The book of Chronicles, the final book of the Hebrew Bible, rarely gets much attention from Jews or Christians, especially when it comes to the genealogies that make up the opening chapters. But, subjecting these chapters to careful and inventive reading, Peter Leithart detects a surprising message:

[T]he fact that Chronicles begins with [the word] adam, [literally “man”], the name of the first human being, is a hint that large issues are afoot. Whatever Chronicles is about, it’s something as fundamental as Adam.

Structure gives a clue. Commentators have noted that the genealogies are arranged by the mirror-image literary device known as “chiasm.” . . . The unique central section of a chiastic text is frequently the key to the whole, and at the center of the Chronicler’s genealogy is Levi, the priestly tribe of Israel. A history that begins with Adam hinges on clans of priests within the priestly people. God fathered Adam so that Adam could father generations of palace servants. (Along similar lines, the entire genealogy ends with a description of the duties of Levitical gatekeepers.)

We can be more specific. The genealogies of Chronicles center on a particular set of Levites, the singers and musicians. . . . So we can gloss the earlier suggestion: God created Adam so that he could produce singers. God made man so that man could make music. . . . .

That doesn’t seem right. Surely, we are made for something more than music. In Scripture, though, music encapsulates the vocation of human beings. We are made to be singers because we are made to be priests, kings, and prophets. . . .

To say God made Adam to make musicians is to say that God made Adam to produce priestly singers, royal musicians, and prophetic chanters mad with the divine spirit. God made us to make music, and to be made by the music we make.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.