Symmetrically Designed Sifrei Torah: A Quantitative Analysis - Hakirah

Symmetrically Designed Sifrei Torah: A Quantitative Analysis : 187
favorable picture of Menashe’s later years absent in Melachim.
Abravanel, in his introduction to DH, suggests:
“Jeremiah’s intention in authoring Kings was to record the
chronology of the kings, both of Judah and Israel, their
righteousness or their wickedness, and the prophecies issued
concerning them. Ezra, on the other hand, was interested in the
returnees from the Babylonian exile, their lineage, and the kings of
the House of David, the forebears of Zerubabel, son of Sheatiel,
leader of the Jews at the beginning of the second commonwealth.
Since he was the grandson of Jehoiachin, the lineage of the kings is
recorded, in addition to their good deeds. Many of these good
deeds and exemplary accomplishments are omitted from the
accounts in Kings.” (Judaica Books of the Hagiographa - Introduction)
We also know from many sources that Tehillim (written by
David) was held in particularly high esteem (e.g. it too was divided
into 5 books). Thus, in Ezra’s time Tehillim and DH may well have
been the key books that reflect the dawning of a new time and the
end of the devastation and punishment visited upon the people
because of the evil done during the 1 st Temple era. 33
33 With respect to the core idea that repetitious verses could be added
to/deleted from a count, we are open to the possibility that this may be
so. מקראות גדולות נך says that there are 1,656 verses in DH and offers an
equivalent numerical ‏.סימן However, as previously mentioned, an actual
count of DH yields 1,764 or 1,765 verses. The discrepancy of 108
verses (i.e. 1,764 - 1,656) is so great that we find it difficult to believe
that it is a simple mistake by a late commentator that went unnoticed
by anyone. Rather, we feel it is more likely the result of an old Masorah
(see section 2) but have been unable to find the source or the reason
for the discrepancy. We offer two numerical solutions that fit the
numbers perfectly. However, we are keenly aware that mathematical
precision does not guarantee correctness. We leave it to the reader to
decide which, if either, solution is more plausible.
1) The smaller number omits verses in DH that appear in
Chumash or Tehillim. Below is a list of “Parallelisms for
Chronicles 1” (pages 188 and 189) and “Parallelisms for Chronicles
2” (pages 405–407) from Judaica Books of the Hagiographa. (Note: No
precise definition of “Parallelism” is given.) The chart is presented