1 & 2 Kings / Walter Brueggemann.

I. 1 Kings Solomon's rise to power (1 Kgs. 1:1-53) ; Solomon's consolidation of power (1 Kgs. 2:1-46) ; Beginnings as a pious, wise king (1 Kgs. 3:1-28) ; Royal impressiveness (1 Kgs. 4:1-34) ; Temple preparations (1 Kgs. 5:1-18) ; Temple construction (1 Kgs. 6-7) ; The temple dedicated and made operational (1 Kgs. 8:1-66) ; An interface of theological warning and self-congratulations (1 Kgs. 9:1-28) ; The global economist (1 Kgs. 10:1-29) ; When the chickens come home to roost (1 Kgs. 11:1-43).

An urgent political settlement (1 Kgs. 12:1-33) ; Ominous prophetic inscrutability (1 Kgs. 13:1-34) ; Rival kings, in failure and in death (1 Kgs. 14:1-31) ; A series of undistinguished monarchs (1 Kgs. 15:1-32) ; Northern upheavals (1 Kgs. 15:33-16:34) ; Elijah, man of power for life (1 Kgs. 17:1-24) ; Troubler of Israel (1 Kgs. 18:1-46) ; Letdown and revival (1 Kgs. 19:1-21) ; War, diplomacy, and prophetic zeal (1 Kgs. 20:1-43) ; A clash over land (1 Kgs. 21:1-29) ; Ahab's last venture (1 Kgs. 22:1-53).

II. 2 Kings One more, king over prophet (2 Kings 1:1-18) ; A transition in prophetic authority (2 Kgs. 2:1-25) ; A miscalculated war (2 Kgs. 3:1-27) ; Elisha as a transformative force (2 Kgs. 4:1-44) ; The leprosy of Naaman, healed and reassigned (2 Kgs. 5:1-27) ; Iron floats (2 Kgs. 6:1-7) ; Hidden allies (2 Kgs. 6:8-23) ; Good news amid the vagaries of war (2 Kgs. 6:24-7:20) ; Land restored (2 Kgs. 8:1-6) ; The sorry future of three kings (2 Kgs. 8:7-29) ; A bloody, prophet-propelled revolution (2 Kgs. 9:1-37) ; The end of the bloody reign of Jehu (2 Kgs. 10:1-36) ; Beginning again with a child king (2 Kgs. 11:1-20) ; The long reign of Jehoash (2 Kgs. 11:21-12:21).

Kings, prophet, and war in the north (2 Kgs. 13:1-25) ; On Amaziah and Jereboam II (2 Kgs. 14:1-29) ; Two Judean kings, a series of northern nondescripts (2 Kgs. 15:1-38) ; Ahaz as a willing accomdator (2 Kgs. 16:1-20) ; The end of the Northern Kingdom (2 Kgs. 17:1-41) ; Hezekiah's reform and the Assyrian threat (2 Kgs. 18:1-37) ; A final threat and complete deliverance (2 Kgs. 19:1-37) ; The end of Hezekiah: the long-term end of Jerusalem (2 Kgs. 20:1-21) ; Manasseh and his son (2 Kgs. 21:1-26) ; Josiah, man of Torah (2 Kgs. 22:1-20) ; The rule and death of Josiah (2 Kgs. 23:1-30) ; Four pitiful kings (2 Kgs. 23:31-25:7) ; The final humiliation (2 Kgs. 25:8-21) ; Two proximate conclusions (2 Kgs. 25:22-30).

"The Old Testament provides peculiarly powerful ways of thinking and seeing. Brueggemann considers the artistry of 1 & 2 Kings as it mediates between history and faith. He has spent many years engaged with the artistry and imagination of the Old Testament, pondering the ways of power in church and society and he makes clear that those issues of power in the ancient texts still pertain to contemporary times. While the book proceeds text-by-text, special focus is placed upon Solomon, Elijah, Elisha, and Josiah as models of faith. Brueggemann provides a useful guide for the reader to maneuver between flat history and absolute faith. In commentary form, 1 & 2 Kings invites the reader to view fresh ways of faithful insight and wisdom ... the primary goal of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series is to make available serious, credible biblical scholarship in an accessible and less intimidating format. A visual generation of believers deserves a commentary series that contains not only the all-important textual commentary on Scripture, but images, photographs, maps, works of fine art, and drawings that bring the text to life. Each volume of the Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary series features a CD-ROM, which expands the uses and capabilities of the Commentary even more"--Publisher description.

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