Abstract:
The purpose of this article was to highlight the importance of tradition criticism as a
significant aspect of the exegetical study of any Old Testament text. Different traditions
existed in ancient Israel, and the Chronicler emphasised or underemphasised some of these
in 1 Chronicles 21. The above-mentioned practices highlight the theology and ideology that
the Chronicler wanted to promote. The Chronicler emphasised certain traditions and
underemphasised others in such a way that both the theology and ideology of the Jerusalem
Temple stood out. The Jerusalem Temple represented the Chronicler’s theology and his
image of God – which was that Yahweh is only to be worshipped in the Jerusalem Temple,
that he has chosen the site as the place for worship and that he is dwelling there. The
findings of this research caution against reading and understanding a text outside its
unique historical context. This is because the Old Testament does not have a central theme
or one theology.
CONTRIBUTION : This article contributes to the focus in HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological
Studies with regard to the notion ‘historical thought’, covering textual and hermeneutical
studies as expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures. The hermeneutical method of tradition criticism
is applied in this article, forming part of the scope of this journal to embrace critical textual
readings.
