ABSTRACT
The Books of Kings narrate events covering about 400 years, from the accession of Solomon to the aftermath of the Exile from Jerusalem after 586. Solomon may be dated c.970–920 bc (Ussher, more accurate now, dates Solomon’s reign 1015–974 bc.). The final text, dating probably from the mid-fifth century bc, forms a continuous record of the changing sequence of kings, switching repeatedly between the northern and southern kingdoms, Israel and Judah.
