The History Of The Kings, Follow-Up

Q

I am writing in regards to the question the person asked about the history of the kings. I don’t know which version of the Bible they were reading. But I read the NKJV and it clearly states that all of this is in the Chronicles. This is technically my first time seriously reading through these O.T. books and I am half-way through 2 Kings.

I was excited to get to the Chronicles to answer a lot of questions I still have. Yet, what you said is that the use of the word, “chronicles”, here is talking about something outside the Bible. Talk about your big letdowns. If this is correct, then where do we go to find the information that 2 Kings is referring to? Surely the Scriptures would not refer to writings outside of the Bible without giving us the source.

A

Don’t confuse the phrase “chronicles of the Kings of Israel” as in 1 Kings 14:19 with the two books called 1 & 2 Chronicles. They’re two different historical accounts.

Aside from the fact that Samuel and Kings were likely written before the Babylonian captivity and the Chronicles after it, 1&2 Chronicles contains only the history of the Kings of Judah and makes no mention of the leaders of the defeated Northern Kingdom.

1 & 2 Chronicles was written, probably by Ezra, after the Jews returned from Babylon to demonstrate the continuity of the nation and its enduring covenant with God even though the Davidic Kingship had been suspended and they’d spent the previous 70 years as captives in a foreign land.

There are several extra-Biblical accounts used as source material for 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles. These include now lost works such as the Acts of Solomon, the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, and the records of prophets and seers like Samuel, Nathan, Gad, Ahijah, Iddo and others.

These records are mentioned in the Biblical works but have apparently been lost over the centuries. Those details that the Holy Spirit deemed important for us to know are contained in the Bible.