An Overview of 1 Kings and 2 Kings

Kings presents the history of Israel’s monarchy, in the final days of the united kingdom and the later division into Israel and Judah. The book of 1 Kings opens at the end of the reign of David, Israel’s greatest king. The deportation to Babylon of Jehoiachin, Judah’s last king, closes the book of 2 Kings. The time span of the two books is a little more than 400 years (971–586 BC).

These historical narratives of Israel and Judah include interaction with the surrounding nations, the disasters of following false prophets, and the tragic Babylonian captivity. These books are a record of events in fulfilling God’s promise of blessing for obedience (Dt 17:14-20) and judgment for disobedience (Dt 28–29). During the monarchy the prophets, particularly Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah, proclaimed God’s message. First and 2 Kings reveal God’s faithfulness to His Word and His people. They are books of theological truth and great spiritual issues which ultimately remind Israel of the Davidic covenant (see 2Sm 7:12-16), the failure of all the kings in fulfilling it, and the resulting encouragement for Israel to keep looking for the coming Son of David, the messianic King.

Who Wrote the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings?

The books of Kings give no indication of the author’s identity. However the style and word choice, recurring themes, and literary patterns in the book support the historic position of a single author. Rabbinic tradition ascribed authorship to Ezra or Ezekiel. The Babylonian Talmud says it was written by Jeremiah, since 2Kg 24:18–25:30 is exactly the same as the last chapter of Jeremiah (Jr 52). The actual writer is uncertain; however some facts about the author can be learned from the text.

It is clear that the author of Kings was familiar with the biblical text and other Jewish writings and referred to them in the composition of Kings. He referred to the “book of the acts of Solomon” (1Kg 11:41). He also referred to the “Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel” (cf. 1Kg 14:19; 15:31; 16:5, 14, 20, 27; 22:39; 2Kg 1:18; 10:34; 13:8, 12; 14:15; 15:6, 11, 15, 21, 26, 31) and the “Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah” (cf. 1Kg 14:29; 15:7, 23; 22:45; 2Kg 8:23; 12:19; 14:18, 28; 15:36; 16:19; 20:20; 21:17, 25; 23:28; 24:5). These Chronicles are not the OT books of 1 and 2 Chronicles but were official court records on the monarchy, no longer extant. Therefore the unidentified human author drew on a variety of secular records to record inspired history from God’s perspective.

Some critical scholars have suggested Kings had multiple author/editors from various time periods in Israel’s history who recorded events over this 400-year span from Solomon to Jehoiachin. Then a later editor added his own historical details and smoothed out rough transitions in the ultimate production of 1 and 2 Kings. The primary problem with multiple-author theories is that they do not provide sufficient evidence to explain the books’ consistency in presenting a unified theological perspective or linguistic structure. Nor do they explain how these various editors were able to pass information along for a final composition, especially with so many supposed editors involved over several hundred years.

Therefore, the viewpoint of this commentary is that a single author wrote during the time of the exile, compiling what is known today as 1 and 2 Kings. This unidentified author drew on a variety of secular sources to record Israel’s history. The people of Israel needed to understand theologically why they went into exile. Furthermore, all the failed kings of Israel and Judah reminded them to keep looking for the Davidic King, the Messiah, who was yet to come.

When Were the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings Written?

The date of composition, like the author, is difficult to ascertain. Nothing is stated in 1 or 2 Kings that pinpoints an exact date of writing.

Internal evidence, however, indicates the books were written during the exile. One piece of evidence is the last recorded event in 2 Kings, the release of Jehoiachin from prison to live out his life in Babylon. This occurred in the 37th year of his exile (cf. 2Kg 25:27-30; 560 BC). However, there is no mention of the return from Babylon, indicating the book was written while the Jewish people were still in captivity.

A second support for dating the books to the time of the exile is the phrase “to this day,” which appears 13 times throughout the books (cf. 1Kg 8:8; 9:13, 21; 12:19; 2Kg 2:22; 8:22; 10:27; 14:7; 16:6; 17:34, 41; 20:17; 21:15). The phrase is significant because it describes a variety of situations and historical markers that were still in place or practice at the time of the writing. Again a specific date is not given, but internal evidence indicates that the writing had to be sometime after those events occurred, but not so far distant that they were no longer recalled. A date sometime during the exile, but prior to the return, best fits with the events described in 1 and 2 Kings. Therefore, a probable date for the writing of the books is between 560 and 550 BC.

Key dates in Israel’s history are woven into the text: David died and Solomon became king in 971 BC; the kingdom was divided in 930 BC; the northern kingdom fell to Assyria in 721 BC; Judah fell to Babylon in 586 BC. However, an exact coordination of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah can be confusing, despite chronology such as “in the third year that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel . . .” (1Kg 22:2). This can be resolved in some cases by understanding coregency or vice-regency of kings. Also, Judah and Israel used two different systems of determining when the reign began, and even this system was sometimes altered over the years. Finally, Judah and Israel began their calendar years at different times, so the beginning of the new year does not coincide. (For a detailed discussion of this see, Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings, rev. ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983.) The accounts of the reigns of the kings of Judah and Israel often alternate throughout the two books of Kings, with more details given about some of the monarchs and very little detail given about others. The dates and years of the reigns of the kings, along with the key parallel passages in 2 Chronicles, are included in the commentary.

Who Were the Target Readers for 1 Kings and 2 Kings?

The recipients of 1 and 2 Kings are not specifically stated. However, the content and message of the book suggests it was written to the faithful remnant of Jewish people who had gone into captivity. The message of the book explains how and why the nation went into captivity, because of their failure to follow the Lord. It also presents God’s faithfulness to His covenant to David to preserve a faithful remnant (cf. 2Sm 7:8-17). Although all of the kings of Judah had ultimately failed to fulfill the Davidic promise, the implication is that the people should keep looking forward for the messianic King, the greater Son of David.

What Are the Purpose and Theme of 1 Kings and 2 Kings?

The historical narrative of Kings goes beyond a simple historical record of the 19 kings of Israel (all bad) and the 20 kings of Judah (only eight good—Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash/Jehoash, Amaziah, Jotham, Azariah/Uzziah, Jotham, and Hezekiah). First, for the Jewish people in Babylon in 560 BC, and for the later Jewish community, reading Kings would provide insight into their circumstances, explaining the cause of the Babylonian conquest. The nation was taken into captivity for their wicked practice of idolatry: setting up a corrupted worship of the Lord with the golden calves in the northern kingdom, worshiping the gods of the pagan nations around them on the high places and in Jerusalem, and even sacrificing their children to Molech. After the return from exile, Israel would never again practice idolatry.

Second, these books are designed to reveal that each king failed, even the good kings of Judah, to be the ultimate heir to the Davidic throne promised by God in the Davidic covenant (cf. 2Sm 7:8-17). The messianic Son of David was yet to come. Furthermore, an understanding of Kings would give the Jewish people, and all readers up to today, renewed opportunity to fear God, live in devotion to Him, and look for the messianic King.