Before We Continue...

    If you are as sad as I am to see the tragic end of Solomon come so quickly in the huge tome of the Old Testament do not fret. There are a few books coming up later that are attributed to him. Mostly philosophy, poetry and the classification of trees and shrubs. That Solomon was quite the hippie tree hugger after he violently took the throne in 970 B.C.
   One thing to keep in mind as we get into the history of the Monarchy of the Divided Kingdoms is that up until this point our Journey through the books of the Book have taken a basically linear path. Once we finish these books of Kings the Journey takes a different course. We will revisit a few of the kings we read about as well as whole books attributed to certain prophets mentioned during different reigns at different points in history. The stories of the prophets are interwoven into the political dealings of the monarchs. The books of Kings and Chronicles are almost an outline of things to be more fleshed out later in the books of the Major and Minor Prophets.
    Unlike the reign of Solomon the reign of these kings are a little more substantial in archaeological history. Because they had dealings with the other major empires of the time, such as the Syrians and Babylonians, there is a little more evidence to back up various events, rulers and situations. There are a few books referenced within the book of Kings that have now been lost to time and history. These are mentioned as the Annals of King Solomon and the same for Israel and Judah.
    As with the other books we have read since Deuteronomy the book of Kings is considered to be part of the DH (Deuteronomical History). The DH is believed to be the perspective that the author/s are trying to convey in their interpretation of history based off the books of Moses, the only pre-monarchical prophet besides Samuel. Again, these books (Joshua - Kings) are thought to have been collected and composed during the reign of King Josiah during the Babylonian occupation and exile. The thought was that the tragedy that was falling on Judah and the tragedy that had already become of Israel, was a direct result of the tribes of Israel turning away from their god Yahweh and worshiping the Baals and the Asherahs. The baals and asherahs mentioned are terms used to describe the various gods (baals) and goddesses (asherahs) of the many cultures of the region. This is the major theme running through the books of Kings.