868
KINGS, I. AND II.
KINGS, I. AND II.
tor I 21 and II 9, any more than can the fact that I 17-19 always speaks of Ahab siniiily, he used to connect this section with I 21, hecause ililVerent writers may easily have employed the same obvi- ous citation of the proper name ; yet tlie fact of the disagreement in form of reference between I 21 and 1 20. 22, etc., ought to be emphasized as demonstratiiif! diversity of authorship. It is true that in I 20. 22, etc., the general u.se of kinti of Israel may be e.\plained as prompted to a larj^e extent by contrast to ' king of Syria' ; but this does not sufficiently account for tlie almost total omission of the king's proper name, which would certainly have occurreu far more frequently had the author of II 9 been the writer of tliese narra- tives. Contrast especially I 22, II 3'"-'', where (excepting 3') the names of Ahab and Joram are never mentioned in spite of the close connexion with ' Jehoshaphat king of Judah,' with II 9, where in connexion with ' Ahaziah king of .Judah ' the usual form of citation is Joram, Jchuram simply. And, again, notice the use of the king simi)ly 5 times in I 22, 10 times in II 6*-?-'", where the desire for distinction from ' the king of Syria ' cannot have been in the writer's mind, and the occasion might have been suitable for tlie use of the king's proper name.
By this point, therefore, the diverse authorship of I 20. 22, etc. and II 9 seems to be proved, and this dissociation adds weiglit to the arguments which have been put forward above in favour of tlie unity of II O'-IO^' with I 21.
II l--'^"« is out of aditl'erent source from the pre- ceding Elijah narratives. This fact is marked by the form of the name n^x vv.'- *• *• '-, peculiar to this section, and generally by the inferior literary merit of the composition. The story is probably much later than I 17-19, II 21 and its sequel.
II 2'"'", Elij.ah's translation, links itself closely on to some of the longer Elisha narratives which follow, as their introduction ; but also might liave formed a suitable close to the Elijah history, of which we possess a fragment in I 17-19, if this can be thou{jlit to have gone on to embody also a history of Elisha. The following coincidences between the narratives are worthy of notice, and suggest that I 17-19, II 2'-i8 4}-^, to which we may add II 5, may be the work of one author. In the case of II 8'"" 13"'"' the evidence is too slight to build upon.
Elijah. Elisha.
1178 34. Miraculous provision 1141-7. Miraculous provision
for the widow of Zarephath for the wife of one of the sons
during famine, and the raising of the prophets.
of her son from death. II 48-37. Raising to life of
the son of the Shunammite
woman.
1 1S» nyj ym H'\p px) • and n 431 3c,',7 pxi Sip fxi ' but
there was nd voice, neither there was no voice, nor any
was there any that answered ' ; attention.' v.ffl ^^'Q j'xi .njy ['Ni Sip [-.xi * but there was no voice nor any that answered, nor any attention.'
I 1913 l» Mention of Elijah's II 28 13 " 16. viantle {TrnK),
I 18« .nyi.x inj'l • and he 11 4S1- 35 v^y Ifii'l ' and he crouched upon the' earth.' crouched upon hinu* •
II 2i«-i> -OX ^if-rj "ni '< >ri II 430.6. »121;;k ' as J" liveth and as thy
ioul liveth, I will not leave thee.*
II 27- IS 1330 ■ over against.' II ia a,.
II 217 trn-na \3ms;;'i 'and II 8" rrny t:?;! 'and he they urged him till he was set ^Tiis countenance upon him) ashamed.' till he was ashamed.'
11 2" Sx-ij?; 3;T '2K 'ZH II 1314 ij. vp-nsi ' my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horses thereof.'
• The verb Tnj is not elsewhere found.
The short Elisha stories are probably popular tales handed down orally at lir.st, and not put into writing until some considerable time after the longer narratives.
(ii.) Tlie second class includes I 20. 22'-'», II 3*-*'
68-13.24.337 (148-I4)_
All these, with the exception of 14"-", deal in the same style with the same subject— Israel's relations with Syria, and m.iy not improbably How from one hand. Notice especially the closo bund of connexion between I 22^- ' and II 3'- ".
II 14""'*, which stands apart from the other narratives, is marked as probably N. Palestinian by its tone, and especially by the reference of v." ' in Beth-shemesh, which befongeth unto Judah.'
It does not appear that any of the group of N. Palestinian narratives has undergone im- portant editorial revision. The fact that the speech of Elijah in I 21"*- has been am]ilitied by K" has already been noticed. This is also true of the speech of the young prophet who was deputed by Elisha to anoint Jehu, II 9'""'. II o*-', which serves summarily to introduce '.he succeeding nar- rative, is probably not of one piece with this latter, but is rather to be assigned to the ' Annals ' (cf. II 1'). II g-'^ belongs to the scheme of Ko.