ABSTRACT
Most previous treatments of biblical historiography, such as John van Seters” In Search of History and Baruch Halpern’s The First Historians, have ignored Chronicles in favor of the earlier Deuteronomistic History.1 Their omission of Chronicles is to some extent justified, because their interest is in the beginning of historical writing in Israel. I would, however, advise returning to the position of Julius Wellhausen, who suggested: “We begin the inquiry where the matter is the clearest-namely with the Book of Chronicles,”2 for it is the Book of Chronicles that provides clear examples of how at least one biblical historian worked, and may shed light on the work of the earlier historians.3
