2 Kings

2 Kings
Abbreviation	2Ki
Class.	Old Testament
Category	Book of History
Chapters	25 Chapters
Record Related
Writer	Unknown
Date (Approx.)	600 BC

2 Kings is the twelfth book of the Old Testament and is categorized as a historical book. It chronicles the ministries of key prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, and Isaiah; the significant religious reforms led by Kings Hezekiah and Josiah; and the eventual fall of both the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah.

Historical Background

The events of 2 Kings cover the period from the reign of Ahaziah, king of Israel, through the downfall of both kingdoms and into the Babylonian captivity. Although many kings reigned during the time of the divided kingdoms, most turned away from God’s commands and refused to repent. As a result, the northern Kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria around 721 B.C.; and despite brief periods of spiritual renewal under Hezekiah and Josiah, the southern Kingdom of Judah ultimately fell to Babylon in 586 B.C.

Composition of 2 Kings

Chapters	Content	Class.
Ch. 1	King Ahaziah Seeks Another God	Ministries of Elijah and Elisha
Ch. 2	Elijah’s Ascension
Ch. 3	War Between Israel and Moab
Ch. 4	Miracles of Elisha
Ch. 5	Naaman’s Obedience and Gehazi’s Greed
Chs. 6–8	Aram’s Invasion and Threat
Chs.9–10	Jehu Punishes Ahab’s Family
Ch. 11	Athaliah Usurps the Throne
Ch. 12	Joash, King of Judah, Repairs the Temple
Ch. 13	Last Prophecy of Elisha
Chs.14–17	Kings of Judah and Israel	Reformation of Hezekiah and Josiah Fall of Israel and Judah
Ch. 18	Reformation of King Hezekiah of Judah and Fall of Israel
Ch. 19	Assyria Invades Judah
Ch. 20	Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery
Chs. 21–23	Reformation of Josiah, King of Judah
Chs. 24–25	Fall of Judah

Ministries of Elijah and Elisha (Chs. 1–13)

King Ahaziah Seeks Another God (Ch. 1)
King Ahaziah of Israel fell ill. Instead of seeking God, he asked Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if he would recover. God sent Elijah to declare his death. As foretold, Ahaziah died, and his brother Jehoram became king.

Elijah’s Ascension (Ch. 2)
When the time came for Elijah to be taken up to heaven, he tried to go alone, but Elisha insisted on following. At the Jordan River, Elijah struck the water with his cloak, and the river parted so they could cross. While the two were talking, suddenly a chariot and horses of fire appeared. Elijah ascended to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha then took up Elijah’s prophetic mission.

War Between Israel and Moab (Ch. 3)
King Mesha of Moab rebelled after Ahab’s death, having previously paid tribute to Israel. Jehoram of Israel and Jehoshaphat of Judah joined forces to attack. As prophesied by Elisha, the Israelites were victorious over the Moabites.

Miracles of Elisha (Ch. 4)
Elisha performed many miracles. He helped a poor widow by multiplying her oil so she could pay her debts. He also raised a Shunammite woman’s son from the dead. He even fed a hundred people with twenty barley loaves.

Naaman’s Obedience and Gehazi’s Greed (Ch. 5)
Naaman, a commander from Aram, came to Elisha to be healed of leprosy. Elisha sent a messenger telling him to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Disappointed by the simplicity of the method, Naaman was angry. However, his servants persuaded him to obey, and he was completely healed.

Elisha refused any gifts, but his servant Gehazi secretly took some by lying. As a result, Naaman’s leprosy came upon Gehazi.

Aram’s Invasion and Threat (Ch. 6–8)

• Elisha Blinds the Aramean Army (6:8–23)
  

During the war between Israel and Aram, Elisha warned King Jehoram of Israel about the Aramean army’s movements, allowing Israel to prepare in advance. The king of Aram sent troops to capture Elisha in Dothan. When Elisha’s servant saw the army of Aram, he was afraid. Elisha prayed to God to open the eyes of his servant, and God showed him that the army of heaven—much greater than the army of Aram—was surrounding Elisha with horses and chariots of fire. On the contrary, Elisha prayed and struck the Arameans with blindness, then led them to Samaria, the capital city. Elisha told the king of Israel not to attack the Arameans, but to give them food and let them go. Afterward, Aram ceased raiding Israel.

• Aram Flees From Besieging Samaria (6:24–7)

King Ben-hadad of Aram besieged Samaria. As time went on, the famine in Samaria became so severe that people even ate each other’s children. At this, Jehoram became desperate and turned to Elisha. Elisha prophesied that the war would end the following day. The next day, the Arameans who had been besieging Samaria heard the sound of an approaching army with chariots and horses. Terrified, they fled. The sound they heard was from God, who drove them out. The people who had been trapped in the city rushed out and took food and military supplies left behind by the Arameans to satisfy their hunger.

• Hazael Becomes King of Aram (Ch. 8)
  

In Aram, Hazael killed Ben-hadad and became king. This happened according to the prophecy God had given to Elijah while he was alive. Meanwhile, Jehoram became king of Judah after Jehoshaphat. He married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, and followed the wicked ways of Ahab’s house. His son Ahaziah succeeded him and also did evil.

Jehu Punishes Ahab’s Family (Ch. 9–10)
Elisha sent one of his disciples to anoint Jehu, the commander of Israel’s army, as king. This was to execute judgment on Ahab’s family, who had disobeyed God and persecuted His prophets.

Jehu killed Jehoram (Joram), son of Ahab and king of Israel, as well as Ahaziah, king of Judah and also a descendant of Ahab. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, also died a gruesome death. As God had prophesied through Elijah, all the members of Ahab’s household and the prophets of Baal were completely destroyed.

Athaliah Usurps the Throne (Ch.11)
When Ahaziah died, his mother Athaliah killed all royal heirs and ruled the kingdom herself. But Joash, Ahaziah’s youngest son, was hidden by his aunt Jehosheba.

Seven years later, Jehoiada the priest and the people of Judah removed the high places of Baal and executed Athaliah. Joash became king of Judah at the age of seven.

Joash King of Judah Repairs the Temple (Ch. 12)
Joash did what was right in the eyes of God, following the teachings of Jehoiada the priest. He ordered the temple to be repaired using offerings from the people. But when Hazael, king of Aram, threatened to attack Jerusalem, Joash handed over all the consecrated treasures that the people had dedicated to the LORD.

Joash was killed by his servants, and his son Amaziah became king.

The Last Prophecy of Elisha (Ch. 13)
Following Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, his son Joash became king of Israel. Elisha, near death, prophesied that Joash would defeat Aram three times. As Elisha had foretold, Joash fought three battles against Aram during his reign, and reclaimed the cities of Israel that had been lost during the time of Jehoahaz.

Fall of Israel and Judah (Ch. 14–25)

Kings of Judah and Israel (Ch. 14–17)

• Judah: Amaziah, Azariah (Uzziah), and Jotham, who became kings after Joash, did not fully follow God’s will, but still did what was right in His eyes. However, Ahaz, who later became king, sinned against God by worshiping idols and following foreign gods.
  
• Israel: After Joash, Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea became kings. They continued to do evil against God.

Reformation of King Hezekiah of Judah (18:1–8)
Unlike his father Ahaz, Hezekiah, who became king of Judah, obeyed God’s word sincerely. He tore down the high places of Judah and destroyed the idols of Baal and Asherah. The people had been burning incense to the bronze snake that Moses had made, so he broke it into pieces. Since God was with Hezekiah, everything he did prospered.

Fall of Israel (18:9–12)
During the reign of King Hoshea, King Shalmaneser V of Assyria came and besieged Samaria, the capital of Israel. Three years later, Samaria was captured, and Israel was destroyed. This was the consequence of Israel's disobedience to God’s commands.

Assyria Invaded Judah (18:13–19:37)
After destroying Israel, the Assyrians invaded Judah. Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent his commander Rabshakeh to mock the people of Judah and blaspheme God, demanding their surrender. However, the prophet Isaiah delivered God’s message to Hezekiah that Assyria would not enter Jerusalem in Judah but would return the way they came. That night, the angel of the LORD struck down 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery (Ch. 20)
Hezekiah fell ill and prayed to God. The LORD heard his prayer and extended his life by fifteen years. As a sign, the shadow on the stairway moved back ten steps.

The king of Babylon sent envoys to visit Hezekiah. Hezekiah showed them all of Israel’s treasures and armories. Isaiah rebuked him and foretold that everything would be carried off to Babylon in the future.

Reformation of Josiah, King of Judah (Ch. 21–23)
Hezekiah was succeeded by Manasseh, followed by Amon, as kings of Judah. They rebuilt the high place that Hezekiah had removed and returned to idol worship.

However, Amon’s son Josiah became king and removed all the idols and properly repaired the temple. Josiah and the people kept God’s law and the Passover as written in the Book of the Law. They abolished those who worshiped other gods and destroyed the idols.

Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim (Eliakim), who became kings after Josiah, disregarded God’s will and sinned, unlike King Josiah.

Fall of Judah (Ch. 24–25)
When Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, became king and did evil, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, invaded Jerusalem. The Babylonian army took the treasures of the temple and the royal palace in Jerusalem, and carried off Jehoiachin, the royal family, and the educated class of Judah into exile in Babylon.

King Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah (Mattaniah), Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place. But when Zedekiah rebelled, Babylon besieged Jerusalem for nearly two years. Eventually, the Babylonian army, led by commander Nebuzaradan, burned the temple, the royal palace, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Except for the poorest people, all the nobles and leaders were taken into exile.

In the 37th year of Jehoiachin’s exile, King Evil-Merodach of Babylon released him from prison. He treated him kindly, gave him a seat of honor, and provided for him throughout his life.