We are pleased to have Dr. Ken Ristau from Grant McEwen University in Edmonton, Alberta join us for a presentation at our OT Guild meeting on Tuesday, November 10 at 1:30pm. Ken has been a consistent contributor within SBL and CSBS over the past decades and is now writing the replacement volumes for Chronicles in the Word Biblical Commentary series.
You can check out his previous work in his Eisenbrauns volume: Reconstructing Jerusalem: Persian Period Prophetic Perspectives as well as his edited volume with his former doctoral supervisor Gary Knoppers: Community Identity in Judean Historiography: Biblical and Comparative Perspectives.
His paper is entitled, “One Nation under David: An Ideological Innovation in Chronicles.”
Abstract: In “One Nation under David,” I reassess the work of my late doktorvater, Gary Knoppers, on the narrative of the schism in Chronicles, that is, the division of the kingdom of Israel into Judah and Israel. My interest in the article is examining how work on this narrative has evolved and in the process, I add some additional insights. Knoppers suggested that the Chronicler heightened the responsibility of Jeroboam for the schism over against his sources. Subsequent scholarship has challenged this argument and with one notable counter-argument that Rehoboam is more to blame. I argue that not only are Jeroboam and Rehoboam both responsible but so is all-Israel! The implications of this reading and interpretation are discussed with respect to the interests of the Chronicler and the primary audience in Persian-period Yehud.
To join us for this special presentation contact Mark Boda.