A house of Treasures: The Account of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25-Observations and Implications

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of the Old Testament : SJOT 2008-05, Vol.22 (1), p.63-85
• Main Author: Ben Zvi, Ehud
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0901-8328; 1502-7244
• DOI: 10.1080/09018320802185077

The account of the reign of Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25 is a true house of treasures for those studying the book of Chronicles in its historical milieu or reconstructing the intellectual milieu of ancient Yehud. In particular, this study shows how 2 Chronicles 25 calls attention and sheds light on: (1) matters of time construction and periodization; (2) multiple temporal relations within one account in Chronicles and their significance for understanding both reading strategies of the intended and primary readerships and the organization of their memories of the past; (3) chaotic tendencies and their non-random distribution in the past that the readers are asked to remember and vicariously partake through reading and studying; (4) the significance of a memory of the past in which the size of armies diminishes through time; (5) concepts of "otherness" and the remembrance of some concrete constructions of "otherness" through the reading and rereading of the book; (6) otherness and the question of northern Israel; (7) attributes associated (or not) with being a Jerusalemite; and (8) on deontological vs. consequentionalist approaches to evaluate whether actions are to be judged right or wrong and the influence of a continuous remembrance of related events narrated in 2 Chronicles 25.