Books of Kings in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

I. TITLE II. SCOPE III. CHARACTER OF BOOKS AND POSITION IN THE HEBREW CANON 1. Purpose 2. Character of Data IV. HISTORICAL VALUE 1. Treatment of Historical Data 2. Chronology 3. Value of Assyrian Records 4. Plan V. COMPOSITION 1. Nature of the Books 2. Sources 3. Kent's Scheme 4. The Jahwist (Jahwist) and the Elohist (E) VI. DATE LITERATURE I. Title. The Hebrew title reads, melakhim, "kings," the division into books being based on the Septuagint where the Books of Kings are numbered 3rd and 4th, the Books of Kingdoms (Basileion), the Books of Samuel being numbered respectively 1st and 2nd. The separation in the Hebrew into 2 Books of Kings dates to the rabbinic Bible of Daniel Bomberg (Venice, 1516-17), who adds in a footnote, "Here the non-Jews (i.e. Christians) begin the 4th Book of Kings." The Hebrew Canon treats the 2 Books of Samuel as one book, and the 2 Books of Kings as one. Hence, both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) read incorrectly, "The First Book of Kings," even the use of the article being superfluous.gs (stadia) from Jerusalem, which he named Absalom's Hand." In all probability this "pillar" was a rough upright stone--a matstsebhah--but its site is lost. The traditional Greek-Egyptian tomb of perhaps 100-200 years BC which has been hewn out of the rock on the eastern side of the Kidron valley is manifestly misnamed "Absalom's pillar," and the Kidron ravine (nachal) cannot be the King's Vale (`emeq). II. Scope. The Books of Kings contain 47 chapters (I, 22 chs; II, 25 chs), and cover the period from the conspiracy of Adonijah and the accession of Solomon (975 BC) to the liberation of Jehoiachin after the beginning of the Exile (561 BC). The subject-matter may be grouped under certain heads, as the last days of David (1 Ki 1 through 2:11); Solomon and his times (1 Ki 2:12 through 11:43); the Northern Kingdom to the coming of Assyria (1 Ki 12:16 through 2 Ki 17:41) (937-722 BC), including 9 dynastic changes; the Southern Kingdom to the coming of Babylon (1 Ki 12:1 through 2 Ki 25:21, the annals of the two kingdoms being given as parallel records until the fall of Israel) (937-586 BC), during which time but one dynasty, that of David, occupied...