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Bible Dictionaries
Kings, Books of
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
or
In the Douay Bible these number four, corresponding to Samuel and Kings in the original Hebrew Bible, according to the nomenclature given in the Talmud: "Our rabbins teach the order of Nebim. is: Joshuah, Judges, Samuel, Kings." Protestant versions follow the Hebrew, but divide each book into two, as do Jewish Bibles since the 16th century (Bomberg editions). The Clementine Vulgate follows the Septuagint, but substitutes "Kings" for "Kingdoms." Thus, the nomenclature is as follows: Original Hebrew Vulgate and Douay: Samuel 1,2Kings Kings 3,4Kings Septuagint Protestant Versions Kingdoms A and B 1,2Samuel Kingdoms C and D 1,2Kings "Kings" are the rulers of the united and divided Hebrew kingdom (c.1040-561 B.C.). 1Kings treats: the life of Samuel, last of the judges; the foundation of the monarchy; and the first king, Saul. 2Kings treats of the reign of David. 3Kings treats of the reign of Solomon and the divided kingdom till the departure of Elias. 4Kings gives us the remainder of the history of Israel till the Assyrian captivity and the history of the kingdom of Juda to the Babylonian captivity. The books are the works of at least two authors. 1,2Kings mention no sources except the "book of Jashar," but they probably contain notes from the pens of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. The present form can not be dated earlier than the divided kingdom (933). If some passages be from a later redactor, it is not improbable that these books are the work of Nathan. 3,4Kings were finally edited after Merodach-Baladan (561-559). As author later tradition assigns Jeremias, which is probable, if a later editor added here and there.
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Entry for 'Kings, Books of'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/k/kings-books-of.html. 1910.
