The First Book of Kings

A Study in Prophetic History

The subject of this study is the prophetic history of the succession of Solomon to the throne of the dual monarchy established by David over the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, the centralization of Israelite religion in the Temple of Jerusalem, the collapse of the dual monarchy after the death of Solomon, the subsequent stories of the numerous kings of Israel and Judah, and especially the severe interactions of the kings of Israel from Jeroboam to Ahab (c. 932c.855 BCE) with the prophets Ahijah, Elijah, and Micaiah, as presented in the Masoretic text of the biblical First Book of Kings. The term prophetic history is employed to describe the subject because prophecy in biblical thought is not fatalistic and does not predict future events. What it does do is assert that the moral course that a society chooses to follow in the present can determine its probable but not inevitable future. The purpose of the biblical book is to inform the reader of the historical consequences of the failure to observe the terms of the divine covenant entered into between God and the children of Israel at Mount Sinai, following the exodus from Egypt. Although the narrative is based on events that were believed to have taken place, the primary focus of prophetic history is on the moral implications of the decisions taken by men rather than the factual accuracy of the details of the events described, which have been studied exhaustively by archaeologists and historians of the ancient world.