Chronicles of the Kings of Israel

The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is a book that gives a more detailed account of the reigns of the kings of ancient Kingdom of Israel than that presented in the Hebrew Bible, and may have been the source from which parts of the biblical account were drawn. The book was likely compiled by or derived from the kings of Israel's own scribes, and is likely the source for the basic facts presented in the Bible.

Not to be confused with Book of Chronicles.

The book is referred to a number of times in the Hebrew Bible, but was either not included in the corpus of the biblical text or was removed from it at some stage. The book is counted as one of the Lost books of the Old Testament. This text is sometimes called The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel or The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel (Hebrew: ספר דברי הימים למלכי ישראל, romanized: sêp̄er diḇrê hayyāmîm lə-malḵê Yiśrā’êl).

A complementary book detailing the reigns of the kings of ancient Judah is the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, a book which has also been lost. Another lost book dealing with the reigns of the kings of ancient Israel is the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. This book is referred to in 2 Chronicles and may be the same as the other two Chronicles named in Kings.

References to the Chronicles

References to the Chronicles appear in the Books of Kings and imply that the description of the reign of the kings of Israel presented in the Bible is only a brief summary, and that a fuller account is to be found in the Chronicles.

For example, 1 Kings 14:19 refers to the book and reads: "And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel."

Also, 2 Kings 1:18 mentions the book and reads "Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

Again, 1 Kings 16:14 reads: "Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

It is referred to again in 1 Kings 16:20, which reads: "Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?"

It is also mentioned in 2 Kings 14:28 in relation to Jeroboam II, then in 2 Kings 15:21 in relation to Menahem, king of Israel, and in 2 Kings 13:8 in reference to Jehoahaz.

See also

References
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