17) and after the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon (2 Kgs. The books are written from the perspective of someone sitting long after the exile of the northern tribes (2 Kgs. He’s writing a prophetic history of how the word of God in the Torah and the prophets was the true Lord of Israel’s story. The author of 1 and 2 Kings is as much a theologian as he is a historian. However, if a historical account of the kings isn’t the primary purpose of the books, what is the point of 1 and 2 Kings? Wow, that’s a lot of references to outside sources!Ĭlearly, historical records of the kings already existed and the readers had access to them. You’ll notice his references throughout your reading (1 Kgs. We know this because he quotes extensively from outside source books called the “Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.” After the story of each king’s reign, he says you can go read more about that king in those texts. While it does tell the story of Israel and the succession of its kings, the author isn’t writing history just for the sake of history. It’s easy to read 1 and 2 Kings and think of it as a history of Israel. Note: I wrote this for The Bible Project in conjunction with Tim Mackie’s work.
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