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 books of kings were written between 560 and 538539 b. The second book, 2 kings, tells of the reigns of kings of the surviving southern. 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. Samuel, and kings are part of a single historical opus written in the late first. And the book of kings, according to tradition, was written by the prophet jeremiah.
Although the writer is unknown, it was written while the first temple was still standing. This volume on 1 and 2 kings by richard nelson begins with an. First, some preachers find it difficult to construct sermons from old testament texts. The book describes the rule of solomon as the last king of israel and then the split of the kingdom after his death. The scope 1st and 2nd kings provide a record of israels history from the beginning of the movement to place solomon on davids throne through the end of the reign of zedekiah, judahs last king.
Like the books of 1 and 2 samuel, 1 and 2 kings originally were one book. The scope 1st and 2nd kings provide a record of israels history. Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto elisha, saying, thy. The authors and compilers of the books use rhetorical. The historical book called in the hebrew melakhim, i. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. As the titles of the books indicate, 12 kings describe the period of the monarchy in ancient israel 970586 b. The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne. It includes a great prayer to the lord in chapter 8. Originally one book, they were divided by the septuagint translators. The first book of kings niv audio holy bible youtube. The writer of the books of kings describes the events of. Summary of the books of kings the story of the bible.
Kings is part of the deuteronomic history, written by an anonymous. The first two chapters of 1 kings complete the story of david, begun in the. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings were originally one book. Book of first kings overview insight for living ministries. Watch our overview video on the books of 12 kings, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. The book describes the rule of solomon as the last king of israel and then the split of. When this was translated into greek in the last few centuries bce, samuel was joined with kings in a fourpart work called the book of kingdoms. Israel is united under the godly king david, who appoints his son solomon. The relationship between the books of kings and chronicles.
Whereas first and second samuel document israels shift from corrupt judges to the righteous leadership of david, kings shows how israel divides and falls into the hands of her enemies these books of history pick up where second samuel left off. In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative. Others attribute a group of anonymous authors called the deuteronomists, since language from the book of deuteronomy is repeated in 1 kings. Scholars tend to treat the books as made up of a first edition from the late 7th century bce and a second and final edition from the mid 6th century bce. An introduction to the books of first and second kings. In most roman catholic versions, 1 and 2 samuel are called the first and. The books of 1st and 2nd kings were so named because they record and interpret the reigns of all the kings of israel and judah except saul.
The book of kings now produced as two books, 1 kings and 2. Second kings features many unique events and people. The book was divided into the two books of first kings and second kings in the historical books of the. Kings, is in the vulgate, in imitation of the septuagint, styled the third and fourth book of kings. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. Jewish tradition credits jeremiah the prophet as the author of 1 kings, although bible scholars are divided on the issue.
The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b. The purpose of 1st kings is to contrast those who obey and disobey god throughout the ruling kings of israel and judah. In the hebrew bible the bible used by jews, first and second kings are a single book, as are the first and second books of samuel. Davids death solomons reign the division of the kingdom elijahs ministry. This summary of the book of 1 kings provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 kings. Several sources were used in the construction of the books of kings. The interpreters bible commentary is a modern treatment of the scriptures designed to help preachers better communicate the bible. The books of first and second kings are the story of israels decline.