The history of the few years between the close of Ahab’s life and the accession of Jehu covers about one-third of the entire book of Kings. This is due to the inclusion of a number of narratives which are partly of Ephraim from Ahab to Jehu. a political character, and partly are interested in the work of contemporary prophets. The climax is reached in the overthrow of Omri’s dynasty by the usurper Jehu, when, after a period of close intercourse between Israel and Judah, its two kings perished. The annals of each kingdom would naturally deal independently with these events, but the present literary structure of 1 Kings xvii.-2 Kings xi. is extremely complicated by the presence of the narratives referred to. First as regards the framework, the epitome of Ahab is preserved in xvi. 29-34 and xxii. 39; it contains some unknown references (his ivory house and cities), and a stern religious judgment upon his Phoenician alliance, on which the intervening chapters throw more light. The colourless summary of his son Ahaziah (xxii. 51-53)[6] finds its conclusion in 2 Kings i. 17 seq. where v. 18 should precede the accession of his brother Jehoram (v. 17b). Jehoram is again introduced in iii. 1-3 (note the variant synchronism), but the usual conclusion is wanting. In Judah, Jehoshaphat was succeeded by his son Jehoram, who had married Athaliah the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (viii. 16-24); to the annalistic details (vv. 20-22) 2 Chron. xxi. 11 sqq. adds a novel narrative. His son Ahaziah (viii. 25 sqq.) is similarly denounced for his relations with Israel. He is again introduced in the isolated ix. 29, while Lucian’s recension adds after x. 36 a variant summary of his reign but without the regular introduction. Further confusion appears in the Septuagint, which inserts after i. 18 (Jehoram of Israel) a notice corresponding to iii. 1-3, and concludes “and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the house of Ahab.” This would be appropriate in a position nearer ix. seq. where the deaths of Jehoram and Ahaziah are described. These and other examples of serious disorder in the framework may be associated with the literary features of the narratives of Elijah and Elisha.
Of the more detailed narratives those that deal with the northern kingdom are scarcely Judaean (see 1 Kings xix. 3), and they do not criticize Elijah’s work, as the Judaean compiler denounces the whole history of the north. But they are plainly not of one origin. To supplement the articles [Elijah] and [Elisha], it is to be noticed that the account of Naboth’s death in the history of Elijah (1 Kings xxi.) differs in details from that in the history of Elisha and Jehu (2 Kings ix.), and the latter more precise narrative presupposes events recorded in the extant accounts of Elijah but not these events themselves. In 1 Kings xx., xxii. 1-28 (xxi. follows xix. in the LXX.) Ahab is viewed rather more favourably than in the Elijah-narratives (xix., xxi.) or in the compiler’s summary. Ch. xxii. 6, moreover, proves that there is some exaggeration in xviii. 4, 13; the great contest between Elijah and the king, between Yahweh and Baal, has been idealized. The denunciation of Ahab in xx. 35-43 has some notable points of contact with xiii. and seems to be a supplement to the preceding incidents. Ch. xxii. is important for its ideas of prophetism (especially vv. 19-23; cf. Ezek. xiv. 9; 2 Sam. xxiv. 1 [in contrast to 1 Chron. xxi. 1]); a gloss at the end of v. 28, omitted by the Septuagint, wrongly identifies Micaiah with the well-known Micah (i. 2). Although the punishment passed upon Ahab in xxi. 20 sqq. (20b-26 betray the compiler’s hand; cf. xiv. 10 seq.) is modified in v. 29, this is ignored in the account of his death, xxii. 38, which takes place at Samaria (see below).
The episode of Elijah and Ahaziah (2 Kings i.) is marked by the revelation through an angel. The prophet’s name appears in an unusual form (viz. ēliyyah, not -yahu), especially in vv. 2-8. The prediction of Ahaziah’s fate finds a parallel in 2 Chron. xxi. 12-15; the more supernatural additions have been compared with the late story in 1 Sam. xix. 18-24. The ascension of Elijah (2 Kings ii.) is related as the introduction to the work of Elisha, which apparently begins before the death of Jehoshaphat (see iii. 1, 11 sqq.; contrast 2 Chron. loc. cit.). Among the stories of Elisha are some which find him at the head of the prophetic gilds (iv. 1, 38-44, vi. 1-7), whilst in others he has friendly relations with the “king of Israel” and the court. As a personage of almost superhuman dignity he moves in certain narratives where political records appear to have been utilized to describe the activity of the prophets. The Moabite campaign (iii.) concerns a revolt already referred to in the isolated i. 1; there are parallels with the story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab (iii. 7, 11 seq.; cf. 1 Kings xxii. 4 seq., 7 sqq.), contrast, however, xxii. 7 (where Elijah is not even named) and iii. 11 seq. But Jehoshaphat’s death has been already recorded (1 Kings xxii. 50), and, while Lucian’s recension in 2 Kings iii. reads Ahaziah, i. 17 presupposes the accession of the Judaean Jehoram. Other political narratives may underlie the stories of the Aramaean wars; with vi. 24-vii. 20 (after the complete cessation of hostilities in vi. 23) compare the general style of 1 Kings xx., xxii.; with the famine in Samaria, vi. 25; cf. ibid. xvii.; with the victory, cf. ibid. xx. The account of Elisha and Hazael (viii. 7-15) implies friendly relations with Damascus (in v. 12 the terrors of war are in the future), but the description of Jehu’s accession (ix.) is in the midst of hostilities. Ch. ix. 7-10a are a Deuteronomic insertion amplifying the message in vv. 3-6 (cf. 1 Kings xxi. 20 seq.). The origin of the repetition in ix. 14-15a (cf. viii. 28 seq.) is not clear. The oracle in ix. 25 seq. is not that in 1 Kings xxi. 19 seq., and mentions the additional detail that Naboth’s sons were slain. Here his field or portion is located near Jezreel, but in 1 Kings xxi. 18 his vineyard is by the royal palace in Samaria (cf. xxii. 38 and contrast xxi. 1, where the LXX. omits reference to Jezreel). This fluctuation reappears in 2 Kings x. 1, 11 seq., and 17; in ix. 27 compared with 2 Chron. xxii. 9; and in the singular duplication of an historical incident, viz. the war against the Aramaeans at Ramoth-Gilead (a) by Jehoshaphat and Ahab, and (b) by Ahaziah and Jehoram, in each case with the death of the Israelite king, at Samaria and Jezreel respectively (see above and observe the contradiction in 1 Kings xxi. 29 and xxii. 38). These and other critical questions in this section are involved with (a) the probability that Elisha’s work belongs rather to the accession of Jehu, with whose dynasty he was on most intimate terms until his death some forty-five years later (2 Kings xiii. 14-21), and (b) the problem of the wars between Israel and Syria which appear to have begun only in the time of Jehu (x. 32). See Jew. Quart. Rev. (1908), pp. 597-630, and [Jews]: History, § 11 seq.
In the annals of Jehu’s dynasty the editorial introduction to Jehu himself is wanting (x. 32 sqq.), although Lucian’s recension in x. 36 concludes in annalistic manner the lives of Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Dynasty of Jehu. Judah. The summary mentions the beginning of the Aramaean wars, the continuation of which is found in the redactor’s account of his successor Jehoahaz (xiii. 1-9). But xiii. 4-6 modify the disasters, and by pointing to the “saviour” or deliverer (cf. Judg. iii. 9, 15) anticipate xiv. 27. The self-contained account of his son Jehoash (xiii. 10-13) is supplemented (a) by the story of the death of Elisha (vv. 14-21) and (b) by some account of the Aramaean wars (vv. 22-25), where v. 23, like vv. 4-6 (Lucian’s recension actually reads it after v. 7), is noteworthy for the sympathy towards the northern kingdom. Further (c) the defeat of Amaziah of Judah appears in xiv. 8-14 after the annals of Judah, although from an Israelite source (v. 11b Bethshemesh defined as belonging to Judah, see also v. 15, and with the repetition of the concluding statements in v. 15 seq., see xiii. 12 seq.). These features and the transference of xiii. 12 seq. after xiii. 25 in Lucian’s recension point to late adjustment. In Judaean history, Jehu’s reform and the overthrow of Jezebel in the north (ix., x. 15-28) find their counterpart in the murder of Athaliah and the destruction of the temple of Baal in Judah (xi. 18). But the framework is incomplete. The editorial conclusion of the reign of Ahaziah, the introduction to that of Athaliah, and the sources for both are wanting. A lengthy Judaean document is incorporated detailing the accession of Joash and the prominence of the abruptly introduced priest Jehoiada. The interest in the Temple and temple-procedure is obvious; and both xi. and xii. have points of resemblance with xxii. seq. (see below and cf. also xi. 4, 7, 11, 19, with 1 Kings xiv. 27 seq.). The usual epitome is found in xi. 21-xii. 3 (the age at accession should follow the synchronism, so Lucian), with fragments of annalistic matter in xii. 17-21 (another version in 2 Chron. xxiv. 23 sqq.). For Joash’s son Amaziah see above; xiv. 6 refers to Deut. xxiv. 16, and 2 Chron. xxv. 5-16 replaces v. 7 by a lengthy narrative with some interesting details. Azariah or Uzziah is briefly summarized in xv. 1-7, hence the notice in xiv. 22 seems out of place; perhaps the usual statements of Amaziah’s death and burial (cf. xiv. 20b, 22b), which were to be expected after v. 18, have been supplemented by the account of the rebellion (vv. 19, 20a, 21).[7] The chronological notes for the accession of Azariah imply different views of the history of Judah after the defeat of Amaziah; with xiv. 17, cf. xiii. 10, xiv. 2, 23, but contrast xv. 1, and again v. 8.[8]
The important reign of Jeroboam (2) is dismissed as briefly as that of Azariah (xiv. 23-29). The end of the Aramaean war presupposed by v. 25 is supplemented by the sympathetic addition in v. 26 seq. (cf. xiii. 4 seq. 23). Of his successors Zechariah, Shallum and Menahem only the briefest records remain, now imbedded in the editorial framework (xv. 8-25). The summary of Pekah (perhaps the same as Pekahiah, the confusion being due to the compiler) contains excerpts which form the continuation of the older material in v. 25 (cf. also vv. 10, 14, 16, 19, 20). For an apparently similar adjustment of an earlier record to the framework see above on 1 Kings xv. 25-31, xvi. 8-25. The account of Hoshea’s conspiracy (xv. 29 seq.) gives the Israelite version with which Tiglath-Pileser’s own statement can now be compared. Two accounts of the fall of Samaria are given, one of which is under the reign of the contemporary Judaean Hezekiah (xvii. i-6, xviii. 9-12); the chronology is again intricate. Reflections on the disappearance of the northern kingdom appear in xvii. 7-23 and xviii. 12; the latter belongs to the Judaean history. The former is composite; xvii. 21-23 (cf. v. 18) look back to the introduction of calf-worship by Jeroboam (1), and agree with the compiler’s usual standpoint; but vv. 19-20 include Judah and presuppose the exile. The remaining verses survey types of idolatry partly of a general kind (vv. 9-12, 16a), and partly characteristic of Judah in the last years of the monarchy (vv. 16b, 17). The brief account of the subsequent history of Israel in xvii. 24-41 is not from one source, since the piety of the new settlers (v. 32-34a, 41) conflicts with the later point of view in 34b-40. The last-mentioned supplements the epilogue in xvii. 7-23, forms a solemn conclusion to the history of the northern kingdom, and is apparently aimed at the Samaritans.
III. Later History of Judah.—The summary of Jotham (xv. 32-38) shows interest in the Temple (v. 35) and alludes to the hostility of Pekah (v. 37) upon which the Israelite annals are silent. 2. Chron. xxvii. expands Judah. the former but replaces the latter by other not unrelated details (see [Uzziah]). But xv. 37 is resumed afresh in the account of the reign of Ahaz (xvi. 5 sqq.; the text in v. 6 is confused)—another version in 2 Chron. xxviii. 5 sqq.—and is supplemented by a description, evidently from the Temple records, in which the ritual innovations by “king Ahaz” (in contrast to “Ahaz” alone in vv. 5-9) are described (vv. 10-18). There is further variation of detail in 2 Chron. xxviii. 20-27. The summary of Hezekiah (xviii. 1-8) emphasizes his important religious reforms (greatly expanded in 2 Chron. xxix. seq. from a later standpoint), and includes two references to his military achievements. Of these v. 8 is ignored in Chron., and v. 7 is supplemented by (a) the annalistic extract in vv. 13-16, and (b) narratives in which the great contemporary prophet Isaiah is the central figure. The latter are later than Isaiah himself (xix. 37 refers to 681 B.C.) and reappear, with some abbreviation and rearrangement, in Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix. (see [Isaiah]). They are partly duplicate (cf. xix. 7 with vv. 28, 33; vv. 10-13 with xviii. 28-35), and consist of two portions, xviii. 17-xix. 8 (Isa. xxxvi. 2-xxxvii. 8) and xix. 9b-35 (Isa. xxxvii. 9b-36); to which of these xix. 9a and v. 36 seq. belong is disputed. 2 Chron. xxxii. (where these accounts are condensed) is in general agreement with 2 Kings xviii. 7, as against vv. 14-16. The poetical fragment, xix. 21-28, is connected with the sign in vv. 29-31; both seem to break the connexion between xix. 20 and 32 sqq. Chap. xx. 1-19 appears to belong to an earlier period in Hezekiah’s reign (see v. 6 and cf. 2 Chron. xxxii. 25 seq.); with vv. 1-11 note carefully the forms in Isa. xxxviii. 1-8, 21 seq., and 2 Chron. xxxii. 24-26; with xx. 12-19 (Isa. xxxix) contrast the brief allusion in 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. In v. 17 seq. the exile is foreshadowed. Use has probably been made of a late cycle of Isaiah-stories; such a work is actually mentioned in 2 Chron. xxxii. 32. The accounts of the reactionary kings Manasseh and Amon, although now by the compiler, give some reference to political events (see xxi. 17, 23 seq.); xxi. 7-15 refer to the exile and find a parallel in xxiii. 26 seq., and xxi. 10 sqq. are replaced in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 10-20 by a novel record of Manasseh’s penitence (see also ibid. v. 23 and note omission of 2 Kings xxiii. 26 from Chron).
Josiah’s reign forms the climax of the history. The usual framework (xxii. 1; 2, xxiii. 28, 30b) is supplemented by narratives dealing with the Temple repairs and the reforms of Josiah. These are closely related to xi. seq. (cf. xxii. 3-7 with xii. 4 sqq.), but show many signs of revision; xxii. 16 seq., xxiii. 26 seq., point distinctly to the exile, and xxiii. 16-20 is an insertion (the altar in v. 16 is already destroyed in v. 15) after 1 Kings xiii. But it is difficult elsewhere to distinguish safely between the original records and the later additions. In their present shape the reforms of Josiah are described in terms that point to an acquaintance with the teaching of Deuteronomy which promulgates the reforms themselves.[9]
The annalistic notice in xxiii. 29 seq. (contrast xxii. 20) should precede v. 28; 2 Chron. xxxv. 20-27 gives another version in the correct position and ignores 2 Kings xxiii. 24-27 (see however the Septuagint). For the last four kings of Judah, the references to the worship at the high places (presumably abolished by Josiah) are wanting, and the literary source is only cited for Jehoiakim; xxiv. 3 seq. (and probably v. 2), which treat the fall of Judah as the punishment for Manasseh’s sins, are a Deuteronomistic insertion (2 Chron. xxxvi. 6 sqq. differs widely; see, however, the Septuagint); v. 13 seq. and v. 15 seq. are duplicates. With xxiv. 18-xxv. 21 cf. Jer. lii. 1-27 (the text of the latter, especially vv. 19 sqq. is superior); and the fragments ibid. xxxix. 1-10. Ch. xxv. 22-26 appears in much fuller form in Jer. xl. seq. (see xl. 7-9, xli. 1-3, 17 seq.). It is noteworthy that Jeremiah does not enter into the history in Kings (contrast Isaiah above). The book of Chronicles in general has a briefer account of the last years, and ignores both the narratives which also appear in Jeremiah and the concluding hopeful note struck by the restoration of Jehoiachin (xxv. 27-30). This last, with the addition of statistical data, forms the present conclusion also of the book of Jeremiah.
Conclusions.—A survey of these narratives as a whole strengthens our impression of the merely mechanical character of the redaction by which they are united. Though editors have written something of their own in almost every chapter, generally from the standpoint of religious pragmatism, there is not the least attempt to work the materials into a history in our sense of the word; and in particular the northern and southern histories are practically independent, being merely pieced together in a sort of mosaic in consonance with the chronological system, which we have seen to be really later than the main redaction. It is very probable that the order of the pieces was considerably readjusted by the author of the chronology; of this indeed the Septuagint still shows traces. But with all its imperfections as judged from a modern standpoint, the redaction has the great merit of preserving material nearer to the actual history than would have been the case had narratives been rewritten from much later standpoints—as often in the book of Chronicles.