A Game of Thrones
Summary of 1 Kings
David dies of old age and leaves the kingdom to his son Solomon over the older Adonijah, thanks to the support of the prophet Nathan and Solomon's mother Bathsheba. Solomon is offered a gift by God, and famously requests wisdom. He is granted this, as well as wealth and a long life by God who is pleased with his response. Solomon becomes very wise in his governance of the people, which is illustrated in a well-known story where he solves a dispute between two women who both claim the same baby. This led to ‘all of Israel’ standing in awe of the king’s wisdom. 1 Kings details how Solomon then expands the lands of Israel, establishing trade and political agreements with other nations.
Solomon then focuses on formalising the Israelite religion. He builds the temple in Jerusalem (chapters 5-8) as a permanent place to offer sacrifices and worship, instead of the temporary, tent-based tabernacle used by the Israelites to this point. The Ark of the Covenant and other sacred items are brought to the temple, and the accomplishments of Solomon’s time become seen as a ‘golden age’ in the Biblical narrative.
However, Solomon’s renowned wisdom did not extend to his personal life. Despite the legal codes demanding that Israelites did not follow other gods, Solomon cemented his series of political alliances by marrying daughters of neighbouring kings (we are told Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines!!!). Each of these daughters brought their own gods and idols, and Solomon constructed altars for them.
For this, Solomon is told that his family will lose the ten northern tribes, retaining only Judah (and Benjamin, which Judah had almost absorbed). When Solomon dies, the northern tribes do indeed rebel against his heir Rehoboam, following instead Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim.
This leads to a permanent split in Israel, resulting in two kingdoms. The north, with the largest number of tribes, remains as the Kingdom of Israel. The tribe of Judah becomes a kingdom in its own right, remaining in solidarity with the family of David.
Throughout the story that follows (the remainder of 1-2 Kings and 1-2 Chronicles), the kings of Judah are descendants of David. In the north, the kingship of Israel is fought over and plagued by assassinations, war and misfortune, rotating through many different families and individuals. Although some strong kings do enjoy significant rules, some have reigns that were only counted in days.
In both countries, the kings are judged by the text on whether they ‘did evil’ or ‘did what was pleasing’ in the eyes of God and the law. In 1 and 2 Kings particularly, the northern tribes are seen as doing what is wrong, mainly because their religion is now practiced outside of Jerusalem and the temple, which was now the centre of Jewish worship. Many kings (again, in both nations) also make the mistake of allowing worship of other gods, which normally saw them punished with short lives or military defeats.
In 1 Kings 16, a king of Israel named Omri is mentioned. Omri builds the city of Samaria in the northern kingdom, and makes it his capital. However, like most kings of Israel Omri is seen as a failure because of his continued tolerance for other gods and idols.
Omri is succeeded by his son Ahab—also considered a religious failure—whose queen Jezebel becomes a powerful and manipulative Biblical figure. The actions of both Jezebel and Ahab are condemned by Elijah, a prophet who calls for religious reform in the land. Elijah faces the prophets of a rival god, Baal, and sees them killed after a religious challenge. The pattern of prophets standing up to the monarchs continues its way throughout the rest of 1 Kings, 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. In 1 Kings other prophets such as Micaiah become nuisances to the royalty of both countries. Not all kings are failures, however, as some are judged as ‘doing good’, although this comes in the later books.
A brief summary of the two kingdoms is included below.
Nation - Israel, Location - North, Tribes - Everyone Else, Kingship - Survival of the Fittest, Capital - Samaria, Worship - On the Hills and High Places.
Nation - Judah, Location - South, Tribes - Judah/Benjamin, Kingship - Ancestors of David, Capital - Jerusalem, Worship - Temple at Jerusalem.
What 1 Kings may have meant to its original audience...
1 Kings continues what scholars call the "Deuteronomistic history". That is, it evaluates the actions and consequences of its kings and kingdoms through the religious 'lens' of the book of Deuteronomy. When figures are faithful to "God's Law" and the covenant with the One God, things go well. Conversely, events tend to become disastrous when the covenant is ignored.
This tends to reflect the likely compilation of the 1 Kings accounts in the time of the exile in Babylon. Jewish scholars were seeking to 'collect and protect' the heritage of their people as increasing pressures came from their conquerors to assimilate into Babylonian culture. Narratives such as 1 Kings served to remind people of the important figures of their past, as well as explaining how they got into the mess they were in!
As far as the specific events of 1 Kings are concerned, the story emphasises the essential political, social and religious differences between the Northern tribes and those in the South. The South maintain monopoly over the Temple, while the North focuses its worship on High Places, with the Temple lying within the heart of its rivals' capital. The text also explains the development of the Northern capital, Samaria. All these factors help explain or justify a sense of difference between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (from where the term "Judean" or "Jew" emerges) and the 10 tribes in the North, who cease to exist in 2 Kings. Later narratives of Ezra and Nehemiah further highlight the differences between the two, suggesting that intermarriage by the Northerners with people from the wider Assyrian Empires led to their ultimate, and final, breaking from God's covenant - thus becoming the Samaritans of later times.
The role of champion prophets is particularly significant in both books of kings, especially the prophets Elijah and Elisha.