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Bible Encyclopedias
Kings, First and Second Books of
Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
or the second of the series of Hebrew royal annals, the books of Samuel forming the introductory series, and the books of Chronicles being a parallel series. In the Hebrew Bible the first two series alone form part of " the Former Prophets," like Joshua, Judges, and Ruth. (See BIBLE). In the Authorized English Version it is added to their titles: "commonly called the Third [and the Fourth] Book of the Kings." (See SAMUEL, BOOKS OF).
I. Number and Title. — The two books of Kings formed anciently but one book in the Jewish Scriptures, as is affirmed by Origen (apud Euseb. Prep. Evang. 6:25, Βασιλείων τρίτη, τετάρτη, ἐν ἑνὶ Οὐαμμέλεχ Δαβίδ), Jerome (Proloy. Gal.), Josephus (Cont. Apion. i, 8), and others. The present division, following the Septuagint and Latin versions, has been common in the Hebrew Bibles since the Venetian editions of Bomberg.
The old Jewish name was borrowed, as usual, from the commencing words of the book (וְהִמֶּלֶךְ דָּוַד ), Graecized as in the above quotation from Eusebius. The Septuagint and Vulgate now number them as the third and fourth books of Kings, reckoning the two books of Samuel the first and second. Their present title, מְלָכַים, Βασιλέων , Regum, in the opinion of Havernick, has respect more to the formal than essential character of the composition (Einleitung, § 168); yet under such forms of government as those of Judah and Israel the royal person and name are intimately associated with all national acts and movements, legal decisions, warlike preparations, domestic legislation, and foreign policy. The reign of an Oriental prince is identified with the history of his nation during the period of his sovereignty. More especially in the theocratic constitution of the Jewish realm the character of the monarch was an important element of national history, and, of necessity, it had considerable influence on the fate and fortunes of the people.
II. Independent Form.-The question has been raised and minutely discussed whether the books of Kings (1 and 2) constitute an entire work of themselves, or whether they originally formed part of a larger historical work embracing the principal parts of the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, out of which these several books, as we now have them, have been formed. Ewald regards the books of Judges (with Ruth), 1 and 2 Samuel, and I and 2 Kings, as forming parts of one whole work, which he calls " The great book of the Kings." The grounds on which this supposition has been built are partly the following:
(1.) These books together contain one unbroken narrative, both in form and matter, each portion being connected with the preceding by the conjunctive 5, or the continuative (וִיְהַי . The book of Judges shows itself to be a separate work from Joshua by opening with a narration of events with which that book closes; the work then proceeds through the times of the Judges, and goes on to give, in Ruth, the family history and genealogy of David, and in Samuel and Kings the events which transpired down to the captivity.
(2.) The recurrence in Judges of the phrases, "And in those days there was no king in Israel" (Judges 17:6; Judges 18:1; Judges 21:25); " It came to pass in those days when there was no king" (Judges 19:1); and in Ruth (Ruth 1:1), "Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled," shows that this portion of the work was written in the times when there were kings in Israel. The writer therefore was in a position to pass under review the whole period of the times of the judges, and we find that he estimates the conduct of the people according to the degree of their conformity to the law of the Lord, after the manner of the writer of Kings (Judges 2:11-19; 2 Kings 17:7-23).
Again, in Judges 1:21, it is said that the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem unto this day; and in 2 Samuel 24:16, mention is made of Araunah the Jebusite as an inhabitant of Jerusalem, from which it is inferred that the writer intended these facts to explain each other. (But see Joshua 15:63.) So there is a reference in Judges 20:27 to the removal of the ark of the covenant from Shiloh to Jerusalem; and the expression "in those days" points, as in 17:6, etc., to remote times. There is thought to be a reference in Judges 18:30 to the captivity of Israel in the days of Hoshea, in which case that book must have been written subsequently to that time, as well as the books of Kings.
(3.) The books of Kings take up the narrative where 2 Samuel breaks off, and proceed in the same spirit and manner to continue the history, with the earlier parts of which the writer gives proof of being well acquainted (comp. 1 Kings 2:11 with 2 Samuel 5:4-5; so also 2 Kings 17:41 with Judges 2:11-19, etc.; 1 Samuel 2:27 with Judges 13:6; 2 Samuel 14:17-20; 2 Samuel 19:27, with Judges 13:6; 1 Samuel 9:21 with Judges 6:15, and Judges 20; 1 Kings 8:1 with 2 Samuel 6:17; 2 Samuel 5:7; 2 Samuel 5:9; 1 Samuel 17:12 with Ruth 4:17; Ruth 1:1 with Judges 17:7-9; Judges 19:1-2 [Bethlehem-Judah]). Other links connecting the books of Kings with the preceding may be found in the comparison, suggested by De Wette, of 1 Kings 2:26 with 1 Samuel 2:35; 1 Kings 2:3-4; 1 Kings 5:17-18; 1 Kings 8:18-19; 1 Kings 8:25, with 2 Samuel 7:12-16; and 1 Kings 4:1-6 with 2 Samuel 8:15-18.
(4.) Similarity of diction has been observed throughout, indicating identity of authorship. The phrase "Spirit of Jehovah" occurs first in Judges, and frequently afterwards in Samuel and Kings (Judges 3:10; Judges 6:34, etc.; 1 Samuel 10:6, etc.; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Kings 2:16, etc.). So " Man of God," to designate a prophet, and "God do so to me and more also," are common to them; and "till they were ashamed" to Judges and Kings (Judges 3:25; 2 Kings 2:17; 2 Kings 8:11).
(5.) Generally the style of the narrative, ordinarily quiet and simple, but rising to great vigor and spirit when stirring deeds are described (as in Judges 4, 7, 11, etc.; 1 Samuel 4, 17, 31, etc.; 1 Kings 8, 18, 19, etc.), and the introduction of poetry or poetic style in the midst of the narrative (as in Judges 5 :1 Samuel 2, 2 Samuel 1:17, etc., 1 Kings 22:17, etc.), constitute such strong features of resemblance as lead to the conclusion that these several books form but one work.
But these reasons are not conclusive. Many of the resemblances may be accounted for in other ways, while there are important and wide differences.
(1.) If the arguments were sufficient to join Judges, Samuel, and Kings together in one work, for the same reasons Joshua must be added (Joshua i, 1; 15:63; xxiii and xxiv; Judges 1:1).
(2.) The writer of Kings might be well acquainted with the previous history of his people, and even with the contents of Judges and Samuel, without being himself the author of those books.
(3.) Such similarity of diction as exists may be ascribed to the use by the writer of Kings of earlier documents, to which also the writer of Samuel had access.
(4.) There are good reasons for regarding the Kings as together forming an entire and independent work, such as the similarity of style and language, both vocabulary and grammar, which pervades the two books, but distinguishes them from others-the uniform system of quotation observed in them, but not in the books which precede them -the same careful attention to chronology-the recurrence of certain phrases and forms of speech peculiar to them. A great number of words occur in Kings, which are found in them only; such are chiefly names of materials and utensils, and architectural terms. Words, and unusual forms of words, occur, which are only found here and in writers of the same period, as Isaiah and Jeremiah, but not in Samuel or Judges. See § 5, below.
III. Contents, Character, and Design.-The books of Kings contain the brief annals of a long period, from the accession of Solomon till the dissolution of the commonwealth. The first chapters describe the reign of Solomon over the united kingdom, and the revolt under Rehoboam. The history of the rival states is next narrated in parallel sections till the period of Israel's downfall on the invasion of Shalmanezer. Then the remaining years of the principality of Judah are recorded till the conquest of Nebuchadnezzar and the commencement of the Babylonian captivity. (See ISRAEL); (See JUDAH). For an adjustment of the years of the respective reigns in each line, (See CHRONOLOGY).
There are some peculiarities in this succinct history worthy of attention. It is summary, but very suggestive. It is not a biography of the sovereigns, nor a mere record of political occurrences, nor yet an ecclesiastical register. King, Church, and State are all comprised in their sacred relations. It is a theocratic history, a retrospective survey of the kingdom as existing under a theocratic government. The character of the sovereign is tested by his fidelity to the religious obligations of his office, and this decision in reference to his conduct is generally added to the notice of his accession. The new king's religious character is generally portrayed by its similarity or opposition to the way of David, of his father, or of Jeroboam, son of Nebat, " who made Israel to sin." Ecclesiastical affairs are noticed with a similar purpose, and in contrast with past or prevalent apostasy, especially as manifested in the popular superstitions, whose shrines were on the " high places." Political or national incidents are introduced in general for the sake of illustrating the influence of religion on civic prosperity; of showing how the theocracy maintained a vigilant and vengeful guardianship over its rights and privileges-adherence to its principles securing peace and plenty, disobedience to them bringing along with it sudden and severe retribution. The books of Kings are a verification of the Mosaic warnings, and the author of them has kept this steadily in view. He has given a brief history of his people, arranged under the various political chiefs in such a manner as to show that the government was essentially theocratic; that its spirit, as developed in the Mosaic writings, was never extinct, however modified or inactive it might sometimes appear. Thus the books of Kings appear in a religious costume, quite different from the form they would have assumed either as a political or ecclesiastical narrative.
In the one case legislative enactments, royal edicts, popular movements, would have occupied a prominent place; in the other, sacerdotal arrangements, Levitical service, music, and pageantry, would have filled the leading sections of the treatise. In either view the points adduced would have had a restricted reference to the palace or the temple, the sovereign or the pontiff, the court or the priesthood, the throne or the altar, the tribute or tithes, the nation on its farms, or the tribes in the courts of the sacred edifice. But the theocracy conjoined both the political and religious elements, and the inspired annalist unites them as essential to his design. The agency of divinity is constantly recognised, the hand of Jehovah is continually acknowledged. The chief organ of theocratic influence enjoys peculiar prominence. We refer to the incessant agency of the prophets, their great power and peculiar modes of action as detailed by the composer of the books of Kings. They interfered with the succession, and their instrumentality was apparent il the schism. They roused the people, and they braved the sovereign. The balance of power was in their hands; the regal dignity seemed to be sometimes at their disposal. In times of emergency they dispensed with usual modes of procedure, and assumed an authority with which no subject in an ordinary state can safely be intrusted. executing the law with a summary promptness which rendered opposition impossible, or at least unavailing. They felt their divine commission, and that they were the custodians of the rights of Jehovah. At the same time they protected the interests of the nation, and, could we divest the term of its association with unprincipled turbulence and sedition, we would, like Winer (Real Vortearb . s.v. Prophet), style them the demagogues of Israel. The divine prerogative was to them a vested right, guarded with a sacred jealousy from royal usurpation or popular invasion; and the interests of the people were as religiously protected against encroachments, too easily made under a form of government which had not the safeguard of popular representation or aristocratic privilege. The priesthood were in many instances, though there are some illustrious exceptions, merely the creatures of the crown, and therefore it became the prophetical office to assert its dignity and stand forth in the majestic insignia of an embassy from heaven. The truth of these sentiments, as to the method, design, and composition of the books of Kings, is confirmed by ample evidence.
(1.) Large space is occupied with the building of the Temple-the palace of the divine Protector-his throne in it being above the mercy-seat and between the cherubim (ch. v-viii). Care is taken to record the miraculous phenomenon of the descent of the Shekinah (viii. 10). The prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the house is full of theocratic views and aspirations.
(2.) Reference is often made to the Mosaic law, with its provisions, and allusions to the earlier history of the people frequently occur (1 Kings 2:3; 1 Kings 3:14; 1 Kings 6:11-12; 1 Kings 8:58, etc.; 2 Kings 10:31; 2 Kings 14:6; 2 Kings 17:13; 2 Kings 17:15; 2 Kings 17:37; 2 Kings 18:4-6; 2 Kings 21:1-8). Allusions to the Mosaic code are found more frequently towards the end of the second book when the kingdom was drawing near its termination, as if to account for its decay and approaching fate.
(3.) Phrases expressive of divine interference are frequently introduced (1 Kings 11:31; 1 Kings 12:15; 1 Kings 13:1-2; 1 Kings 13:9; and 1 Kings 20:13, etc.).
(4.) Prophetic interposition is a very prominent theme of record. It fills the vivid foreground of the historical picture. Nathan was occupied in the succession of Solomon (1 Kings 1:45); Ahijah was concerned in the revolt (1 Kings 11:29-40). Shemaiah disbanded the troops which Rehoboam had mustered (1 Kings 12:21). Ahijah predicted the ruin of Jeroboam, whose elevation he had promoted (1 Kings 14:7). Jehu, the prophet, doomed the house of Baasha (1 Kings 16:1). The reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah are marked by the bold, rapid, mysterious movements of Elijah. Under Ahab occurs the prediction of Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8). The actions and oracles of Elisha form the marvellous topics of narration under several reigns. The agency of Isaiah is also recognised (2 Kings 19:20; 2 Kings 20:16). Besides, 1 Kings 13 presents another instance of prophetic operation; and in 20:35, the oracle of an unknown prophet is also rehearsed. Huldah the prophetess was an important personage under the government of Josiah (2 Kings 22:14). Care is also taken to report the fulfilment of striking prophecies, in the usual phrase, "according to the word of the Lord" (1 Kings 12:15; 1 Kings 15:29; 1 Kings 16:12; 2 Kings 23:15-18; 2 Kings 9:36; 2 Kings 24:2). So, too, the old Syriac version prefixes, "Here follows the book of the kings who flourished among the ancient people; and in this is also exhibited the history of the prophets who flourished during their times."
(5.) Theocratic influence is recognised both in the deposition and succession of kings (1 Kings 13:33; 1 Kings 15:4-5; 1 Kings 15:29-30 2 Kings 11:17, etc.). Compare, on the whole of this view, Huvernick, Einleit. § 168; Jahn, Introduct. § 46; Gesenius, Ueber Jes. i, 934. It is thus apparent that the object of the author of the Books of Kings was to describe the history of the kingdoms, especially in connection with the theocratic element. This design accounts for what De Wette (Einleit. § 185) terms the mythical character of these books.
As to what has been termed the anti-Israelitish spirit of the work (Bertholdt, Einleit. p. 949), we do not perceive it. Truth required that the kingdom of Israel should be described in its real character. Idol-worship was connected with its foundation; moscholatry was a state provision; fidelity obliged the annalist to state that all its kings patronized the institutions of Bethel and Dan, while eight, at least, of the Jewish sovereigns adhered to the true religion, and that the majority of its kings perished in insurrection, while those of Judah in general were exempted from seditious tumults and assassination.
IV. Relation of Kings to Chronicles. — The more obvious differences between the books of Kings and of Chronicles are,
(1.) In respect of language, by which the former are shown to be of earlier date than the latter.
(2.) Of periods embraced in each work. The Chronicles are much more comprehensive than Kings, containing genealogical lists from Adam downwards, and a full account of the reign of David. The portions of the Chronicles synchronistic with Kings are 1 Chronicles 28, 2 Chronicles 36:22.
(3.) In the Kings greater prominence is given to the prophetical office; in Chronicles, to the priestly or Levitical. In the books of the Kings we have the active influence of Nathan in regard to the succession to the throne; and the remarkable lives of Elijah and Elisha, of whom numerous and extraordinary miracles are related, of which scarcely the slightest mention is made in Chronicles, although in Kings about fourteen chapters are taken up with them. Besides these, other prophets are mentioned, and their acts and sayings are recorded; as, 1 Kings 13, the prophet who came to Bethel from Judah in the reign of Jeroboam, and his predictions; and in 2 Kings 23, the fulfilment of them in the days of Josiah; 1 Kings 13, the old prophet who lived at Bethel with his sons. Ahijah the prophet, also, in the days of Jeroboam, 1 Kings 14; Jehu, the son of Hanani, 1 Kings 16; Jonah, in the time of Jeroboam, 2 Kings 14:25; and Isaiah in relation to the sickness of Hezekiah, 2 Kings 20. Of these there is either no mention, or much slighter in Chronicles,. where the priestly or Levitical element is more observable; as, for example, the full account, in 2 Chronicles 29-31, of the purification of the Temple by Hezekiah; of the services and sacrifices then made, and of the names of the Levites who took part in it, and the restoration of the courses and orders of the priesthood, and the supplies for the daily, weekly, and yearly sacrifices; also, the circumstantial account of the Passover observed by command of Josiah, 2 Chronicles 35:1-19. In this way we may account not only for the omission of much that relates to the prophets, but also for the less remarkable prominence given to the history of Israel, and the greater to Judah and Jerusalem; and for the frequent omission of details respecting the idolatrous practices of some of the kings, as of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Ahaz; and the destruction of idolatry by Josiah, showing that the books of Chronicles were written in times in which the people less needed to be warned against idolatry; to which, after the captivity, they had ceased to be so prone as before.
For further information on the relation between Kings and Chronicles, (See CHRONICLES, BOOKS OF).
V. Peculiarities of Diction.
1. The words noticed by De Wette (Einl. § 185) as indicating their modern date are the following: אִתְּי for אִתְּ, 1 Kings 14:2. (But this form is also found in Judges 17:2; Jeremiah 4:30; Ezekiel 36:13, and not once in the later books.) אוֹתו for אַתּו, 2 Kings 1:15. (But this form of אֵת is found in Leviticus 15:18; Leviticus 15:24; Joshua 14:12; 2 Samuel 24:24; Isaiah 59:21; Jeremiah 10:5; Jeremiah 12:1; Jeremiah 19:10; Jeremiah 20:11; Jeremiah 23:9; Jeremiah 35:2, Ezekiel 14:4; Ezekiel 27:26.) יַשֹּׂם for יָשֹׁם, 1 Kings 9:8. (But Jeremiah 19:8; Jeremiah 49:17, are identical in phrase and orthography.) רָצַין for רָצַים, 2 Kings 11:13. (But everywhere else in Kings, e.g. 2 Kings 11:6, etc., רָצַים, which is also universal in Chronicles, an avowedly later book; and here, as in צַדֹנַין, 1 Kings 11:33, there is every appearance of the ו being a clerical error for the copulative ו; see Thenius, 1. c.) מְדַינוֹת, 1 Kings 20:14. (But this word occurs in Lamentations 1:1, and there is every appearance of its being a technical word in 1 Kings 20:14, and therefore as old as the reign of Ahab.) כֹּר for חֹמֶר, 1 Kings 4:22. (But כֹּר is used by Ezekiel xlv, 14, and homer seems to have been then already obsolete.) חֹרַים, 1 Kings 21:8; 1 Kings 21:11. (Occurs in Isaiah and Jeremiah.)
רִב, 2 Kings 25:8. (But as the term evidently came in with the Chaldees, as seen in Rab-shakeh, Rab-saris, Rab-mag, its application to the Chaldee general is no evidence of a time later than the person to whom the title is given.) שָׁלֵם, 1 Kings 8:61, etc. (But there is not a particle of evidence that this expression belongs to late Hebrew. It is found, among other places, in Isaiah 38:3, a passage against the authenticity of which there is also not a shadow of proof, except upon the presumption that prophetic intimations and supernatural interventions on the part of God are impossible.) הַשְׂכַּיל, 2 Kings 18:7. (On what grounds this word is adduced it is impossible to guess, since it occurs in this sense in Joshua, Isaiah, Samuel, and Jeremiah: see Gesenius.) בַּטָּחוֹן, 2 Kings 18:19. (Isaiah 36:4; Ecclesiastes 9:4.) יְהוּדַית, 2 Kings 18:26. (But why should not a Jew, in Hezekiah's reign as well as in the time of Nehemiah, have called his mother-tongue "the Jews' language," in opposition to the Aanzcean ? There was nothing in the Babylonian captivity to give it the name if it had it not before, nor is there a single earlier instance-Isaiah 19:18 might have furnished one-of any name given to the language spoken by all the Israelites, and which, in later times, was called Hebrew: ῾Εβρϊστί , Prolog. Ecclus.; Luke 23:38; John 5:2, etc.) אֵת מַשְׁפָּט
דַּבֵּר, 2 Kings 25:6. (Frequent in Jeremiah 4:12; Jeremiah 39:5, etc.) Theod. Parker adds פֶּחָה (see, too, Thenius, Einl. § 6), 1 Kings 10:15; 1 Kings 20:24; 2 Kings 18:24, on the presumption, probably, of its being of Persian derivation; but the etymology and origin of the word are quite uncertain, and it is repeatedly used in Jeremiah 51, as well as Isaiah 36:9. With better reason might בָּדָא have been adduced, 1 Kings 12:33. The expression עֵבֶר הִנָּהָר, in 1 Kings 4:24, is also a difficult one to form an impartial opinion about. It is doubtful, as De Wette admits, whether the phrase necessarily implies its being used by one to the east of the Euphrates, because the use varies in Numbers 32:19; Numbers 35:14; Joshua 1:14 sq.; Joshua 5:1; Joshua 12:1; Joshua 12:7; Joshua 22:7; 1 Chronicles 26:30; Deuteronomy 1:1; Deuteronomy 1:5, etc. It is also conceivable that the phrase might be used as a mere geographical designation by those who belonged to one of "the provinces beyond the river" subject to Babylon; and, at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, Judaea had been such a province for at least 23 years, and probably longer. We may safely affirm, therefore, that, on the whole, the peculiarities of diction in these books do not indicate a time after the captivity, or towards the close of it, but, on the contrary, point pretty distinctly to the age of Jeremiah. It may be added that the marked and systematic differences between the language of Chronicles and that of Kings, taken with the fact that all attempts to prove the Chronicles, in the main, later than Ezra, have utterly failed, lead to the same conclusion. (See many examples in Movers, p. 200 sq.)
2. Other peculiar or rare expressions in these books are the proverbial ones: מִשְׁתַּין בְּקַיר, found only in them and in 1 Samuel 25:22; 1 Samuel 25:34; "slept with his fathers," "him that dieth in the city the dogs shall eat," etc.; כֹּה יִעֲשֶׂה אלֵ, 1 Kings 2:23, etc.; also קַרְיָה, 1 Kings 1:4; 1 Kings 1:45; elsewhere only in poetry and in the composition of proper names, except Deuteronomy 2:36; זֹחֶלֶה, Deuteronomy 1:9. Also the following isolated terms:
בִּרְבֻּרַים, "fowl," 1 Kings 4:23; אֻרָוֹת, "stalls," 1 Kings 5:6; 2 Chronicles 9:25; הֶעֵָלה מִס, 2 Chronicles 5:13; 2 Chronicles 9:15; 2 Chronicles 9:21; מִסִּע, "a stone-quarry" (Gesenius), 2 Chronicles 6:7; לַפְנָי, 2 Chronicles 6:17; לְתַתֵּן, 2 Chronicles 6:19; פְּקָעַים and פִּקֻּעוֹת, " wild cucumbers," 2 Chronicles 6:18; 2 Kings 4:39; מַקְיֵה, 2 Kings 10:28; the names of the months, אֵתָנַים, 2 Kings 8:2; בּוּל זַו, 1 Kings 6:37-38; K3, בָּדָא to invent," 1 Kings 12:33; Nehemiah 6:8, in both cases joined with מַפְלֶצֶת ַָמלֵּב, " an idol," 1 Kings 15:13;, בַּעֵר and הַבְעַיר , followed by אִחֲרֵי, "to destroy," 1 Kings 14:10; 1 Kings 16:3; 1 Kings 21:21; דְּבָקַים, "joints of the armor," 1 Kings 22:34; שַׂיג, "a pursuit," 1 Kings 18:27; גָּהִר, "to bend one's self," 1 Kings 18:42; 2 Kings 4:34-35; שַׁנֵּס, "to gird up," 1 Kings 18:46; אֲפֵר , "a head-band," 1 Kings 20:38; 1 Kings 20:42; שָׂפִק, " to suffice," 1 Kings 20:10; חָלִט, uncert. signif., 1 Kings 20:33; עָשָׁה מְלוּכָה, ' to reign," 1 Kings 21:7; צְלֹחַית, "a dish," 2 Kings 2:20; גָּלִם, "to fold up," 2 Kings 2:8; נֹקֵד, " a herdsman," 1 Kings 3:4; Amos 1:1; אָסוּךְ, " an oil-cup," 1 Kings 4:2; חָרִד אֶל, "to have a care for," 1 Kings 4:13; זֹרֵר, "to sneeze," 4:35; צַקְלוֹן, "a bag," 4:42; חָרַיט, "a money-bag," 5:23; תִּחֲנוֹת, "a camp" (?), 1 Kings 6:8; כֵּרֵָה, "a feast," 1 Kings 6:23; נְחַתַּים, "descending," 1 Kings 6:9; קִב,"a cab," 1 Kings 6:25; חֲרֵי יוֹנַים , "d dove's dung," ib.; מִכְבֵּר, perhaps " a fly-net," 1 Kings 8:15; גֶּרֶם (in sense of " self," as in Chald. and Samar.), 1 Kings 9:13; צַבּוּר,"a heap," 1 Kings 10:8; מֶלְתָּחָה,' "a vestry," 1 Kings 10:22; מָחֲרָאָה, "a draught-house," 1 Kings 10:27; כָּרַי . " Cherethites," 1 Kings 11:4; 1 Kings 11:19, and 2 Samuel 20:23 (kethib); מִסָּח, "a keeping off," 1 Kings 11:6; מִכָּר, "an acquaintance," 1 Kings 12:6; the form יוֹר, from יָרָה, "to shoot," 1 Kings 13:17; בְּנֵי הִתִּעֲרֻבוֹת . "hostages," 1 Kings 14:14; 2 Chronicles 25:24; בֵּית הִחָפְשַׁית, "sick-house," 1 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:21; קָבָל, before," 1 Kings 15:10; דוּמֶשֶׂק, " Damascus," 1 Kings 16:10 (perhaps only a false reading); מִרְצֶפֶת . "a pavement," 1 Kings 16:17; מוּסִךְ or מֵיסִךְ,"a covered way, 1 Kings 16:18; חָפָא, in Piel "to do secretly," 1 Kings 17:9; אֲשֵׁירָה, with י, 16, only besides Deuteronomy 7:5, Micah 5:14; נָדָא, i. q. נָדָה, 1 Kings 17:21 (kethib); שֹׁמְֵֹרנַים, " Samaritans," 29; נְחֻשְׁתָּן, "Nehustan," 1 Kings 18:4; אֹמְנָה, " a pillar," 1 Kings 18:16; עָשָׂה בְרָכָה, "to make peace," 31; Isaiah 36:16; סָחַישׁ, " that which grows up the third year," 19:29; Isaiah 37:30; בֵּית נְכֹת, "treasure-house," 1 Kings 20:13; Isaiah 39:2; מַשְׁנֶה, part of Jerusalem so called, 1 Kings 21:14; Zephaniah 1:10; Nehemiah 11:9; מִזָּלוֹת, "-signs of the zodiac," 23:5; פִּרְוָר, "a suburb," 23:11; גְּבַים, "ploughmen," 25:12 (kethib); שַׁנָּא for שַׁנָּה, "to change," 25:9; אֵיכהֹ for אֵיכוֹ, 2 Kings 6:13; אֲכַילָה, "meat," 1 Kings 19:8; אִלְמֻגַּים "'almug trees," 1 Kings 10:11-12; גָּהִר, "to stretch one's self," 1 Kings 18:42; 2 Kings 4:34-35; אֲפֵר, a "turban" (" ashes"), 1 Kings 20:38; 1 Kings 20:41; דֹּבְרוֹת, "floats," 1 Kings 5:9; יָצַיע "chambers," 1 Kings 6:5-6; 1 Kings 6:10; מִעֲבֶה, "clay," 1 Kings 7:46; נְשַׁר, "debt," 2 Kings 4:7; סִר, "heavy," 1 Kings 20:43; 1 Kings 21:4-5; כּתֶֹרֶת, "chapter," only in Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah; מְזִמְּרוֹת, "snuffers," only in Kings, Chronicles, and Jeremiah; מְכוֹנָה, "base," only in Kings, Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Ezra. To these may be added the architectural terms in 1 Kings 6:7 :and the names of foreign idols in 2 Kings 17. The general character of the language is most distinctly that of the time before the Babylonian captivity.
VI. Variations in the Septuagint.-These are very remarkable, and consist of transpositions, omissions, and some considerable additions, of all which Thenius gives some useful notices in his Introduction to the book of Kings.
1. The most important transpositions are the history of Shimei's death, 1 Kings 2:36-46, which in the Sept. (Cod. Vat.) comes after 3:1, and divers scraps from ch. 4, 5, and 9, accompanied by one or two remarks of the translators. The sections 1 Kings 4:20-25; 1 Kings 4:2-6; 1 Kings 4:26; 1 Kings 4:21; 1 Kings 4:1, are strung together and precede 1 Kings 3:2-28, but many of them are repeated again in their proper places. The sections 1 Kings 3:1; 1 Kings 9:16-17, are strung together, and placed between 1 Kings 4:34 and 1 Kings 5:1. The section 1 Kings 7:1-12, is placed after 1 Kings 7:51. Section 1 Kings 8:12-13, is placed after 53. Section 1 Kings 9:15-22, is placed after 1 Kings 10:22. Section 1 Kings 11:43, 1 Kings 12:1-3, is much transposed and confused in Sept. 11:43, 44, 1 Kings 12:1-3. Section 1 Kings 14:1-21, is placed in the midst of the long addition to Chronicles 12 mentioned below. Section 1 Kings 22:42-50, is placed after 1 Kings 16:28. Chap. 20 and 21 are transposed. Section 2 Kings 3:1-3, is placed after 2 Kings 1:18.
2. The omissions are few. Section 1 Kings 6:11-14, is entirely omitted, and 37, 38 are only slightly alluded to at the opening of chap. 3. The erroneous clause 1 Kings 15:6, is omitted; and so are the dates of Asa's reign in 16:8 and 15; and there are a few verbal omissions of no consequence.
3. The chief interest lies in the additions, of which the principal are the following. The supposed mention of a fountain as among Solomon's works in the Temple in the passage after 1 Kings ii, 35; of a paved causeway on Lebanon, 3:46; of Solomon pointing to the sun at the dedication of the Temple, before he uttered the prayer, ' The Lord said he would dwell in the thick darkness." etc., 8:12, 13 (after 53, Sept.), with a reference to the βίβλιον τῆς ᾠδῆς, a passage on which Thenius relies as proving that the Alexandrian had access to original documents now lost; the information that " Joram his brother" perished with Tibni, 16:22; an additional date " in the twenty-fourth year of Jeroboam," 15:8; numerous verbal additions, as 11:29, 17:1, etc.; and, lastly, the long passage concerning Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, inserted between 12:24 and 25. There are also many glosses of the translator, explanatory, or necessary in consequence of transpositions, as 1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 8:1; 1 Kings 11:43; 1 Kings 17:20; 1 Kings 19:2, etc. Of the above, from the recapitulatory character of the passage after 1 Kings 2:35, containing in brief the sum of the things detailed in 1 Kings 7:21-23, it seems far more probable that ΚΡΗΝΗΝ ΤΗΣ ΑΥΛΗΣ is only a corruption of ΚΡΙΝΟΝ ΤΟΥ ΑΙΛΑΜ, there mentioned. The obscure passage about Lebanon after 3:46 seems no less certainly to represent what in the Heb. is 9:18, 19, as appears by the triple concurrence of Tadmor, Lebanon, and δυναστεύματα, representing מֶמְשִׁלְתּו . The strange mention of the sun seems to be introduced by the translator to give significance to Solomon's mention of the house which he had built for God, who had said he would dwell in the thick darkness; not therefore under the unveiled light of the sun; and the reference to "the book of song" can surely mean nothing else than to point out that the passage to which Solomon referred was Psalms 97:2. Of the other additions, the mention of Tibni's brother Joram is the one which has most the semblance of an historical fact, or makes the existence of any other source of history probable. See, too, 1 Kings 20:19; 2 Kings 15:25.
There remains only the long passage about Jeroboam. That this account is only an apocryphal version, made up of the existing materials in the Hebrew Scriptures, after the manner of I Esdras, Bel and the Dragon, the apocryphal Esther, the Targums, etc., may be inferred on the following grounds. The framework of the story is given in the very words of the Hebrew narrative, and that very copiously, and the new matter is only worked in here and there. Demonstrably, therefore, the Hebrew account existed when the Greek one was framed, and was the original one. The principal new facts introduced, the marriage of Jeroboam to the sister of Shishak's wife, and his request to be permitted to return, is a manifest imitation of the story of Hadad. The misplacement of the story of Abijah's sickness, and the visit of Jeroboam's wife to Ahijah the Shilonite, makes the whole history out of keeping-the disguise of the queen, the rebuke of Jeroboam's idolatry (which is accordingly left out from Ahijah's prophecy, as is the mention at 5:2 of his having told Jeroboam he should be king), and the king's anxiety about the recovery of his son and heir. The embellishments of the story, Jeroboam's chariots, the amplification of Ahijah's address to Ano, the request asked of Pharaoh, the new garment not washed in water, are precisely such as an embellisher would add, as we may see by the apocryphal books above cited. Then the fusing down the three Hebrew names, צְרֵדָה, צְרוּעָה, and תַּרְצָה, into one, Σαριρά , thus giving the same name to the mother of Jeroboam, and to the city where she
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McClintock, John. Strong, James. Entry for 'Kings, First and Second Books of'. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature. https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/tce/k/kings-first-and-second-books-of.html. Harper & Brothers. New York. 1870.
