Overview of 1 & 2 Kings
1 & 2 Kings
Who wrote the book?
Like the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings originally were one book. In the Hebrew Bible the book of Kings continued the narrative started in Samuel. The Septuagint separated them into two parts. We derive our English title “Kings” from Jerome’s Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible.
No one knows the author of 1 and 2 Kings, though some commentators have suggested Ezra, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah as possible authors. Because the entire work encompasses a time period of more than four hundred years, several source materials were used to compile the records. Certain clues such as literary styles, themes woven throughout the book, and the nature of material used point to a single compiler or author rather than multiple compilers or authors. This person assembled the manuscript while God’s people were in exile at Babylon (see 2 Kings). But he didn’t complete the work until the Babylonians released King Jehoiachin after thirty-seven years in prison (560 BC), most likely completing it within another twenty years.1
Where are we?
First Kings opens describing the final days of King David (around 971 BC) and the conspiracies surrounding his succession. When David died (1 Kings 2:10), Solomon ascended the throne and established himself as a strong and wise leader. In the early years of Solomon’s reign, Israel experienced its “glory days.” Its influence, economy, and military power enjoyed little opposition; its neighbors posed no strong military threat.
Shortly after Solomon’s death in 931 BC (1 Kings 11:43), the kingdom was divided into northern (Israel) and southern (Judah) entities. First Kings follows the history of this divided kingdom through the year 853 BC.
Why is First Kings so important?
Those kings who reigned under God’s authority—who remained faithful to the Law—experienced God’s blessings. But those kings who deviated from the Law experienced curses.
First Kings reveals Solomon’s relationship with Yahweh, emphasizing Solomon’s divinely given wisdom and wealth. Solomon’s reputation reached far beyond Israel’s borders to modern-day Yemen, the queen of Sheba’s likely home (1 Kings 10:1–13). Solomon’s numerous marriages and extensive harem are the stuff of legends, but they led to his wandering faith in later years. Solomon did, however, build the temple, God’s permanent dwelling place among His people.
First Kings also introduces the prophet Elijah, who pronounced God’s judgment on the evil northern king Ahab. In addition to performing other miracles, Elijah won a dramatic confrontation with false prophets on Mount Carmel (18:1–46).
What's the big idea?
First Kings was written “to record history but, more important, to teach the lessons of history.”2 As with other historical books in the Old Testament, the history recorded here was meant to preserve not just important events but spiritual truths learned through those events.
In the books of 1 and 2 Kings, each king is evaluated by “his reaction toward his covenantal responsibility to the Law of the LORD. That was the acid test of whether he ‘did evil’ or ‘that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.’”3 Readers will notice scathing rebukes of some kings—reports not typically recorded by purely historical writers. In addition to the kings, the prophets figure heavily in this book. They are God’s spokesmen, proclaiming His word to mostly hard-hearted rulers. It is through the prophets’ eyes—always connecting the nation’s fortune with its kings’ faithfulness (or lack thereof)—that we learn the history of Israel and Judah
OUTLINE
1,2 Kings can be broadly outlined by relating its contents to the major historical periods it describes and to the ministries of Elijah and Elisha.
The Solomonic Era (1:1—12:24)
Solomon’s Succession to the Throne (1:1—2:12)
Solomon’s Throne Established (2:13–46)
Solomon’s Wisdom (ch. 3)
Solomon’s Reign Characterized (ch. 4)
Solomon’s Building Projects (5:1—9:9)
Preparation for building the temple (ch. 5)
Building the temple (ch. 6)
Building the palace (7:1–12)
The temple furnishings (7:13–51)
Dedication of the temple (ch. 8)
The Lord’s response and warning (9:1–9)
Solomon’s Reign Characterized (9:10—10:29)
Solomon’s Folly (11:1–13)
Solomon’s Throne Threatened (11:14–43)
Rehoboam’s Succession to the Throne (12:1–24)
Israel and Judah from Jeroboam I/Rehoboam to Ahab/Asa (12:25—16:34)
Jeroboam I of Israel (12:25—14:20)
Rehoboam of Judah (14:21–31)
Abijah of Judah (15:1–8)
Asa of Judah (15:9–24)
Nadab of Israel (15:25–32)
Baasha of Israel (15:33—16:7)
Elah of Israel (16:8–14)
Zimri of Israel (16:15–20)
Omri of Israel (16:21–28)
Ahab of Israel (16:29–34)
The Ministries of Elijah and Other Prophets from Ahab/Asa to Ahaziah/Jehoshaphat (chs.17–22)
Elijah (and Other Prophets) in the Reign of Ahab (17:1—22:40)
Elijah and the drought (ch. 17)
Elijah on Mount Carmel (ch. 18)
Elijah’s flight to Horeb (ch. 19)
A prophet condemns Ahab for sparing Ben-Hadad (ch. 20)
Elijah condemns Ahab for seizing Naboth’s vineyard (ch. 21)
Micaiah prophesies Ahab’s death; its fulfillment (22:1–40)
Jehoshaphat of Judah (22:41–50)
Ahaziah of Israel (22:51–53)
The Ministries of Elijah and Elisha during the Reigns of Ahaziah and Joram (2Ki 1:1—8:15)
Elijha in the Reign of Ahaziah (ch. 1)
Elijah’s Translation; Elisha’s Inauguration (2:1–18)
Elisha in the Reign of Joram (2:19—8:15)
Elisha’s initial miraculous signs (2:19–25)
Elisha during the campaign against Moab (ch. 3)
Elisha’s ministry to needy ones in Israel (ch. 4)
Elisha heals Naaman (ch. 5)
Elisha’s deliverance of one of the prophets (6:1–7)
Elisha’s deliverance of Joram from Aramean raiders (6:8–23)
Aramean siege of Samaria lifted, as Elisha prophesied (6:24—7:20)
The Shunammite’s land restored (8:1–6)
Elisha prophesies Hazael’s oppression of Israel (8:7–15)
Israel and Judah from Joram/Jehoram to the Exile of Israel (8:16—17:41)
Jehoram of Judah (8:16–24)
Ahaziah of Judah (8:25–29)
Jehu’s Revolt and Reign in Israel (chs. 9–10)
Elisha orders Jehu’s anointing (9:1–13)
Jehu’s assassination of Joram and Ahaziah (9:14–29)
Jehu’s execution of Jezebel (9:30–37)
Jehu’s slaughter of Ahab’s family (10:1–17)
Jehu’s eradication of Baal worship (10:18–36)
Athaliah and Joash of Judah; Repair of the Temple (chs. 11–12)
Jehoahaz of Israel (13:1–9)
Jehoash of Israel; Elisha’s Last Prophecy (13:10–25)
Amaziah of Judah (14:1–22)
Jeroboam II of Israel (14:23–29)
Azariah of Judah (15:1–7)
Zechariah of Israel (15:8–12)
Shallum of Israel (15:13–16)
Menahem of Israel (15:17–22)
Pekahiah of Israel (15:23–26)
Pekah of Israel (15:27–31)
Jotham of Judah (15:32–38)
Ahaz of Judah (ch. 16)
Hoshea of Israel (17:1–6)
Exile of Israel; Resettlement of the Land (17:7–41)
Judah from Hezekiah to the Babylonian Exile (chs. 18–25)
Hezekiah (chs. 18–20)
Hezekiah’s good reign (18:1–8)
The Assyrian threat and deliverance (18:9—19:37)
Hezekiah’s illness and alliance with Babylon (ch. 20)
Manasseh (21:1–18)
Amon (21:19–26)
Josiah (22:1—23:30)
Repair of the temple; discovery of the Book of the Law (ch. 22)
Renewal of the covenant; end of Josiah’s reign (23:1–30)
Jehoahaz Exiled to Egypt (23:31–35)
Jehoiakim: First Babylonian Deportation (23:36—24:7)
Jehoiachin: Second Babylonian Deportation (24:8–17)
Zedekiah: Third Babylonian Deportation (24:18—25:21)
Removal of the Remnant to Egypt (25:22–26)
Elevation of Jehoiachin in Babylon (25:27–30)
CHRONOLOGY OF FOREIGN KINGS
This is a chronology of selected foreign kings mentioned in this study Bible.
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