Introduction

Name and Division of Books in the Bible

The four Books of Kingdoms now known were two books in the ancient Hebrew codex of sacred texts: one of them (which contained what are now the first and second Books of Kingdoms) was called “Sefer Shemuel,” that is, “The Book of Samuel,” since its content is the account of the prophet Samuel and the anointed ones whom he anointed to the Hebrew kingdom, Saul and David; the other (which contained what are now the third and fourth Books of Kingdoms) was called “Sefer Melakhim,” that is, “The Book of Kings,” since its content is the account of the last Hebrew king Solomon and the kings of the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel. The division of these books into four first appeared in the Greek translation of the LXX, where they received the titles:

– Basileon prote (biblos), that is, “First Book of Kingdoms”;

– Basileon deutera – “Second Book of Kingdoms”;

– Basileon trite – “Third Book of Kingdoms”;

– Basileon tetarte – “Fourth Book of Kingdoms”.

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

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

– “Liber secundus Samuelis, quern 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 Hebrew reckoning the First Book of Malachim – Kings”);

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

However, in the canonical ordering of the books of the Old Testament, the Orthodox Church has retained the ancient Hebrew division of the Books of Kingdoms into two books, combining the First and Second Books of Kingdoms together, and also the Third and Fourth Books together.

The Content of the Books of Kingdoms. In the First Book of Kingdoms, the account is given of the prophet and judge of the Hebrew people Samuel and the first Hebrew king Saul. In the Second Book of Kingdoms, the account is given of the second Hebrew king David. In the Third Book of Kingdoms, the account is given of the third Hebrew king Solomon, the division of the Hebrew monarchy into two kingdoms – the kingdom of Judah and the kingdom of Israel – and the kings of both kingdoms, ending with King Jehoshaphat in the kingdom of Judah and King Ahaziah in the kingdom of Israel. In the Fourth Book of Kingdoms, the account is given of the remaining kings of Judah and Israel, ending with the Assyrian captivity regarding the kingdom of Israel and the Babylonian captivity regarding the kingdom of Judah.

The period of the history of the Hebrew people embraced by the account of all four Books of Kingdoms exceeds 500 years.

The Writers of the Books of Kingdoms. The original writers of the First and Second Books of Kingdoms were the prophets Samuel, Nathan, and Gad (1 Chr 29:29). Someone among the prophets of a later time 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 original writers of the Third and Fourth Books of Kingdoms were the prophets and chroniclers who followed Nathan and Gad, who left behind records with names assigned to them: “Book of the Acts of Solomon” (1 Kgs 11:41); “Chronicles of the Kings of Judah” (1 Kgs 14:29; 2 Kgs 8:23); “Chronicles of the Kings of Israel” (1 Kgs 14:19; 2 Kgs 1:8). Someone among the last 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, reviewed these records and brought them to the form in which they have come down to our time.