II., xxiv. 14: “I am in a great strait; let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.”
The following poetical passages of the book should also be marked:—
The prayer of Hannah (ii. 1–10); David’s lament over Saul’s death (II., i. 18–27); Parable of the prophet Nathan (xii. 1–6); Song of thanksgiving by David (xxii.); David’s faith in God’s justice (xxiii. 1–7).
4. The first and the second books of Kings (מלכים א׳ וב׳), also called the third and fourth books of Kings, contain the history of Israel from the death of David to the Babylonian exile. The first book describes the last days of King David, the reign of Solomon, the division of the country into two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, the history of the kingdom of Judah from Rehoboam to Jehoshaphat, and the history of the kingdom of Israel from Jeroboam to Ahab. The second book continues the history of the kingdom of Israel from Ahab to the conquest of Samaria by Shalmanessar, king of Assyria, and that of the kingdom of Judah from Abijam, son of Jehoshaphat, to the conquest of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
I., ii. 2: “I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man.” [[66]]
xviii. 21: “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God. follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.”
II., xiv. 9: “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon and trod down the thistle.”[4]
Note, besides, prayer of Solomon (I., viii. 12–61) and message of Isaiah to King Hezekiah (II., xix. 21–31).
The נביאים אחרונים Latter Prophets, contain the following books:—
I. Isaiah (ישעיהו).—Isaiah prophesied chiefly during the Assyrian invasions in Palestine in the reign of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. The book is divided into two main sections, separated from each other by the narrative of Sennacherib’s invasion and defeat, Hezekiah’s illness and recovery, and the congratulatory message of the Babylonian king to Hezekiah (chaps, xxxvi. to xxxix.). The first section is divided into five parts with separate headings:—