Why Does 1 Chronicles OMIT David’s Adultery & Murder?

When the Old Testament historical book 1 Chronicles details the era in David’s reign involving his adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband (detailed in 2 Samuel 11:1–12:23) it omits these transgressions altogether, choosing instead to focus on David’s victories over the Ammonites, as shown in 1 Chronicles 20:1-3. Why?

Answer: Because the historical books of Samuel & Kings focused on telling the good, the bad and the ugly of Israel, which informed the Hebrews how they ended up in exile. Chronicles, by contrast, was originally written to the Jews returning to the Promised Land after 70 years of exile who needed to know if they still fit into God’s plan. In other words, they didn’t need to know the sordid details of their national history at that particular time. They needed encouraged about their national identity and history, not ashamed and deflated.

Think about it like this, have you ever shared a story from your past, but downplayed your flaws and transgressions? Most of us have. That’s basically what the book of 1 Chronicles does with King David.

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