The Chronicles of David and Solomon: Translation, Historiography, and the Chronicler’s Portrait of David

Yigal Levin and Željko Stanojević

Yigal Levin

Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry
Faculty of Jewish Studies
Bar-Ilan University
Ramat Gan, Israel

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5873-6518

Željko Stanojević

Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature
Belgrade, Serbia

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0717-6184

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21782746

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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21782746

Abstract

This scholarly interview with Yigal Levin examines his book The Chronicles of David and Solomon: 1 Chronicles 10–2 Chronicles 9: A New Translation and Commentary, published by T&T Clark, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. Levin discusses the origins and development of his long-term three-volume commentary project on the Book of Chronicles, which emerged from his doctoral research on the historical geography, genealogies, and historiographical framework of the Chronicler.

Particular attention is devoted to Levin’s translation methodology. He explains why a commentator should engage directly with the Hebrew text rather than depend entirely on an established English translation. His approach seeks to remain as close as possible to the wording and syntax of the Hebrew while still producing clear and readable English. The discussion includes an example from 1 Chronicles 12:1, where Levin retains the literal expression “helpers in war” rather than adding an interpretive reference to David that is not explicitly present in the Hebrew text.

The interview also examines the Chronicler’s distinctive portrayal of David. Unlike Samuel, Chronicles omits most narratives concerning David’s youth, his rise to power, the conflict with Saul, the Bathsheba episode, and Absalom’s rebellion. The Chronicler instead presents David primarily as the divinely chosen king, military leader, organizer of Israel, and principal figure responsible for preparing the construction of the Jerusalem Temple. Levin argues that the Chronicler probably expected readers to know the earlier narratives in Samuel, while deliberately excluding material that did not serve his principal theological and historiographical purposes.

A further section addresses the historical value of Chronicles. Levin explains that he has become more cautious about using the book as a direct source for pre-exilic Israel and increasingly emphasizes the need to distinguish Chronicles from Samuel and Kings as separate literary and historical works. Chronicles is understood as post-exilic historiography, probably composed in the late Persian period, which reinterprets the history of pre-exilic Judah from the perspective of restored Yehud.

The publication further considers biblical genealogies, archaeology, the Persian period, prophetic historiography, the relationship between biblical texts and external historical evidence, and Levin’s plans for the final volume of his commentary, The Chronicles of All Israel. The interview concludes with Levin’s assessment of the European Hebrew Journal as a new Diamond Open Access academic journal with significant potential for international development.

Keywords

Yigal Levin; Book of Chronicles; David; Solomon; Chronicler; Hebrew Bible; biblical historiography; biblical translation; biblical commentary; 1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles; Masoretic Text; ancient Israel; Persian-period Yehud; post-exilic Judah; Davidic kingship; Jerusalem Temple; biblical genealogies; historical criticism; literary criticism; Bar-Ilan University

How to Cite This Work

Levin, Y. and Stanojević, Ž. (2026). The Chronicles of David and Solomon: Translation, Historiography, and the Chronicler’s Portrait of David: A Scholarly Interview with Prof. Yigal Levin. Belgrade: Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21782746

Description

This open-access scholarly publication forms part of the series Scholarly Interviews in Hebrew, Biblical, Religious, and Jewish Studies. It presents Professor Yigal Levin’s approach to the translation, interpretation, literary structure, historical setting, and historiography of the Book of Chronicles.

The publication focuses on Levin’s book The Chronicles of David and Solomon: 1 Chronicles 10–2 Chronicles 9: A New Translation and Commentary, published by T&T Clark, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. The volume is the second part of Levin’s planned three-volume commentary on Chronicles, although it was the second volume to be published. It follows The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah and will eventually be preceded by The Chronicles of All Israel, which will cover 1 Chronicles 1–9 and contain the principal introduction to the complete commentary.

The interview is intended as a citable academic resource for scholars and students working in Hebrew Bible studies, biblical historiography, biblical Hebrew, ancient Israelite history, Persian-period Yehud, textual interpretation, translation studies, literary criticism, biblical genealogies, Temple traditions, and the reception and reinterpretation of Samuel and Kings in Chronicles.

Main Themes

Translation of the Hebrew Text

Levin explains that every translation is already an interpretation. For this reason, he prepared a new English translation rather than relying exclusively on the New Revised Standard Version, the Revised Standard Version, the Jewish Publication Society translation, or another established version. His translation seeks to preserve the meaning and structure of the Hebrew while remaining understandable to contemporary English readers.

The Chronicler’s Portrait of David

Chronicles presents David differently from Samuel. It omits many of the narratives concerning David’s early life and internal court conflicts, while emphasizing his kingship, military successes, organization of Israel, and preparations for the Temple. In Chronicles, David receives at least as much credit as Solomon for the Temple project and arguably plays the more important preparatory role.

Chronicles as Historiography

Levin describes Chronicles as historiography, but not as history in the modern sense. The Chronicler is a literary author who reshapes inherited traditions and communicates specific messages to a post-exilic audience. The book should therefore be examined separately from Samuel and Kings rather than treated simply as supplementary evidence that can be harmonized with them.

Persian-Period Yehud

The interview situates Chronicles within the restoration period and the intellectual, political, and religious world of post-exilic Judah. Chronicles presents the history of pre-exilic Judah from the perspective of a later community seeking to understand Israel’s past, its genealogical continuity, its monarchy, its Temple, and its relationship with the wider people of Israel.

Biblical Genealogies and Future Research

Levin plans to return to the study of biblical genealogies in the final volume of his commentary. He also expresses a growing interest in prophetic historiography and in the historical information preserved in texts such as Isaiah, Amos, and Micah.

Related Works

Levin, Y. (2026). The Chronicles of David and Solomon: 1 Chronicles 10–2 Chronicles 9: A New Translation and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 9780567674302. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780567674326.

Levin, Y. (2025). ‘Samuel, Saul, and the Founding of the Monarchy: Between Historical Reality and Literary Ideology’, in Klein, J. and Shepherd, D. J. (eds.) Zwischen Fiktion und Fakten / Between Fiction and Facts: Geschichte und Religion in den Samuelbüchern / History and Religion in the Books of Samuel. Beiträge zur Wissenschaft vom Alten und Neuen Testament 248. Stuttgart: W. Kohlhammer, pp. 74–89.

Levin, Y. (2025). ‘Text and the City: The Urban Geography of Jerusalem as Depicted in Chronicles’, in Berlejung, A., Albaz, S. and Maeir, A. M. (eds.) Urbanism in the Iron Age Levant and Beyond. Orientalische Religionen in der Antike 59. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 149–167.

Levin, Y. (2022). ‘Chronicles as a Source for the History of Pre-Exilic Israel: Between “Negativism” and “Positivism”’, Biblische Notizen, 193, pp. 29–44.

Levin, Y. (2022). ‘Memories of the Assyrian Exile in Persian-Period Yehud: A View from Chronicles and Ezra–Nehemiah’, Hebrew Bible and Ancient Israel, 11 (Supplement), pp. 224–238. https://doi.org/10.1628/hebai-2022-0019.

Levin, Y. (2020). ‘The Chronicler’s Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?’, in Kalimi, I. (ed.) Writing and Rewriting History in Ancient Israel and Near Eastern Cultures. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 173–188.

Levin, Y. (2019). ‘The Chronicler as an Historian: The Chronicler’s Reinterpretation of the Deuteronomistic History of Israel’, in Ro, J. U. (ed.) Story and History: The Kings of Israel and Judah in Context. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 121–133.

Levin, Y. (2019). ‘Aram and Arameans in Chronicles’, in Berlejung, A. and Maeir, A. M. (eds.) Research on Israel and Aram: Autonomy, Independence and Related Issues. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, pp. 91–104.

Levin, Y. and Marsh, I. (2018). ‘Mixed Marriages in the Book of Chronicles: A Reflection of Social Attitudes in Persian-Period Yehud’, Transeuphratène, 50, pp. 125–139.

Levin, Y. (2017). The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah: 2 Chronicles 10–36: A New Translation and Commentary. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. ISBN 9780567671714. https://doi.org/10.5040/9780567671738.

Levin, Y. (2004). ‘From Lists to History: Chronological Aspects of the Chronicler’s Genealogies’, Journal of Biblical Literature, 123(4), pp. 601–636. https://doi.org/10.2307/3268462.

Levin, Y. (2003). ‘Who Was the Chronicler’s Audience? A Hint from His Genealogies’, Journal of Biblical Literature, 122(2), pp. 229–245. https://doi.org/10.2307/3268444.

Levin, Y. (2001). ‘Understanding Biblical Genealogies’, Currents in Research: Biblical Studies, 9, pp. 11–46.

Levin, Y. (1999). The Historical Geography of the Chronicler. PhD dissertation. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University.

Additional Keywords

Book of Chronicles commentary; Chronicles translation; 1 Chronicles 10; 2 Chronicles 9; David in Chronicles; Solomon in Chronicles; Saul in Chronicles; Chronicler’s theology; Chronicler’s historiography; Davidic monarchy; Jerusalem Temple traditions; David and the Temple; Solomon and the Temple; post-exilic biblical literature; Persian-period Judah; Yehud under Persian rule; historical geography of Chronicles; biblical genealogies; genealogies in 1 Chronicles; translation of Biblical Hebrew; Hebrew Bible commentary; Samuel and Chronicles; Kings and Chronicles; rewriting biblical history; reception of Samuel; reception of Kings; ancient Israelite historiography; pre-exilic Israel; post-exilic Israel; biblical historical criticism; literary analysis of Chronicles; diachronic study of the Hebrew Bible; prophetic historiography; archaeology and the Hebrew Bible; Bar-Ilan University; Yigal Levin bibliography; Bloomsbury Biblical Studies; T&T Clark biblical commentary; Institute for Hebrew Language and Literature; European Hebrew Journal; New Books Network; Scholarly Interviews in Hebrew, Biblical, Religious, and Jewish Studies