Commentary
Commentary [1]
kom´en -ta -ri ( מדרשׁ , midhrāsh , "an investigation," from דּרשׁ , dārash , "to search," "inquire," "explore"; the King James Version " story "): "The commentary of the prophet Iddo" ( 2 Chronicles 13:22 ), "the commentary of the book of the kings" ( 2 Chronicles 24:27 ). In these passages the word is not used exactly in its modern sense. The Hebrew term means "an imaginative development of a thought or theme suggested by Scripture, especially a didactic or homiletic exposition, or an edifying religious story" (Driver, Introduction to the Literature of the Old Testament 5, 497). In the commentaries ( Midhrāshı̄m ) mentioned by the Chronicler as among his sources, the story of Abijah's reign was presumably related and elaborated with a view to moral instruction rather than historic accuracy. See Chronicles , Books Of; Commentaries , Hebrew .
