Originally Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles were regarded as one series, and called the Books of Kings. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament, made during the period between the Testaments), each of these books was divided into two parts; and what we term First Kings was called the Third Book of Kings.

It is impossible to fix accurately either the date when this book was compiled, or the name of the writer. From the fact that the last chapter of 2 Kings records the release of Jehoiachin from captivity, which took place B. UC. 562, but makes no mention of the decree of Cyrus, B. C. 538, with which the return of the Jews from captivity began, it is concluded that the book was compiled some time between these dates.

The sources from which the compiler drew were three: the Book of the Acts of Solomon, 1 Kings 11: 41; the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, 1}: 29, etc.; and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel, aes The Chronicles here referred to are not the books called Chronicles in the Bible, but separate works which are now lost. :

The history of the nation is recorded from the close of the reign of David to the middle of the reign of Ahaziah. In its highest glory under Solomon, the kingdom foreshadows the millennial kingdom of our Lord. The prosperity of the nation rises or falls according to the character of the ruler and his people, illustrating for us the amportant truth that obedience is the condition of blessing.