Introduction

Name and division of the books in the Bible

The four books of Kingdoms known today in the ancient Hebrew codex of sacred writings constituted two books: one of them (which contained the present first and second books of Kingdoms) was called “Sefer Shmuel”, that is, “Book of Samuel”, since its content is the narrative about the prophet Samuel and those he anointed over the Hebrew kingdom, Saul and David; the other (which contained the present third and fourth books of Kingdoms) was called “Sefer Melachim”, that is, “Book of Kings”, since its content is the narrative about the last common Hebrew king Solomon and about the kings of the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel. The present division of the aforementioned books into four first appeared in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, where they received the names:

– Βασιλείων πρώτη (βίβλος), that is, “First Book of Kingdoms”;

– Βασιλείων δευτέρα – “Second Book of Kingdoms”;

– Βασιλείων τρίτη – “Third Book of Kingdoms”;

– Βασιλείων τετάρτη – “Fourth Book of Kingdoms”.

Later it was adopted by the Latin translation, the Vulgate, where the titles of the books took this form:

– “Liber primus Samuelis, quem nos primum Regum dicimus” (“First Book of Samuel, which we call the First Book of Kings”);

– “Liber secundus Samuelis, quem nos secundum Regum dicimus” (“Second Book of Samuel, which we call the Second Book of Kings”);

– “Liber Regum tertius, secundum Hebraeos primus Malachim” (“Third Book of Kings, according to the Hebrew reckoning the First Book of Melachim – Kings”);

– “Liber Regum quartus, secundum Hebraeos Malachim secundus” (“Fourth Book of Kings, according to the Hebrew reckoning the Second Book of Melachim – Kings”).

Nevertheless, in the canonical count of the books of the Old Testament, the Orthodox Church retained the ancient Hebrew division of the books of Kingdoms into two books, joining together the First and Second books of Kingdoms, as well as the Third and Fourth books.

Contents of the books of Kingdoms. The First Book of Kingdoms narrates about Samuel, the prophet and judge of the Hebrew people, and about the first Hebrew king Saul. The Second Book of Kingdoms narrates about the second Hebrew king David. The Third Book of Kingdoms narrates about the third Hebrew king Solomon, about the division of the Hebrew monarchy into two kingdoms – Judah and Israel – and about the kings of each kingdom, ending with King Jehoshaphat in the kingdom of Judah and King Ahaziah in Israel. The Fourth Book of Kingdoms narrates about the remaining kings of Judah and Israel, ending with the Assyrian captivity as regards the kingdom of Israel and the Babylonian captivity as regards the kingdom of Judah.

The period of Hebrew history embraced by the narrative of all four books of Kingdoms exceeds 500 years.

The writers of the books of Kingdoms. The first writers of the First and Second books of Kingdoms were the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chr 29:29). One of the later prophets reviewed the records of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad, supplemented them (1 Sam 5:5; 2 Sam 4:3), and gave them a unified, finished form.

The first writers of the Third and Fourth books of Kingdoms were the prophets and chroniclers who followed Nathan and Gad, leaving after themselves records with attached titles: “Book of the Acts of Solomon” (1 Kgs 11:41); “History of the Kings of Judah” (1 Kgs 14:29; 2 Kgs 8:23); “History of the Kings of Israel” (1 Kgs 14:19; 2 Kgs 1:8). One of the later Old Testament prophets (according to the testimony of Hebrew and Christian antiquity – the prophet Jeremiah), or perhaps even the great scribe and collector of the canon of Old Testament sacred writings, Ezra himself, reviewed these records and brought them into the form in which they have come down to us.