The Book of Kings in Recent Research (Part II)

Abstract

In the first part of my article ( CBR 4.1 [2005]), I surveyed the research conducted on various, diverse aspects of the book of Kings, starting in the early 1990s and until 2004. In this article, I will focus on research dealing with the characters appearing in the book of Kings, using this classification: kings, beginning with David; prophets, especially Elijah and Elisha; and women, including Jezebel, the widow of Zarephath, and Shunammite woman. The different studies represent current trends in Bible research today: rejection of the historical reliability of the narratives, on the one hand, and, on the other, its acceptance; male voices and female voices; and diachronic methods and synchronic methods. In addition, many scholars call for multi-disciplinary methodologies that combine, for example, literary and sociological methods.