INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOKS OF THE KINGS
The books which we know as First and Second Kings record the history of Israel from the death of David to the Babylonian Captivity.
But they are much more than a mere history of Israel. They are primarily theological in nature in that they trace God’s relationship with His Covenant people through their breaking of His covenant and their resulting punishment at the hands of their enemies. In particular, we see God’s dealing with the leaders of the nation - her prophets, priests and kings.
A. TITLE OF THE BOOKS.
1. Hebrew Title: Melechim ("Kings").
It was a single book. The division of 1st and 2nd Kings was simply for the sake of convenience. Josephus says that in his day it was understood that there were 24 books in the Old Testament.
a. The Minor Prophets counted as a single book.
c. Ruth was been with Judges
d. Samuel and Kings were each a single book.
2. Greek Title: Basileion ("Kingdoms").
Kings appears in the Septuagint as part of a 4-part set.
|
Greek Title |
English Equivalent |
|
1st Book of Kingdoms |
1st Samuel |
|
2nd Book of Kingdoms |
2nd Samuel |
|
3rd Book of Kingdoms |
1st Kings |
|
4th Book of Kingdoms |
2nd Kings |
3. Latin Vulgate: Liber Regum Tertius et Quartus.
Our English Bibles have the fourfold division of Samuel and Kings found in the Septuagint, but with the Hebrew titles.
B. UNITY OF THE BOOKS.
The books which we know as 1st and 2nd Kings were originally written to be a single work. The author is unnamed in the book, as is the case with most Old Testament historical narrative. He mentions using several source documents, three specifically:
There is also an obvious quotation from three chapters of Isaiah (Isaiah 37-39) which appear verbatim in 2 Kings 19:1 - 20:19.
C. AUTHORSHIP.
The author of the book is nowhere named in Scripture. Jewish tradition had it that Jeremiah was the author.
D. TEXTUAL CRITICISM AND THE BOOKS OF KINGS.
Textual criticism is the study of the ancient manuscripts to learn which is the true text. It asks the question: "What did the original text say?" There are two primary textual sources for the Books of the Kings.
a. The Massoretic Text.
The Massoretes were Jewish scholars who worked at preserving the Hebrew Bible. They passed on a system of vowel pointing that was not found in the original text.
b. The Septuagint.
This was the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. According to tradition, it was the work of 72 men translating in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus (284-247 B.C.).
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has uncovered manuscript fragments of a Hebrew text which often follows the Septuagint reading rather than that of the Massoretic Text.
E. DEVELOPING A CHRONOLOGY OF KINGS.
Samuel and Kings cover the historical period from Samuel to the Exile into Babylon.
|
1st Samuel |
2nd Samuel |
1 Kings |
2 Kings |
|
Samuel & Saul |
Saul & David |
Solomon & Divided Kingdom |
Fall of the Divided Kingdoms |
The narrative runs smoothly in 1 Kings 1-11 because we are following the history of only one kingdom. But from 1 Kings 12 - 2 Kings 17 the author deals with both the Northern Kingdom of Samaria and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, shifting back and forth between these two. After 2 Kings 17 and the fall of the Northern Kingdom, the flow of history is again smooth as we read only of the Southern Kingdom.
|
1 Kings 1-11 |
1 Kings 12 - 2 Kings 17 |
2 Kings 18-25 |
|
United Kingdom under Solomon |
Northern Kingdom |
|
|
Southern Kingdom of Judah |
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Old Testament writers did not use a universal reference point in establishing dates. Instead, they used various sorts of regnal dating methods ("In the 4th year of Hezekiah..."). This makes it difficult to be exact in establishing dates for Old Testament events.
2. Regnal Reckoning.
The first year of a king might refer to the first year in which he served as regent or it might refer to his first year upon the throne.
3. Accession versus Non-accession Year Reckoning.
|
Accession Year Reckoning |
Accession Year |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
|
Non-Accession Year Reckoning |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
3rd Year |
Both types of reckoning were used in ancient times to determine which year it might be.
Furthermore, in the Non-Accession Method, the last year of one ruler would be the same as the first official year of his successor. Such a year would count twice.
Edwin Thiele ("A Chronology of the Hebrew Kings") suggests that these two differing systems were used at different times in Israel’s history.
|
Accession Year Dating |
Non-Accession Year Dating |
Accession Year Dating |
|
|
Judah |
Rehoboam to Jehoshophat |
Jehoram to Joash |
Amaziah to Zedekiah |
|
Israel |
- |
Jeroboam to Jehoahaz |
Jehoash to Hoshea |
4. The Assyrian Eponym List.
It was the custom in Assyria to name each year after one of the officers of the state - an eponym. We have records of a consecutive list of Assyrian eponyms from 853 to 703 B.C.
The Assyrians also included records of solar eclipses - Total eclipses were visible in Nineveh in 832, 763 and 585 B.C. By correlating the eclipses with the Eponym Lists, we can have reliable dates for the years from 892 to 648 B.C.
F. CONTRAST OF KINGS WITH CHRONICLES.
The relationship of Kings to Chronicles is similar to the relationship of the Synoptic Gospels to the Gospel of John.
|
Kings |
Relates historical fact with little commentary |
Synoptic Gospels |
|
Chronicles |
Tells meaning of the fact |
John |
Kings relates the political and royal fortunes of the nation while Chronicles focuses upon the sacred and ecclesiastical aspects of the nation.
|
Kings |
Chronicles |
|
Prophetic Perspective: Judgments |
Priestly Perspective: Hope |
|
Wars are prominent |
Temple is prominent |
|
History of the thrones |
Continuity of the Davidic line |
|
Record of both Israel & Judah |
Mostly Judah |
|
Morality |
Redemption |
There is also a difference in the historical scope of what is covered in each of these two books.
|
1st Chronicles |
1 Adam(Genealogies) |
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|
United Kingdom |
10 Reign of David |
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|
1st Kings |
1 Reign of Solomon |
2nd Chronicles |
1 Reign of Solomon |
|
|
12 Jeroboam |
Divided Kingdom |
10 Focus on the Southern Kingdom of Judah to the Captivity |
||
|
17 Elijah & Ahab |
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2nd Kings |
1 Elijah & Ahaziah |
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2 Elisha |
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17 Fall of Samaria |
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18 Hezekiah |
Judah Alone |
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25 Babylonian Captivity |
Exile |
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|
36:22 Return from Babylon |
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G. PURPOSE OF KINGS.
To understand the purpose of this book, one must first understand the date and circumstances of its writing.
It is written in the Captivity. The author has just seen the final remnant of the nation of Israel destroyed. He sits down to relate the account of how that took place.
The purpose is two-fold:
1. To Answer the Question: "How did we get here?"
The Northern Kingdom of Israel has long ago been taken into captivity. The Southern Kingdom of Judah is now in its own captivity. It seems as though the promises of God have failed. What went wrong? This book answers that question.
2. To Give a Warning of the Consequences of Sin.
This book tells of the disastrous consequences of Israel’s love affair with idolatry. The Jews learned their lesson from this experience. Though they struggled with other problems, idolatry was never again an issue among the Jews.