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BOOKS BY ANNE BISHOP

THE OTHERS SERIES

Written in Red
Murder of Crows
Vision in Silver
Marked in Flesh
Etched in Bone

THE BLACK JEWELS SERIES

Daughter of the Blood

Heir to the Shadows
Queen of the Darkness
The Invisible Ring
Dreams Made Flesh
Tangled Webs
The Shadow Queen
Shalador’s Lady
Twilight’s Dawn

THE EPHEMERA SERIES

Sebastian
Belladonna
Bridge of Dreams

THE TIR ALAINN TRILOGY

The Pillars of the World

Shadows and Light
The House of Gaian
 ROC
Published by Berkley
An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

Copyright © 2017 by Anne Bishop

Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes
free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for
complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without
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every reader.

ROC with its colophon is a registered trademark of Penguin Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bishop, Anne, author.
Title: Etched in bone: a novel of the others/Anne Bishop.
Description: First Edition. | New York: ROC, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016032104 (print) | LCCN 2016039300 (ebook) | ISBN 9780451474490 (hardback) | ISBN
9780698190450 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Women prophets—Fiction. | Werewolves—Fiction. | Vampires—Fiction. | BISAC:
FICTION/Fantasy/Contemporary. | FICTION/Romance/Fantasy. | GSAFD: Fantasy fiction. | Occult fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3552.I7594 E86 2017 (print) | LCC PS3552.I7594 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016032104

First Edition: March 2017

Jacket illustration by Blake Morrow

Jacket design by Adam Auerbach

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business
establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Version_1
 For
Anne Sowards
and
Jennifer Jackson

And for
Ruth “the Ruthie” Stuart
You will be remembered.
 CONTENTS

Books by Anne Bishop

Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Geography
Map of Lakeside
Map of Lakeside Courtyard

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33

About the Author

 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My thanks to Blair Boone for continuing to be my first reader and for

all the information about animals, weapons, and many other things
that I absorbed and transformed to suit the Others’ world; to Debra
Dixon for being second reader; to Doranna Durgin for maintaining
the Web site; to Adrienne Roehrich for running the official fan page
on Facebook; to Nadine Fallacaro for information about things
medical; to Jennifer Crow for pep talks when needed; to Anne
Sowards and Jennifer Jackson for the feedback that helps me write a
better story; and to Pat Feidner for always being supportive and
encouraging.
A special thanks to the following people who loaned their names
to characters, knowing that the name would be the only connection
between reality and fiction: Bobbie Barber, Elizabeth Bennefeld, Blair
Boone, Kelley Burch, Douglas Burke, Starr Corcoran, Jennifer Crow,
Lorna MacDonald Czarnota, Julie Czerneda, Roger Czerneda, Merri
Lee Debany, Michael Debany, Mary Claire Eamer, Sarah Jane Elliott,
Sarah Esposito, Chris Fallacaro, Dan Fallacaro, Mike Fallacaro, Nadine
Fallacaro, James Alan Gardner, Mantovani “Monty” Gay, Julie Green,
Lois Gresh, Ann Hergott, Lara Herrera, Robert Herrera, Danielle
Hilborn, Heather Houghton, Pamela Ireland, Lorne Kates, Allison
King, Jana Paniccia, Jennifer Margaret Seely, Denby “Skip” Stowe,
Ruth Stuart, and John Wulf.
 GEOGRAPHY

NAMID—THE WORLD

CONTINENTS/LANDMASSES
Afrikah
Australis
Brittania/Wild Brittania
Cel-Romano/Cel-Romano Alliance of Nations
Felidae
Fingerbone Islands
Storm Islands
Thaisia
Tokhar-Chin
Zelande

Great Lakes—Superior, Tala, Honon, Etu, and Tahki

Other lakes—Feather Lakes/Finger Lakes
River—Talulah/Talulah Falls
Mountains—Addirondak, Rocky
Cities and villages—Bennett, Endurance, Ferryman’s
Landing, Harmony, Hubb NE (aka Hubbney), Jerzy,
Lakeside, Podunk, Prairie Gold, Ravendell, Shikago,
Sparkletown, Sweetwater, Talulah Falls, Toland,
Walnut Grove, Wheatfield

DAYS OF THE WEEK

Earthday
Moonsday
Sunsday
Windsday
Thaisday
Firesday
Watersday
 LAKESIDE

Visit bit.ly/2kRkScP for a larger version of this map.

 LAKESIDE COURTYARD

Visit bit.ly/2kBmity for a larger version of this map.

 Prologue

End of Sumor

A s they gathered in the wild country between Tala and Etu, two
of the Great Lakes, their footsteps filled the land with a terrible
silence.
They were Elders, primal forms of terra indigene who guarded
the wild, pristine parts of the world. To the smaller forms of earth
natives—shifters like the Wolf and Bear and Panther—they were
known as Namid’s teeth and claws.
Humans—those invasive two-legged predators—had made war
against the terra indigene, killing the smaller shifters in the wild
country that bordered Cel-Romano, a place that was on the other
side of Ocean’s domain. And here, in Thaisia, so many of the
Wolfgard were killed that parts of the land were empty of their song.
As the humans in Thaisia and Cel-Romano celebrated their
victory over the smaller forms of terra indigene, the Elementals and
Namid’s teeth and claws answered the call to war. They destroyed
the invaders, then began the work of isolating and thinning the
human herds in those two pieces of the world.
But now they faced a problem.
<Some of us will have to watch the humans,> said the oldest
male who had made the journey to this place. <Some of us will be
poisoned by even that much contact.> A beat of silence as they
considered taking over the task the smaller shifters had performed
for many years. Then the question: <How much human will we
keep?>
<Kill them all!> snarled another male. <That is what humans
would do.>
<You would kill the sweet blood not-Wolf?> a female asked,
shocked.
 A heavy silence as they considered that question.
The sweet blood, the howling not-Wolf, had changed things in
the Lakeside Courtyard—had even changed some of the terra
indigene living in that Courtyard. She was not like the human
enemies. She was not prey. She and her kind were Namid’s creation,
wondrous and terrible.
No, they could not kill the sweet blood not-Wolf, the one called
Broomstick Girl in the stories that winged their way into the wild
country and amused even the most dangerous forms of Elders.
Having agreed that killing all the humans in Thaisia wasn’t the
answer, they considered the problem as the sun set and the moon
rose.
<If we allow some humans to remain, then what kind of human
should we keep?> the eldest male finally asked.
A different question. A caught-in-thorny-vines, stuck-in-the-mud
kind of question. Many of the smaller shifters who had survived the
human attacks had withdrawn from human-occupied places, leaving
the humans who lived there to the Elders’ sharp mercy. Some
returned to the wild country, retreating from any trace of humans,
while others chose to resettle in towns that had been reclaimed—
places that had buildings and human things but no longer had
people.
But the Elders who guarded the wild country usually kept their
distance from human places unless they came to those places as
Namid’s teeth and claws. They didn’t study humans the way the
smaller shifters did. The teaching stories told them there were
different kinds of humans, but what made one human respectful of
the land and the boundaries that had been set while another killed
and left the meat, or tried to take away the homes of the feathered
and furred? The HFL humans had made war on the terra indigene.
Were there other kinds of humans who were enemies—kinds the
Elders did not yet recognize?
If humans migrated to the reclaimed towns, would they fight with
the shifters who were turning those places into homes for terra
indigene who didn’t want to completely abandon the human form?
But earth natives didn’t absorb just the form of another predator;
they also absorbed aspects of that predator, traits that became
woven into the shape. Were there human traits the terra indigene
should not absorb? Where could they go to study humans closely
enough to learn what could not be allowed to take root in the
reclaimed towns?
As one, the Elders turned north and east, looking in the direction
of Lakeside.
<That Courtyard was not abandoned, and it has a human pack,>
the eldest male said.
It also had the Wolf and howling not-Wolf who intrigued so many
of the Elders. Witnessing the stories that would flow into the wild
country was worth the risk of human contamination.
All of them were curious, but only two Elders—a male and a
female—were chosen to spend time on a small piece of land
surrounded by humans. They had been in Lakeside before, when, as
Namid’s teeth and claws, they had roamed the fog-filled streets,
hunting human prey.
Satisfied with their decision, most of the Elders returned to their
pieces of the wild country, while the two selected for the task of
studying the human pack began the journey to Lakeside.
 CHAPTER 1

Windsday, Messis 1

E ager to join his friends for an early-morning run, Simon

Wolfgard, leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, hurried toward the
terra indigene Wolves who were using trees and shrubs for
camouflage as they watched the paved road that looped the
Courtyard. Actually, they were watching the man who was riding on
the road at an easy pace.
<It’s Kowalski,> Blair growled. It was a soft growl, but the
human suddenly scanned the area as if his little ears had caught the
sound.
<On a bicycle,> Nathan added.
<We gave him permission to ride on the paved roads,> Simon
said, a little concerned about their focused attention on a human
they knew fairly well.
Karl Kowalski was one of the human police officers who worked
directly with the terra indigene to minimize conflicts between
humans and Others. Because of that, he had been labeled a Wolf
lover and had had his share of conflicts with other humans. The
latest incident had happened the prior week when a car
“accidentally” swerved and almost hit Kowalski while he was taking a
bicycle ride before work. Because the terra indigene viewed that as a
threat to a member of their human pack, Simon, Vladimir
Sanguinati, and Henry Beargard—members of the Courtyard’s
Business Association—decided to allow the human pack to ride on
the Courtyard’s paved roads.
Simon had thought all the Wolves had been told about the
Business Association’s decision—especially Nathan, who was the
watch Wolf at the Liaison’s Office, and Blair, who was the Courtyard’s
dominant enforcer—but this was the first time any of the humans
 “Predator’s instinct,” O’Sullivan said. “If something runs, a
predator will chase it.”
“But they’ve never chased any of us before, and we ride bicycles
up to the kitchen garden at the Green Complex all the time.” The
traffic light turned yellow. Kowalski braked instead of speeding up to
slip through the intersection before the light turned red. “At first I
thought the Wolves chasing me hadn’t heard that we’re allowed to
ride on the paved roads. But I recognized Nathan and thought I
recognized Simon. The roads are posted with Trespassers Will Be
Eaten signs, and when I first saw them coming at me . . .” He blew
out a breath and pressed the accelerator when the light turned
green. “Just a game. Simon thought we’d had great fun. Bet the
other Wolves did too.”
“And you?” Monty asked.
“We look at the same things, but we don’t see the same things.
It made me realize how easy it can be to screw this up and send the
wrong signal.”
Monty looked out the window and wondered what sort of signal
the new mayor and police commissioner were going to send.

• • •

Meg opened the Liaison’s Office, then glanced at the clock. Nathan
was late, but Jake Crowgard was at his spot on the shoulder-high
brick wall that separated the delivery area from the yard behind
Henry’s studio.
Just as well she had the office to herself for another minute or
so.
Her arms tingled. It wasn’t the pins-and-needles feeling that
warned of the need to cut and speak prophecy. This was milder,
more like a memo than a screeching alarm.
Opening a drawer, she lifted the lid of the wooden box Henry had
made for her and looked at the backs of several decks of fortune-
telling cards that she was learning to use to reveal prophecy instead
of cutting her skin with the silver razor. Maybe today she would
Another random document with
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the western part) of the plain of Esdraelon is meant; compare 1
Chronicles x. 7, note.

²³And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the

king said to his servants, Have me away; for I
am sore wounded.
23. the archers shot] Compare the death of Ahab, xviii. 33. 1
Esdras i. 29, “the princes came down against king Josias,” is an
inferior reading due probably to a misreading of the Hebrew.

for I am sore wounded] The very words ascribed to Ahab (xviii.

33), and further the verb rendered I am wounded is used only in
these two passages: a singularly strong witness to the view that the
present story has been influenced by that of Ahab’s death.

²⁴So his servants took him out of the chariot,

and put him in the second chariot that he had,
and brought him to Jerusalem; and he died,
and was buried in the sepulchres of his
fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem
mourned for Josiah.
24. the second chariot] War chariots were small, with (apparently)
only standing room for their occupants; see the illustrations of
Egyptian and Assyrian chariots given in the Encyclopedia Biblia i.
724‒730. This “second chariot” was probably of a larger kind,
suitable for travelling.

25 (= 1 Esdras i. 32; not in 2 Kings).

The Lamentations for Josiah.

²⁵And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all

the singing men and singing women spake of
 Josiah in their lamentations, unto this day; and
they made them an ordinance in Israel: and,
behold, they are written in the lamentations.
25. lamented] i.e. “composed (or uttered) an elegy.” The Hebrew
word (ķōnēn) suggests formal composition, and the actual words of
lamentation are often given, as in 2 Samuel i. 17 ff., iii. 33, 34;
Ezekiel xxvii. 33, xxxii. 2, 16. The elegy in question is not preserved
in the book of Jeremiah or elsewhere. Doubtless the Chronicler or
his source had real grounds for his statement about the popular
Songs of Lament for Josiah, and we may suppose that one of these,
rightly or wrongly, was ascribed to Jeremiah.

an ordinance] compare 2 Samuel i. 18.

in the lamentations] In some lost work, not in our canonical book

of the Lamentations, for the contents of the canonical book lend no
support whatever to the view that it is referred to here (see further
Encyclopedia Britannica¹¹, s.v. Lamentations, p. 128).

26, 27 (= 1 Esdras i. 33; 2 Kings xxiii. 25, 28).

The Epilogue to Josiah’s Reign.

²⁶Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his

good deeds, according to that which is written
in the law of the Lord, ²⁷and his acts, first and
last, behold, they are written in the book of the
kings of Israel and Judah.
26. according to that which is written] Compare the strong terms
used in 2 Kings xxiii. 25, “like unto him was there no king before him,
that turned to the Lord with all his heart ... according to all the law of
Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”
 Chapter XXXVI.
1‒4 (= 1 Esdras i. 34‒38; 2 Kings xxiii. 30b‒34).
The Reign of Jehoahaz.

¹Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz

the son of Josiah, and made him king in his
father’s stead in Jerusalem.
1. the people of the land took] Compare xxvi. 1, xxxiii. 25.

Jehoahaz] Called “Shallum” in 1 Chronicles iii. 15; Jeremiah xxii.

11. He was younger than Jehoiakim; verse 5.

²Joahaz was twenty and three years old when

he began to reign; and he reigned three
months in Jerusalem.
2. in Jerusalem] His mother’s name is here omitted; compare
xxxiii. 1, 21, xxxiv. 1. According to 2 Kings xxiii. 32 (compare Ezekiel
xix. 3, 4) Jehoahaz “did evil.”

³And the king of Egypt deposed him at

Jerusalem, and amerced the land in an
hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold.
3. deposed him at Jerusalem] The clause answers to 2 Kings
xxiii. 33, “put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he
might not reign in Jerusalem.” Perhaps we should read the same
words in Chronicles The Hebrew words for “deposed” and “put in
bands” are liable to be easily confused.

amerced] Authorized Version condemned. For “amerce” in the

sense of “fine,” compare Deuteronomy xxii. 19; and for “condemn” in
the same sense see Amos ii. 8 (Authorized Version, “fined” Revised
Version).

an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold] The land was

poorer than in the days when Sennacherib had imposed a fine on
Hezekiah of “three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold”
(2 Kings xviii. 14).

⁴And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his

brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and
changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Neco
took Joahaz his brother, and carried him to
Egypt.
4. changed his name to Jehoiakim] This name is compounded
with the Divine name Jehovah. Probably Neco made the new king
swear fealty by Jehovah, and then declared his official name to be
Jehoiakim, in order that he and his people might have something to
remind them of the oath he had taken. (Eliakim = “God establishes”;
Jehoiakim = “Jehovah establishes.”) The rendering of this verse in 1
i. 38 is due to misreadings of the Hebrew.

took Joahaz ... to Egypt] He died in Egypt; 2 Kings xxiii. 34;

Jeremiah xxii. 12.

5‒8 (= 1 Esdras i. 39‒42; 2 Kings xxiii. 36‒xxiv. 6).

The Reign of Jehoiakim.

⁵Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old

when he began to reign; and he reigned
 eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that
which was evil in the sight of the Lord his
God.
5. and he reigned eleven years] So also in Kings. The statement,
however, is lacking in 1 Esdras i. 39, so that it is a highly probable
inference that the text of Chronicles has here been harmonised with
Kings; compare verse 15, and Introduction § 3, p. xxii.

in Jerusalem] The Chronicler omits his mother’s name (compare

verse 2, note) and also the statement that he raised the indemnity
imposed by Neco by means of a poll-tax (2 Kings xxiii. 35).

he did that which was evil] Compare 2 Kings xxiii. 37; Jeremiah
xxii. 13‒18, xxvi. 20‒23, xxxvi. 1‒32.

⁶Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king

of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry
him to Babylon.
6. Nebuchadnezzar] The correct form of his name is
“Nebuchadrezzar” (so generally in Jeremiah and Ezekiel); in the
inscriptions Nabu-kudurri-uṣur. The name is Assyrian and means “O
Nebo, defend the crown” (or “the boundary”), Nebo being a god who
was regarded as the son of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon
(compare Isaiah xlvi. 1). Nebuchadrezzar reigned from 604‒561
b.c., and was succeeded by Evil-Merodach (Amil-Marduk). The only
purely historical inscription relating to his reign deals with a
campaign in Egypt in 568 b.c.; compare Jeremiah xliii. 11.

came up] It seems probable that Nebuchadrezzar did not in

person come up against Jerusalem at the end of Jehoiakim’s reign,
nor in person carry off any of the sacred vessels; it is likely moreover
that Jehoiakim was not carried to Babylon. The result of Jehoiakim’s
rebellion against Nebuchadrezzar was according to 2 Kings simply
that “bands” of Chaldeans and their allies invaded Judah. Probably
Jehoiakim’s life and reign came to an end (how we do not know;
compare Jeremiah xxii. 18, 19) during this petty warfare, and then
three months later, the main Chaldean army under Nebuchadrezzar
having arrived, Jerusalem was taken, and Jehoiakim’s son and
successor Jehoiachin was carried off with the golden vessels of the
house of the Lord to Babylon. The Chronicler seems to foreshorten
the history at this point.

⁷Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels

of the house of the Lord to Babylon, and put
them in his temple ¹ at Babylon.
¹ Or, palace.

7. of the vessels] There is no mention in 2 Kings of the removal of

sacred vessels during Jehoiakim’s reign. Some were carried off
under Jehoiachin, the rest under Zedekiah; 2 Kings xxiv. 13, xxv. 13‒
17. Compare last note.

in his temple] So LXX.; 1 Esdras i. 39 [41]; Daniel i. 2. Note the

margin, “in his palace.” The Hebrew word (heykāl) is a loan-word;
the original (ikallu) is the ordinary word in Assyrio-Babylonian for
“palace.”

⁸Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his

abominations which he did, and that which
was found in ¹ him, behold, they are written in
the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and
Jehoiachin ² his son reigned in his stead.
¹ Or, against.

² In 1 Chronicles iii. 16, Jeconiah. In Jeremiah xxii. 24, Coniah.

 8. that which was found in him] i.e. his sin (in this context);
compare 1 Kings xiv. 13.

of Israel and Judah] The LXX. (but not 1 Esdras) adds here “And
Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of
Uzza with his fathers.”

9, 10 (= 1 Esdras i. 43‒45; compare 2 Kings xxiv. 8‒17).

The Reign of Jehoiachin.

The account given in 2 Kings contains much that is not given in

Chronicles and, in particular, many details of the first captivity of
Judah.

⁹Jehoiachin was eight ¹ years old when he

began to reign; and he reigned three months
and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that
which was evil in the sight of the Lord.
¹ In 2 Kings xxiv. 8, eighteen.

9. Jehoiachin] Called “Jeconiah,” 1 Chronicles iii. 16, where see

note.

eight years] So LXX. (B) of Chronicles and Esdras (B); but the
number is probably corrupt for eighteen, so LXX. (A) of Chronicles
and Esdras (A) and Hebrew and LXX. of 2 Kings xxiv. 8. It is
possible that the words “and ten days” in the latter part of the verse
are a misplaced fragment of an original ben shĕmōneh ‘esreh
shānāh, i.e. “eighteen years old.”

in Jerusalem] The Chronicler here omits the king’s mother’s

name (compare verse 2, note), though she was a person of some
influence; compare 2 Kings xxiv. 12; Jeremiah xxii. 24‒26; and
perhaps Jeremiah xiii. 18 (Revised Version).
 he did that which was evil] Compare Jeremiah xxii. 24; Ezekiel
xix. 5‒9.

¹⁰And at the return of the year king

Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to
Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house
of the Lord, and made Zedekiah his brother
king over Judah and Jerusalem.
10. at the return of the year] Compare 2 Samuel xi. 1 = 1
Chronicles xx. 1, “at the return of the year, at the time when kings go
out to battle.” This would be in the spring.

brought him to Babylon] Not the king only, but also certain
leading men and craftsmen and smiths (in number 3023) went into
captivity—so Jeremiah lii. 28; compare Jeremiah xxiv. 1, and 2 Kings
xxiv. 14 (where the size of the deportation is magnified into “all
Jerusalem save the poorest of the land—even ten thousand
captives”).

Zedekiah] A covenant-name like “Jehoiakim”—(verse 4, note); it

seems to mean “Righteousness of Jehovah”; compare the significant
title in Jeremiah xxiii. 6, “The Lord is our Righteousness.”
Zedekiah’s original name was “Mattaniah” (i.e. “gift of Jehovah”); 2
Kings xxiv. 17.

his brother] In 2 Kings (more accurately) “his father’s brother”;

compare 1 Chronicles iii. 15, 16, notes.

11‒19 (= 1 Esdras i. 46‒56; compare 2 Kings xxiv. 18‒xxv. 21;

Jeremiah xxxvii. 1‒xxxix. 8, lii. 1‒27).
Reign of Zedekiah. Destruction of Jerusalem.

¹¹Zedekiah was twenty and one years old

when he began to reign; and he reigned
 eleven years in Jerusalem:
11. in Jerusalem] The Chronicler omits, as usual, his mother’s
name. She was “Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah” (2
Kings xxiv. 18), and was mother of Jehoahaz also (2 Kings xxiii. 31).
Jehoiakim was by a different mother (2 Kings xxiii. verse 36).

¹²and he did that which was evil in the sight of

the Lord his God; he humbled not himself
before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from
the mouth of the Lord.
12. humbled not himself] Jeremiah consistently advised Zedekiah
to submit to the Chaldeans; but the king partly through fear of his
princes, partly through illusive hopes, could never bring himself to do
so; compare Jeremiah xxi. 1‒7, xxxiv. 8‒22, xxxvii. 1‒10, 17, xxxviii.
17‒23.

¹³And he also rebelled against king

Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear
by God: but he stiffened his neck, and
hardened ¹ his heart from turning unto the
Lord, the God of Israel.
¹ Hebrew strengthened.

13. who had made him swear by God] Compare Ezekiel xvii. 11‒
19.

¹⁴Moreover all the chiefs of the priests, and the

people, trespassed very greatly after all the
abominations of the heathen; and they
 polluted the house of the Lord which he had
hallowed in Jerusalem.
14. polluted the house] Jeremiah vii. 9‒11, xxiii. 11‒14; Ezekiel
viii. 5‒16.

¹⁵And the Lord, the God of their fathers, sent

to them by his messengers, rising up early
and sending; because he had compassion on
his people, and on his dwelling place:
15. rising up early and sending] The words are absent from 1
Esdras i. 50, and are perhaps a late addition to Chronicles derived
from Jeremiah; compare Jeremiah xxvi. 5. See note on verse 5
above.

¹⁶but they mocked the messengers of God,

and despised his words, and scoffed at his
prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose
against his people, till there was no remedy ¹.
¹ Hebrew healing.

16. mocked the messengers] Jeremiah was imprisoned, beaten,

and threatened with death, Urijah (Jeremiah xxvi. 20‒23) was put to
death. Of the fate of Habakkuk (who probably lived during the
Chaldean period, Habakkuk i. 6) nothing is known.

¹⁷Therefore he brought upon them the king of

the Chaldeans, who slew their young men with
the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and
had no compassion upon young man or
 maiden, old man or ancient: he gave them all
into his hand.
17. Chaldeans] Their name in Hebrew is Casdim and in Assyrio-
Babylonian Caldu (the change of “s” for “l” before a dental is not
uncommon in the latter language). They were a people originally
living south of Babylon on the sea, but Nabopolassar, father of
Nebuchadrezzar, conquered Babylon and established a Chaldeo-
Babylonian Empire.

in the house of their sanctuary] Compare Ezekiel’s vision of the

slaughter; Ezekiel ix. 1‒11.

¹⁸And all the vessels of the house of God,

great and small, and the treasures of the
house of the Lord, and the treasures of the
king, and of his princes; all these he brought
to Babylon.
18. all the vessels] i.e. all the vessels which remained after the
previous spoliation (verse 10). They were perhaps chiefly of brass;
compare 2 Kings xxv. 13‒15.

¹⁹And they burnt the house of God, and brake

down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the
palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the
goodly vessels thereof.
19. brake down the wall] The Hebrew verb here used (nittēç)
implies a more thorough breaking down than the pāraṣ of xxv. 23
(see note), xxvi. 6.

20, 21 (= 1 Esdras i. 57, 58).

The Captivity.
 ²⁰And them that had escaped from the sword
carried he away to Babylon; and they were
servants to him and his sons until the reign of
the kingdom of Persia:
20. to him and his sons] Compare Jeremiah xxvii. 7. There were
three kings of Babylon after Nebuchadrezzar before Cyrus
established Persian rule, viz. Evil-Merodach (Amil-Marduk) (2 Kings
xxv. 27), Neriglissar (Nergalšar-uṣur), and Nabonidus (Nabu-na’id).
The last two kings were usurpers. Neriglissar was (it seems) son-in-
law to Nebuchadrezzar (Hommel, Babylonia in Hastings’ Dictionary
of the Bible, 1. 229a, or Sayce in Encyclopedia Britannica¹¹, iii. pp.
105, 106). Whether Nabonidus was connected with the royal house
is not known.

²¹to fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of

Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her
sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she
kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten
years.
21. by the mouth of Jeremiah] Compare Jeremiah xxv. 11, xxix.
10.

her sabbaths] i.e. years, occurring every seventh year, when the
land was to be allowed a respite from cultivation; compare Leviticus
xxv. 1‒7, xxvi. 34, 35.

threescore and ten years] i.e. two whole generations. It is

probable that the Chronicler intended to suggest that the Sabbatical
years had been neglected throughout the period (about 490 = 70 × 7
years) during which the kingdom lasted; but, if so, he treats the point
somewhat loosely, not troubling about the objection that the reigns of
the several God-fearing kings (David, Solomon, Jehoshaphat) would
need to be subtracted from this total, and that actually the number of
violated Sabbatical years would fall considerably below 70.

22, 23 (= Ezra i. 1‒3a] 1 Esdras ii. 1‒5a).

Cyrus Decrees the Rebuilding of the Temple.

These verses are obviously inappropriate as the conclusion of

Chronicles, and their proper place is as the opening words of the
book of Ezra, where also they are given. Their exposition properly
belongs to the commentaries on Ezra or Esdras, to which
accordingly the reader must be referred for fuller notes. These
verses were retained here when the separation of Ezra‒Nehemiah
from Chronicles was made (see Introduction, § 2), either through
mere accident, or perhaps to indicate that Chronicles had originally
formed one work with Ezra and Nehemiah, but most probably in
order to avoid a depressing termination to the book. This last point
carries no small weight in view of the fact that in the Hebrew Bible
Chronicles is the last book. It is interesting to note that to avoid
closing the book of Isaiah with the terrible verse (lxvi. 24) which is
actually its conclusion, it was customary to repeat after verse 24
some hopeful words taken from verse 23. Compare also the last
verses of 2 Kings.

²²Now in the first year of Cyrus ¹ king of

Persia, that the word of the Lord by the
mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished,
the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of
Persia, that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in
writing, saying,
¹ Hebrew Coresh.

22. Cyrus king of Persia] Cyrus, the Persian, was at first king of a
small state in Elam, to the east of Babylonia. In 549 b.c. he
conquered the king of the Medes, and so became founder of the
Medo-Persian Empire. In 546 b.c. he overthrew the famous
Croesus, king of Lydia, and advancing against Babylon entered it
after a short and easy campaign in 538 b.c.—a career of meteoric
brilliance. By his “first year” is meant 537 b.c., his first year as ruler
of the Babylonian Empire.

stirred up the spirit] Compare 1 Chronicles v. 26; Haggai i. 14.

made a proclamation] compare xxx. 5. The phrase is

characteristic of the Chronicler.

²³Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the

kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord, the God
of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me
to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in
Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all
his people, the Lord his God be with him, and
let him go up.
23. All the kingdoms of the earth] The king of Babylon bore the
title of “king of the four quarters of the world.” Cyrus succeeded to
this title on his conquest of Babylon.

let him go up] i.e. to Jerusalem; compare Ezra i. 3. Since

Chronicles is the last book according to the order of the Hebrew
Canon, these encouraging words conclude the Hebrew Bible.
 INDEX
Abiathar,
39 f., 102, 120, 142, 167
Abib,
339
Abijah,
218 ff.
Abimelech (Ahimelech),
102, 120, 142
addīrīm,
273
Adullam, the cave of,
81, 88, 211
Adversary, the, see Satan
Ahab,
240 ff.
Ahaz,
292 ff.
Ahaziah (Jehoahaz),
263 ff., 284
Akaba, the Gulf of,
202
Alamoth, set to,
104
Alexander the Great,
xv, xix, xlix, 4
Algum trees,
174, 204
Aliens in Israel,
98, 120, 134, 173, 176, 312
Altar of incense, the,
139, 162, 185, 289
Altar-pillars,
83, 224, 313
Amaziah,
279 ff.
Ambushment,
223, 254
Amen,
111, 115
Amerce,
346
Ammon, Ammonites,
121, 125 f., 249, 291 f.
Amon, King of Judah,
329
Anachronisms,
164 f., 261
Anathoth,
84
Angel,
130 f.
Antonia, the Tower of,
163
Apes,
206
Arabians,
1, 238, 287;
invasion by, 226, 262 f.
Aram (= Syria),
9, 17, 119, 122
Aramaic,
9, 321
Ariel,
83
Ark, the,
94 ff., 101 ff., 186 ff., 339
Armourbearer,
74
Asa,
223 ff.
Asaph,
42 ff., 103, 107, 112, 145, 188
Ascent of the sepulchres, the,
324
Ashdod,
287
Asherim (Ashērah, Ashērim, Ashēroth),
224, 231, 237, 247, 277, 313, 320, 325 f., 331
Ashtaroth (Ashtoreth),
49, 75
Asshur-bani-pal,
6, 317, 327
Assyria, Assyrians,
8 f., 297 ff., 316 ff., 327
Assyrian monuments,
122, 206, 317, 320, 327
Athaliah,
266 ff.
Attent (= attentive),
194
Augury,
325
‘azārāh,
184, 250 f.
Azariah, another name for Uzziah,
23, 285
Azariah the prophet,
li, 228 ff.

Baal (Baalim), use and disuse of the title,

22, 31, 59, 63, 180, 236, 275;
the house of, 272;
altars of, 325, 331
Babylon,
327;
kings of, 351
Bädeker, Palestine, referred to,
32, 34, 47, 50, 57, 96, 99, 119 f., 150, 199, 211, 231 ff.,
250, 264, 266, 287, 291, 297 f., 318, 320, 323
Balsam trees,
100
bāmōth,
231, 320
bānāh,
211
Barnes, W. E., referred to,
lx;
(in Expositor), 78, 81;
(in Expository Times), 118;
(on Kings), 172, 185, 240, 285, 293, 322;
(in Journal of Theological Studies), 180
Bashan,
35
Bath (a measure for liquids),
175, 182
Bearers,
173, 176
Beauty of holiness,
110, 254
Beer-sheba to Dan,
128, 308
bĕgādim,
335
Belial, sons of,
219
Ben-hadad,
233
Benzinger, I., referred to,
xxxiii, 238, 307
Beracah, valley of,
255
Beth-Dagon,
75
Beth-el,
57, 222
Beth-horon,
 49, 199
Beth-shean (Beth-shan),
58, 75
Beth-shemesh,
47, 283, 298
Bezalel,
17, 170
bīrāh, bīrāniyyōth,
163, 238
Bliss, Dr, Excavations at Jerusalem,
318 f.
Boaz,
180
Book of the law, see Law
Brasen altar, the,
180 f., 196, 201
Brasen sea, the, see Sea
Brass,
118
Brook of Egypt,
196
Brother (= fellow-tribesman),
88
Burning for the dead,
235, 263
Burning of the dead,
76
Burnt offerings,
106, 141, 195, 306, 313