Retribution in Chronicles

Neil J. Morrison

doi:10.1628/978-3-16-163355-3

Neil J. Morrison

Retribution in Chronicles

Ideology and Reality

2025. 242 pages.

Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe (FAT II) 155

DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-163355-3

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Summary

Neil J. Morrison seeks to explain the lack of systematization in the outworking of retribution in Chronicles. While retribution is designed to foster religious commitment, it is often constrained by other factors so that the divine and human poles of the nexus come to predominate at different points.

Neil J. Morrison seeks to clarify the nature and purpose of the theme of divine retribution in Chronicles. He contends that retribution represents a malleable motif which serves the ideological purpose of fostering religious commitment and bolstering the status of the Second Temple. Nevertheless, the outworking of retribution in the narrative has been constrained by other ideological commitments and the exigencies of the contemporary world. For example, the divine provision of the temple and God's irrevocable commitment to Israel often overshadow retribution. Similarly, the uncertainties of the late-Persian or early-Hellenistic setting necessitated a more flexible approach to retribution, underscoring the importance of human activity rather than waiting upon divine intervention. This theory explains how retribution serves a didactic purpose without representing a systematic theological dogma.

Table of contents:

Chapter 1 - A Survey of Scholarly Approaches to Retribution
Retribution as a Means of Reinforcing the Validity of the Mosaic Law / Retribution as a Corollary of Divine Justice / The Didactic Purpose of Retribution / Retribution and Divine Grace / Retribution and Divine Inscrutability / Recent Approaches to Retribution / Summary and the Purpose of the Present Study

Chapter 2 - A Survey of Retribution in Chronicles
Evidence of Individual, Corporate and Transgenerational Retribution in Chronicles / The Lack of Systematization in the Chronicler's Scheme / The Purpose of Retribution in Chronicles / The Chronicler's Influences / The Mechanism of Retribution in Chronicles / Dating Chronicles / The Significance of the Temple in Fourth-Century Yehud / Retribution as Ideology

Chapter 3 - Retribution and Ideology
Conflicting Ideological Commitments / The Chronicler's Ideology of the Temple / Yahweh's Irrevocable Commitment to Israel / Divine Sovereignty Eclipsing Human Decision-Making

Chapter 4 - Retribution and Reality
Reality Constraining Retribution / Judah's Partial Deliverance as a Reflex of the Book's Post-Exilic Setting / Jehoshaphat's Appointment of Judges / The Ongoing Prospect of Military Attacks

Chapter 5 - Conclusion