My favorite harmony of the Israelite monarchies is that by James D. Newsome, A Synoptic Harmony of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Unfortunately it’s been out of print for many years and I’ve seen it selling used for up to $200. I now see that Wipf & Stock are reprinting it and it’s available for a measly $22.50, plus shipping. If you do any reading or study of this part of the Bible, I highly recommend this harmony. In my opinion, it is better than:
William D. Crockett, A Harmony of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. I don’t like the translation (Revised Version of 1884), the typeset (old), or the lack of features that Newsome has.
John C. Endres, et al., Chronicles and Its Synoptic Parallels in Samuel, Kings, and Related Biblical Texts. This is good if your starting point is Chronicles, but I more often work from Samuel-Kings.
Jason L. Snyder, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles: A Harmony of Histories. This is the newest, the most basic, and the most expensive ($40). It is more properly a synoptic view than a harmony, which means that there is no alteration to the chronological order, but each book is presented in its entirety with parallel passages presented alongside. I have reviewed this work in the next edition of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.
Suffice it to say, I have been so discouraged by the lack of availability of Newsome’s harmony that a friend and I started thinking about writing a replacement. Now it seems like that will not be necessary. Cheers to Wipf & Stock for making it available (and to Baker for giving them the rights)!
Here are three reasons why I like Newsome’s harmony:
1. The inclusion of parallel passages from Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezra.
2. The fixed position of Samuel-Kings in the left column, and parallels in the right column.
3. The modification of the English version (RSV) to reflect the underlying Hebrew when the English has a different translation for the same Hebrew words (between Samuel-Kings and Chronicles). These changes are discretely noted.
I’ll certainly require this as a textbook for the History of Ancient Israel class the next time I teach it.
Thanks Todd for the tip. This will fill a major hole in my OT library. I appreciate your “labors of love” in your blog posts. May God continue to bless you and your family.
Thanks for the heads up, I was prepared to spend some serious dough on Newsome’s harmony (not $200, but possibly $60-$70). Now that it’s available it should be required for your HAI classes. That book really unlocked the Old Testament for me for the first time. It was amazing. Those poor IBEX classes that won’t have Ancient Israel as an option.
From a fine Presbyterian scholar, I might add.
Todd,
I like ‘mikbalot bamikra’ – it compares the Hebrew text of Sam., Kings and Chron – although you gotta know hebrew to use it. It’s got some extras as well (like Psalms, Genesis and Lev/Num/Deut). I picked mine up at shavua hasefer haivri…you can probably find it this year too.
Benj
Hey Todd,
Just so you know, the link you have to the cheaper version of the harmony of OT monarchies goes to a sexual abuse book now. The new address is http://www.wipfandstock.com/bookStore.cfm?bookID=2732&do=detail. Thanks for the recommendation. I think I’m gonna get it.
David – thanks for the link; I’ve corrected it above.