About the book of 1-Kings

Titles, Summaries, and Commentary.

Summary of 1-Kings

The Book of Kings is the heritage of the Davidic Kingdom. Beginning with Solomon, kings come and go, and Israel awaits the coming Son of David and King of Whom all the prophets speak. As Nathan and Gad were prophets for King David, promising the Messiah to come, the Lord lifted up other prophets for the kings which followed David. The good kings listened to these prophets, while the bad kings persecuted and killed them.


What does 1-Kings mean?

The Book of Kings is one book in the Hebrew. Like Samuel, the Septuagint divided the book into two parts, and thus the 1st Kings and 2nd Kings we have in the English text today. The Hebrew title, Melakiym comes from the first word of the book: King (referring to David). The Septuagint renders our books of 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings, as (Books of Kingdoms)


Who wrote 1-Kings?

The text does not identify the author. The Talmud credits 1st & 2nd Kings to the prophet Jeremiah. There is good linguistic evidence for Jeremiah’s authorship when Kings is compared to Jeremiah & Lamentations. The phrases “to this day” found in 1st Kgs. 8:8 & 12:19 indicate an authorship prior to, or early in, the Babylonian captivity (586BC). The final paragraph (2nd Kgs. 25:27-30) is nearly identical to the ending of Jeremiah (Jer. 52:31-34), and appears to be an epilogue added by a later scribe.


1-Kings Chapter Titles


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