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The Books of Kings (Sefer Melachim in Hebrew) are two books of the Jewish Tanakh, and included by Christians in their Bible (the Old Testament). They contain accounts of the kings of ancient Israel and Judah.
The two books of Kings comprise the fourth book in the second canonical division of Hebrew Scriptures: in the threefold division of the Tanach, these books are ranked among the Prophets. The present division into two books was first made by the Septuagint, which numbers them as the third and fourth books of "Kingdoms", the two books of Samuel being considered the first and second books of Kingdoms; this numbering was also followed in the Vulgate with 1-4 Kings, but most modern Christian Bibles have two books of Samuel and two of Kings.
They contain the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon till the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). The books of Chronicles are more comprehensive in their contents than those of Kings. The latter synchronize with 1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the royal office.
The authorship, or rather compilation, of these books is uncertain. The sources of the narrative are explicitly given as
There are some portions that are almost identical to the Book of JeremiahThe Book of Jeremiah consists of twenty-three separate and independent sections, arranged in five books. The introduction, ch. Reproofs of the sins of the Jews, consisting of seven sections, (1. 14-17:18; (6. A general review of all nations, in two sectio, e.g., 2 Kings 24:18-25 and Jeremiah 52; 39:1-10; 40:7-41:10. There are also many undesigned coincidences between Jeremiah and Kings (2 Kings 21-23 and Jer. 7:15; 15:4; 19:3, etc.), and events recorded in Kings of which JeremiahJeremiah or Yirmiyahu "Raised-up/Appointed of the LORD", Standard Hebrew Yirmyahu Tiberian Hebrew Yirmyh was one of the "greater prophets" of the Old Testament, and the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth. His writings are collected in the Book of Jeremi had personal knowledge. Because of this, traditionally Jeremiah was credited the author of the books of Kings. An alternative supposition is that EzraEzra Standard Hebrew Ezra Tiberian Hebrew Ezr short for "My help/court is God", Standard Hebrew Azriel Tiberian Hebrew Azriel was the "scribe" who led the second body of exiled Israelites that returned from Babylon to Jerusalem in 459 BC, and the author o, after the Babylonian captivityThe Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. Three separate occasions are mentioned ( Jeremiah 52:28-30). The first was in t, compiled them from official court chronicles of DavidThis page is about the Biblical king David. For other uses see: David (disambiguation David "Beloved", Standard Hebrew David Tiberian Hebrew Dwi Arabic Dud "Beloved") was one of the most well known kings of ancient Israel, as well as the most-mentioned ma, Solomon, NathanNathan "Gift", Standard Hebrew Natan Tiberian Hebrew Nn is the name of at least six men, and perhaps as many as eight, with this name in the Hebrew Bible. Probably the most significant and famous was a prophet in the time of King David, whose actions are, Gad, and Iddo , and that he arranged them in the order in which they now exist.
The Books of Kings are frequently quoted or alluded to by ( MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew is one of the four Gospels of the New Testament. The gospels are traditionally printed with Matthew first, followed in order by Mark, Luke and John. Synopsis The book is divided into four parts: # Containing the genealogy, the birth, 6:29; 12:42; Luke 4:25, 26; 10:4; comp. 2 Kings 4:29; Mark 1:6; comp. 2 Kings 1:8; and Matthew 3:4, etc.).
The date of its composition was perhaps some time between 561 BC, the date of the last chapter (2 Kings 25), when Jehoiachin was released from captivity by Evil-merodach, and 538 BC, the date of the decree of deliverance by Cyrus the Great.