Part 38

The episode of Elijah and Ahaziah (2 Kings i.) is marked by the revelation through an angel. The prophet's name appears in an unusual form (viz. _eliyyah_, not -_yahu_), especially in vv. 2-8. The prediction of Ahaziah's fate finds a parallel in 2 Chron. xxi. 12-15; the more supernatural additions have been compared with the late story in 1 Sam. xix. 18-24. The ascension of Elijah (2 Kings ii.) is related as the introduction to the work of Elisha, which apparently begins before the death of Jehoshaphat (see iii. 1, 11 sqq.; contrast 2 Chron. _loc. cit._). Among the stories of Elisha are some which find him at the head of the prophetic gilds (iv. 1, 38-44, vi. 1-7), whilst in others he has friendly relations with the "king of Israel" and the court. As a personage of almost superhuman dignity he moves in certain narratives where political records appear to have been utilized to describe the activity of the prophets. The Moabite campaign (iii.) concerns a revolt already referred to in the isolated i. 1; there are parallels with the story of Jehoshaphat and Ahab (iii. 7, 11 seq.; cf. 1 Kings xxii. 4 seq., 7 sqq.), contrast, however, xxii. 7 (where Elijah is not even named) and iii. 11 seq. But Jehoshaphat's death has been already recorded (1 Kings xxii. 50), and, while Lucian's recension in 2 Kings iii. reads Ahaziah, i. 17 presupposes the accession of the _Judaean_ Jehoram. Other political narratives may underlie the stories of the Aramaean wars; with vi. 24-vii. 20 (after the complete cessation of hostilities in vi. 23) compare the general style of 1 Kings xx., xxii.; with the famine in Samaria, vi. 25; cf. ibid. xvii.; with the victory, cf. ibid. xx. The account of Elisha and Hazael (viii. 7-15) implies friendly relations with Damascus (in v. 12 the terrors of war are in the future), but the description of Jehu's accession (ix.) is in the midst of hostilities. Ch. ix. 7-10a are a Deuteronomic insertion amplifying the message in vv. 3-6 (cf. 1 Kings xxi. 20 seq.). The origin of the repetition in ix. 14-15a (cf. viii. 28 seq.) is not clear. The oracle in ix. 25 seq. is not that in 1 Kings xxi. 19 seq., and mentions the additional detail that Naboth's sons were slain. Here his field or portion is located near Jezreel, but in 1 Kings xxi. 18 his vineyard is by the royal palace in Samaria (cf. xxii. 38 and contrast xxi. 1, where the LXX. omits reference to Jezreel). This fluctuation reappears in 2 Kings x. 1, 11 seq., and 17; in ix. 27 compared with 2 Chron. xxii. 9; and in the singular duplication of an historical incident, viz. the war against the Aramaeans at Ramoth-Gilead (a) by Jehoshaphat and Ahab, and (b) by Ahaziah and Jehoram, in each case with the death of the Israelite king, at Samaria and Jezreel respectively (see above and observe the contradiction in 1 Kings xxi. 29 and xxii. 38). These and other critical questions in this section are involved with (a) the probability that Elisha's work belongs rather to the accession of Jehu, with whose dynasty he was on most intimate terms until his death some forty-five years later (2 Kings xiii. 14-21), and (b) the problem of the wars between Israel and Syria which appear to have begun only in the time of Jehu (x. 32). See _Jew. Quart. Rev._ (1908), pp. 597-630, and JEWS: _History_, § 11 seq.

Dynasty of Jehu.

In the annals of Jehu's dynasty the editorial introduction to Jehu himself is wanting (x. 32 sqq.), although Lucian's recension in x. 36 concludes in annalistic manner the lives of Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah. The summary mentions the beginning of the Aramaean wars, the continuation of which is found in the redactor's account of his successor Jehoahaz (xiii. 1-9). But xiii. 4-6 modify the disasters, and by pointing to the "saviour" or deliverer (cf. Judg. iii. 9, 15) anticipate xiv. 27. The self-contained account of his son Jehoash (xiii. 10-13) is supplemented (a) by the story of the death of Elisha (vv. 14-21) and (b) by some account of the Aramaean wars (vv. 22-25), where v. 23, like vv. 4-6 (Lucian's recension actually reads it after v. 7), is noteworthy for the sympathy towards the northern kingdom. Further (c) the defeat of Amaziah of Judah appears in xiv. 8-14 after the annals of Judah, although from an Israelite source (v. 11b Bethshemesh defined as belonging to Judah, see also v. 15, and with the repetition of the concluding statements in v. 15 seq., see xiii. 12 seq.). These features and the transference of xiii. 12 seq. after xiii. 25 in Lucian's recension point to late adjustment. In Judaean history, Jehu's reform and the overthrow of Jezebel in the north (ix., x. 15-28) find their counterpart in the murder of Athaliah and the destruction of the temple of Baal in Judah (xi. 18). But the framework is incomplete. The editorial conclusion of the reign of Ahaziah, the introduction to that of Athaliah, and the sources for both are wanting. A lengthy Judaean document is incorporated detailing the accession of Joash and the prominence of the abruptly introduced priest Jehoiada. The interest in the Temple and temple-procedure is obvious; and both xi. and xii. have points of resemblance with xxii. seq. (see below and cf. also xi. 4, 7, 11, 19, with 1 Kings xiv. 27 seq.). The usual epitome is found in xi. 21-xii. 3 (the age at accession should follow the synchronism, so Lucian), with fragments of annalistic matter in xii. 17-21 (another version in 2 Chron. xxiv. 23 sqq.). For Joash's son Amaziah see above; xiv. 6 refers to Deut. xxiv. 16, and 2 Chron. xxv. 5-16 replaces v. 7 by a lengthy narrative with some interesting details. Azariah or Uzziah is briefly summarized in xv. 1-7, hence the notice in xiv. 22 seems out of place; perhaps the usual statements of Amaziah's death and burial (cf. xiv. 20b, 22b), which were to be expected after v. 18, have been supplemented by the account of the rebellion (vv. 19, 20a, 21).[7] The chronological notes for the accession of Azariah imply different views of the history of Judah after the defeat of Amaziah; with xiv. 17, cf. xiii. 10, xiv. 2, 23, but contrast xv. 1, and again v. 8.[8]

The important reign of Jeroboam (2) is dismissed as briefly as that of Azariah (xiv. 23-29). The end of the Aramaean war presupposed by v. 25 is supplemented by the sympathetic addition in v. 26 seq. (cf. xiii. 4 seq. 23). Of his successors Zechariah, Shallum and Menahem only the briefest records remain, now imbedded in the editorial framework (xv. 8-25). The summary of Pekah (perhaps the same as Pekahiah, the confusion being due to the compiler) contains excerpts which form the continuation of the older material in v. 25 (cf. also vv. 10, 14, 16, 19, 20). For an apparently similar adjustment of an earlier record to the framework see above on 1 Kings xv. 25-31, xvi. 8-25. The account of Hoshea's conspiracy (xv. 29 seq.) gives the Israelite version with which Tiglath-Pileser's own statement can now be compared. Two accounts of the fall of Samaria are given, one of which is under the reign of the contemporary Judaean Hezekiah (xvii. i-6, xviii. 9-12); the chronology is again intricate. Reflections on the disappearance of the northern kingdom appear in xvii. 7-23 and xviii. 12; the latter belongs to the Judaean history. The former is composite; xvii. 21-23 (cf. v. 18) look back to the introduction of calf-worship by Jeroboam (1), and agree with the compiler's usual standpoint; but vv. 19-20 include Judah and presuppose the exile. The remaining verses survey types of idolatry

## partly of a general kind (vv. 9-12, 16a), and partly characteristic of

Judah in the last years of the monarchy (vv. 16b, 17). The brief account of the subsequent history of Israel in xvii. 24-41 is not from one source, since the piety of the new settlers (v. 32-34a, 41) conflicts with the later point of view in 34b-40. The last-mentioned supplements the epilogue in xvii. 7-23, forms a solemn conclusion to the history of the northern kingdom, and is apparently aimed at the Samaritans.

Judah.

III. _Later History of Judah._--The summary of Jotham (xv. 32-38) shows interest in the Temple (v. 35) and alludes to the hostility of Pekah (v. 37) upon which the Israelite annals are silent. 2. Chron. xxvii. expands the former but replaces the latter by other not unrelated details (see UZZIAH). But xv. 37 is resumed afresh in the account of the reign of Ahaz (xvi. 5 sqq.; the text in v. 6 is confused)--another version in 2 Chron. xxviii. 5 sqq.--and is supplemented by a description, evidently from the Temple records, in which the ritual innovations by "king Ahaz" (in contrast to "Ahaz" alone in vv. 5-9) are described (vv. 10-18). There is further variation of detail in 2 Chron. xxviii. 20-27. The summary of Hezekiah (xviii. 1-8) emphasizes his important religious reforms (greatly expanded in 2 Chron. xxix. seq. from a later standpoint), and includes two references to his military achievements. Of these v. 8 is ignored in Chron., and v. 7 is supplemented by (a) the annalistic extract in vv. 13-16, and (b) narratives in which the great contemporary prophet Isaiah is the central figure. The latter are later than Isaiah himself (xix. 37 refers to 681 B.C.) and reappear, with some abbreviation and rearrangement, in Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix. (see ISAIAH). They are partly duplicate (cf. xix. 7 with vv. 28, 33; vv. 10-13 with xviii. 28-35), and consist of two portions, xviii. 17-xix. 8 (Isa. xxxvi. 2-xxxvii. 8) and xix. 9b-35 (Isa. xxxvii. 9b-36); to which of these xix. 9a and v. 36 seq. belong is disputed. 2 Chron. xxxii. (where these accounts are condensed) is in general agreement with 2 Kings xviii. 7, as against vv. 14-16. The poetical fragment, xix. 21-28, is connected with the sign in vv. 29-31; both seem to break the connexion between xix. 20 and 32 sqq. Chap. xx. 1-19 appears to belong to an earlier period in Hezekiah's reign (see v. 6 and cf. 2 Chron. xxxii. 25 seq.); with vv. 1-11 note carefully the forms in Isa. xxxviii. 1-8, 21 seq., and 2 Chron. xxxii. 24-26; with xx. 12-19 (Isa. xxxix) contrast the brief allusion in 2 Chron. xxxii. 31. In v. 17 seq. the exile is foreshadowed. Use has probably been made of a late cycle of Isaiah-stories; such a work is actually mentioned in 2 Chron. xxxii. 32. The accounts of the reactionary kings Manasseh and Amon, although now by the compiler, give some reference to political events (see xxi. 17, 23 seq.); xxi. 7-15 refer to the exile and find a parallel in xxiii. 26 seq., and xxi. 10 sqq. are replaced in 2 Chron. xxxiii. 10-20 by a novel record of Manasseh's penitence (see also ibid. v. 23 and note omission of 2 Kings xxiii. 26 from Chron).

Josiah's reign forms the climax of the history. The usual framework (xxii. 1; 2, xxiii. 28, 30b) is supplemented by narratives dealing with the Temple repairs and the reforms of Josiah. These are closely related to xi. seq. (cf. xxii. 3-7 with xii. 4 sqq.), but show many signs of revision; xxii. 16 seq., xxiii. 26 seq., point distinctly to the exile, and xxiii. 16-20 is an insertion (the altar in v. 16 is already destroyed in v. 15) after 1 Kings xiii. But it is difficult elsewhere to distinguish safely between the original records and the later additions. In their present shape the reforms of Josiah are described in terms that point to an acquaintance with the teaching of Deuteronomy which promulgates the reforms themselves.[9]

The annalistic notice in xxiii. 29 seq. (contrast xxii. 20) should precede v. 28; 2 Chron. xxxv. 20-27 gives another version in the correct position and ignores 2 Kings xxiii. 24-27 (see however the Septuagint). For the last four kings of Judah, the references to the worship at the high places (presumably abolished by Josiah) are wanting, and the literary source is only cited for Jehoiakim; xxiv. 3 seq. (and probably v. 2), which treat the fall of Judah as the punishment for Manasseh's sins, are a Deuteronomistic insertion (2 Chron. xxxvi. 6 sqq. differs widely; see, however, the Septuagint); v. 13 seq. and v. 15 seq. are duplicates. With xxiv. 18-xxv. 21 cf. Jer. lii. 1-27 (the text of the latter, especially vv. 19 sqq. is superior); and the fragments _ibid._ xxxix. 1-10. Ch. xxv. 22-26 appears in much fuller form in Jer. xl. seq. (see xl. 7-9, xli. 1-3, 17 seq.). It is noteworthy that Jeremiah does not enter into the history in Kings (contrast Isaiah above). The book of Chronicles in general has a briefer account of the last years, and ignores both the narratives which also appear in Jeremiah and the concluding hopeful note struck by the restoration of Jehoiachin (xxv. 27-30). This last, with the addition of statistical data, forms the present conclusion also of the book of Jeremiah.

_Conclusions._--A survey of these narratives as a whole strengthens our impression of the merely mechanical character of the redaction by which they are united. Though editors have written something of their own in almost every chapter, generally from the standpoint of religious pragmatism, there is not the least attempt to work the materials into a history in our sense of the word; and in particular the northern and southern histories are practically independent, being merely pieced together in a sort of mosaic in consonance with the chronological system, which we have seen to be really later than the main redaction. It is very probable that the order of the pieces was considerably readjusted by the author of the chronology; of this indeed the Septuagint still shows traces. But with all its imperfections as judged from a modern standpoint, the redaction has the great merit of preserving material nearer to the actual history than would have been the case had narratives been rewritten from much later standpoints--as often in the book of Chronicles.

Questions of date and of the growth of the literary process are still unsettled, but it is clear that there was an independent history of (north) Israel with its own chronological scheme. It was based upon annals and fuller political records, and at some period apparently passed through circles where the purely domestic stories of the prophets (Elisha) were current.[10] This was ultimately taken over by a Judaean editor who was under the influence of the far-reaching reforms ascribed to the 18th year of Josiah (621 B.C.). Certain passages seem to imply that in his time the Temple was still standing and the Davidic dynasty uninterrupted. Also the phrase "unto this day" sometimes apparently presupposes a pre-exilic date. On the other hand, the history is carried down to the end of Jehoiachin's life (xxv. 27 refers to his fifty-fifth year, vv. 29 seq. look back on his death), and a number of allusions point decisively to the post-exilic period. Consequently, most scholars are agreed that an original pre-exilic Deuteronomic compilation made shortly after Josiah's reforms received subsequent additions from a later Deuteronomic writer.

These questions depend upon several intricate literary and historical problems. At the outset (a) the compiler deals with history from the Deuteronomic standpoint, selecting certain notices and referring further to _separate_ chronicles of Israel and Judah. The canonical book of Chronicles refers to such a _combined_ work, but is confined to Judah; it follows the religious judgment passed upon the kings, but it introduces new details apparently derived from extant annals, replaces the annalistic excerpts found in Kings by other passages, or uses new narratives which at times are clearly based upon older sources. Next (b) the Septuagint proves that Kings did not reach its present form until a very late date; "each represents a stage and not always the same stage in the long protracted labours of the redactors" (Kuenen).[11] In agreement with this are the unambiguous indications of the post-exilic age (especially in the Judaean history) consisting of complete passages, obvious interpolations, and also sporadic phrases in narratives whose pre-exilic origin is sometimes clear and sometimes only to be presumed. Further (c), the Septuagint supports the independent conclusion that the elaborate synchronisms belong to a late stage in the redaction. Consequently it is necessary to allow that the previous arrangement of the material may have been different; the actual wording of the introductory notices was necessarily also affected. In general, it becomes ever more difficult to distinguish between passages incorporated by an early redactor and those which may have been inserted later, though possibly from old sources. Where the regular framework is disturbed such considerations become more cogent. The relation of annalistic materials in 1 Sam. (xiii. i; xiv. 47-51, &c.) to the longer detailed narratives will bear upon the question, as also the relation of 2 Sam. ix-xx. to 1 Kings i. seq. (see SAMUEL, BOOKS OF). Again (d) the lengths of the reigns of the Judaean kings form an integral part of the framework, and their total, with fifty years of exile, allows four hundred and eighty years from the beginning of the Temple to the return from Babylon.[12] This round number (cf. again 1 Kings vi. 1) points to a date subsequent to 537, and Robertson Smith has observed that almost all events dated by the years of the kings of Jerusalem have reference to the affairs of the Temple. This suggests a connexion between the chronology and the incorporation of those narratives in which the Temple is clearly the centre of interest. (e) But, apart from the question of the origin of the more detailed Judaean records, the arguments for a pre-exilic Judaean Deuteronomic compilation are not quite decisive. The phrase "unto this day" is not necessarily valid (cf. 2 Chron. v. 9, viii. 8, xxi. 10 with 1 Kings viii. 8, ix. 21, 2 Kings viii. 22), and depends largely upon the compiler's sagacity. Also, the existence of the Temple and of the Davidic dynasty (1 Kings viii. 14-53; ix. 3; xi. 36-38; xv. 4; 2 Kings viii. 19; cf. 2 Chron. xiii. 5) is equally applicable to the time of the second temple when Zerubbabel, the Davidic representative, kindled new hopes and aspirations. Indeed, if the object of the Deuteronomic compiler is to show from past history that "the sovereign is responsible for the purity of the national religion" (Moore, _Ency. Bib._ col. 2079), a date somewhere after the death of Jehoiachin (released in 561) in the age of Zerubbabel and the new Temple equally satisfies the conditions. With this is concerned (f) the question whether, on historical grounds, the account of the introduction of Deuteronomic reforms by Josiah is trustworthy.[13] Moreover, although a twofold Deuteronomic redaction of Kings is generally recognized, the criteria for the presumably pre-exilic form are not so decisive as those which certainly distinguish the post-exilic portions, and it is frequently very difficult to assign Deuteronomic passages to the earlier rather than to the later. Again, apart from the contrast between the Israelite detailed narratives (relatively early) and those of Judaean origin (often secondary), it is noteworthy that the sympathetic treatment of northern history in 2 Kings xiii. 4 seq. 23, xiv. 26 has literary parallels in the Deuteronomic redaction of Judges (where Israelite tradition is again predominant), but is quite distinct from the hostile feeling to the north which is also Deuteronomic. Even the northern prophet Hosea (q.v.) approximates the Deuteronomic standpoint, and the possibility that the first Deuteronomic compilation of Kings could originate outside Judah is strengthened by the fact that an Israelite source could be drawn upon for an impartial account of Judaean history (2 Kings xiv. 8-15). Finally, (g) literary and historical problems here converge. Although Judaean writers ultimately rejected as heathen a people who could claim to be followers of Yahweh (Ezra iv. 2; 2 Kings xvii. 28, 33; contrast ibid. 34-40, a _secondary_ insertion), the anti-Samaritan feeling had previously been at most only in an incipient stage, and there is reason to infer that relations between the peoples of north and south had been closer.[14] The book of Kings reveals changing historical conditions in its literary features, and it is significant that the very age where the background is to be sought is that which has been (intentionally?) left most obscure: the chronicler's history of the Judaean monarchy (Chron.--Ezra--Nehemiah), as any comparison will show, has its own representation of the course of events, and has virtually superseded both Kings and Jeremiah, which have now an abrupt conclusion. (See further S. A. Cook, _Jew. Quart. Rev._ (1907), pp. 158 sqq.; and the articles JEWS: _History_, §§ 20, 22; PALESTINE: _History_).

LITERATURE.--A. Kuenen, _Einleitung_; J. Wellhausen, _Compos. d. Hexateuch_, pp. 266-302; H. Winckler, _Alttest. Untersuchungen_ (1892); and B. Stade, _Akademische Reden_ (1899; on 1 Kings v.-vii.; 2 Kings x.-xiv.; xv.-xxi.); S. R. Driver, _Lit. of O. T._ (1909); see also C. Holzhey, _Das Buch. d. Könige_ (1899); the commentaries of Benzinger (1899) and Kittel (1900), and especially F. C. Kent, _Israel's Hist. and Biog. Narr._ (1905). The article by W. R. Smith, _Ency. Brit._, 9th ed. (partly retained here), is revised and supplemented by E. Kautzsch in the _Ency. Bib._ For the Hebrew text see Klostermann's _Sam. u. Könige_ (1887); C. F. Burney, _Notes on the Hebrew Text_ (1903); and Stade and Schwally's edition in Haupt's _Sacred Books of the Old Testament_ (1904). For English readers, J. Skinner's commentary in the _Century Bible_, and W. E. Barnes in the _Cambridge Bible_, are useful introductions. (S. A. C.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Cp. the brief annalistic form of the Babylonian chronicles (for a specimen, see C. F. Kent, _Israel's Hist. and Biog. Narratives_, p. 502 seq.). For a synchronistic history of Assyria and Babylonia, prepared for diplomatic purposes, see Schrader's _Keilinschr. Bibl._ i. 194 sqq.; also L. W. King, _Studies in Eastern Hist._ i. (Tukulti-Ninib), pp. i, 75 seq. (with interesting variant traditions).

[2] The term "Israel" as applied to the northern kingdom is apt to be ambiguous, since as a general national name, with a religious significance, it can include or suggest the inclusion of Judah.

[3] Here and elsewhere a careful study (e.g. of the marginal references in the Revised Version) will prove the close relation between the "Deuteronomic" passages and the book of Deuteronomy itself. The bearing of this upon the traditional date of that book should not be overlooked.

[4] See art. JEROBOAM; also W. R. Smith, _Old Test. in Jew. Church_, pp. 117 sqq.; H. Winckler, _Alttest. Untersuchungen_, pp. 1 sqq., and the subsequent criticisms by C. F. Burney (_Kings_, pp. 163 sqq.); J. Skinner (_Kings_, pp. 443 sqq.); and Ed. Meyer (_Israeliten u. Nachbarstämme_, pp. 357 sqq.).

[5] Notice should everywhere be taken of those prophetical stories which have the linguistic features of the Deuteronomic writers, or which differ in style and expression from the prophecies of Amos, Hosea and others, previous to Jeremiah.

[6] The division of the two books at this point is an innovation first made in the LXX. and Vulgate.

[7] Both xiv. 22 and xv. 5 presuppose fuller records of which 2 Chron. xxvi. 6-7, 16-20 may represent merely later and less trustworthy versions.

[8] See F. Rühl, _Deutsche Zeit. f. Geschichtwissens_, xii. 54 sqq.; also JEWS: _History_, § 12.

[9] See further the special study by E. Day, _Journ. Bib. Lit._ (1902), pp. 197 sqq.

[10] Cf. similarly the prophetic narratives in the books of Samuel (q.v.).