If the Book of Genesis records the personal fall of man (adam) in the Garden, the Book of Kings (Sefer Melakhim) records the corporate fall of man (Israel) in the Promised Land. Originally a single, seamless work in the Hebrew canon, Kings is the autopsy of a spiritual collapse. It tracks the Davidic Promise from its architectural summit in Jerusalem to its apparent dissolution in the fires of Babylon.
The narrative spans approximately 410 years (c. 970 BCE – 560 BCE), following the tragic trajectory of "YHWH-plus" religion.
The Summit (c. 970–930 BCE): The United Monarchy under Solomon. The Word of God is housed in the Jerusalem Temple, the location God chose to place his Name forever if only Israel will hear and obey the voice of their God. Tragically, the philosopher-king Solomon divides his loyalties and his affections.
The Divided Monarchy (c. 930–722 BCE): As goes the heart of the king, so goes the Kingdom. The North (Israel) under Jeroboam immediately adopts YHWH-plus idolatry, the Golden Calves, leading to its total erasure by Assyria. The South (Judah) struggles to maintain the Davidic "Immune System" amidst a progressive slide into syncretism.
The Collapse (c. 722–586 BCE): Despite the radical reforms of Hezekiah and Josiah, the culture of compromise - weaponized by Manasseh - becomes terminal. The book concludes with the Babylonian Captivity, as the means devised by God to carry His promise to completion.
While Jewish tradition identifies the prophet Jeremiah as the author, conservative scholarship also recognizes the possibility of a 'Scribe of the Exile' (such as Baruch or Ezra) who compiled the royal archives and prophetic eyewitness accounts into a single, unified narrative.
In any case, the author is no mere chronicler; he is a covenantal prosecutor. He evaluates every king by a single metric: Did they walk in the way of David and obey God's word, or did they seek a "Plus" to YHWH? History here is the public outworking of a nation’s loyalty to the divine message.
The Book of Kings stands as a warning that a "double-minded" heart inevitably leads to a shattered land. It is the record of how a people with the Word of Life chose the silence of the idols, and how God, in His sovereignty, preserved a "Hidden Seed" even in the ashes of exile.
