Chronicles

Chronicles in the general Old Testament sense refers to the words of the days (Hebrew dibre hayyamim) — annalistic records of events maintained in the courts of Israel and Judah. References to the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and of Judah appear throughout Kings as sources for further reading (e.g., 1 Kgs. 14:19; 15:7). These were official state records, distinct from the canonical books of Chronicles but related to them as source material. The book of the chronicles of king David (1 Chr. 27:24) was a particular register of census and administrative data. The canonical books of 1 and 2 Chronicles draw on these and other sources to provide a theological retelling of Israel's history from Adam to the edict of Cyrus.