Listen to chuck swindolls overview of first kings in his audio message from the classic series gods masterwork. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. The book of kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. But nothing within the text provides a definitive clue as to the compiler of the material. An introduction to the books of first and second kings bible. The book of 2 nd kings is narrative history and prophecy concerning the affairs of the divided kingdoms. No one knows the author of 1 and 2 kings, though some commentators have suggested ezra, ezekiel. Was the obadiah in 1 kings 18 the same obadiah who wrote. 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. Whoever the author was, it is clear that he was familiar with the book of deuteronomyas were many of israels prophets. Here is a list of kings mentioned in the bible for israel, and when israel and judah became separate nations. 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.
Bible quiz questions and answers on the book of 1 kings. Enoch was the only other man in the bible to do so genesis 5. Jack zavada is a writer who covers the bible, theology, and other christianity topics. As walton and hill write, the books share a prophetic view of history in which cause and effect are tied to the blessings and cursings of the covenant. The waters of the jordan river rolled back twice 2 kings 2. They trace the history of the kings of israel and judah from the time of solomon 970931 b. Jewish tradition credits jeremiah the prophet as the author of 1 kings, although bible scholars are divided on the issue.
The tradition is that it was written by the prophet jeremiah. The books of first and second kings were originally one book in the hebrew bible, but were later divided into two books. Jun 25, 2015 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. Others see these writings as merely fanciful tales or historical curiosities. The book of 1 kings does not specifically name its author. That includes 1 and 2 kings, since in the hebrew bible they are a single book. The hebrew title dibre hayyamim can be translated the events or annals of the days or years. The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b.
There is little conclusive evidence as to the identity of the author of 1,2 kings. Whoever the author was, it is clear that he was familiar with the book of deuteronomy as were many of israels prophets. In the hebrew bible, 1 and 2 kings were one book until the sixteenth century. Sep, 2012 this is the holy book of 1 kings, known as the first book of the kings, otherwise called the third book of the kings. Although they are separate books in modern bibles, the books of 1 samuel and 2 samuel were originally one book. Enrich your faith and grow in spiritual maturity with the incredible bible study and devotional books listed below. Summary of the books of kings the story of the bible. The son of david bible quiz questions and answers on the book of 1 kings. Book of second kings overview insight for living ministries. Those who identify jeremiah as the author consider the historical. The translators of the septuagint introduced the separation into two books and this separation was made also in the vulgate. The books of kings were originally one book in the ancient hebrew manuscripts, and the writers of the septuagint divided them. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings continue the history at the place where 2 samuel ends. The tradition is that the prophet jeremiah was the author of both 1 and 2 kings.
The purpose of 1st kings is to contrast those who obey and disobey god throughout the ruling. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of david. An introduction to the books of first and second kings. The holy bible book 11 1 kings kjv dramatized audio. Second kings features many unique events and people. 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. During this conquest, the people of edom helped capture fleeing israelites and turn them over to the babylonians. Answered mar 1, 2017 author has 14k answers and 10. Jewish tradition speculates that ezra could have written 1 and 2 chronicles, whichlike samuel and kingsoriginally formed one work. Those who wrote the bible lived at different times, some separated by hundreds of years. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the.
The books of 1 and 2 kings received their names because they document the reigns of the 40 monarchs of the kingdoms of israel and judah following david. In the hebrew scriptures the book of kings books of 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. Intro to 1 kings biblica the international bible society. 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 ezra. The reign of solomon is treated in 1 kings 311, followed by the reigns of kings of judah. We derive our english title kings from jeromes vulgate, the latin translation of the bible. King solomon also wrote proverbs, ecclesiastes and the song of solomon. Christians consider the bible to be the word of god. Probable timeline of when each psalm was written study resources.
They even took up residence in some judean villages. All scripture is written under the inspiration and by the holy spiritno man ever wrote a bible verseit is all godjust as this computer never wrote a thing by but the hand of the owner. Although jewish tradition credits jeremiah, few today accept this as likely. 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 together and edited by a nameless exilic editor or editors.
It is likely the most famous translation of the bible and was the standard english bible for. Click to view fullsized bible infographic diversity of bible writers. Second kings is the twelfth book in the old testament, immediately after 1 kings and before 1 chronicles. In most roman catholic versions, 1 and 2 samuel are called the first and. There were many authors to the events that took place in. Ancient tradition identifies jeremiah as the author of 1 and 2 kings. Someone separated it into these two parts in order to make it more convenient to copy. Who really wrote the biblical books of kings and the prophets. Interesting facts about 1 kings barnes bible charts author. The book of 1 kings was likely written between 560 and 540 b. The book of psalms was written by both the holy spirit and multiple human authors. Aug 24, 2018 the book of kings 1 kings and 2 kings were written by prophet jeremiah name of the book.
First and second kings were originally one book, called in the hebrew text, kings, from the first word in 1. For some, the sixtysix books of the bible are holy scripture. The book of kings is the ninth book of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the. While this account of the authorship of these books is widely accepted by christian and jewish religious authorities, modernday biblical scholars overwhelmingly reject it. Book of first kings overview insight for living ministries. World history books today are much different from those of 40 years ago, reflecting the changing concerns of the times more on africans, asians, and women. This summary of the book of 1 chronicles provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 1 chronicles. Like the books of 1 and 2 samuel, 1 and 2 kings originally were one book. And the book of kings, according to tradition, was written by the prophet jeremiah. The tribes of judah, benjamin, and some of levi were serving a pagan king in a faraway country.
Possibly jeremiah or a group of prophets time written. This book is the sequel to 1 and 2 samuel and begins by tracing solomons rise to kingship after the death of. The chronicler, as scholars have long referred to the author of this book, is anonymous. Others portions of that book were written by moses, hezekiah, solomon and others. 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. The first five books of the bible are known by various names. Jewish tradition is that jeremiah wrote the book of kings talmud, bava bathra 14b. In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative started in samuel. The books of 1 kings and 2 kings were originally one book. Samuel, the talmud says, wrote the book of judges and the book of samuel. The old testament also calls genesis through deuteronomy the book of the law joshua 8. Others attribute a group of anonymous authors called the deuteronomists, since language from the book of deuteronomy is repeated in 1 kings. The author uses traditional materials freely to construct a unified presentation.
The next answers to the question of who wrote the bible come from the books of joshua, judges, samuel, and kings, generally believed to have been written during the babylonian captivity in the middle of the sixth century b. One thing that almost everyone agrees on is that the two books or sets of two books each were written at different times by different people. Included are the writings of moses, the apostles paul and john. The key personalities are david, solomon, rehoboam, jeroboam, elijah, ahab, and jezebel. Sometimes christians get so caught up in the religious aspect of the bible that they forget its very human quality. In christian contexts it is therefore known as the books of chronicles, after the latin name chronikon given to the text by the scholar jerome. The majority of 1 kings was written prior to 586 b. The book of samuel, or 1 samuel and 2 samuel, form part of the narrative history of israel in the neviim or prophets section of the hebrew bible old testament, called the deuteronomistic history, a series of books joshua, judges, samuel and kings that constitute a theological history of the israelites and aim to explain gods law for israel under the guidance of the prophets. Though they recognize that god used various people to pen. About the book of 1 samuel its author, date and purpose. Books of kings, two books of the hebrew bible or the protestant old. The relationship between the books of kings and chronicles.
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 two books of kings originally formed one book only in the hebrew bible. Daniel, peter, paul, jonah, isaiah, solomon and david. Oct 10, 2015 here is a list of kings mentioned in the bible for israel, and when israel and judah became separate nations. Today, many scholars believe that 1 and 2 kings are the concluding part of the. Kings was broken into two books for convenience sake because of its. Zephaniah was a prophet of god, sent to help gods people tribe of judah towards spiritual revival. All three books probably belonged to the official archive collections and were annals or historical. Kings melechim or the book of the kings was the original title in hebrew of the one book that was later divided into what are now 1 and 2 kings by the translators of the greek old testament, septuagint or lxx.
The recording is dramatized, from the king james bible. Traditionally believed to have been written by joshua and samuel themselves, theyre now often lumped in with deuteronomy due to their similar style and language. They were called the third and fourth books of kingdoms, although in the hebrew manuscript the title was called kings, exactly the same as we have in our english bible. These acknowledged sources are the book of the acts of solomon mentioned in 1 kings 11. Even if it says, i king nebuchadnezzar it was likely recorded by daniel, but againdaniel was only an instrument on the hands of the holy spirit, so in the end, all scripture is authored by god, the holy spirit.
The book of 1 kings traces the history of gods covenant people under israels kings, beginning with the reign. King saul king saul was the first king of israel and for a time was a good king, even. Obadiah wrote this shortest book of the old testament probably soon after 586 b. It is an unusual book because it was written by so many human authors as indicated in the chart below. Of course, it was necessary to copy books by hand at that time.
The book of 2 kings is a sequel to the book of 1 kings. Who was the writer of the book of kings in the bible. 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. Books of the bible list with the name of each book, the writer, place written, and time covered. First kings covers about 126 years of israels history. The book of 1st kings is narrative history and prophecy.
In the hebrew bible the book of kings continued the narrative. The prophet elijah left this earth without dying 2. According to jewish tradition the author of kings was jeremiah, who would have been alive during the fall of jerusalem in 586 bce. This includes the death of david to the death of jehoshaphat, or about 960 to 834 bc. Book of first chronicles overview insight for living ministries. The books of kings were probably written during the time of judahs captivity in babylon which begins at the end of second kings. Israel had 20 kings, and judah had 20, including one female who usurped the throne. Well, more accurately, the bible is a unique collection of books.
1300 1530 212 1403 1679 966 1557 799 363 1648 1270 1174 791 933 747 1155 327 1087 147 1363 1201 1572 217 1383 830 1181 165 559 521 50 1034 353 484 186 665