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 2:11And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
• 2 Kings 17:22-23For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
• 2 Kings 25:21And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.