Books of Kings
Solomon then instructs Shimei ben Gera, the Benjaminite who cursed David as he was fleeing from Absalom, to move to Jerusalem and not to leave.
[5][6] God is pleased and grants him not only "a wise...heart" (חכם),[7] but also wealth, honor, and longevity, on the condition that Solomon is righteous like his father David.
God speaks to Solomon and accepts his prayer, re-affirming his vow to David that his House will be kings forever unless they begin worshipping idols.
He begins building and improvement works in various cities in addition to his major projects in Jerusalem and puts the remaining Canaanites into slavery.
Meanwhile, to the north, the Syrian king Rezon, whose Zobahite army was defeated by David, allies himself with Hadad and causes havoc for Israel from his base in Damascus.
On the home front, Jeroboam, who supervised the building of Solomon's palace terraces and the reconstruction of the city walls, encounters the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite on the road out of Jerusalem.
Back in Shechem, Jeroboam becomes worried about the possible return of his tribes to loyalty to the House of David, and decides the best way to prevent this is to stop them worshipping the God of Israel, since he considers the point at which they are most likely to defect to be when they travel to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices.
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Judah, the people set up high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles to foreign gods, and even allow male temple prostitution.
The pharaoh Shishak sacks Jerusalem and takes all the royal and Temple treasures, including Solomon's gold shields, prompting Rehoboam to make bronze ones to replace them.
He abolishes male temple prostitution and destroys idols, and even deposed his grandmother as Queen mother due to idolatry.
Baasha, son of an Issacharite named Ahijah, plots to kill him and succeeds in a sneak attack, taking him by surprise during the Siege of Gibbethon, a Philistine city.
Upon his marriage to Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of Sidon, he introduces the worship of Baal, building him a temple and setting up an Asherah pole.
Meanwhile, a nobleman named Hiel of Bethel activates the curse proclaimed by Joshua by rebuilding Jericho, resulting in the death of his oldest and youngest sons.
Instead, an angel supplies him with food, which gives him the strength to continue a further forty days until he reaches Mount Horeb, where he falls asleep in a cave.
Ben-Hadad II, the new king of Aram, raises an army and sends messengers demanding all Ahab's gold and silver, and the best of his wives and children.
Aram still possesses Ramoth-Gilead and, when Jehoshaphat agrees for the Judahite army to accompany him on a campaign during a state visit, Ahab decides to take it back.
Several other prophets begin complaining that their meeting place with Elisha is too small, so he agrees to allow them to build a new one on the banks of the Jordan.
After he has had them put inside the city gate of Jezreel, Jehu massacres the remaining members of the House of Ahab in order to fulfil Elijah's prophecy.
The pair meet at Beth Shemesh and Israel thoroughly defeats Judah, scattering Amaziah's troops and allowing Jehoash to sack Jerusalem.
Zechariah is evil, and falls victim of a conspiracy by Shallum, who assassinates and succeeds him, thus fulfilling God's promise to Jehu that his family would rule for four generations.
During Pekah's reign, Pul comes back and captures many towns in northern Israel, including all of the land belonging to the Tribe of Naphtali, and deports their populations to Assyria.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, Ahaz writes to Pul for help, which he gives by capturing Damascus, deporting its citizens and killing Rezin.
The king of Assyria then sends his subjects to resettle Samaria, led by an Israelite priest, whose job is to teach them the rites God requires.
[8] He institutes a far-reaching religious reform: centralising sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem, and destroying the images of other gods, including the Nehushtan, the bronze snake Moses erected in the wilderness, which the Israelites have turned into an idol.
When Hezekiah hears the message, he sends a delegation to the prophet Isaiah, who tells them that God will save Jerusalem and the kingdom from Assyria.
During this effort, Hilkiah, the high priest, finds a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy and has Shaphan, the royal secretary, read it to the king.
Finally, he fires the priests of the other gods, desecrates the high places and gets rid of the male shrine prostitutes and weavers of Asherah in the temple.
In response to this, in order to fulfil what God had said with regards to Manasseh, a large number of raiders from neighbouring kingdoms and empires attack Judah.
However, he is eventually killed by the last remaining member of the royal family, Ishmael son of Nethaniah, and a large number of Judahites and Babylonians flee to Egypt.
[3][4] Further levels of editing have also been proposed, including: a late 8th century BC edition pointing to Hezekiah of Judah as the model for kingship; an earlier 8th-century BC version with a similar message but identifying Jehu of Israel as the ideal king; and an even earlier version promoting the House of David as the key to national well-being.
