Historical Books of the Old Testament: 1&2 Kings

Part of the "Old Testament Library" series, this title offers a close reading of the historical books of "1 Kings" and "2 Kings", concentrating on not only issues in the history of Israel but also the literary techniques of storytelling used in these books. It also contains advanced discussions of textual difficulties in 1 and 2 "Kings".

Contents: 1 Kings 1-11, The Reign of Solomon. -- 1 Kings 12 -- 2 Kings 17, The Divided Monarchy of Israel and Judah. -- 2 Kings 18-25, The Kingdom of Judah after the Destruction of Israel

Contents: A kingdom of Shalom -- Shalom is broken -- Israel under the prophetic word -- Israel's last chance and the end -- Judah: paradox of promise and punishment

Contents: The world of 1 Kings -- Sacred history as theological testimony -- 1 Kings as a literary composition -- Toward the original text of 1 Kings -- Supplemental bibliography -- Critique of "postmodern" negativism regarding the Old Testament as a source of reliable historical information -- Conclusion to the throne-succession narrative (1:1-2:46) -- Account of Solomon's reign (3:1-11:43) -- Account of the two kingdoms up to Ahab (12:1-16:34) -- Excusus : the chronology of the Hebrew kings -- Narratives of the prophets in Elijah's time (17:1-22:40) -- The Elijah narratives : composition and redaction -- The reign of Jehoshaphat (22:41-51 [Eng. 22:41-50]) -- The reign of Ahaziah, son of Ahab (22:52-54 [Eng. 22:51-53])

T.R. Hobbs study on the Book of 2 Kings is part of the Word Biblical Commentary, serving the needs of scholars, students, and anyone who seeks to build a theological understanding of Scripture based on solid scholarship.

This study explores the narrative world created by the ancient Israelite author - the people who inhabit it, the lives they live and the deeds they do, and the face of God who is revealed in their stories.

This commentary unfolds the literary dimensions of 2 Kings, analyzes the strategies through which its words create a world of meaning, and examines the book's tales of prophets, political intrigue, royal apostasy, and religious reform as components of larger patterns." "2 Kings is divided into four parts including Part One "The Story of Elisha: 2 Kings 1:1-8:6"; Part Two "Revolutions in Aram, Israel, and Judah: 2 Kings 8:7-13:25": Part Three "Turmoil and Tragedy for Israel: 2 Kings 14-17"; and Part Four "Renewal and Catastrophe for Judah: 2 King 18-25.

This new translation of and commentary on I Kings by the translator and coauthor of the Anchor Bible Commentary on II Kings recounts the early history of the Israelite monarchy. The book begins with the death of David and describes the reign of his successor, Solomon, the building of the first Temple, and the division of the monarchy into the two separate kingdoms of Israel and Judah.

Contents: 2 Kings -- The Elisha cycle -- History of the divided monarchy resumed -- The kingdom of Judah until the exile

Contents: General Introduction -- A Guide to Using This Commentary -- Abbreviations -- Introduction to 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther -- Commentary on 1 Kings -- Commentary on 2 Kings -- Commentary on 1 Chronicles -- Commentary on 2 Chronicles -- Commentary on Ezra -- Commentary on Nehemiah -- Commentary on Esther

This text presents a collection of published and unpublished essays focusing on the subject of kingship in the ancient world. They explore the ways in which centralized state power, as epitomized by the sacred king, encounters other oppositional forms of power, including religious discourse.

Well detailed and illustrated outline of the rulers encompassed by the Old Testament, from Abraham to Herod.

Contents: King's Paradoxical Traits --
Ways of Knowing Kings -- 2. In Defense of Doeg: Loyalty and Information Management in the Story of Saul -- 3. Royal Power and Information Management in the Ancient Near East and Greece: A Comparative Perspective -- 4. Royal Power and Knowing in the Biblical Sense -- 5. Invading David's Privacy: Power, Gossip, and the Private-Public Distinction -- 6. Solomon and the Wizard of Oz: Power and Invisibility in a Verbal Palace -- 7. King of Desire: Intertextuality and Character in the Solomon Narrative -- 8. Gossiping about God: Royal Information Management and Scapegoating in the Garden of Eden -- 9. Devil Made Me Do it: Royal Unaccountability in the Frame Narrative of Job -- 10. Royal Narcissism: The King on the Couch -- 11. Divine Narcissism and Yahweh As Parent and King

The reigning assumptions in 1970s and 1980s scholarship on 1 and 2 'Kings', and indeed on all of the Deuteronomistic history, have come under serious question. How can differing views of that history be reconciled? What sources were available to the authors? Here, scholars pursue these and related questions.

Contents: First book of Kings -- Who shall inherit the grand years of David? (chs. 1-4) -- Solomon enthroned (ch. 1) -- "Blood will have blood" (2:1-11) -- "The wisdom of Solomon" (2:12-46) -- Dreams and shadows of dreams (ch. 3) -- The apotheosis of empire (ch. 4) -- Stone upon stone, the king constructs immortality (chs. 5-9) -- The "great pyramid" of Solomon (ch. 5) -- The house of the Lord? (ch. 6) -- A palace fit for a king? (ch. 7) -- The temple dedicated : folly, fiction, obsession (ch. 8) -- The tyrant and the convenient deity (ch. 9) -- From Solomon to Jeroboam : kings run amok (chs. 10-13) -- The king and the queen : wisdom compounded, unconfounded (10:1-13) -- The great king : possessed by possessions (10:14-29) -- Shadows over the empire (11:1-8) -- Enemies and traitors : the decline and fall (11:9-43) -- The seamless cloak, torn (ch. 12) -- No strange gods before me (ch. 13) -- Of kings and their gods : a tale of woe (chs. 14-22) -- Jeroboam and Rehoboam : undone by idols (ch. 14) -- A line of nonentities (chs. 15-16) -- At long last, relief : Elijah the plainspoken (chs. 17-18) -- Elijah and Elisha: God's chosen chooses (ch. 19) -- King Ahab and the deity (chs. 20-21) -- War, and yet again war (ch. 22)
Second book of Kings -- Of kings and prophets : light and darkness contending (chs. 1:1-6:23) -- Ahaziah : another king falls (ch. 1) -- "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its driver!" (ch. 2) -- Elisha : a prophet to love and to loathe (chs. 3-4) -- A virtuous duet and a dubious spirit (ch. 5) -- A gift of unexpected mercy (6:1-23) -- Famine and fury : war and its shadows (6:24-17:41) -- The horrid banquet of war (ch. 6) -- A moment's relief : the siege lifted (ch. 7) -- Something terrible beyond telling (ch. 8) -- The blood of kings--and queens (chs. 9-11) -- A king's greed, a prophet's epitaph (chs. 12-13) -- The spoils of war, continued (chs. 14, 15, 16) -- Exile : the final tragedy (ch. 17) -- Dawn at last : Isaiah and the last days of empire (chs. 18-25) -- Hezekiah : king of contradiction (ch. 18) -- Isaiah : prophet of hope against hope (ch. 19) -- A puzzle of praise for a foolish king (ch. 20) -- Innocent blood on royal hands (ch. 21) -- The scroll : restored for good? (chs. 22-23) -- Light amid the king's dark legacy (chs. 24-25)

The importance of synoptic parallels for study of the Hebrew Bible and the emergence in recent decades of fresh energy for studying the book of Chronicles has inspired scholars across North America to take a new view of the historical books of the Old Testament (Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles). Chronicles and Its Synoptic Parallels in Samuel, Kings, and Related Biblical Texts provides a synoptic view of these historical books, facilitating for students the study of them in relation to each other and to other selected parallel texts in the Hebrew Bible.