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O l d T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
1 & 2 KINGS
By ANTONIO FUENTES
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This Rock
Volume 4, Number 11
 November 1993 
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IN the Hebrew Bible the
two books of Samuel and the two books of Kings all make up one book.
The division into two stems from the Greek Septuagint, which the Vulgate
and later editions followed and which was in fact adopted by the Hebrew
Bible from 1517 forward. The Septuagint and the Vulgate called them
3 and 4 Kings (because they called Samuel 1 and 2 Kings). The title
of Kings is very appropriate: The text covers the history of the kingdoms
of Judah and Israel from the death of David (c. 970 B.C.) to the Babylonian
exile.
The books appear to have been written in various stages. The earliest
form offers us an outline of the history of the various kings
which the inspired writer took from the "Book of the Acts of
Solomon" (1 Kgs. 11:41), the "Books of the Chronicles of
the King of Israel" (l Kgs. 14:19) and the "Book of the
Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" (1 Kgs. 14:29), often citing
his source. These were public documents accessible to everyone, not
private papers in the royal archives.
Moreover, since the kings are assessed here against the yardstick
of idolatry in the "high places" (cf. 1Kgs. 15:14; 22:44),
this indicates that these books were written after Josiah's reform
(621) and probably after his death. The text says of him, "Before
him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his
heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to the
law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him" (2 Kgs. 23:25).
This would suggest that the passage just quoted, with the exception
of its final words, may very well have marked the end of the work
and that the books therefore originate from before the exile to Babylon
in 587, when the Temple was still in operation and the Ark of the
Covenant was still in position in the Debir or Holy of Holies:
"The priests brought the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord to its
place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place,
underneath the wings of the cherubim" (1 Kgs. 8:6).
However, the first draft must have been followed by a second in the
reign of Jehoiachin (609-598), given that the former makes no reference
to the prophet Jeremiah. The third and final redaction would date
from after 562, during the Babylonian captivity (2 Kgs. 25:22-30).
The books of 1 and 2 Kings follow directly on 1 and 2 Samuel and are
perhaps easier to understand if divided into three parts:
1. The story of Solomon (1 Kgs. 1-11). After a short introduction
dealing with the last days of David and the succession of his son,
the author centers his attention on Solomon, who becomes a king renowned
for his wisdom (the neighboring kings acknowledge this), magnificence
(witness his building program) and wealth (chapters 3-10). The weaknesses
in the king's character do, however, cast their shadow. Foreign wives
influence him to worship their gods, Molech and Ashtoreth (1 Kgs.
11:5). Israel will pay dearly for his infidelity.
Solomon's initial drive and his undoubted intelligence and valor fade
into the background due to his neglect of the worship of Yahweh. As Augustine
comments, external worship is not pleasing to God however splendidly
and richly it is done, unless it is inspired by the interior worship
of faith, hope, and charity and is accompanied by good works, that
is, faithfulness to God's commandments.
2. The kingdom is split in two: Judah and Israel (1 Kgs. 12:22).
The differences between the northern and western tribes, latent during
David's reign, lead to a permanent split--religious as well as
political--after Solomon's death (chap. 12-13). From this point
onwards parallel histories are given for the two kingdoms (chap. 14-22).
In chapter 17 Elijah the prophet appears out of nowhere to preach
a message of strict fidelity to Yahweh and to defend worship of Yahweh
against that of Phoenician idols. His name, which means "My God
is Yahweh," describes his whole life program. He is the greatest
of the non-writer prophets. In addition to the passage which describes
his challenge to the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs. 18:24ff), his experience
on Mount Horeb is well worth meditation.
Earlier symbols of God's presence--the hurricane, earthquake,
fire--give way to the "still small voice"
of a gentle breeze, which symbolizes that God is pure spirit. His
goodness and mercy, which invite man but never force him, are a veiled
reference to the God-Child who will be born at Bethlehem, who has
no need of noisy show to win man's attention.
3. The history of Judah and Israel up to the time of the exile
(2 Kgs. 1-25). These chapters deal mainly with the wars between
the two kingdoms and the attacks on them from outside. The situation
became even more critical when the Assyrians invaded, first in the
ninth century and more vigorously in the eighth. Samaria, the capital
of the northern kingdom, fell in 721, and later Judah became an Assyrian
vassal. From this point onwards biblical history centers on Judah
and continues to do so up to the fall of Jerusalem in 587.
After the apotheosis of Elijah on Mount Carmel (chap. 2) Elisha the
prophet takes over the role of promoting the Covenant.
To understand God's message in Kings we need to keep in mind the teaching
of Deuteronomy. The basic teaching of Deuteronomy had to do with there
being only one God and only one valid Temple for his worship. This
centralization of priesthood and liturgy is first legislated for in
Deuteronomy 12.
The kings are condemned in these books because instead of concentrating
on the Temple in Jerusalem they establish rival shrines at Bethel
and Dan in the north in opposition to the Temple; furthermore, they
are neglectful of their duty to suppress the "high places"
all over Palestine where sacrifice is offered to Baal in contravention
of the Covenant.
This and none other is the reason for the collapse first of Samaria
and later of Judah. Yahweh is not at fault. He kept his word; it is
Israel who has been faithless. God's judgment is accepted
submissively because he is justified in his sentence and blameless
in his judgment (cf. Ps. 51). Everything recounted in Kings is a canticle
in praise of divine justice; any punishment meted out simply means
that unfaithfulness to the covenant is being dealt with as promised
(cf. Deut. 28:15ff).
In spite of the sadness felt by the survivors of the catastrophe,
there is still that ray of hope coming from Nathan's prophecy of an
everlasting Davidic kingdom (2 Sam. 7). This is underlined when after
years in prison Jehoiachin, king of Judah, is pardoned by the king
of Babylon (2 Kgs. 25:27-30). The people who stay faithful to Yahweh
do realize that the keeping of his law "is no trifle, but it
is your life" (Deut 32:47), for God always keeps his word (1
Kgs. 2:4; 2Kgs. 10:10).
Kings contains a lot of important theological material but it is also
historically very accurate, as recent archaeology shows. For example,
the list of cities conquered by Pharaoh Sheshonq (Shishak) I is carried
on a wall in a temple in Karnak, and Jerusalem is included (cf. 1
Kgs. 14:25-28); the monolith of Shalmaneser III commemorates that
king's victory at the battle of Qarqar over an alliance of Syrian
and Palestinian kings; the black obelisk which shows Jehu or his representative
prostrated before Shalmaneser and lists the various objects given
as tribute by the son of Omri; the Taylor prism and the bas-reliefs
of Sennarcherib's palace in Nineveh which refer to Sennacherib's campaigns
against Judah (cf. 2 Kgs. 18:13,19:37). Within Palestine itself we
have the stele of Mesha, the Siloe inscription, the "obstraca"
of Lakish and Samaria, and many other cities which have been excavated
and whose findings corroborate what the sacred text says.
Antonio Fuentes teaches Scripture at the University
of Navarre in Spain and is the author of A Guide to the Bible.
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