King and Cultus in Chronicles

Worship and the Reinterpretation of History

William Riley

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 160

Copyright © 1993 Sheffield Academic Press

Published by JSOT Press

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Sheffield Academic Press Ltd

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Riley, William

King and Cultus in Chronicles: Worship and the Reinterpretation of History.—

(JSOT Supplement Series, ISSN 0309-0787; No. 160)

I. Title II. Series

222

ISBN 1-85075-397-0

Contents

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

Chapter 1

Situating the Work of the Chronicler

Introduction

A Consideration of Some Introductory Questions

The Chronicler’s Need to Re-Present the Royal History

Conclusion

Chapter 2

The Chronicler’s Cultic Portrayal of Kings: A Final Form Study

Introduction

Saul, the Non-Cultic King

David, Founder of Cultus and Dynasty

Solomon, Temple-Builder

The Post-Solomonic Kings to Josiah: The Cultus Completed

From the Post-Josian Kings to the Edict of Cyrus

Conclusion

Chapter 3

The Cultic Reinterpretation of Israel’s Royal History and Heritage in Chronicles

Introduction

Kingship as a Cultic Vocation

The Fulfilment of the Davidic Promise in Chronicles

Davidic Reality and the Post-Exilic Nation

Conclusion

Summary and Conclusions

Bibliography

Index of References

Index of Authors

Acknowledgments

The present study represents a revised and edited version of a dissertation presented to the Pontifical University of St Thomas in Rome in October 1990. I wish, therefore, to register my debt of gratitude to the Reverend Professor Joseph Agius, OP, who acted as moderator of the work and who improved this study greatly by his kind and wise suggestions and by his remarkable generosity with both personal interest and time. Qualities such as kindness, wisdom and generosity, which everyone preparing a dissertation might hope for in a moderator, inspire the most sincere gratitude in the candidate who actually benefits from them. Thanks are also due to other members of the faculty, in particular the Reverend Professor Emeritus P.P. Zerafa, OP, the Reverend Professor Bernardo G. Boschi, OP, and the Reverend Professor Albert Paretsky, OP, all of whom offered helpful and insightful comments on the work.

I must also express my gratitude to the late Archbishop Kevin McNamara of Dublin who asked me to begin work on this dissertation and who provided me with the time and resources to undertake it, and to Archbishop Desmond Connell who has shown sincere interest in this work since his elevation to the See of Dublin in 1988. Thanks are also due to the Reverend Dr Dermot Lane, Director of the Mater Dei Institute of Education, to Teresita Durkan, former President of Our Lady of Mercy College of Education (now lamentably no longer in existence as a college of education), and to my colleagues and former colleagues in both colleges who accommodated my periods of study leave, at times not without some ...