Omitted and Remaining Matters: On the Names Given to the Book of Chronicles in Antiquity‪.‬

The seventh book [of the Writings] is Dabreiamin, that is "Words of the days," which we are able to call more specifically a chronicle ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) of all divine history; this book is entitled among us Paralipomenon One and Two. (1)--Jerome, from the Preface to his translation of Samuel-Kings. (2) Like many other works stemming from the ancient Near East, the book known to us as Chronicles was originally untitled and anonymously authored. The purpose of this short study will be to explore the varied nomenclature given to this book by early Jewish and Christian interpreters. The different titles attributed to the text provide fascinating glimpses into how antique translators and commentators construed the nature, genre, and import of this work. That at least some of these titles were retained and perpetuated for much longer periods of time than scholars have previously thought indicates the influence of the early interpreters upon later generations. In brief, the present discussion is a contribution to the hermeneutical history of one biblical book. In what follows, special attention will be devoted to the works of patristic writers, because their comments on the titles of Chronicles are not well known.