1 Kings

This is key history in understanding the Major Prophets and Minor Prophets. Without this knowledge, the prophets become difficult to place in context. The books of the Kings really serve in the OT, as the book of Acts in the NT: It gives context for the prophets, as Acts gives context for the epistles. Therefore, to study the prophets, we really need to nail down 1 and 2 Kings.

Authorship

The history of 1 and 2 Kings stretches from 970 BC (David) to at least 562 BC (Jehoiachin). Thus the author could not have been alive for this entire time period. The author probably used the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41), the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (1 Kings 14:19; mentioned 17x), and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (1 Kings 15:23; mentioned 15x). These books were non-scriptural texts, but they were probably historical texts kept by the royal scribes (2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24-25). At the very least, Donald Wiseman argues that it is a defensive statement that 1 and 2 Kings is a “unified work and… probably and largely the work of one historian.” Critical scholars like Martin Noth and Gerhard von Rad argue for the essential unity of the books—though under the agency of a “Deuteronomistic” author(s).

The most likely candidate for the authorship of 1 and 2 Kings is the prophet Jeremiah. Ancient Jewish tradition states, “Jeremiah wrote the book which bears his name, the Book of Kings, and Lamentations” (Baba Bathra 15a). Furthermore, 1 and 2 Kings “has much in common with Isaiah and Jeremiah in theological perspective, language and purpose.” Archer writes, “Since the author speaks from a consistently prophetic standpoint and is a man of great literary ability, it is possible that Jeremiah may have composed everything except the final chapter.” Hill and Walton write, “This association may have been based on the similarities between Jeremiah 53 and 2 Kings 24-25.”Hill, Andrew, & Walton, John. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (2^nd Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 2000. Moreover, Jeremiah is never mentioned in these two books—even when king Josiah is written about—which could point to prophetic authorship. However, the final chapter occurs in Babylon—not Egypt (where Jeremiah died). The author borrowed three entire chapters word for word (2 Kings 18-20) from the book of Isaiah (Isa. 36-39). So this would show that the author had dependence on the canonical books.

The most formidable arguments against Jeremiah’s authorship is:

(1) Jeremiah would’ve been too old to complete the book.

(2) Jeremiah was captured and sent into Exile (Jer. 43:5-7; 586 BC), so he wouldn’t have been around to tell the history of Jehoiachin’s reign.

However, regarding the first objection, Jeremiah was but a “youth” when he received his calling (Jer. 1:6-7; 627 BC), so this could account for him living long enough to finish the books (562 BC). And regarding the second objection, Jeremiah ends his book by commenting on the historical events of Jehoiachin’s reign (Jer. 52:31-34).

Major themes of 1 and 2 Kings

What should we look for as we read through 1 and 2 Kings? Several themes are prominent:

First, 1 and 2 Kings records the history from the death of David to the fall of Jerusalem (971-562 BC). How did the kingdom go from being God’s chosen nation to a heap of rubble? 1 and 2 Kings explains how the kings constantly turned away from God. Moreover, after the Exile, a number of key features change in Israel:

New language: Aramaic
New name: Judeans = Jews
New theology: polytheism is gone
New way of life: more urban—less agricultural
New worship: the development of synagogues

Second, 1 and 2 Kings explains the turmoil of the kings, prophets, and priests. Archer writes, “The theme of these two books was to demonstrate on the basis of Israel’s history that the welfare of the nation ultimately depended upon the sincerity of its faithfulness to the covenant with Yahweh.” Ultimately, where these men failed, Jesus would succeed—being the perfect King, Prophet, and Priest.

Third, 1 and 2 Kings give us two perspectives on history: human and divine. From the human perspective, it looks like free moral agents are carrying out their business, but from the divine perspective, we see that God’s plan is being carried out. Thus we’ll read that a king killed another king out of his own free will, but then we’ll read, “This fulfilled the word of the Lord.”

Fourth, 1 and 2 Kings give us a picture of a divided nation. Israel had 45 kings in its history, but 42 of these kings reigned over a divided kingdom. Sometimes when nations split, they will come back together. Not so with Israel. Saul, David, and Solomon were the only kings to reign over a united monarchy.

Chronology of Kings

The chronology of the kings is difficult, until we realize that there were coregencies of the kings. That is, some of the kings ruled alongside of each other. Archer writes, “In many instances the crown prince or immediate successor to the throne was formally crowned and his reign officially begun even in the lifetime of his father.”

See our article for a chart and chronological picture of the kings (see “General Chronology of the Kings”).

Key dates to remember

931: Northern and Southern kingdoms split

722: Israel is taken over.

586: Judah is taken over.

Conclusion

Teaching Rotation

(1 Kings 1-6) Solomon takes the throne, and God gives him wisdom. Make sure to summarize at least two of these chapters, rather than reading through all of this material.

(1 Kings 7-12) Solomon’s downfall.

(1 Kings 13-16) For this teaching, split up into groups and have the groups write down what happens to each king in the story.

(1 Kings 17-18) Showdown between Elijah and false prophets—God and Baal.

(1 Kings 19-22) Elijah recuperates, and we see the death of Ahab—an evil king.

(2 Kings 1-3) Elisha takes over. Make sure to summarize large swathes of Scripture in this teaching.

(2 Kings 4-5) The widow and Naaman. The contrast between these two figures is clear: The widow has nothing, but needs help; Naaman has everything, but still needs help!

(2 Kings 6-8) Warfare and death of Ben-Hadad.

(2 Kings 9-12) Split up into groups to summarize the stories of these various kings. Fill in notes for the test at the end of the study.

(2 Kings 13-16) Split up into groups to summarize the stories of these various kings. Fill in notes for the test at the end of the study.

(2 Kings 17-20) Split up into groups to summarize the stories of these various kings. Fill in notes for the test at the end of the study.

(2 Kings 21-25) Split up into groups to summarize the stories of these various kings. Fill in notes for the test at the end of the study.

Wiseman, D. J. (1993). 1 and 2 Kings: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 9, p. 16). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Martin Noth, The Deuteronomistic History (Sheffield: JSOTSupp 15, 1981), pp. 75ff.

Gerhard von Rad, Studies in Deuteronomy (London: SCM Press, 1953), pp. 90–91.

Wiseman, D. J. (1993). 1 and 2 Kings: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 9, p. 56). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 319.

Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 317.

Archer, Gleason. A survey of Old Testament introduction (3rd. ed.). Chicago: Moody Press. 1994. 320.