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The First Book of the KINGS Commonly Called the Third Book of The

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The First Book of the KINGS Commonly Called the Third Book of The The First Book of the KINGS Commonly Called the Third Book of the Kings INTRODUCTION [Following is the introduction to both 1 Kings and 2 Kings, which are parts of one whole.] 1. Title. The present two books of Kings were originally one, known in Hebrew as Melakim, “Kings.” In the Hebrew Bible, Kings continued undivided until the time of the printed edition of Daniel Bomberg, 1516–17. The Greek translators of the LXX, who divided the “book of Samuel” into two books, also divided the “book of Kings” into two books, and treated the four as parts 1 to 4 of “Kingdoms.” The title “Kings” indicates the contents of the books; our present first book of Kings gives the history of the Hebrew monarchs beginning with the death of David and the reign of Solomon and closing with the accession of Jehoram in Judah and Ahaziah in Israel. Second Kings begins with a continuation of the account of Ahaziah’s reign and closes with the end of the kingdom of Judah. 2. Authorship. The books of Kings are more in the nature of a compilation of selected materials brought together an editor rather than an original production from a single hand. They contain highly valuable and reliable historical material. Items drawn by inspired from early sources have been brought together and arranged into a framework following a specific pattern, with comments indicating a deep religious purpose. Many items have been taken directly or indirectly from official court or temple records. Archeological research touching many of these items has proved beyond question the striking accuracy of the accounts in Kings. There are narratives taken over, no doubt, from records preserved in the schools of the prophets. Stories are presented at times with great dramatic appeal, and yet again with sober moralizing judgments. Historical contributions are found in these writings without parallel anywhere in the records of Assyria, Egypt, or Babylon. Even when judged from the standpoint of profane history, these writings, with their deep human appeal, their matchless charm, sagacious political judgments, and penetrating moral philosophy, are among the most outstanding productions that have come to us from the ancient East. With all the diversity of source material, there exists a striking evidence of unity and regularity of plan. The accounts of the various kings are presented with a fixed formula for the beginning and ending of each reign. Judgments are pronounced in which the kings are compared with either the good or evil monarchs who preceded them. Certain peculiarities of thought and expression which pervade the entire two books of Kings point definitely to some single individual who played a prominent part in bringing together this material in its present form. The date of the composition is provided by the conclusion of the book itself, the final period of Judean history, when the southern kingdom was brought to its end by Nebuchadnezzar and its people were taken into Babylonian captivity. We cannot identify with certainty the individual who brought together the materials of Kings in their present form, but Jewish tradition has a report in the Talmud, Baba Bathra, 15a, that it was Jeremiah. If 2 Kings 25:27–30 be regarded as a postscript, the editor could well have been Jeremiah or an inspired contemporary of his. 3. Historical Setting. The books of Kings parallel one of the most interesting and eventful periods of ancient Near Eastern history. This is the period when Assyria rose to the height of its power and when its kings went out to conquer the world, including in their schemes of conquest the monarchies of Israel and Judah. This is the time of the Twenty-first to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty in Egypt, when Egypt had not yet given up its plans of conquest and when it vied with the Mesopotamia powers for the control of Palestine and Syria. This is the time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, when the Medes and Chaldeans defeated the Assyrian Empire and brought much of the Near East under their sway, destroying the nation of Judah and taking the southern tribes into captivity to Babylon. Throughout this period the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were in almost constant and vital contact with the nations of the East. Among the wives of Solomon was a daughter of Pharaoh. Hiram of Tyre was regarded by Solomon as a personal friend, and lent great assistance in the construction of the Temple. Jeroboam, who was destined to become the first king of Israel, was a political refugee from Solomon and sought asylum in Egypt. Rehoboam, in the fifth year of his reign, was attacked by Shishak of Egypt. This Biblical “Shishak” was the famous Sheshonk I, founder of Egypt’s Twenty-second Dynasty, who also left his own record of his attack on the cities of Israel and Judah. Omri was a king who left such an imprint upon posterity that the kingdom of Israel came to be known among the Assyrians as Mat Humri, “Omri-Land.” Shalmaneser III mentions Ahab as having fought with the western allies against Assyria at the battle of Qarqar in Shalmaneser’s sixth year and that in his eighteenth year he received tribute from Jehu. Mesha of Moab is reported as having paid tribute to Ahab and as having rebelled against Israel after Ahab’s death. Further interesting details of this incident come to us from the famous Moabite Stone—that he received tribute from King “Joash, the Samaritan.” The record in Kings mentions Menahem’s payment of tribute to Pul of Assyria and of Tiglath-pileser’s attack on the northern tribes during the reign of Pekah. We also possess the records of Tiglath-pileser III in which he mentions his contacts with Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea of Israel, and with Azariah and Ahaz of Judah. The Bible also mentions the payment of tribute by Hoshea to Shalmaneser V, Hoshea’s subsequent conspiracy against Assyria and with So of Egypt, and Shalmaneser’s three-year siege of Samaria, ending in the capture of Samaria and the end of the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17). During the 14th year of Hezekiah, Sennacherib made his famous invasion of Palestine, with “all the fenced cities of Judah” falling into his hands and with Hezekiah himself besieged at Jerusalem. Sennacherib has left to posterity his own vivid account of this campaign. It was about the time of Hezekiah’s heroic resistance against Sennacherib that Merodach-baladan of Babylon (see on 2 Kings 20:12) sent his envoys to the Judean king. Josiah met his death at the hands of Necho of Egypt while endeavoring to resist an Egyptian thrust through Palestine. Finally there are detailed accounts of Nebuchadnezzar’s numerous campaigns against Jerusalem in the days of Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, which resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the southern kingdom. To appreciate this important period of Hebrew history it is necessary to understand the events then taking place in Assyria, Egypt, and Babylon. To integrate correctly the affairs of these various nations it is necessary to arrange these into a chronological pattern, so that events may be correctly placed in the historical framework and contemporaneous kings and events may appear side by side. Except for the last three or four rulers of Assyria, the Assyrian and Babylonian dates for this period are generally accepted as fully established. For Egypt the chronology is not nearly so certain. See pp. 17, 124. 4. Theme. Though the books of Kings present the history of the Hebrew rulers from the death of David and the reign of Solomon to the final destruction of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the primary purpose is not to present the facts of history for the sake of history. There is history, but it is presented with a purpose—to show how the experiences of the Hebrews relate to the plans and purposes of God. The object was not so much to write a detailed chronicle of the bald facts of history as to present the lessons of history. The compiler of these books had a deep religious motive and a very practical aim. The children of Israel were the people of God, and it was their task to fulfill the divine purpose and live out on earth the principles of the kingdom of heaven. Righteousness was to be the foundation for national prosperity. Sin could end only in ruin. If true to its divine mission, the nation would grow in strength and greatness. If kings and rulers failed to live up to the divine purpose, Israel as a people would perish. The nation could not exist without righteousness and without God. The amazing thing is that when the Israelites had failed as a nation and were face with utter and seemingly irretrievable ruin, someone found in the dark history of Israel’s sorrows and defeats something worth recording for generations to come. The lessons of Israel’s failure were to bring light and hope to the world. Upon the ashes of defeat there must yet be reared a new structure of success and victory. Israel might perish, but righteousness must not perish. If the lessons of Israel’s failure were learned, the world would yet find hope in God. The age when the book of Kings came into being was the age of the prophets. In the pronouncements of this book are to be found the courage and spiritual insight of the prophets, bringing home to the hearts of men lessons from God. The record of Kings begins with the glorious reign of Solomon, and the building of the Temple, with the nation virile and strong.
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