THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
eighty-five of his own compositions, and which is still used in various parts of Denmark and Norway. Kingo was especially renowned for his beautiful Easter hymns, in one of which he symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus by the " golden sun which breaks through the dark clouds." He was influential also in causing light and tuneful melodies to be adapted to the requirements of the Church.
(F. NlELSENf.) Bibliography: There is a biography by R. Petersen, Copenhagen, 1887.
KINGS, BOOKS OF.
Contents and View-point Historicity and Chronology
(§ 1) (§ 3).
Date and Sources (§ 2.) The Text (§ 4).
The two books which follow Samuel and precede Chronicles in the English version were originally one book, but were divided in the Septuagint and the Vulgate; in Daniel Bomberg's Hebrew Bible the division was adopted for the Hebrew. The books divide into three parts. I Kings i.-xi. contains the account of David's death with Solomon's accession and the story of his reign, including the account of the building of the temple and of the internal and external policies inaugurated by him; I Kings
xii.-II Kings xvii. contains the syn-
i. Contents chronistic account of the two king-
and View- doms of Judah and Israel to the fall
point. of the latter; II Kings xviii.-xxv.
continues the history of the southern kingdom to the Babylonian exile. The first two chapters of I Kings belong rather to the preceding narrative beginning with II Sam. ix. and giving the story of David's reign, and chap. iii. begins a narrative different from that which precedes. The form is neither that of a chronicle of external events nor a political history, but rather an account based on a religious conception of the relation of the people to Yahweh and the connection between its unfaithfulness and the destruction which befell both kingdoms (II Kings xvii. 7 sqq.). That the promise to the house of David (I Kings xi. 32, 36, 39) was not to fail appears to have been confirmed in the view of the author by the fact that Jehoiachin in his exile was restored to honor, this being a pledge that God would keep his promise to his people. The keynote is struck in the mention of Solomon's cult of the high places and the relation of each king of Judah to this cult is specifically noted, while throughout runs the relation of the people to prophetic teachings, this last especially characteristic of these books. The point of view of the editor of the sources from which the book was compiled is unmistakably that of the Deuteronomist and preexilic prophecy; viz., that the cause of the destruction of the kingdoms was the ever-renewed cult of the high places and the idolatry connected with it. Yet it is not to be maintained, with Wellhausen, that the priestly view is excluded and that there is no knowledge shown of the distinction between Levites and priests or of the Mosaic tabernacle (I King vii. 4), and that consequently the chronicler's representation is to be set aside. Similarly the assertion that the Aaronic line of priests has no mention either overlooks the Zadokite succession which came in with the supersession of Abiathar
(I Kings ii.— 26— 27) and continued in the Zadok- Eleazar line till the exile, or attempts to nullify it by regarding that line as not Aaronic on the ground that I Sam. ii. 27 sqq. (asserted to be a prophecy after the event) predicted the extinction of the Aaronic line; but this prophecy affected only the house of Eli and not the entire priesthood (cf. II Sam. xv. 24 for the Zadokite-Levite conception). The distinction between priest and Levite as made in Deut. xviii. 3, 6, is certainly preexilic.
The terminus a quo for the final redaction of the book is set by the mention of the restoration of Jehoiachin to honor (II Kings xxv. 27sqq.) in 561 B.C. But the original author must have worked before the exile about 600 b.c. under Jehoiakim, who is the latest king in connection with whom occurs the usual Deuteronomic formula closing 2. Date and the account of a reign. A second Sources, editing is seen in the passage II Kings xvii. 19-21, still before the exile of Judah. From this second hand proceeded the synchronistic data given for the two kingdoms, — materials not found in the sources employed by the first editors. Reference to these sources is very characteristic of the whole work. Thus there is note of the book of the acts of Solomon (I., xi. 41), fourteen references to the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah, and seventeen to the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel. These have been supposed to be the official records of the respective kingdoms, but the frequent changes of dynasty in the northern kingdom make this supposition untenable. They must rather have been works which indeed employed official documents and sources but were freer handling of the materials than were official records. From such sources were obtained the statistical data such as the age of the king at accession, the length of his reign and the political situation. It is also debatable whether the editor had in mind two works as sources (for Israel and for Judah) or one in two parts. Besides these sources others were employed, such as a prophetic-historical narrative like that from which the Elijah-Elisha portion is taken: also the piece II, xviii. 13-xx. 19, repeated in Isa. xxxvi.-xxxix., in which xviii. 14-16 is from a still different source (as is shown by the spelling of the name Hezekiah). This duplicated passage is probably original neither with Kings nor Isaiah. Similarly II., xxiv. 18-xxv. 30 is paralleled by Jer. Iii. but is not original with Jeremiah. The Septuagint refers in I., viii. 53 to a "book of the ode," possibly the book of Jasher (Josh. x. 13), the word " ode " coming in through a misreading by transposition of letters (shyr instead of yshr).
So far as the political relations are concerned, the historicity of these books is recognized. The especial point of attack in this matter has been the Elijah-Elisha narratives, so rich in miracles paralleled only in the events ascribed to
3. Histo- the times of Moses and Joshua. But
ricity and it is to be noted that the marvels at
Chronology, the Carmel sacrifice, as in the desert
at the giving of the law through
Moses, and again in Elijah's removal from earthly
life without passing the gates of death, are no