0 1 Chronicles Introduction

And he brought out the people that were in it, and cut them with saws, and with harrows of iron, and with axes. Even so dealt David with all the cities of the children of Ammon. 20:3

Trivia: How many men did Abishai kill with his spear at one time?

First Chronicles for Skeptics

The first nine chapters of First Chronicles are good examples of the "endless genealogies" that Paul tells us to avoid (see 1 Timothy 1:4 and Titus 3:9).

Wearisome as these chapters are, the rest of the book isn't much better. Consequently, First Chronicles is probably the most boring book in the Bible -- maybe the most boring book in all of literature.

First Chronicles covers the same material that is covered elsewhere in the Bible, adding a lot of contradictions while making it even more boring.

Highlights (such as they are):

  • "Er ... was evil in the sight of the LORD; and he slew him." 2:3
  • The sons of Reuben made war with the Hagarites and "there fell down many slain, because the war was from God." 5:18-22
  • "Saul ... inquired not of the Lord: therefore he slew him." 10:13-14
  • God kills Uzza for trying to keep the ark from falling. 13:9-10
  • "David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines." 14:16
  • David tortures all the inhabitants of several cities with saws, harrows of iron, and axes. 20:3
  • God kills a couple hundred thousand people because David had a census. 21:1-14
    (See 2 Sam.24:1-15 for a different version of this story.)
  • God repents. (It's about time!) 21:15

Copyright © 1999-2024
The Skeptic's Annotated Bible

Send comments to Steve Wells
at swwells(at)gmail.com