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The Chronicler’s Use of Sources in His Retelling of the Story of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28)

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This paper examines biblical allusions to the story of Ahaz in 2 Chronicles 28. While earlier scholars have dealt mainly with 2 Kings 16 and Isaiah 7 as its parallels, this paper offers additional biblical sources that the Chronicles has made use of in his retelling of the Ahaz story. These additional sources help the Chronicler in reshaping his version of King Ahaz’s character.
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Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
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The Chronicler’s Use of Sources in His Retelling of
the Story of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28)
Michael Avioz
To cite this article: Michael Avioz (2020) The Chronicler’s Use of Sources in His Retelling of the
Story of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28), Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, 34:2, 302-308, DOI:
10.1080/09018328.2020.1805210
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09018328.2020.1805210
Published online: 22 Sep 2020.
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Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament, 2020
Vol. 34, No. 2, 302-308, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09018328.2020.1805210
The Chroniclers Use of Sources in His Retell-
ing of the Story of Ahaz (2 Chronicles 28)
Michael Avioz
Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University, 529002 Ramat-Gan, Israel
Michael.Avioz@biu.ac.il
ABSTRACT: This paper examines biblical allusions to the story of Ahaz in 2
Chronicles 28. While earlier scholars have dealt mainly with 2 Kings 16 and
Isaiah 7 as its parallels, this paper offers additional biblical sources that the
Chronicles has made use of in his retelling of the Ahaz story. These addition-
al sources help the Chronicler in reshaping his version of King Ahazs char-
acter.
Key words: Ahaz, Chronicles, Kings, Allusions, Sources
The narrative in 2 Chronicles 28 depicts the reign of Ahaz, king of Judah. It
is also recounted in 2 Kgs 16, although there are differences throughout the
narrative, so significant that o and conclusion of the
reign are parallel.1 For instance, the Chronicler adds details concerning the
good treatment of the Judean prisoners by their Northern brethren (vv. 8-15).
Scholars are divided regarding their historical value. 2
Many scholars have noted that the main sources of the Chronicler were 2
Kings 16 and Isaiah 7.3 Others have pointed to the parallels between 2 Chron
1. H.G.M. Williamson, Israel in the Book of Chronicles (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1977), p. 114.
2.          s-
sault on Ahaz in the Book of Chroni Transeu 26 (2003), pp.47-63; S. Ernst,
Ahas, König von Juda: Ein Beitrag zur Literatur und Geschichte des Alten Israel (St.
Ottilien: Eos Verlag, 2006).
3. W. Rudolph, Chronikbücher (HAT; Tübingen: Mohr, 1955), p. 289; Jacob M.
Myers, II Chronicles (AB, 13; New York: Doubleday, p. 1965), 161; P. R. Ackroyd,
         W.B. Barrick
and J. R. Spencer (eds.), In the Shelter of Elyon: Essays on Ancient Palestinian Life
and Literature in Honor of G. W. Ahlström (JSOTSup, 31; Sheffield: JSOT Press,
1984), pp. 247-259; R. Mason, Preaching the Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), pp. 91-92; K.A.D. Smelik, The Representation of King
               Intertextuality in
Ugarit and Israel (OTS, XL; Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 143-185; A. r-
acter and Times of Ahaz in the Book of Chronicles as A Test of the Creditability of
the ChroniclerAn Exercise in Dynamic Reading,Shnaton: An Annual for Biblical
and Ancient Near Eastern Studies 16 (2006), pp. 43-69 (Hebrew);  The
2020 The Editors of the Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament
©
28 and 2 Chron 13, aiming to compare Ahaz with Jeroboam4 or to its portray-
al of him as a second Saul.5 The purpose of this paper is to uncover additional
biblical sources that the Chronicler made use of, other than Kings and Isaiah.
I will try to show that the Chroniclers portrayal of Ahaz has been adapted in
order to fit the audience of the Chronicler. These sources were not mentioned
by earlier interpreters and scholars, who only consider parallels between
Chronicles and Kings.6
Additional Biblical Sources to the Ahaz Narrative in Chronicles:
Ezra-Nehemiah
In my opinion, in addition to the parallel description in 2 Kings 16 and Isaiah
7, the Chronicler relies on several sources from Ezra-Nehemiah when he
comes to rewrite the Ahaz narrative, as can be shown from the following
table:7
Function of the Chroniclers Temple Despoliation Notices in Light of Imperial Reali-
ties in Yehud, JBL 129 (2010), pp. 33-47, esp. Pp. 38-39; Idem, c-
ing History: Dialogism in the Chroniclers Ahaz Narrative,  Mark J. Boda and
Lissa M. Wray Beal (eds.), Prophets, Prophecy, and Ancient Israelite Historiography
(Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013), pp. 143-65; Ralph W. Klein, 2 Chronicles: A
Commentary (Hermeneia; Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2012), pp. 390-408; Louis
Jonker, 1 & 2 Chronicles (Understanding the Bible Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI :
Baker Books, 2013); 
Ahaz in 2 Chronicles 28, VT 66 (2016), pp. 349-364; Troy D. Cudworth, War in
Chronicles: Temple Faithfulness and Israels Place in the Land (Library of Hebrew
Bible/Old Testament Studies, 627; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark,
2016), pp. 103-110; Gary N. Knoppers, Judah and Samaria in Postmonarchic Times:
Essays on Their Histories and Literatures (FAT, 129; : Mohr Siebeck,
2019), pp. 44-47.
4. Williamson, Israel, pp. 114-117.
5. R. Mosis, Untersuchungen zur Theologie des chronistischen Geschichtswerkes
(Freiburger Theologische Studien, 92; Freiburg: Herder, 1973), pp. 32, 186-89.
  
(v. 25) appears also in 2 Chron. 11,12 and 31,19.
6. R.B. Dillard, 2 Chronicles (WBC; Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987), p. 220; S.
Japhet, I and II Chronicles (OTL; Louisville, KY: WJK, 1993), pp. 895-896; S.J. De
Vries, 1 and 2 Chronicles (FOTL, 11; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), p. 363;
H.G.M. Williamson, 1 and 2 Chronicles (NCB; London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott,
1982), pp. 343-349; Israel, 114-118; E.L. Curtis and A.A. Madsen, The Books of
Chronicles (ICC; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1910), p. 456; A.F. Raineyn-
 M.P. Graham (ed.)
The Chronicler as Historian (JSOTSup, 238; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1997), pp. 30-72, esp. pp. 64-66. Curtis and Madsen draw many parallels to Chroni-
cles from other biblical books. However, the problem with their lists is that they are
atomistic and cannot assist us in discerning links between the whole narratives in
Chronicles and in other biblical books.
7. Translation is according to the NRSV.
The Chroniclers Use of Sources 303
2 Chron 28
Ez 9,6-78
but you have killed them in a rage
that has reached up to heaven ( 
)
10 Now you intend to subjugate the
people of Judah and Jerusalem, male
and female, as your slaves (
  ) But what have you except sins
( ) against the LORD your God.
13 and said to them, You shall not
bring the captives in here, for you pro-
pose to bring on us guilt ( )
against the LORD in addition to our
present sins and guilt (  ). For
our guilt ( ) is already great, and
there is fierce wrath against Israel.
6 and said, O my God, I am too
ashamed and embarrassed to lift my
face to you, my God, for our iniquities
have risen higher than our heads, and
our guilt ( ) has mounted up to
the heavens (   ).
7 From the days of our ancestors to
this day we have been deep in guilt
( ) and for our iniquities we, our
kings, and our priests have been hand-
ed over to the kings of the lands, to the
sword, to captivity, to plundering, and
to utter shame, as is now the case.
Second Chronicles 28 alludes to Nehemiah 5 as well:9
2 Chr 28,10
Neh 5,5
Now you intend to subjugate the
people of Judah and Jerusalem, male
and female, as your slaves ( ).
Now our flesh is the same as that of
our kindred; our children are the same
as their children; and yet we are forc-
ing ( ) our sons and daughters to
be slaves ( ), and some of our
daughters have been ravished ( );
we are powerless, and our fields and
vineyards now belong to others.
The points of resemblance include the expression , the root  in
relation to the communal guilt,10 the root  , and the expression  .
8. H.W.M. van     Exegesis of Scripture? Ezra 9:6-9,
J.C. de Moor (ed.), Intertextuality in Ugarit and Israel (Leiden: Brill, 1998), pp. 31-
Indeed, servants we are: Ezra 9, Nehemiah 9 and 2 Chronicles 12 Com-
pared B. Becking and M.C.A. Korpel (eds.), The Crisis of Israelite Religion: Trans-
formation of Religious Tradition in Exilic and Post-Exilic Times (Leiden: Brill,
1999), pp. 209-227;    -15: A Penitential Prayer within Its
  M. Boda and D. K. Falk (eds.), Seeking the Favor of God, Vol.
1: The Origins of Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism (Atlanta: SBL,
2006), pp. 165-180.
9. Mason notes this resemblance in passing. Rex Mason, Preaching the Tradition:
Homily and Hermeneutics after the Exile (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1990), p. 93.
10. Richard J. Bautch, Developments in Genre between Post-Exilic Penitential Pray-
ers and the Psalms of Communal Lament (Academia Biblica, 7; Atlanta: SBL, 2003),
p. 96.
304 Michael Avioz
In Ezra the speech concerns the idea that sins may lead to destruction. In
Nehemiah 5 there is a cry that in exile the people were slaves, but the family
was united. Yet in Chronicles children are torn from their parents and the
enemy is subduing their sons and our daughters as servants. 11
The allusion to Ezra-Nehemiah may well serve the purpose of the Chroni-
cler to place greater blame on Ahaz and more decisively demonstrate his part
in leading the people to exile and destruction. 12
Allusion to the Elisha Narrative (2 Kings 6,8-23)
There are many points of resemblance between 2 Chron 28 and 2 Kings 6,8-
23, narrating the Israel-Aram war:13 In both, a prophet appears in the time of
war, the prophet advises the king not to harm the captives, and the advice of
the prophet is accepted and the captives are released following a great ban-
quet.
There are also points of contrast between the narratives: While in Kings
the captives are gentiles (Arameans), in Chronicles the captives are Israelites.
In Kings there is no intention to make the captives slaves, while such an in-
tention does arise from the narrative in Chronicles.14 Finally, only in Chroni-
cles do the captives receive clothes, oil, and other supplies (2 Chron 28,15).
11. L.W. Batten, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Books of Ezra and
Nehemiah (ICC; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1913).
12. For viewing Ahaz as the worst king in Chronicles, see the literature cited in Ev-
 Temple Despoliation 38, n. 26; Ehud Ben Zvi, Social memory among the
literati of Yehud (BZAW, 509; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019), pp. 332-341. I view Ezra-
Nehemiah and Chronicles as two different compositions. See S. Japhet, From the
Rivers of Babylon to the Highlands of Judah: Collected Studies on the Restoration
Period (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2006), chap. 19.
13. Smelik,  p. 170. On 2 Kgs 6,8-23, see Keith Bodner, Elishas
Profile in the Book of Kings: The Double Agent (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2013), pp. 103-114, and the literature cited therein. Japhet (I & II Chronicles, p. 902)
speaks of a motif, but does not compare the two narratives.
14. The prophet Odeds words refer to what will be done to captives from Judea: they
will become slaves. In the past, researchers thought prisoners had become slaves in
Mesopotamia, but today that opinion has been abandoned. For the view that slaves
were mainly prisoners of war, see M.A. DandamayevABD 6:58-65. For a
contrasting view, see I. J. GelbPrisoners of War in Early Mesopotamia, JNES 32
(1973), pp. 70-98; B. Oded, Mass Deportations and Deportees in the Neo-Assyrian
Empire (Wiesbaden: Reichert, 1979), pp. 41-74; Orlando Patterson. Slavery and
Social Death: A Comparative Study. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press,
1982), p. 109. If history can be learned from this story, then there appears to be a gap
between the Bible and the Ancient Near East. The Bible actually teaches about turn-
ing prisoners of war into slaves. See Benedikt Otzen  TDOT, p. 289; D.L.
Baker, Tight Fists or Open Hands? Wealth and Poverty in Old Testament Law
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), pp. 119, 155.
The Chroniclers Use of Sources 305
Did the Chronicler know the story of Elisha? Begg argues that he did and
that the omission of the Elisha narrative is deliberate.15It is indeed a plausible
explanation, since the Chronicler knows the Elijah narrative (2 Chron 21,12-
15). In addition, we may assume that the Chronicler was acquainted with the
Book of Kings in its totality and at times cites it verbatim. 16
In my opinion, the Chronicler knew the narrative of the war against the
Arameans appearing in Kings and reworked it to meet his purposes. The au-
thor claims that it is not acceptable for the Judeans to treat their brothers in a
worse manner than the Israelites treated their Aramean captives. The addition
of clothes and other products was more than the Aramean captives received, a
point which emphasizes this concern even more.
Allusion to Joshua-Judges
The expression  in v. 5 appears in Josh 10,10.20; Judg 11,33; 15,8; 1
Sam 6,10; 19,8; 23,5 (Cf. 1 Kgs 20,21). The collective language 17
blaming
not just the king but also the people        , v. 6is prob-
ably taken from Judges 2,12-13:
       
        
It is a very significant change that the Chronicler has inserted into the
Ahaz story: it is a collective rather than individual sin. In this way, the sin of
Ahaz is graver than in Kings, since he made the whole people of Judah sin
with him.18
15.    s Non-mention of Elisha BN 45 (1988), pp. 7-11.
According to Amit, most of the Elijah-Elisha narratives were omitted since they were

in the Chronicler M.H. Floyd and R.L. Haak (eds.), Prophets, Prophecy
and Prophetic Texts in Second Temple Judaism (LHBOTS, 427; London: T&T Clark,
2006), pp . 80-101.
16. Martin Noth, The Chroniclers History, trans. H.G.M. Williamson (JSOTSup, 50;
Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987), p. 52; Japhet, I & II Chronicles, p. 17. According to
Auld, the Elijah and Elisha material was not in the version of Kings known to the
ChroniclerProphets through the Looking Glass: Between Writings
and Moses, JSOT 27 (1983), pp. 3-23. For an opposing view see H.G.M. William-
      , JSOT 27 (1983), pp. 33-39. See further G.N.
Knoppers, I Chronicles 1-9: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary
(Anchor Bible          e-
   CBR 8.1 (2009), pp. 10-50, esp. 23-25; Ehud Ben Zvi and
Diana Edelman (eds.), What Was Authoritative for Chronicles? (Winona Lake, IN:
Eisenbrauns, 2011).
17. Smelik p. 170n-
structed War Chronicle with Theological Interpretation in the Books of Chronicles
Proceedings of the Ninth World Congress of Jewish Studies. Panel Sessions: Bible
Studies and Ancient Near East (Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1988),
pp. 133-140.
18. Hee-Sook Bae, Vereinte Suche nach JHWH. Die Hiskianische und Josianische
Reform in der Chronik (Berlin and New York: de Gruyter, 2005).
306 Michael Avioz
The word  appears in 2 Chron 28,18 three times. It appears in Josh
15,47 and Judg 1,27. The fact that it is used in 2 Chron 13,19 does not detract
from the unique allusion. After all, it is the same author who composed both
2 Chron 13 and 28. 19
Throughout the Book of Chronicles there are other allusions to the books
of Joshua-Judges, as Kalimi points out. 20
Did the Chronicler know the books of Joshua-Judges? According to Auld,
there is an insignificant link between Judges and Chronicles.21 He writes:

Judges 1 (vv. 21.27-33), which are found also in Joshua and are widely ac-
cepted as being more original there than in Judges; and mention of relatively
minor characters, such as Othniel and Caleb,54 and of Tola and Puah.
In Aulds view, the Chronicler and its sources shared a third source that both
cited from. However, this view was rejected by McKenzie,22 who pointed out
that we cannot help supposing that the Chroniclers source was the
Deuteronomistic History, since many narratives such as Sauls death (1
Chron 10) suppose the readers familiarity with the original narrative.
Summary and Conclusions
In this paper I have tried to point to the method and technique of the Chroni-
cler in his rewriting of the story of Ahaz. He does not merely copy the paral-
lel texts from Kings, he also shortens, adds, and incorporates various expres-
sions taken from variegated biblical sources. Accordingly, the story of Ahaz
becomes a mosaic, encapsulating many allusions to various biblical sources.
Since in the Book of Chronicles Ahaz bears part of the blame for the destruc-
tion and exile and not Manasseh,23 the allusions to biblical sources other than
Kings help the author accentuate Ahazs blame. Thus, we learn that after
19. See C. S. Ehrlich, The Philistines in Transition (Leiden: Brill, 1996), p. 90 for
discussion of historical reliability.
20. Isaac Kalimi, An Ancient Israelite Historian: Studies in the Chronicler, His Time,
Place and Writing (Studia Semitica Neerlandica, 46; Assen: Van Gorcum, 2005), 98.
Among the parallels he mentions are 1 Chron 4,28-33 // Josh 15,26-32; 1 Chron 6,39-
66 // Josh 21,10-42. We may add also 2 Chron 2,7 // Josh 7,1. SeeWilliamson,
Chronicles, p. 148; Japhet, I & II Chronicles, p. 717.
21. J.
C. Exum (ed.), Virtual History and the Bible (Leiden: Brill, 2000), pp. 137-150;
      M. Patrick Gra-
ham and Steven L. McKenzie (eds.), The Chronicler as Author: Studies in Text and
Texture (JSOTSup, 263; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), pp. 91-99.
22.        in M. P. Graham & S. L.
McKenzie (eds.O), The Chronicler as Author (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1999), pp. 70-90.
23. u-
VT 48 (1998), pp. 473-514.
The Chroniclers Use of Sources 307
Ahaz one can only improve, especially in the portrayal of Hezekiah (2 Chron.
29-32),24 where the renewal of the Davidic rule remains a realistic option.25
24. 
Ideal Ruler as Intertext in 1-      
Ottawa, Ontario: Carleton University, 2001), pp. 293-97.
25. See Benjamin D. Giffone, Sit at my right hand: The Chroniclers Portrait of the
Tribe of Benjamin in the Social Context of Yehud (LHBOT, 628; London and New
York: T & T Clark, Bloomsbury 2018), p. 72; David Janzen, Chronicles and the
Politics of Davidic Restoration: A Quiet Revolution (LHBOTS, 655; London and
New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017).
308 Michael Avioz
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This article subjects the account of Ahaz in 2 Chronicles to a synchronic literary analysis in light of the Vorlage in Kings in order to demonstrate that the “chaotic writing” that marks it forms part of the effect the Chronicler is attempting to create. By displacing and interpolating verses, he thereby paints a picture of Ahaz as a vile sinner who transgresses by nature rather than a rational tactician. This impression is heightened by the placement of the account of the Judahites’ capture and return at the centre of the narrative. The logical, coherent, sequential nature of this unit—constructed on the basis of a complication, crisis, falling action, and resolution—contrasts sharply with the rough-edged, broken pericopae on either side of it. It thus accentuates the chaos and confusion of the narrative as a whole.
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of the Chronicler's Temple Despoliation Notices in Light of Imperial Realities in Yehud," JBL 129 (2010), pp. 33-47, esp. Pp. 38-39;
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1 & 2 Chronicles (Understanding the Bible Commentary
  • Louis Jonker
Louis Jonker, 1 & 2 Chronicles (Understanding the Bible Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Books, 2013);
War in Chronicles: Temple Faithfulness and Israel's Place in the Land (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, 627
  • Troy D Cudworth
Troy D. Cudworth, War in Chronicles: Temple Faithfulness and Israel's Place in the Land (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, 627; London and New York: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2016), pp. 103-110;
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  • R Mosis
R. Mosis, Untersuchungen zur Theologie des chronistischen Geschichtswerkes (Freiburger Theologische Studien, 92; Freiburg: Herder, 1973), pp. 32, 186-89. There are other parallels to 2 Chron. 28 in the Book of Chronicles: "In every city of Judah" (v. 25) appears also in 2 Chron. 11,12 and 31,19.