1 Kings

...is a historical narrative that likely originated with separate oral units of history that were combined into a written volume.

Books to Read

The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings by Edwin Thiele -- buy this book from Amazon.com -- a harmonizing of the regnal numbers

1 Kings 3:12: I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. If this is true, how could Jesus be described as one greater than Solomon? The question is a false dilemma, since it is spoken by God to Solomon, and God was already greater than Sol at the time! The pledge is obviously within a contextual limitation, and that is stated in v. 13: "among the kings".

1 Kings 4:26: 40,000 stalls or 4,000 stalls? This foundational article deals with the general problem of copyist errors and answers the issue of this verse.

1 Kings 5:15, 6:2, 6:38: "Why did it take so many people so long to build a little temple?"

1 Kings 5:16: ...and three thousand and three hundred to oversee them. 3300, or 3600, per 2 Chronicles 2:2? The likely answer is a copyist error in one of the passages, though it is not obvious which. A reader adds that the LXX supports the 3600 reading here. However, for an alternative see here. [Off Site]

1 Kings 7:15ff: Does this verse violate the command against graven images? Also, were the pillars 18 cubits high or 35 (2 Chr. 3:15)? No commentary thus far offers any information on this one, which I am content to regard for now as a probable copyist error.

1 Kings 7:23: Does this verse give an incorrect value for pi? I like this answer, but this one is even better, and this is cool, too, as is this one from a Jewish view.

1 Kings 7:26: Were there two thousand baths or three thousand (per 2 Chronicles 4:5)? No clear answer emerges, though the LXX lacks verse 26 of 1 Kings and has likely been hit by a copyist error. The confusion of the letter gimel [Hebrew letter-number for "3"] with beth [Hebrew letter-number for "2"] is a reasonable possibility. See our foundational essay on copyist errors for general background.

1 Kings 9:23: Are there 250 officers, or 550, per 2 Chr. 8:10? A reasonable solution that is suggested by the fact that the totals of men coincide at 3850 is that the 550 "elite" foremen in 1 Kings 9:23 include the 250 "elite" foremen of 2 Chr 8:10. This is essentially the thesis advanced by Keil and Delitzsch. I personally find it most reasonable as it is reasonable for parallel documents to reckon parallel events differently.

1 Kings 14:10: Is this verse a condemnation of public urination? Yes, believe it or not, some skeptics are stupid enough to ask this question.
"This verse is disgusting! How can this be part of the Word of God?!?"

1 Kings 15:2: Who was Abijam's grandmother, Uriel (2 Chr. 13:1-2) or Abishalom? Actually the latter is a man's name, meaning "father of peace". (The motherly names, Michaiah and Maachah, are essentially the same.) The Chronicles writer is being a polemicist and knocking Absalom out of the bracket (as he does in his book as a whole, not reporting anything about Absalom at all) as a way of subjecting him to disgrace.

1 Kings 16:6-8: Did Baasha die in the 26th year or the 36th (2 Chr. 16:1)? The likely answer is a copyist error in one of the passages.

1 Kings 16:23, 28-9: In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah...So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. And in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. Seven years, or twelve, for Omri's reign? The likely answer is a copyist error in one of the passages.

1 Kings 17:1, 18:1: How long was the drought of Elijah? 1 Kings 17 and 18 seems to suggest that the drought was less then 3 years, while James 5:17 says three and a half. 1 Kings 17:1 is general: Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word." This does not give a definite time for the rain to be held back. 18:1 says, After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land." From here, we know that the word of the Lord came to Elijah in the third year. We still don’t know the duration of the rain being held back, but it must be after this time. Depending on the time it took Elijah to go and present himself to Ahab and the time God waited to send rain is still unclear. James 5:17 says, Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. This is the only one that is specific.

1 Kings 17:2-4: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan." Is this a geographical error? One skeptic claims that Kerith is to the west of the Jordan, not east of it. Actually, the area normally taken to be the ravine is indeed west of the main artery of the Jordan, but it is to the east of a tributary of the Jordan, indeed between two tributaries - and there was no separate name given to the Jordan's tributaries at this time. (Most commentators, however, in spite of Bible atlases, regard the site of ancient Kerith as unknown.) Also, Was Elijah being fed by ravens a violation of the law?

1 Kings 19:16: Was Jehu Nimshi's son or grandson (2 Kings 9:2)? It's the same old thing: "Son" here is word that can mean "son", "grandson" or any male descendant.