Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel

The name refers to a cluster of citation formulas in Chronicles rather than to a surviving, independently identified text.[3] These notices direct readers to fuller records of royal reigns and sometimes connect the royal book with prophetic writings, as in references to Jehu son of Hanani and Isaiah son of Amoz.[1][2]

Scholars differ over whether the variants name one lost compilation, several related records, or—under one interpretation—the canonical Book of Kings.[3][4] The biblical passages themselves do not resolve the relationship among the differently titled records.

The title cluster appears in several passages of Chronicles, each invoking a record as a source of further information about a king's reign. II Chronicles 16:11 states that Asa's acts, "early and late," are recorded in "the annals of the kings of Judah and Israel."[5] II Chronicles 25:26 uses the wording "the book of the kings of Judah and Israel" for the other events of Amaziah's reign, likewise described as "early and late."[6] II Chronicles 28:26 applies the same title to the other events and conduct of Ahaz's reign.[7]

A variant formulation, placing Israel before Judah, appears in other passages. II Chronicles 27:7 attributes the record of Jotham's other deeds, battles, and conduct to "the book of the kings of Israel and Judah."[8] II Chronicles 35:27 records Josiah's acts, "early and late," under the same formulation.[9] II Chronicles 36:8 uses it for the other events of Jehoiakim's reign, his abominable deeds, and what was found against him.[10]

Other notices broaden the types of material associated with these records. II Chronicles 32:32 states that Hezekiah's other deeds and faithful acts are recorded in the visions of the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz and in "the book of the kings of Judah and Israel."[1] II Chronicles 24:27 refers readers to "the story in the book of the kings" for material about Joash, including his sons, the many pronouncements against him, and his rebuilding of the House of God.[11]

II Chronicles 20:34 adds another layer: the other events of Jehoshaphat's reign were recorded in the annals of Jehu son of Hanani, which were included in the book of the kings of Israel.[2] The verse therefore explicitly associates a named prophetic record with a royal compilation. I Chronicles 9:1 connects "the book of the kings of Israel" with the genealogical registration of all Israel.[12]

The canonical Books of Kings use parallel, kingdom-specific citation formulas. I Kings 14:19 directs readers to the "Annals of the Kings of Israel" for the other events of Jeroboam's reign, including how he fought and ruled; I Kings 14:29 points to the "Annals of the Kings of Judah" for Rehoboam's other actions.[13] Chronicles more often joins both kingdoms in a title, although it also refers to "the book of the kings of Israel."[2][12]

II Kings 14 invokes the Annals of the Kings of Israel in connection with Jehoash's actions and exploits—including his war with Amaziah of Judah—and with Jeroboam's actions, exploits, and recovery of Damascus and Hamath.[14] These formulas present the annals as repositories for military and political material omitted from the immediate narrative.

II Kings 20:20, quoted in a Ynet discussion of Hezekiah's waterworks, directs readers to the Judean royal record for the rest of Hezekiah's acts, his might, and his construction of a pool and conduit to bring water into the city.[15] Together, these passages show how royal-source citations could point to particular wars and building works as well as to a king's other deeds.

Chronicles uses closely related but not identical titles. The Judah-and-Israel formulation appears for Asa and Amaziah.[5][6] It also appears for Ahaz and Hezekiah.[7][1] The inverted Israel-and-Judah wording appears for Jotham and Josiah.[8][9] It is also used for Jehoiakim.[10]

Other references use such formulations as "the book of the kings of Israel" and "the story in the book of the kings."[2][11] A scholarly account groups these with the "Midrash of the book of the kings" and argues that the slight differences may be variations in the description of a single work rather than fixed formal titles.[3]

The biblical passages do not explain whether the formulations refer to one work, distinct but related records, or a larger compilation that incorporated earlier material. The varying order of the kingdoms is visible in the text, but its significance is not explained there.

One interpretation holds that the similar royal-source titles in Chronicles probably refer to the same work, which had no fixed title. On this view, the source is distinct from the canonical Book of Kings because it is credited with additional information, and distinct from the kingdom-specific Judean annals cited in Kings because the Chronicles source concerns both kingdoms.[3]

A separate scholarly account classifies the "Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel" as a non-biblical source cited by Chronicles alongside titles including the "Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah" and the "Acts of the Kings of Israel." It proposes that Chronicles' main source was a late post-exilic Midrashic history of Judah and Israel, while acknowledging the difficulty of distinguishing inherited material from the Chronicler's additions and later additions.[16]

The Jewish Encyclopedia likewise argues that the source cannot simply be the canonical Book of Kings because it is credited with material absent there, such as Jotham's wars; it describes the relationship between the works as difficult to determine.[16] A separate Jewish Encyclopedia entry records another possibility: the cited "Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel" may be canonical Kings, while the "Midrash of the Book of Kings" may have been a recasting of the biblical narrative.[4]

The Jewish Virtual Library presents another interpretation. It describes the kingdom-specific royal annals cited in Kings as lost works and says it is uncertain whether they were royal records themselves or edited annals. It adds that the Chronicler seems to refer to the same works but probably did not actually have them at his disposal.[17]

The relationship between the Chronicles source and the kingdom-specific royal annals cited in I–II Kings is not established by the biblical passages themselves.[13][3] Whether such formulations as "annals of the kings of Judah and Israel," "the book of the kings of Judah and Israel," and "the book of the kings of Israel and Judah" denote one work or multiple records remains disputed.[3][4]

The nature of the records underlying Kings is similarly uncertain. Encyclopedia.com states that whether the royal chronicles were based on official court records, or were themselves such records, is conjectural.[18] II Chronicles 20:34 explicitly associates the annals of Jehu son of Hanani with the book of the kings of Israel, showing that prophetic material could be linked with a royal compilation; the extent and character of that relationship cannot be recovered from the verse alone.[2]

The kingdom-specific annals cited in Kings are described as lost, while the identity and independent survival of the differently titled Chronicles source remain disputed.[17][18] The available references therefore preserve evidence of royal record-keeping without conclusively identifying the works behind every citation formula.