The Tanakh Podcast

The narrative segment of Divrei Hayamim opens with Shaul's tragic death. This is the only story of Saul's life. why does Div Hayamim choose to begin at this exact point? Since the author of Div. Hayamim is a very discerning historian, highly attentive to his task, the choice of a beginning must be deliberate and meaningful. What is he trying to communicate?

Our chapter is concerned with:1. The inhabitants of Jerusalem... especially the Levitic role2. The genealogy of King Saul.We will focus on the particular responsibilities of the Levitic guilds, holding traditions which stretch from Samuel and the Tabernacle in Shiloh until the end of the Second Temple.

Does Divrei Hayamim venerate the tribe of Benjamin or see them somehow as defective? The answer is complex as we shall see.

Why is there so little information on the settlements of the tribes Yissachar, Naftali and Asher? The key information is a military roster from David's army, not a register of villages and towns.And we shall visit verse 21 and a curious Midrash about the Tribe of Efrayim who left Egypt too early and who were massacred.

Chapter 5-6 depict the tribe of Levi. Divrei Hayamim introduces the musical flair of the Levites and the introduction of music into the arena of the Temple, it would seem by King David.

The genealogy of Reuven contains many classic theological features of Divrei Hayamim. We bring these into focus.

Divrei Hayamim I ch.4 is filled yet again with names. Whereas much of teh detail here seem incosequential to us, Midrash uses these texts as a commentary about some of the familiar heroes of Tanakh.

This genealogical list gives us the family tree of the House of David.It is amazing what one can learn from a simple list of names.

From the universal we turn to the family tree of Yehuda and we meed personalities like Achan, Hur, Betzalel, Calev and ... David, later to be king.Today we describe how several of the chapter's features match the agenda of Divrei Hayamim.

In this podcast we offer an introduction to the structure and themes of Divrei Hayamim.