AUTHOR: It is not known for sure who was the author, the books of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah are closely related, and reflect the same spirit. Although anonymous, Hebrew tradition attributed the authorship of these works to the priest Ezra. The final verses of 2 Chronicles are the first verses of the Book that bears his name, which suggests a continuation [2Ch 36: 22-23] and [Ed 1: 1-3]. Objections have been made that the Chronicles contain accounts of events after Ezra's time. It is possible to accept Ezra as the main author, even though some additions could have been made later.

ORIGIN OF THE NAME: From the Hebrew "Dibrey hay-yamim", which means "acts of the days", or report of daily events. The Septuagint Version calls the books of the Chronicles Paraleipomena, which means "things omitted" in the books of Samuel and Kings. The books of Chronicles deal with the same facts as these books, but present them with a different purpose and in a different way. The title Chronicles was adopted from the term "Chronicon" employed by Jerome.

THEMATIC: The chronicler intends to cover the same ground as the books of Samuel and Kings and wishes to present the facts from his own point of view of the history of the people of God, since the death of from Saul to the edict of Cyrus, covering a period of 520 years, from 1056 B.C. to 536 B.C. He relates the events that occurred after the captivity. It is a book of exhortation, which calls upon the people of God to adhere to the covenant, to be faithful to the redemptive plan promised to David, to remain separate from other nations and the Jewish ritual, so that the tragedy of the past would not be repeated.

COMPILATION: In the Hebrew Scriptures, the two books of Chronicles were originally one. The translators of the Septuagint Version were the first to make the division. It was evidently written shortly after the return from exile, with the intention of recording the history of God's people, especially Judah. It was compiled from rich historical sources that were contained in earlier archives, in addition to Samuel and Kings. Careful study of the book has led many credible commentators to date it between 430 and 400 BC. The second book consists of 36 chapters and 822 verses.