Specimen Page from the ILLUSTRATED BIBLE TREASURY
Copyrighted by Thos. Nelson & Sons, 1886. CONNECTION.—The two books of Kings evidently form one whole, and they are counted as one book in the Hebrew Canon. The division into two was introduced in the old versions, which reckoned the books of Samuel and the Kings as a continuous series, calling them the four books of the Kingdoms, or of the Kings, a title which is retained in our A. V. The division into two is less happy in the case of the Kings than in that of Samuel; for 1 Kings breaks off at an arbitrary point of no special significance in the history. The name given to these books is quite appropriate, for they relate the history of the kings from the accession of Solomon to the Babylonian Captivity. This whole period may be divided into three great sections, marked by great facts in the history of the monarchy—viz. 1. The period of the undivided kingdom under Solomon (1 Kings 1–11); 2. The history of the divided kingdom (1 Kings 12 to 2 Kings 17); and 3. That of the remaining kingdom of Judah, after the ten tribes had been swept away (2 Kings 18–25). For convenience, however, we shall follow the division imposed upon the English version. CONTENTS.—The first book falls into three divisions. 1. The reign of Solomon (1–11) forms a well-defined section of the book. There is a close connection between the beginning of the book and the close of the second book of Samuel, inasmuch as David, though old and infirm, is still reigning, and does not disappear from the history till Solomon is on the throne. The succession is secured by the prudence of Nathan, David’s trusty adviser, in the face of an attempt to set Adonijah on the throne (1). Solomon, being publicly proclaimed king, receives from his father a charge as to the measures he should take for the security of his throne, a charge which he executes on David’s death (2). The young king, being invited in a dream to choose for himself, asks wisdom in preference to wealth and greatness (3, 1–15), and soon after gives a proof of his wisdom in deciding a difficult case presented to him (3, 16–28). Great as well as wise, he has high officers placed up and down the country for administration. The people are numerous and contented, and his fame spreads into neighboring lands (4). In particular Hiram, king of Tyre,