The Book of the kings of Israel

July 12, 2019

READING TIME: 1 MINUTE

Dave, what does “The Book of the kings of Israel” mean in 1 Chronicles 9:1?

The writers of the Old and New Testaments referenced various source documents. The apostle Paul quoted from philosophers and poets of his time (Acts 17:28 and Titus 1:12). The Book of the Kings of Israel is one such source document, which the writers of Kings and Chronicles used. It likely referred either to the census list from which sections of the genealogies were derived or possibly to a longer official document containing Israel’s genealogies and history. At some point, The Book of the Kings of Israel was lost. This doesn’t mean an inspired book of the Bible was lost. It simply means the inspired writers of the Bible used source documents that at some point in time were lost.

Sources Used

McDowell, Josh; McDowell, Sean. The Bible Handbook of Difficult Verses (The McDowell Apologetics Library). Harvest House Publishers.

Selman, Martin J. 1 Chronicles: An Introduction and Commentary. Vol. 10. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994. Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries.