The Books of Kings

A comprehensive treatment of the history and components of Kings represents a departure from standard single-authored commentaries on it. Focusing on composition, sources, literary techniques, peoples and characters in the text, and on later transmission and reception of it affords students of the Books with a new resource, and sound bibliography. This collaborative commentary on, or dictionary of, Kings, explores cross-cutting aspects of Kings ranging from the analysis of its composition, historically regarded, to its transmission and reception. Ample attention is accorded sources, figures and peoples who play a part in the book. The commentary deals with Kings’ treatment in translation and role in later ancient literature. While our comments do not proceed verse by verse, the volume furnishes guidance, from contributors highly qualified to advance contemporary discussion, on the book's historical background, its literary intentions and characteristics, and on themes and motifs central to its understanding, both of itself and of the world from which it arose. This volume functions as a meta-commentary, offering windows into the secondary literature, but assembling data more fully than is the case in individual commentaries.