Author

Ezra (traditionally)

Written

~450–425 BC

Testament

Old Testament

Chapters

29

Key Theme

Israel's heritage and David's legacy of worship and devotion to God.

Written For

The post-exilic community of Israel

Introduction of 1 Chronicles

First Chronicles takes its name from the Hebrew Divrei HaYamim — “the events of the days.” Though authorship is uncertain, Jewish tradition attributes it to Ezra, and it was likely written in the 5th or 4th century BC for Israelites returning from Babylonian exile. Opening with genealogies that reconnect a scattered people to their ancestral roots, the book then retells the story of King David with a strikingly different focus than Samuel. Here David emerges more clearly as the ideal king and worshipper whose legacy would shape Israel’s hopes for generations. Why this history mattered so deeply to a broken and returning people is the quietly powerful question the book invites us to explore.