Thank you, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus for calling the First and Second Chronicles, First and Second Paralipomenon, or “(Of) Things Left Out.” Were you hinting at something all of us should consider introspectively? Is it a title that, like Janus, looks both back and forward? Could we add the word to “Auld Lang Syne” by Robert Burns as we sing at midnight at the beginning of each new year?
Should old acquaintance be
forgot,
And paralipomenon?
Should old acquaintance be
forgot,
and old lang syne?
No, something about the wrong number of syllables. But, given the free verse of modern times, why not screw around with meter and rhyme? Who would notice?
Seems that the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Book of Kings left stuff out; thus, Chronicles, or, as Eusebius, AKA St. Jerome, would have it, Paralipomenon. Lots of stuff in there about Philistines, Saul, David and Solomon, and esteem for the Ark that Indiana Jones sought. Good thing we have Paralipomenon 1 and 2; otherwise, we might never have had that movie series.
So, among the aforementioned, what else was “left out” of those accounts of the kings? The First Book of Paralipomenon contains a bunch of begetting, you know, So-n-So begot So-n-So who begot So-n-So and so forth. Lots of procreating, it seems. Generations begetting generations.
Personal histories of biblical procreation aside, all of us can look back on a previous year to ask, “What did I beget?” Or, “What could I have begotten, but failed to beget?” We can easily chronicle years past and “things left out.” Is there ever a time when we look back to say, “Wow! I did everything perfectly.” That’s why Paralipomenon is Janus-like. We can see what we didn’t do, but we can plan to do.
If you ask around, you’ll find that most resolutions derive from “things left out” of the previous year, things like getting in shape, making more money, being more charitable, affecting more lives, changing attitudes, losing anxiety, anger, fear, or weight. The source of many resolutions is regret over something left out.
Should we each year have to re-resolve? Maybe some practical advice is to change the time frame. Why chronicle an entire year to discover what we left out? Why not a single day? Better, why not ask at the beginning of each day, “What is it that I don’t want to 'leave out' today?
If we all do that, chances are we won’t have to include two books of addenda.
Should old acquaintance be
forgot,
And paralipomenon?
Should old acquaintance be
forgot,
and old lang syne?
No, something about the wrong number of syllables. But, given the free verse of modern times, why not screw around with meter and rhyme? Who would notice?
Seems that the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Book of Kings left stuff out; thus, Chronicles, or, as Eusebius, AKA St. Jerome, would have it, Paralipomenon. Lots of stuff in there about Philistines, Saul, David and Solomon, and esteem for the Ark that Indiana Jones sought. Good thing we have Paralipomenon 1 and 2; otherwise, we might never have had that movie series.
So, among the aforementioned, what else was “left out” of those accounts of the kings? The First Book of Paralipomenon contains a bunch of begetting, you know, So-n-So begot So-n-So who begot So-n-So and so forth. Lots of procreating, it seems. Generations begetting generations.
Personal histories of biblical procreation aside, all of us can look back on a previous year to ask, “What did I beget?” Or, “What could I have begotten, but failed to beget?” We can easily chronicle years past and “things left out.” Is there ever a time when we look back to say, “Wow! I did everything perfectly.” That’s why Paralipomenon is Janus-like. We can see what we didn’t do, but we can plan to do.
If you ask around, you’ll find that most resolutions derive from “things left out” of the previous year, things like getting in shape, making more money, being more charitable, affecting more lives, changing attitudes, losing anxiety, anger, fear, or weight. The source of many resolutions is regret over something left out.
Should we each year have to re-resolve? Maybe some practical advice is to change the time frame. Why chronicle an entire year to discover what we left out? Why not a single day? Better, why not ask at the beginning of each day, “What is it that I don’t want to 'leave out' today?
If we all do that, chances are we won’t have to include two books of addenda.
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