The earliest evidence of the hebrew bible shows that the single book of kings was the final book in the group of books called the former prophets. The book of kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. The first half of 1 kings concerns the history of israel from completion of the story of the great king david in the events of the succession of david\s son, solomon, and david\s death. 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. 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. Isaiah prophesied in judah during the reigns of kings uzziah, jotham, ahaz and hezekiah. The two books of kings are regarded by many as the last part of a work commonly. The two books we now have, 1 kings and 2 kings, were originally a single book written by a single author towards the end of the judahite monarchy. The translators of the septuagint introduced the separation into two books and this separation was made also in the vulgate.
The books of 1 and 2 kings are placed in the former prophets section of the old testament. Deuteronomy, joshua, judges, and 1 and 2 samuel, belong to the group of historical books deuteronomic history written during the babylonian exile c. The next step is to enter your payment information. 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 of 1 kings together with references for further study from the general conferences of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints the encyclopedia of mormonism and other doctrinal texts by general authorities of the church written and compiled by paul nolan hyde parrish press orem, utah. Isaiah the prophet 739bc680bc wrote the book isaiah, 2 kings 18. Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne. Who was the writer of the book of kings in the bible. Introduction to the book of 1 kings in the bible learn religions.
And the book of kings, according to tradition, was written by the prophet jeremiah. The tradition is that it was written by the prophet jeremiah. Certainly i and ii kings were one volume for a long time. Like the books of 1 and 2 samuel, 1 and 2 kings originally were one book. Then jezebel sent a messenger unto elijah, saying, so let the gods do to me, and more also, if i make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. As described in the discussion of i samuel, orginally, the books of i and ii samuel, and i and ii kings were originally one large volume, and were broken up later. Then moab rebelled against israel after the death of ahab. The books of kings are a set of books in the old testament. 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 were originally one book. And moab rebelled against israel after the death of ahab. The book of kings was originally one book that was later divided into i kings and ii kings. The book of the chroniclesannals of the kings of israel mentioned seventeen times in 1 kings 14. The book of the chroniclesannals of the kings of judah 1 kings 15. Others attribute a group of anonymous authors called the deuteronomists, since language from the book of deuteronomy is repeated in 1 kings.
The books of kings describes the history of israels kings from the end of the rule of david until the time of the babylonian exile so it writes about a time of about 453 years. Jewish tradition credits jeremiah the prophet as the author of 1 kings, although bible scholars are divided on the issue. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. There is little conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of 1,2 kings. The division of this work into two books was introduced by the translators of the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot and subsequently followed in the latin vulgate c. Books of kings simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Summary of the book of 1 kings the books of first and second kings were originally one book in the hebrew bible, but were later divided into two books. The latter tells the story of israel from its settlement in the land joshua and judges through the transition from judgeship to monarchy under samuel, saul, and david 1 and 2 samuel to the reign of solomon, the disintegration of the united kingdom into. 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. Joseph rawson lumby 18311895, the first book of kings. Samuel, the talmud says, wrote the book of judges and the book of samuel, until his death, at which point the prophets nathan and gad picked up the story. Interesting facts about 1 kings barnes bible charts author. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original.
The tribes of judah, benjamin, and some of levi were serving a pagan king in a faraway country. Both judaism and christianity see it as a part of the bible. Use highlighting, underlining, and take notes while you study the bible. And ahab told jezebel all that elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. 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. 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. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. First and second kings originally appeared as a single book in the hebrew bible. Solomon has adonijah executed along with the rest of his enemies, and gets to work building an empire. Book of 1 kings 1 kings chapter 1 1 kings chapter 2 1 kings chapter 3 1 kings chapter 4 1 kings chapter 5 1 kings chapter 6 1 kings chapter 7 1 kings chapter 8 1 kings chapter 9 1 kings chapter 10 1 kings chapter 11 1 kings chapter 12. Those which are not specifically mentioned, but are proposed by some. The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. The two books of kings are regarded by many as the last part of a work commonly known as the deuteronomistic history. In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative.
Book of first kings overview insight for living ministries. In the christian bible, the books commonly referred to as 1 chronicles and 2 chronicles, or first chronicles and second chronicles generally follow the two books of kings, and precede ezranehemiah. Your credit card wont be charged until the trial period is over. 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. The first three books of the series chronicles of the kings tells the story of hezekiah, a king of judah, whos story is found in 2 kings, 2 chronicles, and isaiah. Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old testament that. The books of 1 and 2 kings were compiled by some unknown writer from a variety of written documents, including the state chronicles bible dictionary. Youre already logged in with your bible gateway account.
The book was written to the people of israel, and to. Intro to 1 kings biblica the international bible society. The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of.
The majority of 1 kings was written prior to 586 b. Isaiah the prophet 739bc680bc wrote the book isaiah, 2. The author is neither indicated in the text nor known by scholars. The book of 1 kings was likely written between 560 and 540 b. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of 1 kings in the bible new international version. He was of the tribe of judah and his wife was a prophetess. Kjv bible verses from 1 kings offer free, online access, for those of the christian faith, to study scriptural passages for biblical studies, contained in the. These are all of the chapters of the book of 1 kings.
Ecclesiastes, 1 kings, 2 chronicles, proverbs solomon reflects david colburn. In the hebrew manuscripts of the ot the division into two books first appeared in the 15 th century. First kings covers about 126 years of israels history. Jewish tradition says that the prophet jeremiah wrote. The book of 1 kings does not specifically name its author. We derive our english title kings from jeromes vulgate, the latin translation of the bible. Starting your free trial of bible gateway plus is easy. The books of kings were probably written during the time of judahs captivity in babylon which begins at the end of second kings. The bible book of 1 kings with full chapters, footnotes and bible commentary to aid your bible search, reading, and study. Second kings features many unique events and people. As we noted in the previous chapter, 1 and 2 kings originally comprised one book of history. If jeremiah did write much of kings, he could not have written this section, set in babylon, for he had been taken away to egypt years earlier.
An introduction to the books of first and second kings. As the illustrious life of king david draws to a close, only some quick thinking by the prophet nathan and solomons mom bathsheba prevents adonijah from stealing the throne from solomon, the rightful king. It contains a genealogy from a human being, adam, and a narrative of the history of ancient judah and israel until the proclamation of king cyrus the great c. He was most likely a prophet, because many of the historical events were recorded in light of israels and judahs faithfulnessor unfaithfulnessto their covenant with god. May 24, 2011 summary of the book of 1 kings the books of first and second kings were originally one book in the hebrew bible, but were later divided into two books. Books of kings bible britannica encyclopedia britannica. Introduction to the books of first and second kings, lesson 1. The paean to king josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient israelite empires beg the thought that he and his scribes lie behind the. The paean to king josiah and exalted descriptions of the ancient israelite empires beg the thought that he and his scribes lie behind the deuteronomistic history. This includes the death of david to the death continue reading bible study.
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