Kings, Books of, are two books in the Old Testament. They are grouped as one book in the Hebrew Bible. The books begin just before the death of King David, about 965 B.C., and cover almost 400 years of events. Kings conclude with the collapse of the Kingdom of Judah and the exile of many Judeans to Babylon in 587 or 586 B.C. For more information on these events, see Jews (The divided kingdom) (Foreign domination) . The Books of Kings mention all the kings of Israel and Judah. Some kings, such as Solomon, Ahab, Hezekiah, and Josiah, are discussed much more extensively than the other kings.
The Books of Kings were probably compiled during the exile, using court records and other historical information to sustain hope for national revival. But they should not be considered strict history. The books select and interpret events according to the idea that God demanded obedience and loyalty. They evaluate every king according to whether or not “he did what was evil/right in the sight of the Lord.”
