002_cudworth_co_498_523 13/02/15 11:26 Pagina 514 514 TROY D. CUDWORTH tention to the people at large. At various points in his reign, all Israel appears as a mark that Solomon faithfully sought YHWH (2 Chr 1,2; 7,6.8). Moreover, even though the Chronicler does not mention them specifically as taking part in the work of temple construction, the story makes little sense if they did not. Though this may not have resembled anything like the “forced labor” imposed on the in- digenous peoples, they still would have needed to exert a great amount of energy to make their contribution to the temple project, a monumental endeavor in the Chronicler’s narrative. All this pos- itive (though rigorous) work still took its toll on the people, so that they asked for a lighter workload. They were willing to serve the new king Rehoboam, but they did not want to labor as hard as they did under Solomon. Although not explicitly stated by the Chronicler, the now finished temple must have been a factor in his depiction of the people’s attitude 48. IV. The Scattered Testimony Concerning Jeroboam Like Japhet, Knoppers also claims that the Chronicler’s changes in the broader context lessen Rehoboam’s guilt. However, instead of blaming the people for a false charge, he argues that Jeroboam victimized the tender-hearted Rehoboam in an effort to secure king- ship for himself as a usurper. In his interpretation, two of the Chron- icler’s earlier changes figure heavily 49. For his first point, Knoppers notes that the Chronicler leaves out the episode where YHWH prom- ised Jeroboam his own separate kingdom with governance over all but one of Israel’s tribes and with his own opportunity for an ever- lasting kingdom similar to David in 1 Kgs 11,26-39. He claims that this omission removes any legitimacy for the northern kingdom in Chronicles. Second, Knoppers suggests that the Chronicler’s lauda- tory treatment of the united monarchy under David and Solomon due to their lifelong fidelity places a stigma on any tribe that would try to secede or on any person that would attempt to deviate from 48 In other words, just because the Chronicler does not develop this aspect of the story it does not mean he cannot expect his readers to assume it. The Chronicler focuses on the actions of kings (e.g. Solomon’s construction of the temple), not ordinary people. 49 Cf. KNOPPERS, “Rehoboam in Chronicles”, 430.