The Rise and Fall of the Monarchy in the Book of Chronicles

Itzhak Amar examines the literary craftsmanship behind the portrayal of monarchy in Chronicles, analyzing how the Chronicler artfully constructed representations of kingship, with particular emphasis on the idealized Davidic monarchy. Amar explores the text's nuanced development of royal authority, from its treatment of the Davidic dynasty to its innovative inclusion of Cyrus, a non-Israelite king.

Through careful literary analysis, Amar illuminates how the Chronicler skillfully wove together traditional and revolutionary concepts of political power within the biblical narrative, encompassing the entire text's literary structure and aligning with the principles of the New Criticism, which emphasizes the close interplay between form and content. He reveals both explicit and implicit textual meanings through the identification of various literary devices and structures, including chiastic arrangements, the three-plus-one pattern, inclusio, and other compositional techniques. Amar concludes that the Chronicler did not merely arrange and compile his sources but also edited them in a way that effectively made him the author of the text.