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Like Kings & Samuel, Chronicles started as 1 book. Chronicles repeats much of what we are told in Genesis and Kings concerning the history and lineage of Israel, though it focuses on the Southern kingdom of Judah. Chronicles is titled Dibre Hayyamim in Hebrew, which is roughly translated The Matters of the Days. In Greek, the book is called Paraleipomenon, which means things omitted. The latter title possibly refers to text in Kings that reminds us the details of each king are recorded elsewhere. The English title of Chronicles came about when Jerome referred to the book as a chronicle.[1]
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Most scholars attribute the text to Ezra.[2][3] Compelling evidence of Ezra's authorship includes the style of writing and the fact that 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 is exactly the same as Ezra 1:1-2. Since this is not explicitly confirmed, however, most scholars refer to the author as The Chronicler.
Chronicles was one of the last books of the Old Testament to be written despite its placement almost in the center of the books. Estimating the date of authorship isn't as hard with Chronicles because there are two facts given to help us pin point the date. First, we know that the book was written after the Israelites returned from Babylonian exile. The Babylonian captivity ended in 538 BC,[4] which places the date of authorship some time after 538 BC.
<aside> 🚧 I will likely add detailed posts on the people below (and then they will appear in the list above) in the future
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