Author: The Second Book of Kings was originally part of a single work. This work must have been compiled some time after the capture of Judah by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. (see II Kings 25). The impression is given that the book is the fruit of a single author who witnessed the fall of Jerusalem. Although it's not known who wrote it with exactitude, several suggestions have been offered. A certain number of experts say that the author of I and II Kings was an unknown prophet or a Jewish captive in Babylon around the year 550 B.C. Since Josephus (a prominent Jewish historian of the first century A.D.) attributes Kings to "the prophets", many have abandoned the search for a specific author. However, it was most probably that the prophet Jeremiah is the author of I and II Kings. The early Jewish tradition of the Talmud affirms that. That famous prophet preached in Jerusalem before and after the fall of the city, and II Kings 24 and 25 appear in Jeremiah 39-42; 52. Jeremiah could have written the entire text, except for the content of the final appendix (II Kings 25:27-30), which was probably added by one of his disciples. Other opinions having to do with this book attribute its compilation to Ezra and its editing to Isaiah. Compare 18:19,20 with Isaiah 36-39.
Author: Although the precise date in which I and II Kings was written is uncertain, it's believed to have been finished at the end of the 6th century B.C. The final event of II Kings is the liberation of King Jehoiachin from his prison in Babylon. Since Jehoiachin was made prisoner in 597 B.C. (see II Kings 24:8-17) and liberated 37 years later (see II Kings 25:27), Kings must have been written after 560 B.C. to include this information. If the author had known of the fall of Babylon to Persian in 538 B.C. he would have mentioned something so important. Since he didn't do so, the conclusion is reached that I and II Kings was possibly written between 560 and 538 B.C. Thus the date of the composition of I and II Kings has been established between 560 and 538 B.C., although the events narrated in I Kings took place some 300 years earlier.
Background: The facts related in II Kings embrace a period of about 300 years. In this book the turbulent events of GOD's people are narrated from the reign of Ahaziah (ninth monarch of the northern kingdom of Israel), around 853 B.C., through the fall of Israel before Assyria in 722 B.C., the fall of Jerusalem and the deportation of the Jews to Babylon in 586 B.C. and ending with the liberation of King Jehoiachin from Babylonian captivity in 560 B.C. This was a difficult period in the history of the people of GOD, a time of great changes and upheavals. There were struggles within and pressures from without; the result was a dark period in the history of GOD's people; the collapse and subsequent captivity of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
Occasion and Purpose: On contemplating the horrible situation of GOD's exiled people, the author wrote I and II Kings to respond to the awkward question of why the kingdom of Israel in the north, like the kingdom of Judah in the south, had fallen into captivity. He wrote a prophetic message that shows how the punishment of having fallen under foreign domination was the inevitable result of the constant violation of their covenant with GOD. Kings was written so that the exiles would reflect upon their own history and return to GOD. Perhaps this prophetic perspective is one of the reasons why Kings was included among the "early prophets" in the Hebrew Bible.
Content: The books of I and II Kings were originally a single work that constituted a type of continuation of I and II Samuel. The editors of the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint of LXX) divided the work into "3 and 4 Kings" (1 and 2 Samuel were 1 and 2 Kings). The title "Kings" derives from Jerome's translation (the Vulgate) and is appropriate because these books deal primarily with the kings who governed during that period.
II Kings takes up the historical events where I Kings left off. However, II Kings is more than a mere compilation of the most important political and social events that occurred in Israel and Judah. In fact, it can't be considered as much a detailed history as would be expected (300 years contained in only 25 chapters). Instead, II Kings is a selective history with a theological purpose. Therefore, the author selects and emphasizes the personages and events that have moral and religious signification. The Second Book of Kings presents GOD as the LORD of history. Sharing the historical experience explains GOD's providential work in and through the life of his people in order to redeem them. It demonstrates the necessity to obey the covenant of GOD and the painful consequences of disobedience. Thus II Kings shouldn't be considered a simply history book, but a theology that extracts lessons from history.
The Second Book of Kings takes up the history of the "divided kingdom" with Ahaziah on the throne of Israel, while Jehosaphat governs Judah. The narration is difficult to follow, as it is with I Kings. The author goes back and forth, referring indistinctly to the kingdom of Israel in the north, the kingdom of Judah in the south and tracking their history simultaneously. There were 19 governors in Israel, all evil. In Judah there were twenty, only eight of whom were good. II Kings speaks of the final ten kings of Israel and the last sixteen of Judah. Some of those twenty-six sovereigns are only mentioned briefly, while entire chapters are dedicated to others. The attention is centered on those who could serve as a model of rectitude, or on those who illustrate why these states collapsed.
Purpose and Theology: (HBH)
Personal Application: The message of I and II Kings is as relevant today as it was when it was written. G
Christ Revealed: The failure of the prophets, priests and kings of GOD's people points to the necessity for the coming of Christ. Christ himself represented the ideal combination of those three offices. As prophet, the word of Christ supercedes that of the great prophet Elijah (Matt. 17:1-5). Many of Jesus' miracles bring to mind the wonders realized by GOD through Elijah and Elisha, according to II Kings. Furthermore, as priest, Christ is higher than any priest mentioned in Kings (Heb. 7:22-27). II Kings vividly illustrates the need for Christ as our sovereign King. When asked if he was king of the Jews, Jesus replied affirmatively (Matt. 27:11). However, Christ is a King greater than the greatest of Israel's kings. The kingdom of each one of the kings came to an end, but Christ will reign upon the throne of David forever (I Chron. 17:14; Is. 9:6) because He is "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16). For an additional study of the allusions to Christ in the time of I Kings, read the introductions to I Chronicles and II Chronicles, "Christ Revealed".
The Holy Spirit in Action: The word of the prophets indicates that at times the Holy Spirit transported Elijah from one place to another (see also II Kings 2:16). This isn't much different than Acts 8:39,40, where a similar experience is described for Philip.
There is an indirect reference to the Holy Spirit in the phrase "the spirit of Elijah" in 2:9,15 (see the test and note for I Kings 2:9-16). Here Elisha seeks to receive the same power that Elijah had to be able to achieve his prophetic ministry. The spirit of power that inspired the prophecies of Elijah was the Spirit of GOD (see I Sam. 10:6,10 and 19:20,23). In II Kings 2:9-16 we can see an interesting parallel with Acts 1:4-9 and 2:1-4. Elijah was about to go into heaven, Elisha sought to receive the promise of the Spirit to carry out his teacher's ministry, and he received it. In a similar manner, Jesus ascended, the disciples awaited the promise and the Holy Spirit descended to fill them with the power they needed to carry out the work that their LORD had initiated.
A final allusion to the Holy Spirit appears in II Kings 3:15. Here the "hand of Jehovah" comes upon Elisha, allowing him to prophecy before King Jehosaphat. The formula "the hand of the LORD refers to the divine inspiration of the prophets (see Ezek. 1:3), that as said above, refers to the Spirit of GOD. I Corinthians 12:7-11 confirms that prophecy is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
For more information about the Holy Spirit in the period of the kings, read the introductions to II Kings and II Chronicles, "The Holy Spirit in Action".
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