1 Kings & 2 Kings
Who was Solomon's standard of morality (as well as the rest of the kings of Judah)?
David.
Who is the major prophet in the first part of 2 Kings?
Elisha.
Whom did Elijah anoint to succeed him as prophet?
Elisha.
What is the moral lesson of these books?
Faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant brings blessings and unfaithfulness brings curses.
What happened on Mt. Carmel (ch. 18)? What happened to Elijah immediately after that?
God answered Elijah and the false god did not answer Ahab. Elijah became endangered by Jezebel and had to run. He became very depressed and God ministered to him.
What did he ask Elijah for? Did he get it?
He asked him for a double portion of his spirit, which would happen if he witnessed Elijah go to the Lord in a chariot of fire. He did receive it.
Who was Jeroboam II, and why is he important?
He extended the North's boarders and brought great prosperity to the land.
What did God give him along with it? What was the example of this?
He gave him riches and honor. This is an example of blessing for him not asking for these things.
Who was Joash, and why is he important?
He was Athaliah's grandson who escaped from his grandmother's wrath.
Who was Manasseh, and why is he important?
He was Hezekiah's son, and he was very wicked, in fact likely the most wicked king.
Who was Hezekiah, and why is he important?
He was a good king who promoted one of the greatest revivals in Judah's history.
What kind of king was Ahab? What were his sins? What prophet ministered during his reign?
He was a wicked king. He was an idolater and married an evil foreign woman. Elijah was ministering during his reign.
What important persons were taken into exile in each of those years?
King Jehoiachin and Ezekiel, and Daniel
What were Solomon's two basic sins (ch. 11)?
Marrying gentile women and praising other gods.
Who succeeded Solomon and what disastrous decision did he make?
Rehoboam. He established golden calves in Bethel in establishing idolatry worship.
What important building did Solomon build?
The temple.
What prophet was prominent at the time of Jerusalem's fall?
Daniel
These books (1 & 2 Kings) cover what periods (from what event to what event)?
1. These books are definitely written from a prophetic point of view—Jeremiah was a prophet. 2. There are general similarities of style and content in 1 and 2 Kings and the book of Jeremiah. For example, 2 Kings 24:18-25:30 is exactly the same as Jeremiah 52—Jeremiah either wrote both or one author borrowed from the other. 3. Since 2 Kings ends with the Babylonian Exile, the author must have lived during this time—this would be true of Jeremiah.
How many kings reigned over the Kingdom of Israel? How was their morality characterized? How many different dynasties?
19 kings under 9 dynasties. They were very immoral for the most part.
Under what foreign power did Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah fall?
605, to Babylon.
What three years are associated with this fall?
605, when Neb turned to Judah and overran the egyptian army and took captives back to Babylon. 597, Jehoiachin succeeded his father and reigned only three months before the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, took it, and carried many captives 586, Nebuchadnezzar returned to put down the revolt and destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem at this time.
In what year did Samaria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel fall and to what foreign empire?
722 to Sagon.
What was his primary sin (as well as that of his successors)?
Idolatry.
What prophet was prominent during Hezekiah's reign?
Isaiah.
What about the "10 lost tribes" of Israel?
It's actually not accurate. They had either moved into the Northern tribe because of the Davidic covenant and the Temple.
Who was anointed as king over the northern tribes of Israel?
Jeroboam.
Who was Josiah, and why is he important?
Josiah was the son of Manasseha and was a very young and very good king. He had the temple repaired.
Where was the capital of the Israel eventually established (16:24)? Who did this?
Samaria and it was established by Omri.
Who was Athaliah, and what did she do?
She was the only reigning queen in Jewish history. She tried to kill the Davidic line.
At the beginning of 1 Kings, who was anointed as David's successor? Who determined that?
Solomon. God chose him.
How are the conditions in the Davidic Covenant (2:1-4; 6:11-13; 9:4-7) to be understood?
That the line of David would reign forever.
Who were the Samaritans? How did they come to be?
The Jewish people who intermarried with the Assyrians because of the forced relocation put upon them which moved them to Samaria.
Regarding, 1 and 2 Kings, who is the author of 1 and 2 Kings (according to Jewish tradition)? What is the evidence for this?
The prophet Jeremiah.
What is the purpose of these books (1 & 2 Kings? From what perspective are they written? What does this mean?
To record from a prophetic and moral perspective. They are written with emphasis on prophets: Elijah and Elisha. They were concerned about the morality of Israel. The kings are graded by their morality.
When God gave Solomon a request, what did Solomon ask for?
Wisdom.