Some of these stories are among the most vivid and memorable in the old testament, and have never failed to prove themselves relevant and challenging in the preaching of the church. The ministries of elijah and elisha during the reigns of. It concludes the deuteronomistic history, a history of israel also comprising the books of joshua and judges and the book of samuel, which biblical commentators believe was written to provide a theological explanation for the destruction of the. This is the fourth miracle mentioned in this chapter which elijah performed by. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way. In 1 kings, the author said a lot about the prophet called elijah. This summary of the book of 2 kings provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 kings. Elijah and elisha are by far the most prominent prophets in the books of kings and chronicles, and of the two, elisha is especially notable for the attention he pays to the work of ordinary israelites. Elisha is called to stand against israels rebellious kings throughout a long career 2 kings 2. Chapter 8 page 321 the second book of the kings the.
In the second chapter of two kings, elisha asks elijah for a doubleshare of his spirit before he flies away in gods whirlwind. To carry out the responsibility as a prophet to israel, elisha would need the same spirit that elijah had shown, that of courage and fearlessness. Elisha is a major player in the old testament, a prophet so renowned that he also. One page printable bibles stories old testament bible story book, bible. In the hebrew bible the bible used by jews, first and second kings are a single book, as are the first and second books of samuel. I was a fan of the second book to the king of kings series. The second book of kings cambridge bible commentaries on the old testament robinson, j.
The main events in the book of second kings ii kings ii kings 1. The second book of kings, which has more than its share of bloodshed and evil, finishes on a note of peace and kindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of elisha. The king sent messengers to consult baalzebub, god of ekron and ask him for recovery from his illness. Elishas profile in the book of kings keith bodner oxford. The use of the salt was symbolic, as it was god who performed the miracle.
Biblical literature biblical literature the significance of elisha. Elisha tells the shunammite woman that the famine will continue for seven years and directs her. In 722 bc, the powerful nation of assyria invaded the northern kingdom, scattering and taking captive the people of israel. The second book of kings describes elisha as the disciple and successor to elijah. The story of the beginning of his apprenticeship 1 kings 19. Summary of the book of 2 kings this is the second part of the book of kings. I reread the first book since it had been a while before diving in to this one, and it picked up right where book one left off. This summary of the book of 2 kings provides information about the title, authors. And elisha said unto them, this is not the way, neither is this the city. The book chronicles the events that took place between the time of king ahaziahs death and king jehoiachin of judah being released from his prison in babylon elijah is taken up into heaven, and elisha becomes a prophet to israel in his place. Dec 14, 2010 the main events in the book of second kings ii kings.
But elisha the good adviser to the king had a different solution, not to kill the now weak enemies but to show them an alternative. Jun 08, 2014 through a careful reading of biblical scripture, the book unveils the spiritual truth of the word of god, which for most people today has lost its true purpose and meaning. Then spake elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn. Behold, i am against your pillows, wherewith you hunt. Naaman, army commander to the king of aram, was a man who enjoyed his masters respect and favour, since through him the lord had granted victory to the aramaeans. The divided kingdoms of israel and judah the miracles of elisha previous kings 2 lessons list next. The expression man of god appears over 50 times in the books of kings. Elishas story is related in the book of kings second scroll, chapters 214 in the hebrew bible in judaism, part of the neviim. After thirty five years in prison, jehoiachin, the penultimate king of judah, is released by evilmerodach, son of nebuchadnezzer, and allowed to sit at the kings table and is given a regular allowance. The succession takes place when elijah, alone among the prophets, was honoured by being taken up to heaven in a whirlwind 2 kings 2. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him.
The main events in the book of second kings hubpages. From his investiture in 1 kings 19 to his final cameo in 2 kings, elisha the prophet has one of the most extensivelynarrated careers in. But a second and closer look on biblical texts reveals a much more heterogeneous. Elijahs eight miracles from first and second kings. The second book of kings chapter is taken from jimmy swaggarts, the expositors study bible. For an outline of both 1 and 2 kings see introduction to 1 kings. Beloved heavenly father, the miracles of your prophet elijah were surpassed by elisha, and the miracles of elisha were surpassed by your supreme prophet, jesus christ. Kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture.
I had a hard time with legacy of kings the first in this series, but empire of dust was fantastic. But elisha replied, as surely as the lord lives and as you yourself live, i. Book of second kings overview insight for living ministries. Kings of judah and kings of israel, jehu, jehoash, jehoram, and the prophet elisha. The prophet elishas attention to ordinary work 2 kings 26. The book was divided into the two books of first kings and second kings in the historical books of the greek septuagint old testament, and continues as such in the latin vulgate and our christian old testament of the bible. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. It continues the story of the kings over the divided kingdom israel and judah. The author of 2 kings believes that the people should obey the laws in the book of deuteronomy. The book of 2 kings, along with 1 kings, was likely written between 560 and 540 b. The historical accounts are based on the viewpoints and biases of the monarchy, nobility, and military leaders.
But it is about history, in the sense that its the narrators specific. The succession takes place when elijah, alone among the prophets, was honoured by. Elisha would have been crowned a false prophet and vilified or completely forgotten. This is a series of expositions of most of the passages in the first and second books of kings which give the history of the two prophets, elijah and elisha. We hear it from the lips of the servant of jehoram, as well as from the king of judahthe word of the lord is with elisha 2 kings 3. Elijah the prophet, founder of the carmelite order jstor. It would be particularly interesting to go halohunt. Elisha tells the shunammite woman that the famine will continue for seven years and directs her to flee from israel. The book of 2 kings concludes with the final overthrow and deportation of the people of israel and judah to assyria and babylon, respectively. But then, perhaps, hes away on a trip, or hes out hunting pursuing game. But then assyria suffered a stunning fall to the babylonians. The second book of kings continues the history of the two israelite kingdoms where 1 kings leaves off. Elishas second recorded miracle granted an impoverished family of faith a financial blessing. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of israel and judah by a deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century bce, with a supplement added in the sixth century bce.
In 2 kings, he says a lot about another prophet called elisha. It has subdivisions of jehoahaz reigns over israel, the dea. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. The same thing happened with the books of samuel and chronicles immediately before and after the books of kings. The second book of kings kings, or in greek, was originally a book of the former prophets in hebrew scripture. The second book of kings cambridge bible commentaries on the old testament. The second book of kings the reigns of kings jehoram and. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves. The two books of kings formed originally but one book in the hebrew scriptures. Contents continuing where 1 kings concluded with ahaziah, 2 kings traces the decline and captivity of both israel and judah. Originally this book and the preceding book were combined into one longer book in the hebrew bible. Theres a difference between book smart and bar smart. The two books of kings, originally a single book, is the tenth of the hebrew bible or the eleventh and twelfth books of the christian old testament. According to this story, he was a prophet and a wonderworker of the northern kingdom of israel who was active during the reign of joram, jehu, jehoahaz, and jehoash joash.
Elisha hadnt read his emily post manners book for how to act when foreign dignitaries. Second kings records the kings of israel and judah until the destruction of the jerusalem temple and the babylonian exile in 587 bc. The present division into two books was first made by the lxx. According to tradition this woman was the widow of obadiah the minister of king ahab. The second book of kings cambridge bible commentaries on. The second book of kings or the fourth book of kings. The stories of elijah and his successor, elisha, are of a different literary genre from the historical accounts of the political developments of the 9th century. Elisha s story is related in the book of kings second scroll, chapters 214 in the hebrew bible in judaism, part of the neviim.
Book of 2 kings read, study bible verses online bible study tools. After seven years, the shunammite woman returned and petitioned to have her land returned to her. Sermon when you are desperate for a healing touch 2 kings 5. Im going back to reread legacy of kings as i think i missed out on what was going on. The second book of the kings, old testament seminary student study guide 2002, 11118 the book of 2 kings is the fourth and final book in the series of books that relates the history of the israelites during the time they had kings. Elisha prayed before the lord and said, strike this people with blindness. Elisha is an apprentice of sorts, and follows elijah as he follows gods lead. What might the jews who saw the parallels between jesus feeding.
An introduction to the books of first and second kings. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bible. Since 1 and 2 kings were originally on book, see the introduction to 1 kings for a discussion of these matters. They will lead the people into idol worship and apostasy from yahwehs covenant. In line with the above, the second book of kings takes a pretty black and white view of the rulers it discusses. This book relates the transactions from the death of saul until the end of davids reign, being a history for the space of about fortysix years. Oil multiplied, the grain increased daily, the widow woman. This is why the two books bear especially a prophetic character while the books of chronicles have a priestly character. God took elijah in a whirlwind to heaven and the apprentice asks for a double portion of elijahs spirit, and it.
The author writes much about the kings that affected the religion in each kingdom. Elijah was taken up in a chariot of fire to heaven 2. Their sins will result in conquest by the kingdom of assyria in 722 bc, to exile from their homeland. The cast of characters in 2 kings is pretty sprawling, and theres no real protagonist or one hero, butif you had to pick oneelisha would probably be the top guy, given the number of chapters he appears in. The second book of the kings the king james bible version. The second book of kings the prophet elisha ahaziah had fallen from the balcony of his upper room in samaria and he lay ill in bed when the moabites rebelled against israel. The majority of 2 kings was written prior to 586 b. You might be a king who prevents starvation and improves sanitation, but if you bow down to one sacred pole dedicated to a female goddess, you get discarded into 2 kings totally wicked pile. It was through elisha that god spared jehoshaphat and the kings of israel and edom, along with their armies. The tradition is that the prophet jeremiah was the author of both 1 and 2 kings. When the kings messenger arrived elisha informed him that the. Interesting facts about 2 kings barnes bible charts author. Second kings continues the history of the divided kingdom, picking up the story around 853 bc. Both of these prophets had to minister in times of terrible national decay, and we can see, in moving from the ministry of elijah to that of elisha, a transition that took place in the history of israel.
Huldah, the deuteronomic prophetess of the book of kings. In 2 kings 2, we have story of the translation of elijah which also begins the ministry of elisha. The book of 2 kings concludes with the final overthrow and deportation of the people of israel. Go and wash seven times in the jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean. Agape bible study, study of the the second book of kings. His allegiance was to the lord and to the principles of his word regardless of a persons position, power, or wealth cf. Amazing facts with doug batchelor part 2 a woman who was the wife of one of the sons of the prophets was a widow and her sons were g. The book of 2 nd kings is narrative history and prophecy concerning the affairs of the divided kingdoms.
In the books of 1 and 2 kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the northern kingdom of israel. Apparently elisha was the only witness to this event. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the lord had given victory to aram. Biblical literature the significance of elisha britannica. The second book of the kings the argument this second book containeth the acts of the kings of judah and israel. The second book of kings elisha and the end of the house of ahab 11after ahabs death moab rebelled against israel. God declared through the prophet, thus says the lord. Possibly jeremiah or a group of prophets time written. Its a bit like game of thrones lots of characters in different areas and i didnt appreciate what was going on in the first book.
The second book of kings in the books of 1 and 2 kings, nineteen evil kings from nine different dynasties rule the northern kingdom of israel. Elisha is one of a line of men whom god used to save his people. Shutting heaven and stopping the rain for three years. Elisha s profile in the book of kings uses the tools of literary criticism to read the elisha narrative as an integral component of the deuteronomistic history compiled in the aftermath of the babylonian invasion and destruction of jerusalem in 586 bce. And when they came down to him, elisha prayed unto the lord, and said, smite this people, i pray thee, with blindness. The first appearance of elijah we read of is in the 17th chapter of 1st kings, when he.
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