The book is suspected to have been written sometime between 586 and 540 bc. Full text of the second book of kings internet archive. The tribes of judah, benjamin, and some of levi were serving a pagan king in a faraway country. Title first and second kings were originally one book, called in the hebrew text, kings, from the first word in 1. Second kings ends with the last king of judah, jehoiachin, being accorded special favors by the king of babylon while in exile 2 kings 25. Kings, is in the vulgate, in imitation of the septuagint, styled the third and fourth book of kings. Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old testament. The books of kings were probably written during the time of judahs captivity in babylon which begins at the end of second kings.
To offer students a brief overview of the book of kings and the expressions of. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages. It must be remembered that the division between the books of kings and samuel is equally artificial, and that in point of fact the historical books. Jewish tradition credits jeremiah the prophet as the author of 1 kings, although bible scholars are divided on the issue. 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. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of david. 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. You dont need writing classes or seminars any more than you need this or any other book on writing. In the books of 1 and 2 kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the northern kingdom of israel. Gods judgment on all 19 kings of the northern ten tribe kingdom was he did evil in the sight of the lord. Kings, first and second books of, originally only one book in the hebrew canon, from in the lxx. Second book of kings, simply second kings or 2nd kings, is the twelfth book of the old testament and of the bible. 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. Ancient tradition identifies jeremiah as the author of 1 and 2 kings.
An introduction to the books of first and second kings. At one time, 1 and 2 kings were a single book called kings. Others attribute a group of anonymous authors called the deuteronomists, since language from the book of deuteronomy is repeated in 1 kings. Authors introduction in the first book of the kings cambridge. The greek translation of the old testament, the septuagint lxx, divided the book in two and this was followed by the latin vulgate version and english translations. The text has not been modified, except that punctuation has been modernized, and long paragraphs have been. We hope that you find the 1 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 1 kings. The early portion of the first book, down to the endof the twentyfourth chapter, was probably written by samuel. The old testament quizzes about important details and events in every section of the book. First and second kings were originally one book, called in the hebrew text, kings, from the first word in 1.
For the first and second books of kin s in the authorized version see third and fourth books of kings. Introduction to the book of 2 kings church of jesus christ. The tradition is that the prophet jeremiah was the author of both 1 and 2 kings. From the anointing of solomon until the exile of jehoiachin in babylon, we as readers are being constantly bombarded with the authors goal. The book of 1 kings was likely written between 560 and 540 b.
Although the writer is unknown, it was written while the first temple was still standing 1 kings 8. Since the book ends at that point and there is no mention of the return of the people from exile in 538 b. 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. In most english bibles, it is divided into first kings and second kings, but this division is late.
Books of kings simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The two books of kings form the chronological sequence of the history of the people of israel in canaan in the sequence joshua, judges, first and second. 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. 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. The greek translation of the ot, the septuagint lxx, divided the book in t. Biblical literature biblical literature the king james and subsequent versions. The state chronicles were not the books of 1 and 2 chronicles but rather a collection of records maintained under the direction of the kings of israel. Book of second kings overview insight for living ministries.
Since 1 and 2 kings were originally on book, see the introduction to 1 kings for a discussion of these matters. This is why the two books bear especially a prophetic character while the books of chronicles have a priestly character. The book ends with an epilogue of sorts, giving a peek into the good fortune of jehoiachinjudahs last true ruler before a series of puppet kings were installed by babylon. It must be remembered that the division between the books of kings and samuel is equally artificial, and that in point of fact the historical books commencing with judges and ending with 2kings. The division appears first in the septuagint an ancient greek translation of the hebrew bible and only entered jewish bibles with the printing of the venice rabbinic bible in 1517.
The second book of kings, otherwise known as the fourth book. This designation is justified, inasmuch as the historical narration contained in i and ii kings is herein continued, and, especially, because the history of davids life, begun in i and ii, is here concluded. The division that created the current books of 1 and 2 kings took place when the bible was translated into greek. This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. 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. King james version and douay rheims versions kindle edition by unknown, bible, king james, rheims, douay. The second book of kings elisha and the end of the house of ahab 11after ahabs death moab rebelled against israel. 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. Second kings is the twelfth book in the old testament, immediately after 1 kings and before 1 chronicles.
The second book of kings online library of resources. You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself. So the two books contained almost 300 years of the history of the israelites from the death of david 970 b. The book of 2 nd kings is narrative history and prophecy concerning the affairs of the divided kingdoms. The book of 1 kings does not specifically name its author. Second kings uses the history of the kings of judah and israel to explain the destruction of jerusalem to. The second book of kings in the books of 1 and 2 kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the northern kingdom of israel. The composition of the books of kings therefore can at the earliest have been written or concluded during the babylonian captivity. Part of the purpose of the books of kings is to provide a cultural history of israel that the israelites can read to understand the history of their people. Originally this book and the preceding book were combined into one longer book in the hebrew bible. 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. In the vulgate both titles are given liber primus samuelis, quem nos primum regum dicimus, etc. They will lead the people into idol worship and apostasy from yahwehs covenant.
Chronicles history appears to have been written later than kings. Introduction to the books of first and second kings, lesson 1. The book chronicles the events that took place between the time of king ahaziahs death and king jehoiachin of judah being released from his prison in babylon elijah is taken up into heaven, and elisha becomes a prophet to israel in his place. Summary of the books of kings the story of the bible. The second epistle to the thessalonians was written soon after the first. Accordingly, in the septuagint and the vulgate, it is calledthe first and second books of 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.
Their sins will result in conquest by the kingdom of assyria in 722 bc, to exile from their homeland, and to captivity in. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading books of the maccabees illustrated. In the twentyseventh year of jeroboam king of israel, azariah son of amaziah king of judah began to reign. However, the failure of the bishops bible to supplant its geneva rival made for a discordant note in the. The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. 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, kings, books of. The tradition is that it was written by the prophet jeremiah. 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. 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.
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. The same thing happened with the books of samuel and chronicles immediately before and after the books of kings. It is unclear when and where the books of 1 kings and 2 kings were written. Modern scholarship assigns the authorship to the prophets.
Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. Henry maclagan then opened he their mind that they might understand the scriptures. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings were originally one book. Thy children to the fourth generation shall sit upon the throne of israel. After solomons death, israel was ruled by a series of kings, most of whom were sinful and idolatrous.
The books of kings were written between 560 and 538539 b. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in jerusalem fiftytwo years. The expression man of god appears over 50 times in the books of kings. Because of changing conditions, another official revision of the protestant bible in english was needed. Contents continuing where 1 kings concluded with ahaziah, 2 kings traces the decline and captivity of both israel and judah. In a paper written during world war ii, the german biblical scholar martin. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. First and second kings are a single book, as are the first and second books. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The book of 2 kings is part of the deuteronomic history joshua, judges, 1 samuel, 2 samuel, 1 kings and 2 kings, which was written in the time of king josiah 641609 bce and completed during. Elisha took up the mantle of elijah and was blessed with two parts of elijahs spirit, performing 16 miracles, compared with the 8 of elijah.
The books of 1 and 2 kings describes a movement towards the eventual loss of the land and exile. Two books of kings explained new christian bible study. The reign of queen elizabeth had succeeded in imposing a high degree of uniformity upon the church. First and second kings originally appeared as a single book in the hebrew bible. The authors and compilers of the books use rhetorical devices to reflect this purpose.
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. 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. The apostle was told that, from some expressions in his first letter, many expected the second coming of christ was at hand, and that the day of judgment would arrive in their time. Writing isnt about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or. The biblical books of 1 and 2 kings provide a theological history of the monarchy from the 10th to the early 6th century bce. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of. This book relates the transactions from the death of saul until the end of davids reign, being a history for the space of about fortysix years. The end of the second book of kings covers the babylonian captivity and a few years beyond. From the catholic encyclopedia also know as the first and second books of samuel for the first and second books of kings in the authorized version see. To avoid confusion, the designation first and second books of samuel is adopted by catholic writers when referring to the hebrew text, otherwise first and second books of kings is commonly used. And the book of kings, according to tradition, was written by the prophet jeremiah. Kings, first and second books of definition and meaning. Kings, first and second books of, also known as first and second books of samuel. The book of jeremiah was written about the same time covering the previous 40 years from 626 to 586 bc.
The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b. Who was the writer of the book of kings in the bible. The second book of the kings the argument this second book containeth the acts of the kings of judah and israel. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture.