The unknown authors composed 1 and 2 kings primarily from various written records which were available at that time. So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the lord your god requires. As we noted in the previous chapter, 1 and 2 kings originally comprised one book of history. However, the book opens with the story of him suffering a fall. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. Like the books of 1 and 2 samuel, 1 and 2 kings originally were one book. The second book, 2 kings, tells of the reigns of kings of the surviving southern kingdom of judah until its eventual collapse in 586 bc. Labeling them as prophetic rather than historical suggests that these books are primarily theological in nature rather than annalistic.
Books of kings simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Is this just scholars trying to show how smart they are or is there a nugget of something important there. The paean to king josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient. The present division into two books was first made by the lxx.
Although jewish tradition credits jeremiah, few today accept this as likely. Author, sources and date there is little conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of 1,2 kings. Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old testament that, together with deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 samuel, belong to the group of historical books deuteronomic history written during the babylonian exile c. The historical books a good introduction to and overview of the historical books of the old testament joshua, judgesruth, 1 and 2 samuel, 1 and 2 kings, 1 and 2 chronicles, ezra, nehemiah, esther other resources. This summary of the book of 2 kings provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 kings. Book of second kings overview insight for living ministries. For an outline of both 1 and 2 kings see introduction to 1 kings. The events happened after those in the books of 1 samuel and 2 samuel. The book of 1 kings was likely written between 560 and 540 b.
The two books of kings are called the 3 rd and 4 th book of kings in the septuagint as well as the vulgate. Purpose of 2 kings like the other books of history, this book seems to be more historical in nature as opposed to. Today, many scholars believe that 1 and 2 kings are the. The relationship between the books of kings and chronicles. Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the. King ahabs son ahaziah took the throne of the kingdom after the death of ahab in 1 kings. The tradition is that the prophet jeremiah was the author of both 1 and 2 kings. The major themes of the book in chiastic structure. While this account of the authorship of these books is widely accepted by christian and jewish religious authorities, modernday biblical scholars overwhelmingly reject it.
That book continued the account of the events that happened to israel. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship. For the cause of the division of the book of kings into two books, and for their relation to the two books of samuel, see note on page. Relive the kingdom of israel in the book of kings 1 and 2. While 2 samuel leaves off near the end of davids reign, 1 and 2 kings take us from the reign of solomon to the catastrophic division of israel into northern and southern factions. The two books of kings formed originally but one book in the hebrew scriptures. Summary of the books of kings the story of the bible.
Intro to 1 kings biblica the international bible society. Chronicles history appears to have been written later than kings. The book of 2 kings outlines the causes of the scattering of israel. The book was divided into the two books of first kings and second kings in the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, and continues as such in the latin vulgate and our christian old testament of the bible. The books of 1 and 2 kings describes a movement towards the eventual loss of the land and exile.
According to passages 14b and 15a of the bava basra tractate of the talmud, the book was written by samuel up until 1 samuel 25, which notes the death of samuel, and the remainder by the prophets gad and nathan. The books of kings were written between 560 and 538539 b. According to jewish tradition in the talmud the author was the prophet jeremiah. The book of kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. Jewish tradition credits jeremiah the prophet as the author of 1 kings, although bible scholars are divided on the issue.
Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old testament that, together. God judges ahabs family with elisha, jehu, and hazael 2 kgs 1 10 more kings of the north and south rule israel and judah 2 kgs 1116 israel falls to assyria 2 kgs 17. Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the law of moses. Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of moses. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of david. The reign of solomon is treated in 1 kings 311, followed by the reigns of kings of judah and israel from the beginning of the divided monarchy c. Ancient tradition identifies jeremiah as the author of 1 and 2 kings.
His compassion to, and compliance with, the third messenger, upon his submission, and the delivery of the message to the king himself 2 kings 1. So he sent messengers, saying to them, go and consult baalzebub, the god of ekron, to see if i will recover from this injury. Isaiah the prophet 739bc680bc wrote the book isaiah, 2. First and second kings show us how, despite the persistent sins of israels leaders, israels god remained faithfully present.
First kings is the eleventh book in the old testament, immediately after 2 samuel and before 2 kings. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. Samuel most likely wrote the book of 1 samuel, but he probably had help from at least two other people. The title, kings, suggests that it is an account of the activities of the kings of israel and judahand it is that. The book of 2 nd kings is narrative history and prophecy concerning the affairs of the divided kingdoms. So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the lord your god requires. However, it was divided into two books by the translators of the septuagint the greek translation of the old testament, and so it was written as 1 and 2 kings by the latin translation and many other versions the division between 1 and 2 kings was made after the death of. The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b.
They trace the history of the kings of israel and judah from the time of solomon 970931 b. In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative. If so, jeremiah may have been active in composing the greater part of the history of the book of kings 1 kings 14 2kings 23. Today, many scholars believe that 1 and 2 kings are the concluding part of the deuteronomistic history and that various older traditions have been gathered together and edited by a nameless exilic editor or editors. If the deuteronomic law is the standard of judgment in 1 and 2 kings, then the priests code is the standard in 1 and 2 chronicles. Book of first kings overview insight for living ministries. Reflection on its content, however, reveals that the author has selected and arranged his material in a manner that provides a sequel to the history found in 1,2 samuela history of kingship regulated by covenant. And the book of kings, according to tradition, was written by the prophet jeremiah. It concludes the deuteronomistic history, a history of israel also comprising the books of joshua and judges and the book of samuel, which biblical commentators believe was written to provide a theological explanation for the destruction of the kingdom of judah by babylon in.
Critical scholars from the 19th century onward have rejected this idea. In these four books the history of the nation is traced from the time of its greatest extent, influence, and prosperity under david and solomon to the division and finally the captivity and exile of both kingdoms. The two books, which were originally one, are principally concerned with the origin and early history of the monarchy of ancient israel. Some people translated 1 kings and 2 kings into greek the language that people spoke in greece. The author of 1 and 2 kings wants to show that the history of the northern and southern kingdom unfolded according to the plan of god presented in deuteronomy. The books of 1 and 2 kings are placed in the former prophets section of the old testament. He lived just before jerusalems enemies overcame the city. An introduction to the books of first and second kings. Book of the annals chronicles of the kings of israel, 1 kgs 14. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of first kings in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. Who was the writer of the book of kings in the bible.
God judges ahabs family with elisha, jehu, and hazael 2 kgs 110 more kings of the north and south rule israel and judah 2 kgs 1116 israel falls to assyria 2 kgs 17. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings were originally one book. The deuteronomistic history, of which 1 kings is a part, addresses the questions of those who had experienced the fall of the north to assyria in 722721 b. According to josiahs reforms, why are they different between 2 kings 2223 and 2 chronicles 3435. The understanding the bible commentary series helps any reader navigate the strange and sometimes intimidating literary terrain of the bible. The destruction of the messengers he sent to seize the prophet, once and again 2 kings 1. Jeremiah also wrote the book bearing his name about the same time. Book of the annals chronicles of the kings of judah, 1 kgs 14. The books of 1 and 2 kings cover more than 400 years of israelite history, starting with the death of king david approximately 1015 b. Joshua is the first book in this section and the book of 2 kings is the last. We hope that you find the 2 kings summary from the kjv bible chapters and verses helpful to your bible studies and for references as a guide to further reference to the book of 2 kings. In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative started in samuel. The prophets is grouped into former prophets joshua2 kings not.
These accessible volumes break down the barriers between the ancient and modern worlds so that the power and meaning of the biblical texts become transparent to contemporary readers. The books of 1 and 2 kings were compiled by some unknown writer from a variety of written documents, including the state chronicles. The books of joshua, judges, 1 samuel, 2 samuel, 1 kings and 2 kings. However this forms part of a series of books clearly written by the same author. According to jewish tradition the author of kings was jeremiah, who would have been alive during the fall of jerusalem in 586 bce. The author is neither indicated in the text nor known by scholars. The book of 1 kings does not specifically name its author. Joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 samuel, belong to the group of historical books deuteronomic history written during the babylonian exile c. We do not really know the identity of the anonymous author of the book of kings subsequently split into two books known as 1 kings and 2 kings. Known as kings 1 and 2 in english bibles, the book of kings is originally a single book that recounts the rule of israels kings from davids son solomon up until the time of israels exile, the final result of israels disobedience. That includes 1 and 2 kings, since in the hebrew bible they are a single book. Jul 31, 20 northern kings struggle for control 1 kgs 14.
Together, the two books of 1 and 2 kings cover the period from the last days of davids reign to the captivity of judah also referred to as the babylonian captivity. In general, 1,2 kings describes the history of the kings of israel. Jewish tradition is that jeremiah wrote the book of kings talmud, bava bathra 14b. Books of samuel, two old testament books that, along with deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 kings, belong to the tradition of deuteronomic history first committed to writing about 550 bc, during the babylonian exile. Aug 15, 2008 the books of 1 and 2 kings recount events that cover a period of just over four hundred years, from the death of david to the release of jehoiachin from prison in babylon. Much of page 7 and the top of 8 if ebook commentary on 8. There is nothing about jeremiah in the books of 1 kings and 2 kings. I am about to go the way of all the earth, he said. Elisha 2 kings 1 history of the divided kingdom 2 kings 1417 history of the southern kingdom 2 kings 1825 summary of 2 kings. However, it was divided into two books by the translators of the septuagint the greek translation of the old testament, and so it was written as 1 and 2 kings by the latin translation and many other versions. He was of the tribe of judah and his wife was a prophetess. The story begins with a united kingdom, but ends in a nation divided into 2 kingdoms, known as judah and israel. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings used to be one book. He was most likely a prophet, because many of the historical events were recorded in light of israel s and judah s faithfulnessor unfaithfulnessto their covenant with god.
Jewish tradition proposed that jeremiah wrote kings, although this is unlikely because the final event recorded in the book see 2 kings 25. Kjv bible verses from 2 kings offer free, online access, for those of the christian faith, to study scriptural passages for biblical studies, contained in the. There is little conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of 1,2 kings. Others attribute a group of anonymous authors called the deuteronomists, since language from the book of deuteronomy is repeated in 1 kings. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the. The tradition is that it was written by the prophet jeremiah.
The deuteronomistic history, of which 2 kings is a part, addresses the questions of those who had experienced the fall of the north to assyria in 722721 b. The book was probably written some time between 586 and 540 bc if jeremiah was the author. Similarly, the reign of jeroboam ii, who presided over the northern kingdom. Kings melechim or the book of the kings was the original title in hebrew of the one book that was later divided into what are now 1 and 2 kings by the translators of the greek old testament, septuagint or lxx. Introduction to the books of first and second kings, lesson 1. As nearly as we can tell 1 and 2 kings were written between 570 and 550 b. Aug 24, 2018 the book of kings 1 kings and 2 kings were written by prophet jeremiah name of the book. Whoever the author was, it is clear that he was familiar with the book of deuteronomyas were many of israels prophets. The prophets is grouped into former prophets joshua 2 kings not including ruth and latter prophets isaiahmalachi without lamentations and daniel 2. This book became the basis of a series of reforms, which made josiah, according to his own scribes, the best king ever. Those who identify jeremiah as the author consider the historical abstracts at the.