Authorship of 1 Kings

The history of 1 and 2 Kings stretches from 970 BC (David) to at least 562 BC (Jehoiachin). Thus the author could not have been alive for this entire time period. The author probably used the Book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41), the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (1 Kings 14:19; mentioned 17x), and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (1 Kings 15:23; mentioned 15x). These books were non-scriptural texts, but they were probably historical texts kept by the royal scribes (2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24-25). At the very least, Donald Wiseman argues that it is a defensive statement that 1 and 2 Kings is a “unified work and… probably and largely the work of one historian.”[] Critical scholars like Martin Noth[] and Gerhard von Rad[] argue for the essential unity of the books—though under the agency of a “Deuteronomistic” author(s).

The most likely candidate for the authorship of 1 and 2 Kings is the prophet Jeremiah. Ancient Jewish tradition states, “Jeremiah wrote the book which bears his name, the Book of Kings, and Lamentations” (Baba Bathra 15a). Furthermore, 1 and 2 Kings “has much in common with Isaiah and Jeremiah in theological perspective, language and purpose.”[] Archer writes, “Since the author speaks from a consistently prophetic standpoint and is a man of great literary ability, it is possible that Jeremiah may have composed everything except the final chapter.”[] Hill and Walton write, “This association may have been based on the similarities between Jeremiah 53 and 2 Kings 24-25.”[]Hill, Andrew, & Walton, John. A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (2^nd Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI. Zondervan. 2000. Moreover, Jeremiah is never mentioned in these two books—even when king Josiah is written about—which could point to prophetic authorship. However, the final chapter occurs in Babylon—not Egypt (where Jeremiah died). The author borrowed three entire chapters word for word (2 Kings 18-20) from the book of Isaiah (Isa. 36-39). So this would show that the author had dependence on the canonical books.

The most formidable arguments against Jeremiah’s authorship is:

(1) Jeremiah would’ve been too old to complete the book.

(2) Jeremiah was captured and sent into Exile (Jer. 43:5-7; 586 BC), so he wouldn’t have been around to tell the history of Jehoiachin’s reign.

However, regarding the first objection, Jeremiah was but a “youth” when he received his calling (Jer. 1:6-7; 627 BC), so this could account for him living long enough to finish the books (562 BC). And regarding the second objection, Jeremiah ends his book by commenting on the historical events of Jehoiachin’s reign (Jer. 52:31-34).