📖 The Book of 2 Kings
Start reading →Old Testament · 25 chapters · History
The fall of both kingdoms — Israel and Judah go into exile.
Who wrote 2 Kings?
Author
Anonymous (trad. Jeremiah)
Written
c. 560 BC
Genre
History
Why 2 Kings was written
To trace the decline and fall of the northern kingdom (Israel, 722 BC) and the southern kingdom (Judah, 586 BC), showing that persistent covenant unfaithfulness ultimately brings the judgments God warned about.
Outline of 2 Kings
- 11–17: The ministry of Elisha; the fall of the northern kingdom
- 218–25: The surviving southern kingdom — Hezekiah, Manasseh, Josiah, and final exile
Key verses
2 Kings 17:7-82 Kings 22:82 Kings 25:9
How 2 Kings points to Christ
The exile is the nadir of the OT — the covenant curses fully realised. It sets the stage for the longing for restoration and the coming of one who will lead a new exodus. Elisha's miracles (raising the dead, feeding the multitude) prefigure Christ's ministry.
How 2 Kings begins
1Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.
Read 2 Kings 1 →