2 Kings

About 2 Kings

2 Kings carries Israel's story from Elijah's fiery departure to the fall of both kingdoms. Generation after generation, kings and people brush aside God's warnings through the prophets, until Israel falls to Assyria and Judah to Babylon. In the Bible's big story, this book explains why God's people ended up in exile — yet its final scene, a king of David's line released from prison, leaves a small light of hope burning.

Written by

The book never names its author; Jewish tradition points to the prophet Jeremiah, while most scholars see it as compiled from royal and prophetic records by unnamed writers during the exile.

When

It covers events from about 850 to 560 BC and was likely finished during the Babylonian exile, sometime after 560 BC.

Themes

• Prophets who speak for God
• The cost of ignoring God
• Idolatry and its consequences
• Exile
• A flicker of hope for David's line

Key verses

• 2 Kings 2:11As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind.
• 2 Kings 17:22-23The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam had committed and did not turn away from them. Finally, the LORD removed Israel from His presence, as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel was exiled from their homeland into Assyria, where they are to this day.
• 2 Kings 25:21There at Riblah in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death. So Judah was taken into exile, away from its own land.