1 Kings : Christian Community Bible

Introduction to 1 Kings

In the beginning, the actual books of Kings formed one book. It is a religious history. And the events which other historians would consider important are deliberately omitted. For instance, it hardly discusses the important reigns of Omri and of Jeroboam II in Samaria. Its judgment on the Kings of Israel (Kingdom of Samaria) is always negative, blaming them for the division of the ancient Kingdom of David. Only a few kings of Judah are praised for their loyalty to Yahweh.

We can easily note three parts:

• the grandeur of Solomon’s reign and of the Temple;
• the history of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah after their division;
• after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, the history of Judah until Jerusalem’s destruction in 587.

The chapters referring to Elijah and Elisha form a unit apart: 1 Kings 17–19 and 2 Kings 2–8.

NOTE: excerpted from the introductory material for this book.