Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 61:2 (Jun 2018)
Article: Seeing Discontinuity in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah through Reforms
Author: Manoja Kumar Korada

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Seeing Discontinuity in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah through Reforms

Manoja Kumar Korada*

* Manoja Korada is an associate professor of OT at IPC Theological Seminary Kottayam, Kerala, India 686011. He can be contacted at [email protected]. This is an amplified and modified version of the paper presented at the Tyndale conference in Cambridge, UK in June 2017.

Abstract: The question of whether the books of Chronicles and Ezra-Nehemiah are commonly or individually authored, has been alive in scholarly discussion for the last four decades. Taking the position for their individuality, this article argues that the individuality between them becomes clearer in their discontinuity, especially in the case of “reform.” While each of these books deals commonly with the issue of reform, there emerges differing attitudes to the involvement of the common people in the reform and the impact thereof. The point of divergence is how each book relates the common people to the reform. While the Chronicler’s interest primarily lies in individual authority (king), the author of Ezra is minimally sympathetic to the common people and their usefulness in the reform; but the author of Nehemiah heavily democratizes the process of reform and shows that the involvement of the common people and the outcome or impact of a reform are directly proportional.

Key words: Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah, authorship, reform, discontinuity, people, impact, common people, mass movement, mass impact

Since the last four decades or so, the argument of discontinuity in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah has emerged as a viable alternative1 to the view of a single authorship.2 While cases for discontinuity typically engage source-critical, redaction-critical, and linguistic approaches,3 the thematic-ideational perspective has not received adequate attention. This article seeks to address this lacuna by looking at the theme of reform, particularly the three important reforms in Chronicles-Ezra-Nehemiah (2 Chronicles 35–36; Ezra 9–10; Nehemiah 8–10). It argues that these

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reforms underline an ideational discontinuity among these books in that each book or author displays a unique attitude towards the people’s involvement in the reform; their interest in, and knowledge of, the torah (the word); and the impact of the reform. While the Chronicler underscores the individua...