David son of Joseph, the Spaniard, of the Kimḥi family said: This book, the book of Chronicles, is among the Holy Scriptures: it was written together with them because it contains an account of the history of the Judean kings. It begins by presenting, in abridged form, the genealogy from Adam to Noah; then from Noah to Abraham; and then from Abraham to David (1 Chronicles 1:1–2:15) because he is the essential one. Indeed, before it reaches David (2:15), it does not bother presenting the full genealogy of the Israelites—only that of Judah (2:3 ff.). Only afterward does it present some of the lines of the other tribes, in order to provide their population totals in the time of David (4:24–8:40). All genealogies of other nations of the world that it provides along the way serve to produce an orderly account of the world’s ancestry, the way it appears in the book of Genesis. But it presents all the rest of the genealogies with progressive abridgement. It also presents the kings of Edom, because eight kings and eleven chiefs ruled over them before any king ruled over the Israelites (1:43–54). But while among their kings there was not one who was the son of a previous king—rather, because people from other places dominated them, kings from those places ruled over them—each king in the Davidic dynasty was the son of a previous king. And for all the antiquity of the Edomite kingdom, it did not withstand the first king of Israel, namely David, as the text says, “and … the Edomites became vassals of David” (2 Samuel 8:14). For even though Saul ruled over Israel first, this was not the primary kingship, and he reigned for only two years (1 Samuel 13:1). (He nevertheless did do battle with the Edomites, and they could not contend with him [1 Sam 14:47[; but it was David who subjugated them [2 Sam 8:14].) The Davidic kingship, however, is the primary one according to the tradition and prophecy transmitted by our father Jacob and by our teacher Moses, may they be at peace; for Jacob said “The scepter shall not depart from Judah” (Genesis 49:10), and Moses said “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and restore him to his people” (Deut 33:7).

Our Sages, of blessed memory (b. Bava Batra 15a), say that Ezra wrote this book. But in fact, these chronicles of the Judean kings were written before Ezra, as it says in the book of Kings (1 Kings 14:29); they just were not yet included in the Holy Scriptures. Rather, they were written as a separate book, among the chronicles of the Judean kings. Similarly, the chronicles of the [Northern] Israelite kings were written in a book; but that book was not included in the Holy Scriptures because the [Northern] Israelite kingship did not survive. In the future also, only the Davidic kingship will arise, as the prophet says, “and there shall be one prince for all of them” (cf. Ezek 37:24), and, “Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms” (Ezek 37:22). But the book of the chronicles of the Judean kings was properly included in the Holy Scriptures to relate events pertaining to the Judean kings and their exile, until their ascent from the exile. They had a prince over them from the Davidic dynasty—Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, grandson of Jehoiachin—and this book presents the royal descent up until Zerubbabel (1 Chronicles 3:19).

Ezra included this book in the Holy Scriptures on the authority of the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; and he included it in the Writings and not in the Prophets because it is a historical account. Because its main purpose is to provide the history and the genealogies, it is included among the Writings and recorded together with them even though there are some prophecies in it, just as the book of Ruth was composed to impart the genealogy of David and is therefore recorded together with the Writings.

This book contains very obscure matters, and matters contradicting those in Samuel and Kings. And because this book is a historical account, people have not regularly studied it, nor have I seen any of the early commentators attempt to elucidate it. I did, however, find some commentaries on this book here in Narbonne—I do not know the names of their authors—but I saw that they mostly adopt a midrashic approach. So when a certain scholar from Gerona, a student of my master, my father, of blessed memory, asked me to write a commentary on it, I saw fit to grant his request. But I did not expound one verse after another, only the verses that require interpretation. And with this I begin, with the help of Him who grants knowledge to human beings (cf. Ps 94:10).