who wrote the book of kings 1 and 2
Books of Kings According to Jewish tradition the author of Kings was Jeremiah, who would have been alive during the fall of Jerusalem in 586Â BCE.[11] The most common view today accepts Martin Noth's thesis that Kings concludes a unified series of books which reflect the language and theology of the Book of Deuteronomy, and which biblical scholars therefore call the Deuteronomistic history.[12] Noth argued that the History was the work of a single individual living in the 6th century BCE, but scholars today tend to treat it as made up of at least two layers,[13] a first edition from the time of Josiah (late 7th century BCE), promoting Josiah's religious reforms and the need for repentance, and (2) a second and final edition from the mid 6th century BCE.[14] Further levels of editing have also been proposed, including: a late 8th century BCE edition pointing to Hezekiah of Judah as the model for kingship; an earlier 8th century BCE version with a similar message but identifying Jehu of Israel as the ideal king; and an even earlier version promoting the House of David as the key to national well-being.[15]
Books of Samuel The Books of Samuel,[a] 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel, form part of the narrative history of Israel in the Nevi'im or "prophets" section of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) that constitute a theological history of the Israelites and aim to explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets.[1] According to Jewish tradition, the book was written by Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan.[2] Modern scholarly thinking is that the entire Deuteronomistic history was composed in the period c. 630–540 BC by combining a number of independent texts of various ages.[3][4]