The study of the Books of Chronicles has focused in the past mainly on its literary relationship to Historical Books such as Samuel and Kings. Less attention was payed to its possible relationships to the priestly literature. Against this backdrop, this volume aims to examine the literary and socio-historical relationship between the Books of Chronicles and the priestly literature (in the Pentateuch and in Ezekiel). Since Chronicles and Pentateuch (and also Ezekiel) studies have been regarded as separate fields of study, we invited experts from both fields in order to open a space for fruitful discussions with each other. The contributions deal with connections and interactions between specific texts, ideas, and socio-historical contexts of the literary works, as well as with broad observations of the relationship between them.

‘n Nostalgiese reis styg uit die pen van prof. Louis C. Jonker oor sy eie herinnering aan en verlange na die leermeesters wat hom help vorm het, sy eie ontwaking as bybelwetenskaplike, en sy bediening in die NG kerk. Hy verken ook sy innerlike stryd in hierdie verskillende tydperke. Die uitvloeisel hiervan is ‘n mengsel van historiese novelle, biografie, persoonlike memoires en die akademiese skryfsels van prof.

 Ferdinand Deist, Biskop John Colenso, prof. Johannes du Plessis en ook dié van Jonker. Die vertellings – wat soms aan speelse fantasie grens – word in die boek afgewissel met toegeligte uittreksels uit vakliteratuur deur, en oor, die vier gespreksgenote. Uiteindelik lewer Jonker hiermee belangrike kommentaar oor die huidige stand van Bybelinterpretasie in Suid-Afrika.

Louis Jonker's section-by-section commentary on 1-2 Chronicles is the newest volume in the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. This user-friendly commentary series helps readers navigate the sometimes difficult terrain of the Bible. These volumes offer solid research in an accessible way, breaking down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become clear to contemporary readers. The contributors tackle the task of interpretation using the full range of critical methodologies and practices, yet they do so as people of faith who hold the text in the highest regard. In this commentary, Jonker reads 1-2 Chronicles as literature which negotiates a new socio-religious identity in a period of political transition.

In this book, Louis C. Jonker considers more sophisticated and nuanced models for applying the heuristic lens of "identity" in the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible book of Chronicles. Not only does he investigate the potential and limitations of different sociological models for this purpose, but the author also provides a more nuanced analysis of the socio-historical context of origin of late Persian-period biblical literature by distinguishing between four levels of socio-historic existence in this period. It is shown that varying power relations were in operation on these different levels which contributed to a multi-levelled process of identity negotiation. Louis C. Jonker shows the value of the chosen methodological approach in his analysis of Chronicles, but also suggests that it holds potential for the investigation of other Hebrew Bible corpora.