This article is based on M. G. Easton, “Kings, the books of,” Illustrated Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893), 408-09. It has been edited for conciseness, clarity and readability in the interests of modern readers. Additional notes are by Matt Wright.

The books of Kings originally comprised one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first made by the LXX translation [third century BC].¹

These books contain the annals of the Jewish kingdoms from the accession of Solomon [ca. 970 BC] till Babylon subjugated the Kingdom of Judah [ca. 586 BC].

The authorship of these books is uncertain. There are some portions of them and of Jeremiah that are almost identical (e.g., 2 Kings 24:18–25 and Jer. 52; 39:1–10; 40:7–41:10), and Jeremiah had personal knowledge of some events recorded in Kings. These facts support to some degree the tradition that Jeremiah was the author of Kings. But the more probable theory is that Ezra compiled them after the Babylonian Captivity, perhaps using documents written by David, Solomon, Nathan, Gad, and Iddo.

In the threefold division of the Scriptures by Jews [Torah, Prophets, and Writings], these books are ranked among the “Prophets.” They are frequently quoted or alluded to by our Lord and his apostles (Matt. 6:29; 12:42; Luke 4:25, 26; 10:4; compare 2 Kings 4:29; Mark 1:6; compare. 2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4, etc.).

The sources of the narrative include: (1) “the book of the acts of Solomon” (1 Kings 11:41); (2) the “book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah” (1 Kings 14:29; 15:7, 23, etc.); (3) the “book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel” (1 Kings 14:19; 15:31; 16:14, 20, 27, etc.). The date of its composition was sometime between 561 BC, when Jehoiachin of Judah was released from captivity by Evil-merodach (2 Kings 25:27-30), and 538 BC, the year that Cyrus of Persia decreed the Jews’ freedom.

Notes

1. The LXX (otherwise known as the Septuagint) was the first known translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. There were four books of Kings in the LXX: 1 Kings (i.e., 1 Samuel); 2 Kings (2 Samuel); 3 Kings (1 Kings); 4 Kings (2 Kings). ↩︎