2 chronicles 27:7 - Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.

Generated Verse: 2 chronicles 27:7

What does "2 chronicles 27:7" mean?


This verse is a standard concluding formula found repeatedly in the books of Kings and Chronicles in the Old Testament of the Bible. It's a way of saying:

"Now the rest of the acts of Jotham..." This indicates that the preceding narrative has only provided a summary or highlights of Jotham's reign. There's much more information available.

"...and all his wars, and his ways..." This specifies the types of information that are not included in the present account: details about his military campaigns ("wars") and his general conduct and policies ("ways").

"...behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah." This is the key part. It refers the reader to another, presumably more comprehensive, historical record called "the book of the kings of Israel and Judah." This book isn't part of the Bible, and scholars believe it was likely a royal archive containing official records of the kings of both kingdoms.

In summary, the verse serves two primary purposes:

1. To acknowledge that the current biblical text is not a complete historical account. It admits that there's more to the story than is presented in the book of Chronicles.

2. To point to an external source of information that supposedly contained a more detailed record of the king's reign. It lends a degree of authority to the biblical narrative by suggesting that it's based on reliable historical sources.

Important Considerations:

Loss of the Source Material: "The book of the kings of Israel and Judah" is now lost to us. We only know of it through references like this one.
Historiography: These verses highlight the complex nature of biblical historiography. The biblical authors selected and interpreted events for specific theological purposes. They weren't necessarily trying to provide a comprehensive or objective historical account in the modern sense.
Source Criticism: These references are valuable for biblical scholars because they provide clues about the sources used by the authors of Kings and Chronicles. They can help us understand how these books were composed and how they relate to each other.

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