Adam to Enosh; Welcome to The Book of Omissions

Chro.1:1

Amichai Lau-Lavie (he/him)

May 29, 2025

Welcome to The Book of Chronicles. The Hebrew title of this lengthy book, divided into two parts, is Divrei Ha’Yamim - the Tales of the Days Gone By.

But the original title as known in the Greek Septuagint which may have been translated/composed in close proximity to this biblical text’s composition is Paralipomenon or "The Book of Omissions, or Things Left Out."

The more generic name “Chronicles’ was inspired by the Latin translation created by Jerome, and stuck.

So what is this book all about - what’s left out and what’s in there for us to explore?

The 24th and final book of the Hebrew Bible is a work of revisionist history - from the creation of the world until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Persian empire’s promise to rebuild the temple.

It’s a book that continues to puzzle readers and offers us a peek into the process of creating the bible - and what its authors’ agenda was all about.

Why does it matter? Because by noticing what was chosen for inclusion and what was omitted we can know more about the political-religious purpose and agenda of its authors - who may have been the ones to finalize and canonize the Hebrew Bible as we know it.

This perspective, in line with our ‘below the bible belt’ curious and critical approach, helps unpack the bigger picture here - what’s the Bible all about, for us, today, beyond literal acceptance of its dogmatic dictation? By talking back to the text’s assumptions we can dig up the other narratives omitted or ignored -- giving voice to a much richer and complex chorus of ancestry and perspective. It’s like digging through the family tree to discover a whole bunch of interesting relatives that we never heard about - for very specific reasons. We get to reclaim some of our relatives, challenge some of the norms and narratives of who we are and learn to live with a much more nuanced and complex account of where we come from, who we are, and how we want to live in the world.

Chronicles was likely written around the 2nd Century BCE - during or closely after the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The authorial intent was to tell the history of the nation but with a very specific bias: The Judean focus, including the House of David and the legitimacy of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The kings, queens, prophets and problems of the Northern Kingdom of Israel are barely mentioned. And when they are mentioned it’s rarely with kindness and mostly because of its relation to whatever was happening in the south.

It’s sort of like reading the history of the American Civil War through Confederate context. Although this may be too harsh of a reading. Some scholars argue that there is more complexity here and a careful reading will show that in some areas the authors of this book do present a more neutral or nuanced approach.

Throughout history readers wondered about the role of Chronicles, why it was chosen to end the Hebrew Bible and what about its carefully crafted historical data is historical at all.

Even Spinoza pondered this text’s purpose, although he accepted their authenticity and age-old prominent position as the final word of the book:

“I have always been astonished that these chapters have been included in the Bible by those who excluded from the canon the book of Wisdom, the book of Tobit and the other books that are called Apocryphal. However, it is not my intention to detract from their authority; as they have been universally accepted, I leave it at that. “

We don’t have to go far to see this text’s revisionist approach.

The first verse of the book begins with human genealogy.

Notice what’s different between this version - and the original text of Genesis:

אָדָ֥ם שֵׁ֖ת אֱנֽוֹשׁ׃

Adam, Seth, Enosh;

This super short verse is not only one of the shortest in the Hebrew Bible but also one of its most compelling.

It’s a sort of Semitic Haiku.

The chapter will go on to describe the lineage from Adam to Abraham, with an obvious focus on the Judean story.

But why skip the original ancestors? What happened to Cain and Abel? Why is Eve not mentioned either? This super short verse is an indication of the agenda. No room for what is not priority and cant be repeated by heart from ancestor to ancestor, generation to generation, particular patriarchy style.

Most commentators agree that the authors didn’t want to bother with the mythic baggage of ancestors who did not contribute to the DNA. Some even suggest that the narrative of Cain and Abel is a much later addition to the bible. As for Eve, well, there are two women mentioned in this first chapter - but on the whole, as the patriarchal text it is, in the historical context of other similar texts from other cultures - this dynasty is about a men’s world, and the ruling men at that.

Seth is the third son of Adam and Eve, and thus our actual human ancestor. Enosh is the fourth in line - and also the first one to bring theology into the human story:

וּלְשֵׁ֤ת גַּם־הוּא֙ יֻלַּד־בֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱנ֑וֹשׁ אָ֣ז הוּחַ֔ל לִקְרֹ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃

And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh. It was then that YHWH began to be invoked by name.

Whoever wrote this book wants us to begin at the beginning - with their version of who we are, who we are not, and why the Jewish deity, according to Judean sources, is what this journey and this book is all about. The shift from Adam to Enosh is not explained here as it is in Genesis but it is possible that the assumption was that the readers already know Genesis and its details. This is shorthand, history repeated - with a very clear direction and decision what to include and who/what to omit.

For the next few months we’ll try to make sense of what this book is trying to tell us, what it is omitting and how scholars can help us figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle that with time became the Hebrew Bible.

Chronicles does contains some lengthy lists and what may seem like boring repetitions but inside the data are the details that shed light on why this bigger story may still matter, whose history we’re living, how we can change our narratives to be more inclusive and accepting - and what else is hiding in plain sight to be seen, heard, reclaimed and understood.

Welcome to the Book of Omissions.

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Below the Bible Belt

Adam to Enosh; Welcome to The Book of Omissions

Chro.1:1

Welcome to The Book of Chronicles. The Hebrew title of this lengthy book, divided into two parts, is Divrei Ha’Yamim - the Tales of the Days Gone By.

But the original title as known in the Greek Septuagint which may have been translated/composed in close proximity to this biblical text’s composition is Paralipomenon or "The Book of Omissions, or Things Left Out."

The more generic name “Chronicles’ was inspired by the Latin translation created by Jerome, and stuck.

So what is this book all about - what’s left out and what’s in there for us to explore?

The 24th and final book of the Hebrew Bible is a work of revisionist history - from the creation of the world until the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Persian empire’s promise to rebuild the temple.

It’s a book that continues to puzzle readers and offers us a peek into the process of creating the bible - and what its authors’ agenda was all about.

Why does it matter? Because by noticing what was chosen for inclusion and what was omitted we can know more about the political-religious purpose and agenda of its authors - who may have been the ones to finalize and canonize the Hebrew Bible as we know it.

Throughout history readers wondered about the role of Chronicles, why it was chosen to end the Hebrew Bible and what about its carefully crafted historical data is historical at all.

Even Spinoza pondered this text’s purpose, although he accepted their authenticity and age-old prominent position as the final word of the book:

We don’t have to go far to see this text’s revisionist approach.

The first verse of the book begins with human genealogy.

Notice what’s different between this version - and the original text of Genesis:

אָדָ֥ם שֵׁ֖ת אֱנֽוֹשׁ׃

Adam, Seth, Enosh;

Chro.1:1

This super short verse is not only one of the shortest in the Hebrew Bible but also one of its most compelling.

It’s a sort of Semitic Haiku.

The chapter will go on to describe the lineage from Adam to Abraham, with an obvious focus on the Judean story.

Seth is the third son of Adam and Eve, and thus our actual human ancestor. Enosh is the fourth in line - and also the first one to bring theology into the human story:

וּלְשֵׁ֤ת גַּם־הוּא֙ יֻלַּד־בֵּ֔ן וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱנ֑וֹשׁ אָ֣ז הוּחַ֔ל לִקְרֹ֖א בְּשֵׁ֥ם יְהֹוָֽה׃

And to Seth, in turn, a son was born, and he named him Enosh. It was then that YHWH began to be invoked by name.

Genesis 5:7

For the next few months we’ll try to make sense of what this book is trying to tell us, what it is omitting and how scholars can help us figure out the missing pieces of the puzzle that with time became the Hebrew Bible.

Welcome to the Book of Omissions.

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