Guide to 2 Kings
Summary
The book of 2 Kings continues the story of a divided Israel. The book begins with Elijah’s final acts as prophet and ascent into heaven (2 Kings 1–2), chronicles the prophetic ministry of Elisha to the Northern Kingdom (2 Kings 3–8, 13), and the various rulers of Israel and Judah before each are taken captive for their wickedness. The kings of the northern kingdom of Israel are consistently presented as wicked men who have failed to follow the Lord, while the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah are presented as a mix of righteous and wicked kings. Eventually, both kingdoms are destroyed, first the northern kingdom by the Assyrians in 2 Kings 17, followed by the southern kingdom by the Babylonians in 2 Kings 25. In both instances, the wickedness of the people and their rulers is cited as the reason for their destruction.
Videos
Watch selected videos on this book of the Bible to enhance your study. Note: Not all videos included come from a Latter-day Saint perspective. Inclusion on this list should not imply endorsement for all content.
Historical Settings
Time
*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.
See Biblical Chronology- 852–586 B.C.*
Further Reading
Richard Neitzel Holzapfel, Dana M. Pike, and David Rolph Seely, Jehovah and the World of the Old Testament: An Illustrated Reference for Latter-day Saints (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 2009), 190–227, 246–336.
David Rolph Seely, “Kings and Chronicles,” in Studies in Scripture, vol. 4: 1 Kings to Malachi, ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1993), 4–11.
David Rolph Seely and Robert D. Hunt, “Dramatis Personae: The World of Lehi (ca. 700–592 BC),” in Glimpses of Lehi’s Jerusalem, ed. John W. Welch, David Rolph Seely, and Jo Ann H. Seely (Provo, UT: FARMS, 2004), 41–64.
Andrew C. Skinner, “Kings and Prophets in Divided Israel (1 Kings 12–2 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 23–28),” in Studies in Scripture, vol. 4: 1 Kings to Malachi, ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1993), 20–32.
Andrew C, Skinner, “Israel and Judah in the Ninth and Eighth Centuries Before Christ (2 Kings 11–17; 2 Chronicles 23–28),” in Studies in Scripture, vol. 4: 1 Kings to Malachi, ed. Kent P. Jackson (Salt Lake City, UT: Deseret Book, 1993), 33–45.