Overview of 2Kings
12th book of the BIBLE, Old Testament and 7th of the 12 historical books
The 17 prophetic books at the end of the Old Testament give great insights into the time period of 2 Kings
The events covered in 2 Kings span a period of almost 300 years.
The majority of 2 Kings was written before the Babylonian captivity. 17:34-35
The last two chapters were written after the Babylonian captivity had ended.
Time frames in 2 Kings
Chapters 1-17 cover the 131 years (King Ahaziah) of Israel to the Assyrian Captivity of Israel.
Chapters 18-25 cover the 155 years from the beginning of Hezekiah’s reign to the release of Jehoiachin in Babylon.
Kingdom facts
The United Kingdom of Israel lasted for 120 years
The Northern Kingdom existed for 210 years before being taken captive by the Assyrians
The Southern Kingdom of Judah existed some 135 years longer than Israel, before entering Babylonian Captivity.
The total kingdom period lasted some 467 years
The Northern Kingdom
19 kings reigned during its 210 year history.
9 different dynasties (family lines) reigned.
All but one dynasty was created by murdering the previous king.
The character of each was bad.
Prophets in the Northern Kingdom of Israel
Elijah
Amos
Elisha
Hosea
The Southern Kingdom
20 kings reigned during its 345 year history.
8 of the 20 kings had good character.
Asa
Uzziah
Jehoshaphat
Jotham
Joash
Hezekiah
Amaziah
Josiah
Prophets in the Southern Kingdom of Judah
Obadiah
Nahum
Isaiah
Zephaniah
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Micah
Habakkuk
The Southern Kingdom kings were of one continuous dynasty (David) in spite of the efforts of Athaliah, Jezebel’s daughter, to kill all the descendants of David. Only Joash survived