Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 36:22
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
22. stirred up the spirit ] Cp. 1Ch 5:26; Hag 1:14.
made a proclamation ] cp. 2Ch 30:5. The phrase is characteristic of the Chronicler.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
22, 23 (= Ezr 1:1-3 a; 1Es 2:1-5 a). Cyrus Decrees the Rebuilding of the Temple
On this section see the full notes of Professor Ryle on Ezra.
The historical character of this decree of Cyrus has been questioned (on purely subjective grounds) by Cheyne, Jewish Religious Life after the Exile, pp. 5 7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
This and the next verse are repeated at the commencement of the book of Ezra Ezr 1:1-3, which was, it is probable, originally a continuation of Chronicles, Chronicles and Ezra together forming one work. See the introduction to Chronicles.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
2Ch 36:22-23
Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persta.
Cyrus: the divinely-directed deliverer
I. God stirred up cyrus to do a great and necessary work.
II. Cyrus was a fitting instrument for the great work.
III. God has various means whereby to incite to action.
IV. The divine incitement to the necessary work was at a most opportune time.
V. God teaches his instruments how as well as when to act.
VI. As the lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, so he can stir men now. (F. Hastings.)
He made a proclamation.—
The decree of Cyrus; or, all things for the Church
I. God uses kings and rulers for His Church. That the Lord raises up men within the Church to be leaders and mighty workers in her behalf is a fact which the Bible and all history fully prove. Such men were Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley. But He calls men from without also to work for her. Conspicuous among this number is Cyrus, the Persian king. Though Cyrus be a marked illustration of the matter under discussion, especially so because of the clear declarations of prophecy on his behalf, still he is by no means the only one. Through the intervention of Joseph, God made Pharaoh the preserver of His people. The immediate successors of Cyrus on the Persian throne followed his example. Through the influence of Esther and Mordecai, Ahasuerus, in a most critical time, became the saviour of the Jews. Later, in the time of Darius, the interrupted work upon the temple at Jerusalem was renewed and pushed forward. Still later, in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah, Artaxerxes expended his royal treasure in establishing the remnant of the Jews in their ancient and. Alexander the Great, marching upon Jerusalem with a bitter purpose in his heart, is suddenly changed from foe to friend. Like Cyrus, he too doubtless was shown the sacred books of the Jews, and in the prophesy of Daniel saw himself described and his career delineated. The general policy of the Roman government was severe, but many of the emperors, moved by kindness of disposition or considerations of State, were lenient towards the Christians. Ere long the government itself became Christian, and throughout the Middle Ages, power was on the side of the Church. At the Reformation, whenever and wherever needed, men were raised up among the rulers of the world to be abettors of the new faith and breakwaters against the floods of persecution. Such were the elector of Saxony in the days of Luther, and measurably so Henry VIII of England. Such were the Syndics who stood around Calvin At Geneva. Such Elisabeth, Gustavus Adolphus, Cromwell And the same thing is transpiring in our own days.
II. God handles the nations for the good of the Church. We know that the nations round about the Hebrews in all their history were instruments in Gods hands for disciplining them and fashioning them to His will. To this end He ordered their affairs. And the same thing is apparent in these modern ages. Was it fortuitous that England early became Protestant and the champion of the new faith? Was it a thing of chance that Saxony, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, resisted the tyranny of the Pope? Did it merely happen that this broad land of ours was sealed against the efforts of Rome to possess it, and was preserved as virgin soil for a pure faith and a free government? Is not Gods hand in Englands occupancy of India, and can we not see that thereby that land is bespoken for Christ? Is Italys emancipation from the Pope wholly of man? Is Germanys attitude to Rome of Bismarck as much as it is of God? Blind is he who cannot see Gods use of the nations in these modem times!
III. God uses the worlds material resources and forces for the Church. God has always put the worlds wealth under tribute as He has needed it, from the day when Israel went out of Egypt to the present time. And the tribute increases as the Church increases. More of the worlds wealth is flowing into the channels of the Church now than ever before. But not merely wealth–money expression of value–but every good and uplifting form at work among men God uses for the development of His plan. Discovery, invention, progress in economical and industrial arts, natural science–all these things, which are represented in the complicated civilisation of our day, are likewise represented in the Christianity of the times. Providence takes them up and utilises them as they appear; nay, more, orders the time and the manner of their appearance. How true of the art of printing! The first book printed was the Bible, And from that day forward God has been presiding at the printing press and scattering its leaves for the healing of the nations. The fleets of commerce beam the gospel to the corners of the world. Discovery in geography, ethnology, philology adds new buttresses to Christianity. All these and the like, though material and natural forces, yet work spiritual results.
1. By all these means God fulfils His prophecies and accomplishes His purpose. None can hinder, none compel. On the trains of providence there are neither accidents nor delays.
2. Herein we see the undying nature of the Church. Great has been the heat of her affliction, but by it have her enemies been consumed.
3. The Spirit of God is abroad in the world, preparing the way for the coming of Christs kingdom. How should the servants of the Lord be encouraged in labour and in prayer by the Spirits antecedent work in every heart!
4. In all these things we have the assurance of the triumph of Gods kingdom. (H. S. Kelsey.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. Now in the first year of Cyrus] This and the following verse are supposed to have been written by mistake from the book of Ezra, which begins in the same way. The book of the Chronicles, properly speaking, does close with the twenty-first verse, as then the Babylonish captivity commences, and these two verses speak of the transactions of a period seventy years after. This was in the first year of the reign of Cyrus over the empire of the East which is reckoned to be A.M. 3468. But he was king of Persia from the year 3444 or 3445. See Calmet and Usher.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
This and the next verse are repeated in the beginning of the next book, where they will be more fitly explained.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. the Lord stirred up the spiritof Cyrus(See on Ezr 1:1-3).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Ver. 22,23. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,…. These two verses are the same with which the next book, the book of Ezra, begins, where they will be explained; and these two books, the one ending and the other beginning with the same words, is a strong presumption, that one and the same person, Ezra, is the writer of them both; or rather, as a learned e writer conjectures, these two verses are added by some transcriber, who, having finished the book of Chronicles at verse twenty one went on with the book of Ezra, without any stop; but, perceiving his mistake, broke off abruptly; for so it is plain these verses conclude; however, this shows, as the same writer observes, that the book of Ezra followed that of the Chronicles, in the Hebrew copies, though it now does not.
e Dr. Kennicott’s Dissert. 1. p. 492, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To point out still further how exactly God had fulfilled His word by the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah, it is in conclusion briefly mentioned that God, in the first year of Coresh king of Persia, stirred up the spirit of this king to cause a command to go forth in all his kingdom, that Jahve, the God of heaven, who had given him all the kingdoms of the earth, had commanded him to build again His temple in Jerusalem, and that whoever belonged to the people of God might go up to Jerusalem. With this comforting prospect for the future, the author of the Chronicle closes his consideration of the prae-exilic history of the people of God without completely communicating the contents of the royal edict of Cyrus, since he purposed to narrate the history of the restoration of Judah to their own land in a separate work. This we have in the book of Ezra, which commences by giving us the whole of the edict of Cyrus the king of the Persians (Ezr 1:1-3), and then narrates the return of a great part of the people to Jerusalem and Judah, the rebuilding of the temple, and the re-settlement in the land of their fathers of those who had returned.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.
These last two verses of this book have a double aspect. 1. They look back to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and show how that was accomplished, v. 22. God had, by him, promised the restoring of the captives and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, at the end of seventy years; and that time to favour Sion, that set time, came at last. After a long and dark night the day-spring from on high visited them. God will be found true to every word he has spoken. 2. They look forward to the history of Ezra, which begins with the repetition of 2Ch 36:22; 2Ch 36:23; Ezr 1:1-3. They are there the introduction to a pleasant story; here they are the conclusion of a very melancholy one; and so we learn from them that, though God’s church be cast down, it is not cast off, though his people be corrected, they are not abandoned, though thrown into the furnace, yet not lost there, nor left there any longer than till the dross be separated. Though God contend long, he will not contend always. The Israel of God shall be fetched out of Babylon in due time, and even the dry bones made to live. It may be long first; but the vision is for an appointed time, and at the end it shall speak and not lie; therefore, though it tarry, wait for it.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Chronicles Postscript – 2Ch 36:22-23
The closing verses of Second Chronicles form a transition from the end of the kingdom to the return of the captivity. Verse 20 showed that those whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away, and their descendants, were servants to the Babylonian (or Chaldean) kings until the advent of the Persian empire. This is said to be in keeping with the word of the Lord through the prophet Jeremiah, that the exile would continue until the land observed its sabbaths. These were denied in the long centuries of apostasy and failure to adhere to the law of Moses in regard to the land. So the land lay untilled for the seventy years of captivity to atone for four hundred ninety years in which no sabbath of the land had been observed (Jer 25:8-14; Jer 27:6-8; Jer 29:10).
Verses 22-23 furnish the close of the Chronicles and kingdom period and introduction to the post-exile period. They are repeated almost verbatim in Ezr 1:1-3. The fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy was not delayed, for its enactment began in the very first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, when he had overcome Babylon and made it a part of his own empire. Jewish tradition relates that Cyrus heard of the prophecies of Isaiah (see Isa 44:24 to Isa 45:4) and Jeremiah and was so flattered by them that he sought at once to bring them to pass. Whether this is true or not, the Scriptures make it plain that his decision was by the will of the Lord, who “stirred up the spirit of Cyrus,” and he made the proclamation. He published it throughout his empire and put it into writing. In it he is very flattering of himself, stating that God had made him ruler of all kingdoms of the earth. Though this was certainly not literally true he did control all the well-known nations of his time. His decree was that all among the people of his empire who would, should go up to Jerusalem in Judah and these erect a house for the Lord, who had commanded Cyrus so to do. This is one of the most emphatic examples of fulfilled prophecy in the Scriptures and is assurance that all shall be fulfilled in their proper time.
Some lessons: 1) Ultimate judgment for sin is inevitable; 2) Satan’s henchmen are cruel servants of a cruel master; 3) Satanic power will destroy everything beautiful; 4) Some people make promises never intending to keep them, if it turns out contrary to their personal desire; 5) all prophecy of God will come to pass without failure in the least point.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. THE EDICT OF CYRUS (2Ch. 36:22-23)
TEXT
2Ch. 36:22. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 23. Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people. Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.
PARAPHRASE
2Ch. 36:22-23. But in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to make this proclamation throughout his kingdom, putting it into writing: All the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by the Lord God of heaven, and he has instructed me to build him a Temple in Jerusalem, in the land of Judah. All among you who are the Lords people, return to Israel for this task, and the Lord be with you. This also fulfilled the prediction of Jeremiah the prophet.
COMMENTARY
Isaiah had predicted that Cyrus, king of Persia, would be a deliverer for the Hebrew people (Isa. 44:28). Two hundred years before Cyrus appeared he was named by Isaiah as a shepherd for Jehovah. In the year 536 B.C. Cyrus came upon the stage of world history.[81] He was a shepherd king. His origin is obscure. All of the evidence in Gods Word points to Cyrus coming as an act of God. Daniel continued until the third year of the reign of Cyrus (Dan. 10:1). Daniel could very well have been Jehovahs agent who acquainted Cyrus with Gods purpose for His people. The seventy years were fulfilled. The time had come for the Hebrews to be released. Cyrus published his decree and all of the Hebrews who desired to do so were free to go back to Palestine to build Jehovahs House, Ezra and Nehemiah tell how fifty thousand Jews (most likely a name given in derision of Judah) came back under the leadership of the Davidic prince, Zerubbabel and the priest, Jeshua, and how they finished Zerubbabels Temple (the second Temple) about 516 B.C.[82]
[81] Grosvenor, Melville, B., Everyday Life in Bible Times, pp. 278-286. Spence, H. D. M., The Pulpit Commentary, II Chronicles, p. 440
[82] Cook, F. C., The Bible Commentary, I SamuelEsther, pp. 432-433
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
We have made a long stride in history from the close of the last verse to the beginning of this: no less than 70 years are at once leaped over. To fill up this chasm the Reader must look into the writings of Ezekiel and Daniel. Those men were carried away captives at the general captivity and taken to Babylon. And the Lord commissioned those servants of his to carry on the history as far as the spirit of prophecy, wherewith their writings abound, would permit, or in fact was necessary. From this proclamation Ezra begins in the book that bears his name the history of the church after the return of the people from Babylon. Sweet it is to see, and highly consolatory and refreshing, that amidst all the desolations of Jerusalem and the bondage of his people, the Lord had his eye upon them for good. Though they were cast down, yet not totally cast off. Jacob shall still again revive, and Israel be remembered. They are still beloved for Jesus sake, how unworthy soever in themselves. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Jer 29:11 . And Reader! what a wonder-working God is Israel’s God! Abraham, the father of the faithful, is called from Ur of the Chaldees, made a great nation, and brought into Canaan. And now again his seed are carried back again into Chaldea for their faithlessness and unbelieving. Oh! the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out, Rom 11:33 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ch 36:22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying, 2Ch 36:23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Who [is there] among you of all his people? The LORD his God [be] with him, and let him go up.
Ver. 22, 23. See Ezr 1:1 , See Trapp on “ Ezr 1:1 “
Laus Deo in aeterum
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the first year of Cyrus. See note on Ezr 1:1.
spirit. Hebrew. ruach.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
2Ch 36:22-23
2Ch 36:22-23
THE DECREE OF CYRUS THE KING OF PERSIA
“Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.”
Through the two great prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah God had foretold and prophesied exactly what and when the captivity of the Children of Israel would be terminated. It was Jeremiah who prophesied the exact duration of the captivity in Jeremiah 25 of his great prophecy. (See comments on that chapter.)
But another great prophet, namely Isaiah, had foretold and prophesied the nature and source of the very decree of Cyrus mentioned here even naming Cyrus generations before he was born. (See Commentary on Isaiah. The prophecy is recorded in Isaiah 45:1f.)
There is no logical doubt whatever of the validity and integrity of those prophecies. The Jewish historian Josephus verifies them; and the very fact of such a thing as a captive nation being given permission to return to their own land, and even to be encouraged to do so, and aided financially in the project, is so contrary to the inclinations of human nature, so unheard of in any other instance, that the only intelligent conclusion must allow God as the Author of the prophecies.
E.M. Zerr:
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
am 3468, bc 536, This verse and the next have a double aspect. They look back to the prophecy of Jeremiah, and show how that was accomplished; and they look forward to the history of Ezra, which begins with a repetition of these two last verses.
in the first: Ezr 1:1-3
Cyrus: Isa 44:28, Dan 10:1
that the word: 2Ch 36:21, Jer 25:12, Jer 25:14, Jer 29:10, Jer 32:42-44, Jer 33:10-14, Heb 10:23
the Lord stirred: 2Ch 21:16, 1Sa 26:19, 1Ki 11:14, 1Ki 11:23, 1Ch 5:26, Ezr 1:5, Isa 13:3-5, Isa 13:17, Isa 13:18, Isa 44:28, Isa 45:1-5, Hag 1:14
a proclamation: 2Ch 24:9, 2Ch 30:5
Reciprocal: 2Ch 36:20 – until the reign Ezr 4:3 – king Cyrus Ezr 6:3 – the first year Isa 45:13 – he shall build Jer 25:11 – seventy Jer 51:11 – the Lord hath Dan 6:28 – and in
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ch 36:22. Now in the first year of Cyrus Kennicott thinks that the last two verses of this book belong properly to the book of Ezra, and were subjoined to the Chronicles through the inadvertency of some transcriber. And thus ends the history of the kingdom of Judah, as governed by the successors of the illustrious King David, with the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the whole Jewish monarchy, by the conquest of the Babylonian king: which, in the course of a righteous providence, in punishment of the idolatry and other sins of this people, fell out about nine hundred and three years after their deliverance from Egypt; eight hundred and sixty-three from their first entrance into the land of Canaan; four hundred and sixty-eight from Davids reign; four hundred and seventeen after the building of the temple; and one hundred and thirty-four after the destruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes.
It is justly observed by a late writer, that the propriety of this dispensation of Divine Providence toward this people will appear, if we reflect,
1st, That this dreadful calamity came upon them gradually, by a succession of judgments, from less to greater, for the space of twenty-two years; in which the lenity of God was very apparent, and which should have been a warning to them, that the threatenings denounced by the prophets would certainly be executed; but which effected no amendment of the religion or morals of the nation; Zedekiah, the last king, being as bad as his predecessors.
2d, That it was a just punishment of their sins, particularly of their idolatry, whereby they forsook God, and therefore God justly forsook them, and delivered them into the hands of their enemies, as Moses had foretold, Lev 26:30-36.
3d, That this terrible overthrow was the most effectual means to work their reformation, which was the end proposed by the divine wisdom. Now, in their captive, disconsolate state, they had time, and their calamities had a natural tendency to give them a disposition, to reflect upon the long series of iniquity and perverseness which had brought them under the heaviest of Gods judgments. Now their own wickedness corrected them, and their backslidings reproved them: now they must know and see that it was an evil thing and bitter, that they had forsaken the Lord their God, and that his fear had not been in them, Jer 2:19. In the land of their captivity, the sermons of the prophets, declaiming with the highest authority against their profane and vicious practices, would be still sounding in their ears, and their abject, wretched condition, the consequence of such practices, would cause these discourses to sink deep into their hearts, and produce an utter detestation of what they very well knew was the cause of all their grievous sufferings.
4th, The law of God, written by Moses, as the rule of their conduct in all affairs, civil and religious, and the ground of their happiness, they had so far neglected, that once it was almost unknown and lost among them, 2Ki 22:8-12. This contempt of the divine law the prophets had frequently and strongly protested against, and publicly declared that it would be their ruin. And in their ruined state this would be remembered as the primary reason of all their sufferings; and they would be made thoroughly sensible that a due regard to the law of God was the only way to recover his favour and their own prosperity; and accordingly would be disposed to attend to it; which, in some measure, was the case. This was another good effect of this dispensation, and may justly be given as one good reason of their being so strongly fixed against idolatry ever after the Babylonish captivity.
5th, This dispensation was also calculated to produce good effects among the nations whither they were carried into captivity. For wherever they were dispersed, in the eastern countries, they would bring with them the knowledge of the true God, now seriously impressed upon their hearts. But Divine Providence, by such signal circumstances of his interposition as were published and known over all the vast extent of the eastern empire, raised some of the captive Jews to the highest posts of dignity and power in the courts of Assyria and Persia, (Dan 1:19-20,) insomuch that the most haughty monarchs openly confessed the living and true God, (Dan 2:47-49; Dan 4:34, &c.,) and made decrees, which were published throughout their spacious dominions, in favour of the profession and worship of him. Dan 3:29; Dan 6:25, &c. From all this, it is clear, that the Jews, notwithstanding their depravity in their own country, during the captivity of seventy years, must have been the means of diffusing a blessed light all over the eastern countries. And thus, in this dispensation also, God, the Father and Governor of mankind, was working for the reformation and improvement of the world, in that which is the true excellence of their nature, and the only foundation of their happiness. See Dodd and Taylors Scheme of Scripture Doctrine.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
36:22 Now in the {m} first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD [spoken] by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
(m) In the first year that he reigned over the Chaldeans, Ezr 1:1.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
R. The Edict of Cyrus 36:22-23
These two verses reflect the whole mood of Chronicles. Rather than ending with the failure of man, the writer concluded by focusing attention on the faithfulness of God (cf. Lam 3:22-23). God was in control of the Persian king as He had controlled the kings of Babylon, Egypt, and Israel. God had promised Israel a future as a nation. His people would experience this future under the rule of a perfect Davidic Son. Yahweh was moving now-after 70 years of captivity-to bring that future to pass (cf. Isa 9:7). Even though the Babylonian army had burned Yahweh’s temple to the ground (2Ch 36:19), it would rise again (2Ch 36:23).
The message to the returned exiles was clear. God would respond to their repentance (2Ch 6:36-39). He would forgive their sin and heal their land (2Ch 7:14). Moreover, He would raise up a descendant of David who would rule over not only Israel but all the nations forever (1Ch 17:11-14).
"Now that Cyrus had decreed the rebuilding of the temple (2Ch 36:22-23), here was prima facie evidence that God had not annulled His covenant with Israel nor the Levitical system revealed at Sinai." [Note: George Harton, "Fulfillment of Deuteronomy 28-30 in History and in Eschatology" (Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1981), p. 190.]
The closing words of Chronicles are identical to the opening ones in Ezra. If the same person wrote both books, he may have duplicated this pivotal information to tie the events of these two books together. If different people wrote them, the writer of Chronicles probably included this material to present a note of hope at the end of his "sermon." [Note: See Menahem Haran, "Explaining the Identical Lines at the End of Chronicles and the Beginning of Ezra," Bible Review 2:3 (Fall 1986):18-20, for one explanation of the duplication, and Edwin Yamauchi, "Ezra-Nehemiah," in I Kings-Job, vol. 4 of Expositor’s Bible Commentary, p. 573, for another.]
"Unlike the Book of Kings, with its central message of stern moral judgments . . . Chronicles exists essentially as a book of hope, grounded on the grace of our sovereign Lord." [Note: Payne, "1, 2 Chronicles," p. 559.]
"If Chronicles in its last chapter tells us that God acted in mercy by restoring his people Judah, Ezra-Nehemiah will reveal to us how they fared upon their return, privileged with a new opportunity to be God’s people in their own land." [Note: J. G. McConville, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, p. 1.]