The book of 1 Kings is a continuation of the Deuteronomistic histories as both the study guides and my study Bible kept reminding me. The two books of Kings are divided up like this: 1) Reign of Solomon from 970 B.C. - 930 B.C. 2) The division of the kingdom after Solomon dies; Israel in the north, Judah in the south and the fall of Israel at the hands of the Assyrians in 722 B.C. 3) The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 B.C. at the hands of the Babylonians.
The reign of Solomon includes the building of the temple, Solomon's wisdom in settling the argument between two women who lay claim to the same child, his visit from Queen of Sheba (Sheba thought to be present-day Yemen), not to be confused as I almost did with Solomon's mother Bathsheba. Solomon's marriages, outside the faith as it were, and his willingness to worship the gods--Astarte, Chemosh and Milcom-- of his various wives pretty much spell his downfall and the break-up of the kingdom.
There follows a string of tales about the kings of these respective kingdoms. In Israel there is Jeroboam, Omri and Ahab among others. Ahab is the king who marries the calculating Jezebel. The story of Jezebel's machinations to kill off Naboth in order to deliver to Ahab the coveted vineyard of Naboth is a good one.
A number of prophets appear in this book. There is Ahijah and Elijah the Tishbite. Here is the recounting of the drought and the widow who feeds herself, her son and Elijah for several days even though she had only a small amount of flour and a little oil. In Chapter 22, there is the interesting exchange between the prophets Micaiah, Zedekiah and others un-named. As the note in my study Bible points out, "Even a genuine prophet cannot determine whether another prophet's oracle is true or false." Who knew.
1 Kings ends with the death of Ahab as prophesied by Elijah. Apparently, Jezebel's fate awaits her in 2 Kings.
