| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Introduction
to 1 Kings
INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS
This
and the following book
properly are but one book
divided into two parts
and
went with the Jews under the common name of Kings. This
in the Syriac version
is called the Book of Kings; and in the Arabic version
the Book of Solomon
the Son of David the Prophet
because it begins with his reign upon the death
of his father; and
in the Vulgate Latin version
the Third Book of Kings
the
two preceding books of Samuel being sometimes called the First and Second Books
of Kings
they containing the reigns of Saul and David; and in the Septuagint
version both this and the following book are called Kingdoms
because they
treat of the kingdom of Israel and Judah
after the division in the times of
Rehoboam
son of Solomon
and of the several kings of them; as of Solomon
before the division
so afterwards of the kings of Judah; Rehoboam
Abijam
Asa
Jehoshaphat
Jehoram
Ahaziah
Jehoash
Amaziah
Uzziah or Azariah
Jotham
Ahaz
Hezekiah
Manasseh
Amon
Josiah
Jehoahaz
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
and Zedekiah; and of the kings of Israel
Jeroboam
Nadab
Baasha
Elah
Zimri
Omri
Ahab
Ahaziah
Jehu
Jehoahaz
Jehoash
Jeroboam the son of
Joash
Zachariah
Shallum
Menahem
Pekahiah
Pekah
and Hoshea; so that these
books may
with great propriety
be called the books or histories of the kings
in the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel: who they were written by
is not easy
to say; some think they were written by piecemeal by the prophets that lived in
the several reigns successively
as Nathan
Ahijah the Shilonite
Iddo
Isaiah
and Jeremiah
and afterwards put together by an inspired writer. The Jews
commonly sayF1T. Bab. Bava Bathra
fol. 15. 1.
that Jeremiah wrote
the book of the Kings
by which they mean this
and the following book; though
very probably they were written by Ezra
since the history in them is carried
down to the liberty granted to Jehoiachin in Babylon; but that Ezra was the
writer of all the preceding historical books
and even of the Pentateuch
cannot be admitted
which is the conceit of SpinosaF2Tractat.
Theolog. Politic. c. 8. & 9. p. 150
&c. ; part of whose tract is just
now republished by somebody
word for word
under a title as in the marginF3Tractatus
de Primis 12. Vet. Test. Lib. &c. Londini 1763. ; but that Ezra was not the
writer of the Pentateuch is clear
since he refers to it as written by Moses
and as the rule of religion and worship in his times
Ezra 3:2; and it is
certain these writings were in being in the times of Josiah
Amaziah
Joash
yea
of David
and even of Joshua
2 Chronicles 34:14;
and as for the book of Joshua
that also was written long before Ezra's time;
it must be written long before the times of David
before the Jebusites were
expelled from Jerusalem
since the writer of it says
that they dwelt there in
his days
Joshua 15:63; the
book of Judges must be written before the times of Samuel and David
since the
former refers to the annals of it
1 Samuel 12:9; and
the latter alludes to some passages in it
Psalm 68:7; see Judges 5:4; and a
speech of Joab's
2 Samuel 11:21
shows it to be an history then extant: to which may be added
that in it
Jerusalem is called Jebus
Judges 19:10; which
it never was
after it was taken by David out of the hands of the Jebusites
2 Samuel 5:6; the
book of Ruth very probably was written by Samuel; had it been of a later date
or written by Ezra
the genealogy with which it concludes
would doubtless have
been carried further than to David: the Book of Samuel
and particularly the
song of Hannah in it
were written in all probability before the penning of the
hundred thirteenth psalm
Psalm 113:1
in
which some expressions seem to be taken from it wherefore
though the two books
of Kings may be allowed to be written or compiled by Ezra
the ten preceding
ones cannot be assigned to him: however
there is no room to doubt of the
divine authority of these two books
when the honour our Lord has done them is observed
by quoting or referring to several histories in them; as to the account of the
queen of Sheba coming to hear the wisdom of Solomon; of the famine in the times
of Elijah; and of that prophet being sent to the widow of Sarepta
and of the
cleansing of Naaman the Syrian in the times of Elisha
Matthew 12:42 from 1 Kings 17:1 2 Kings 5:10; to
which may be added
the quotations and references made by the apostles to
passages in them
as by the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:2 from 1 Kings 19:14 where
this book is expressly called the Scripture; and by the Apostle James
James 5:17; who
manifestly refers to 1 Kings 17:1; and
there are various things in this part of Scripture
which are confirmed by the
testimonies of Heathen writers
as will be observed in the exposition of it.
The use of these books is to carry on the history of the Jewish nation
to show
the state of the church of God in those times
and his providential care of it
amidst all the changes and vicissitudes in the state; and
above all
to
transmit to us the true genealogy of the Messiah
which serves to confirm the
Evangelist Matthew's account of it.
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.