chr 19:10-19
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1 Chronicles 20
War with Philistine Giants
1 Chr 20:1-8
(1 Chr 20:1-3 ~ 2 Sam 11:1; 12:26-31)
(1 Chr 20:4-8 ~ 2 Sam 21:15-22)
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1 Chronicles 21
(1 Chr 21:1-27 ~ 2 Sam 24:1-25)
Census Brings Pestilence
1 Chr 21:1-17
David’s Altar
1 Chr 21:18-30
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1 Chronicles 22
David Prepares for Temple Building
1 Chr 22:1-5
Solomon Charged with the Task
1 Chr 22:6-19
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1 Chronicles 23
Solomon Reigns
1 Chr 23:1-2
Offices of the Levites
1 Chr 23:3-6
Gershonites
1 Chr 23:7-11
Kohathites
1 Chr 23:12-20
Merarites
1 Chr 23:21-23
Duties Revised
1 Chr 23:24-32
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1 Chronicles 24
Divisions of Levites
1 Chr 24:1-31
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1 Chronicles 25
Number and Services of Musicians
1 Chr 25:1-7
Divisions of Musicians
1 Chr 25:8-31
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1 Chronicles 26
Divisions of the Gatekeepers
1 Chr 26:1-19
Keepers of the Treasure
1 Chr 26:20-28
Outside Duties
1 Chr 26:29-32
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1 Chronicles 27
Commanders of the Army
1 Chr 27:1-15
Chief Officers of the Tribes
1 Chr 27:16-24
Various Overseers
1 Chr 27:25-31
Counselors
1 Chr 27:32-34
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1 Chronicles 28
David’s Address about the Temple
1 Chr 28:1-21
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1 Chronicles 29
(1 Chr 29:20-25 ~ 1 Kings 1:28-40)
(1 Chr 29:26-30 ~ 1 Kings 2:10-11)
Offerings for the Temple
1 Chr 29:1-9
David’s Prayer
1 Chr 29:10-20
Sacrifices
1 Chr 29:21-22
Solomon Again Made King
1 Chr 29:22-27
1 Chr 29:23 – That “Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father,” like Ps 45:16 (see BSN on it), foreshadows that Messiah would move from the right hand of the throne of God to sit on that throne Himself…for He was only retaking what had been His from before the beginning. #FJOT
1 Chr 29:28 – Similarly to verse 23 above, this verse – specifically, “…and his son Solomon reigned in his place” – foreshadows how the Son would one day reign as God. See the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6-7, which was fulfilled at the Second Coming (Jesus Christ Has Already Come Again). Consider also that the name Solomon means peace and the Son is “the prince of peace” according to Isaiah’s prophecy. See also Hebrews 7:1-3, which identifies Jesus as “king of righteousness” as well as “king of peace” by invoking Melchizedek, king of Salem (from Genesis 14:17-20).
Death of David
1 Chr 29:28-30
The Duty of a Man 