1 Kings

Solomon’s kingdom showed Israel at its greatest strength and honor. “King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom” (1 Kings 10:23). The queen of Sheba confirmed the glory of Solomon’s kingdom, saying, “The report I heard in my own country about your words and wisdom is true. But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes” (10:6–7).

First Kings celebrates the beauty and wealth of Solomon’s kingdom. But Solomon’s rule also shows the danger of being unfaithful to God. First Kings warns about loving wealth, honor, personal comfort, and safety more than God. This warning still speaks to all people today.

Setting

When Solomon was most powerful, he ruled a large kingdom. It reached "from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt" (4:21). Because Solomon had great power and wealth, he had contact with many nearby nations. These included Tyre, an important city with ships and sea trade, and Egypt, an ancient empire.

The mid-900s BC was a good time for Solomon’s kingdom to grow. The older powers in the region were becoming weaker. To the north, the strong Hittite kingdom had divided into several small states. In Mesopotamia, Assyria had become weak after many years of conflict with the Arameans and the Hittites. Assyria remained weak until Ashur-dan II became king. He ruled from 934 to 912 BC.

To the south, Egypt had less control in Canaan during the 21st dynasty, from 1069 to 945 BC. Egypt did not become a strong military power again until Shoshenq I became pharaoh. Shoshenq I, also called Shishak, ruled from 945 to 924 BC.

Sadly, Solomon’s agreements with other nations included marriages to the daughters of foreign kings. In the ancient Near East, kings often used marriage to make agreements with other kingdoms stronger. But these marriages caused great spiritual harm. "For when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and he was not wholeheartedly devoted to the LORD his God" (11:4).

After Solomon died in 931 BC, old tensions between the northern and southern Hebrew tribes became open conflict. This division split the kingdom into Israel and Judah. Israel was the northern kingdom, made up of ten tribes. Judah was the southern kingdom, made up of the two remaining tribes.

Israel and Judah fought many times from 931 to 874 BC. This period included Israel’s first two ruling families and Judah’s first three kings. The fighting became less severe when King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah joined together against the Arameans (chapters 20, 22).

The Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah became more involved in the goals of nearby nations that wanted to expand their power. In 926 BC, Shoshenq I of Egypt invaded them. During the 800s BC, Israel and Judah also faced the continuing danger of the Arameans and the growing power of Assyria.

Assyria moved west toward the Mediterranean Sea during the reigns of Ashurnasirpal II, who ruled from 883 to 859 BC, and Shalmaneser III, who ruled from 858 to 824 BC. At the famous Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, a group of western allies resisted Shalmaneser. This group included King Ahab of Israel. Their resistance slowed Assyria’s advance for a time.

During this time, both Hebrew kingdoms struggled to stay faithful to God. Israel no longer worshiped the Lord at Solomon’s temple. Jeroboam I was the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel. He ruled from 931 to 910 BC. He began false worship practices that led the northern kingdom away from God (see 2 Kings 17:21–23).

Judah’s first two kings, Rehoboam and Abijah, also turned away from faithful worship. But the next two kings, Asa and Jehoshaphat, were more faithful to God. Still, their faithfulness was not perfect (1 Kings 15:11; 22:43).

Summary

First Section

First Kings begins with King David’s final days. It describes how Solomon’s great kingdom was established. Solomon ruled from 971 to 931 BC.

The book also explains how the kingdom later divided into two parts. Israel became the northern kingdom, and Judah became the southern kingdom. First Kings then follows the changing history of both kingdoms until about 853 BC. This was during the rule of Ahaziah, king of Israel, who ruled from 853 to 852 BC.

The first 11 chapters focus on King Solomon. They describe his great rule and his later spiritual failure.

Solomon’s story begins and ends with conflict. David chose Solomon to be the next king. But Solomon’s older brother Adonijah tried to take make himself king (1:1–2:46). Solomon defeated Adonijah’s claim to to be king. Then he used the wisdom God gave him to organize the government and help it work better.

Solomon also helped the kingdom grow through trade on land and sea. He began many large building projects. These included the beautiful temple and the palace buildings.

Near the end of his rule, Solomon turned away from God (11:1–13). He also forced people to work for his building projects (5:1–18). These actions caused enemies to rise against him, both inside and outside the kingdom (11:14–40).

God appeared to Solomon three times. These visits help us see Solomon’s spiritual journey.

The first time, God appeared to Solomon early in his rule. God gave Solomon what he asked for: wisdom to rule the kingdom (3:5–15). This wisdom led to great wealth and honor (3:16–8:66).

After Solomon finished building the temple and the palace, God appeared to him a second time. God reminded Solomon that his success would continue only if he remained faithful to God (9:1–9).

But Solomon became very famous (9:10–10:29). His fame led him to make alliances with other nations. These alliances were strengthened through common marriage practices. Solomon married the daughters of foreign kings. These marriages led him away from faithful worship. In time, Solomon even supported the worship of false gods (11:1–8).

God appeared to Solomon a third and final time. This time, God rebuked him because he had not honored the covenant, the binding agreement between God and his people. Solomon’s unfaithfulness would later cause the kingdom to divide after his death (11:9–13).

Second Section

The second section of the book (12:1–16:26) shows that God's judgment came soon after Solomon's death .

When Rehoboam became king, the northern tribes asked him to reduce their forced labor and heavy taxes. But Rehoboam refused their request and spoke harshly to them. So the northern tribes rebelled. They formed the northern kingdom of Israel and made Jeroboam I their king. Rehoboam continued to rule Judah, which became a separate kingdom in the south (12:1–24).

In the years that followed, Israel’s first two ruling families led the northern kingdom farther away from God. The kings of Judah also led the southern kingdom away from faithful worship.

The northern kingdom was politically unstable. Kings were murdered, leaders fought for power, and Omri began Israel’s third ruling family. Omri was one of Israel’s most powerful kings, but he was also one of its most evil kings (16:25–26).

Final Section

The final section of 1 Kings mainly focuses on the rule of Omri’s son, Ahab (16:29–22:40). Israel had begun to worship Baal, the Canaanite god of storms. So the Lord sent Elijah to confront Ahab and show the Lord's power. Elijah showed that the Lord alone is God (17:1–18:46).

Then Elijah ran away from Queen Jezebel because she was angry and wanted to kill him. But God restored Elijah and gave him a new task. God also chose Elisha to follow Elijah as the next prophet (19:1–21).

In political matters, King Ahab faced repeated attacks from Ben-hadad, the Aramean king. Ahab fought three battles against him (20:1–25, 26–43; 22:1–40). Ahab died in the last battle.

Between the second and third battles, Ahab and his cruel wife, Jezebel, murdered an innocent man named Naboth. Then Ahab took Naboth’s property for himself (21:1–29).

God’s prophets played an important role during Ahab’s rule. During Ahab’s first two battles against the Arameans, a prophet whose name is not given first advised the king (20:22). Later, another prophet rebuked him (20:35–43). The prophet Elijah also rebuked Ahab after he took Naboth’s vineyard (21:1–29). Before Ahab’s third battle against the Arameans, the prophet Micaiah warned that Ahab would soon die (22:5–28).

First Kings ends with a short account of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. It describes his character and his rule (22:41–50). The book also introduces Ahaziah, who became king after Ahab (22:51–53). Ahaziah’s story continues in 2 Kings.

Author and Composition

The books of 1–2 Kings show a clear and unified point of view. They were written by one unknown author. Jewish tradition identifies this author as Jeremiah (Baba Batra 15a).

The author saw the fall of Jerusalem himself. He also knew the sources that helped him write a detailed history of Solomon’s rule and the divided kingdom. These sources included official records from the palace and the temple. They also included records kept by groups of prophets. The author brought these sources together into one clear account. His main concern was that God’s people had repeatedly failed to honor their covenant relationship with him.

It is not clear whether the author was still alive when the final note about Jehoiachin’s release was written. Jehoiachin was released in 561 BC (2 Kings 25:27–30; compare Jeremiah 52:31–34). If the original author did not write these verses, someone else added them later. That person knew 1–2 Kings well and shared the same concerns as the main author.

The books of 1–2 Kings cover almost the same time period as 2 Chronicles. For this reason, many passages in these books describe the same events and use similar wording. But the authors wrote with different purposes. We can see these differences by comparing the parallel passages.

Date

Second Kings records the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC (2 Kings 24:18–25:21). This means 1–2 Kings must have been completed after that event.

The dates and order of the kings in 1–2 Kings are sometimes hard to understand. But the main time period is clear. First Kings begins around 973 BC. This includes about the last two years of David’s rule in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:4–5). The book continues to about 853 BC. This was during the rules of Jehoshaphat of Judah, who ruled from 872 to 848 BC, and Ahaziah of Israel, who ruled from 853 to 852 BC.

Second Kings continues the story where First Kings ends. First and Second Kings were originally one book. The final note in 2 Kings was written soon after Nebuchadnezzar II died in 562 BC (2 Kings 25:27–30).

Timeline of Events

The dates for the kings of Israel and Judah are found by comparing the Bible with other ancient sources. These sources include royal records and records of events in the sky, such as eclipses.

These records often show that kings used co-regency. Co-regency means that a king appointed his son to rule with him before the son became king on his own. This practice was common in both Israel and Judah. Because of this, the dates for some kings may overlap instead of following one after another.

Finding exact dates for the time of the kings is complex. But the records of Assyria, Babylon, Aram, Egypt, and Israel agree in many important ways. This agreement supports the historical reliability of the biblical records.

Meaning and Message

The main concern of 1 Kings is Israel’s spiritual condition. It asks this question: How faithful were Israel’s rulers and people to God’s covenants?

God made a special covenant with David. This covenant included conditions for blessing Israel’s king and his kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12–16; Psalm 89:20–37).

God appeared to Solomon three times. These appearances show that Solomon had the chance to live a faithful and meaningful life with God. They also show the sad results of being unfaithful to God and choosing what seemed useful instead of what was right.

Each king after Solomon is judged by his faithfulness to God. Each one either kept God’s covenants or failed to keep them.

First Kings emphasizes the work of God’s prophets. They advised, corrected, and warned the kings. The book gives special attention to Elijah’s ministry (1 Kings 17:1–19:21; 21:1–29). But God also worked through other prophets to call his people to be loyal to him.

The spiritual journeys of Israel’s kings and prophets call all of God’s people to faithful love and service.

Israel often chose what it could see and what seemed useful at the moment. This reminds God’s people to "keep yourselves from idols" (1 John 5:21). Like the prophets long ago, God’s servants today must proclaim that people should worship God alone.