What are…
chronicles

Hebrew: יוֹם —transliteration: yom —meaning: the words of the days —literal meaning: day, days, today

Now the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he made war and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel. —1 Kings 14:19

The chronicles are the daily or yearly records of the transactions and events of the kingdom recorded in the order of time.

Then the matter was sought out and found to be true, so they were both hanged on a gallows; and it was written in the book of the chronicles in the king’s presence. —Esther 2:23

During that night, sleep had fled from the king, so he said for them to bring the book of memoranda, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. —Esther 6:1

Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, even his prayer to his God, and the words of the seers who spoke to him in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel, behold, they are among the chronicles of the kings of Israel. His prayer also and how God was entreated by him, and all his sin, his unfaithfulness, and the sites on which he built high places and erected the Asherim and the graven images, before he humbled himself, behold, they are written in the chronicles of the Hozai.—2 Chronicles 33:18, 19

The chronicles of Hozai חוֹזַי (aka Hosai or Hozia or Chozai) are a lost text, also called Sayings of Hozai, or Sayings of the Seers. It is mentioned in Scripture only in the above verse. Hozai may be the name of an chronicler or seer, or it may be a common noun meaning “the seers” or “his seers.” The ambiguity arises because ancient Hebrew manuscripts were written without vowels making scribal confusion easy.

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Article Version: March 13, 2026