I am not a qualified theologian, and this is not meant to be a Commentary or a paraphrase, but I do recognize the overwhelming responsibility in preaching and teaching The Word of God. You may not agree with everything I say and therefore, I would urge you to study God’s Word for yourself and ask Him to show you the truth. Before we start, it is important that you read and study this alongside the Bible narrative. I have used the New King James Version of the Bible. Please pray that God will help you to understand it. Make your own notes if that helps you. I simply love to read God’s Word and, like me, you will find that it is so relevant to living in the twenty first century.
One thing has come home to me that the more I read the Bible is how it all fits together. There may be up to forty different writers/speakers but there is only ONE AUTHOR, God Himself.
We understand that the books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally one book. The Septuagint separated them into two parts. We derive our English title “Kings” from Jerome’s Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible.
We don’t know who the human author of this book was; Jewish traditions say it was Jeremiah, and it may very well be so. Some commentators have suggested Ezra, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah as possible authors. Certain clues such as literary styles, themes woven throughout the book, and the nature of material used point to a single compiler or author rather than multiple compilers or authors. Whilst the majority of 2 Kings was written before the Babylonian captivity (se the phrase – ‘to this day’ (17:34,41), this person assembled the manuscript while God’s people were in exile at Babylon (see 2 Kings). But he didn’t complete the work until the Babylonians released King Jehoiachin after thirty-seven years in prison (560 BC), most likely completing it within another twenty years. The last two chapters were undoubtedly added after the Babylonian captivity. Part of 2 Kings 24 and 25 are almost the same as Jeremiah 52.
2 Kings continues the drama of the history of two nations. Israel experienced nineteen evil kings, one after the other leading up to the captivity by Assyria. In Judah, the picture is a little brighter, where occasionally godly kings appear, but in the end, Judah is also taken into exile in Babylon. It was probably written by a contemporary of Jeremiah before the the exile (see 17:34,41), although Jeremiah probably recorded the events. The last two chapters appear to have been added after the Babylonian captivity and written by someone other than Jeremiah as he was forced to flee to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:1-8). Chapters 1 – 17 cover 131 years from 853 BC to 722 BC. Chapters 18 – 25 cover 155 years from the start of Hezekiah’s reign to the release of Jehoiachin in 560 BC.
The books of kings show that judgment comes to the kingdoms of Judah and Israel because of their idolatry, immorality and lack of unity. Judah lasted 136 years longer than Israel because of the relative goodness of eight of its twenty kings. Israel continued with the idol worship of Jeroboam, but there were periods of worship of the true God in Judah. God sent his prophets, Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea in Israel, the northern kingdom, and Obadiah, Joel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Zechariah and Habakkuk to the southern kingdom of Judah.
