PARALIPOMENI. — A biblical book, the last in the Hebrew canon (kethābhīn); in the Septuagint and the Vulgate it is placed before Ezra and Nehemiah. Originally it constituted a single volume; according to many critics it was joined to Ezra-Nehemiah. The Septuagint divided it into two, a division followed by the Masoretic text (cf. the Venetian edition by Felice da Prato, 1517). The Hebrew title is Dihrē haj-jāmīn, “discourses of the days,” i.e., “annals,” “chronicles.” But the title of the Septuagint prevailed: παραλεπτομένον = Paralipomena (i), i.e., “omissions,” because they (erroneously) considered it an addition to the books of Samuel and Kings. Today many call them Chronicles.
St. Jerome (Ad Paul., 53, 7: PL 22, 548 and Praef. in I Par.) defines them as: “Chronicon totius divinae historiae” or “Instrumenti veteris epitomen,” affirming that “absque illo si quis scientiam Scripturarum sibi voluerit arrogare, se ipsum irrideat.” The Paralipomeni can be divided into 4 parts: a) 1 Chr. 1–9: genealogies of the 12 tribes of Israel, from Adam to David, with special regard to that of Judah; b) ibid. 10–29: history of David with brief mention of the death of Saul and the ruin of his house; c) 2 Chr. 1–9: history of Solomon; d) ibid. 10–36: history of the kings of Judah (with mention, 10–11.4, of the schism of Jeroboam) down to Zedekiah and the end of the Babylonian exile, and finally the decree of Cyrus.
The history of the Paralipomeni, though less rigidly than the books of Kings, follows a scheme in which are included: parentage and maternity, duration of reign, name of successor, place of burial, moral judgment on the king, citation of the source of information. Of Abijah and Asa the synchronism with the kings of Israel is noted. It is a religious, not a political, history: it restricts itself to the Davidic dynasty, highlighting its deeds in favor of religion and the Temple. It is particularly concerned with Levitical-priestly activity and religious manifestations in their repercussions on the social life of Israel.
Much has been written on the purpose of the Paralipomeni with differing conclusions. They intend to show how the prosperity of Israel depends on theocracy, whose foundations are the dynasty and the Temple. The Davidic dynasty was willed by the consent of the people, but first by God (2 Chr. 13.4–12; 23.3; 33.7–8, etc.) in reward for the “house” built to God by David and Solomon (1 Chr. 17.7–27; 22.10; 28.6; 39.11; 40.1; 41.16; 42.1; 43.7–8). God, therefore, as present in the Temple, in the midst of Israel, is its fulcrum. Faithfulness to the divine law and zeal for worship confer eternal stability on the dynasty and prosperity on the nation; unfaithfulness brings misfortune. What was foretold by God (2 Chr. 7.10–22; 16.33; 37.8–9; etc.) the Paralipomeni demonstrate from the history of the individual kings of Judah and of the nation. David and Solomon are the models to be followed in religious, liturgical, and social organization and in their theocratic zeal. Just as the genealogies (1–9) prove the authenticity of post-exilic Israel, so from 2 Chr. 36.21–23 it is seen that its messianic destiny still subsists and tends toward fulfillment, despite the exile.
2). The miracle of the p. was later depicted in gilded glass (R. Garrucci, Storia dell’arte cristiana, Prato 1876–81, tav. 177, nos. 3 and 4) and is found in an ivory in the Louvre Museum (J. Marquet de Vasselot, Un ivoire chrétien du Musée du Louvre, in Monuments Piot, 28 [1925–26], pp. 175–86, and tav. 14).
In the mosaic cycle of the New Testament in S. Martino in caelo aureo, now S. Apollinare Nuovo, the scene of the p. is the most complete (M. van Berchem and J. Clouzot, Mosaïques chrétiennes, Geneva 1924, p. 131, fig. 156).