Continuing our series on the Kings of the Old Testament, we now look to the story of Solomon and the book of Kings. We also discuss the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament.
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The Kings
of the Old Testament
Adult
Faith Formation Series, May/June 2022
Session 3:
The Book of Kings (Solomon, Elijah and Elisha)
Class Schedule, Tuesdays from 7
to 8pm
May 17th –
Introduction: Goals for this Course, Historical Background, Biblical Books
May 24th – Saul and
David (1 and 2 Samuel)
May 31st – Solomon and
the Divided Kingdom (1 and 2 Kings)
June 7th – The Divided
Kingdom up to the Assyrian Invasion of Israel (Elijah and Elisha)
June 14th – Kings of
Judah up to the Babylonian Captivity (and overview of the Prophets)
June 21st – No Class,
Preparing for Ordination of Bishop Elect Fleming
June 28th – The Return
to Jerusalem (and 1 and 2 Chronicles)
Deuteronomy 17:14-20
… And when he is made king, he
shall not multiply horses to himself, nor lead back the people into Egypt,
being lifted up with the number of his horsemen, especially since the Lord hath
commanded you to return no more the same way. He shall not have many wives,
that may allure his mind, nor immense sums of silver and gold. … And that his
heart be not lifted up with pride over his brethren, nor decline to the right
or to the left, that he and his sons may reign a long time over Israel.
***The King shall not (1)
multiply horses nor return to Egypt, (2) have many wives, (3) amass riches of
silver and gold.***
I. The Composition
of 1 and 2 Kings
A. These
two books were, perhaps, originally one single book – certainly, in the days of
Jerome, they formed only one book. However, the situation is different from 1
and 2 Samuel, as these books were written over a much longer period of time
(being compiled at a later date from the writings of the prophets contemporary
to each period covered in the book). The Hebrew editions generally present the
two books as one single book of “Kings” but this is not always the case. As in the case of Samuel, the Septuagint
divides the book in two (and the Vulgate follows this) – but note that the
division is in an awkward place (in the middle of the reign of Ahaziah, the son
of Ahab and Jezebel).
B. In
the Latin Vulgate, this book is called The Third/Fourth Book of Kings, on
account of Samuel being called First and Second Kings. In many traditional
Catholic Bibles, 1 and 2 Samuel are called 1 and 2 Kings; while 1 and 2 Kings
are called 3 and 4 Kings.
C.
Although there were some who believed that 1 and 2 Kings was written by
Jeremiah (the Jewish Talmud holds this), it seems more likely that many
prophets through each age wrote under Divine Inspiration, and then this book
was compiled from the various prophetic writings. Certainly, Jeremiah would
have had a major role in the compilation and editing of the work (as well as in
writing some of the final portions of the book), but there is also evidence
that Ezra or someone else made certain editorial finishings after the return
from the Babylonian Exile. Note that the book details the deportation of the
people, the destruction of the Temple, a comment about those who remained in
Jerusalem, and also the life of Jehoiachin in exile (including when he is
released from bondage and admitted to the court of Babylon, around 562 BC).
A
further note about the question of authorship by Jeremiah: It is surprising
what little reference is made to the work of Jeremiah in 2 Kings, even though
this is the time period when Jeremiah was active and he was a major historical
figure for Judah. In juxtaposition to this is the book of Jeremiah which is
perhaps the most “personal” of all the prophetic books – Jeremiah speaks a
great deal about himself. On the other hand, Jeremiah 52 is taken almost
verbatim from 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 which speaks of the fulfilment of the
prophecy of Jeremiah. Thus, whoever compiled the book of Jeremiah in its final
form felt free to copy from Kings and seems to have believed that Jeremiah was
the author of Kings. Furthermore, scholars note a great similarity in style and
language between Kings and Jeremiah. If
Jeremiah is the author, he must have written (or finished the writing of what
had already been done by many previous prophets) either just before or just
after the destruction of the Temple. Again, it is possible that final revisions
and edits could still have been made by Ezra or another after the return from
Exile.
D. Note
certain differences of emphasis from Samuel to Kings. While the book of Samuel
contains great detail and storytelling, it does not give a good picture of
historical chronology (in fact, it is difficult to tell exactly how long Samuel
was Judge or Saul was king). The Book of Kings, however, is much more of a dry
chronicling of events with many references to the various books which served as
historical sources and records etc (note that the stories of Elijah and Elisha
are not at all dry though, and contain much more personal details). On the
other hand, while the Book of Samuel gives much detail and contains record even
of the emotions of the key figures, there is only rarely a clear judgment given
on who is good or bad; but the Book of Kings always passes a judgement on every
king of both Judah and Israel as to whether they were good or bad in God’s
eyes. Further, the book of Kings is much firmer and clearer in rendering
judgement as to whether various acts of worship correspond to what God has
commanded in the Law.
E.
Kings compared to Chronicles and to the Prophetic writings. It is apparent that Chronicles uses the same
source material as Kings – and this explains the great similarities. Further,
it is noteworthy that many of the events described in Kings are shown
historically reliable by reference to the writings of the prophets (Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, etc) who report some of the same
events. The historical veracity of Kings
cannot be doubted, and the author makes special effort to show that he has
always conferred with his sources – some of which must have been eye witness
accounts (note especially the incredible details given in the stories of Elijah
and Elisha).
F. We
will discuss the book of Chronicles much more in a later class.
II.
Overview and Structure of the Book(s) of Kings
A. While
the Book of Samuel covers a period of around 100 years (from the birth of
Samuel to the last years of David’s reign), the Book of Kings covers a much
longer period of about 400 years!
Additionally, while Samuel only discusses two kings (and likewise mostly
only one prophet, Samuel; though mention is made of others, like Gad and
Nathan), Kings discusses many different kings and many different prophets
(though certainly focusing on Elijah and Elisha).
Kings
covers the time from the very end of David’s reign (around 1000 BC) into the
Babylonian Captivity (around 560 BC). The main characters of Kings are Solomon,
Elijah and Elisha; but this book does not have central figures in such
prominence as the Book of Samuel did (for example, after the completion of the
story of Elisha, we still have 17 chapters left in 2 Kings which discuss many
figures like Jehu, Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah!).
B. The
division of the book of Kings is not nearly so simple as in the case of the
book of Samuel. Following the basic content of the book, it could be divided
into three parts.
1 Kings
1-11, The history of Solomon.
1 Kings
12 – 2 Kings 17, The Kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The work of Elijah and
Elisha. The history of the
Northern Kingdom of Israel until the Assyrian invasion.
2 Kings
18-25, The history of Judah after King Hezekiah to the Babylonian Captivity.
A
summary of each of these sections
History
of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11):
From
his death bed, David instructs Solomon on the succession of the throne.
Solomon, as king, asks God for wisdom above all things, he builds the temple
and royal palace. However, then Solomon falls through marriage to multiple
wives of foreign nations, introducing the worship of false gods, accumulation
of riches, introducing slave labor (in many ways, Solomon resembles a pharaoh
more than a proper King of Israel).
The Kingdoms
of Judah and Israel. The Work of Elijah and Elisha. The history of the Northern
Kingdom until the Assyrian Invasion:
Rehoboam,
son of Solomon, is even worse than his father and this leads Jeroboam and the
Northern Israel to break away (1 Kings 12-16). The formation of the two
Kingdoms, with Judah in the south (2 tribes, Judah and Benjamin [and Levi]) and
Israel in the north (10 tribes).
An
account is given of all the various kings of north and south, going back and
forth between the two kingdoms – with all 19 of the northern kings being evil,
and only 8 of the 20 southern kings being good (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 8). This portion concludes in the northern
kingdom with the reign of Jehu (which leads to a period of major political
upheaval and quick succession of wicked kings) and the final break down of the
northern kingdom and the Assyrian invasion (2 Kings 9-17).
The
presentation of the various kings is accompanied by an account of the various
prophets the Lord sent to call the people back. The two most famous prophets
are Elijah who especially condemns Ahab and Jezebel (1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 2 [8
chapters], and Elisha who again condemns Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 3-8 [6
chapters]).
The
history of Judah after King Hezekiah into the Babylonian Captivity:
After
the account of the Assyrian invasion and the exile of the Northern Kingdom
(which leads to the “Ten Lost Tribes”), Kings proceeds to the demise of
Jerusalem and ultimately the Babylonian Exile. Hezekiah is presented as a good
and just king who also saves Jerusalem from the Assyrian threat (2 Kings
18-20). However, Manasseh who follows is perhaps the worst king of all and
introduces not only idolatry but even child sacrifice (1 Kings 21). Josiah is a
good king who finds the scroll containing the book of the Law and institutes
reforms (1 Kings 22-23). Still, the people and following kings refuse to follow
God’s Law, and the southern kingdom falls to the Babylonians with the people
led away into exile. There is a concluding postscript in which Jehoiachin is
shown some favor even in exile.
III.
The Case of Solomon
Solomon’s
reign is in striking contrast to that of David. He ascends the throne by age
18, and his rule is almost without any incident and peaceful. He reigned for 40
years, and organized the royal court and internal structures of the kingdom. Of
course, most famously, he built the Temple.
The
Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament: When young
Solomon first gained the throne, the Lord appeared to him at Gibeon in a dream
and offered him whatsoever he asked. Rather than long life or riches or success
in war, Solomon asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3) – and this pleased the Lord. Solomon is thus presented as the father (and,
in some cases, even the author) of the so-called “Wisdom Literature” of the Old
Testament. He is credited with some of the Psalms, the book of Proverbs,
Ecclesiastes, Canticles (Song of Songs), and Wisdom – though it is possible
that Song of Songs and Wisdom were written by a later author (indeed, modern scholars
would doubt that Solomon wrote any of these books – but we find it likely that
at least some were written at least in part by Solomon).
Did
Solomon every repent? Did he die a holy death? Ecclesiastes.
The
book of Ecclesiastes is ascribed to Qoheleth (“the preacher”), who is clearly
indicated as Solomon – Ecclesiastes 1:1 “The words of Qoheleth, the son of
David, king of Jerusalem”. This book is
very difficult to interpret because it seems somewhat hopeless, “vanity of
vanities”. However, if this book is
written by Solomon, then this would be a sign of his repentance – he recognizes
the vanity of all worldly things, and even of worldly wisdom. Ecclesiastes
concludes with a call to follow the Lord and keep his commandments – trusting
in God’s judgment of all.
IV.
Which Kings were Good and Which Were Bad?
V.
Study of Particular Passages
The
wisdom of Solomon in discerning the true mother of the living child (1 Kings
3).
In our
next classes, we will look much more closely at the stories of Elijah and
Elisha. We will also see how the various prophets fit into the wider context of
the history of Israel.
