The Genre of Source Texts Used in Chronographic Narratives of 1-2 Kings

Abstract

ABSTRACT The framework of 1-2 Kings surrounds the narratives of prophets and kings, offering brief notices of the deeds of these kings with chronological interest. Many scholars have hypothesized ancient Near Eastern literary parallels for this framework, but little in-depth literary comparison to other ANE literary genres has appeared. This article demonstrates the proximity of the framework of 1-2 Kings to neo-Babylonian chronicles, thus furthering the arguments of more recent scholars, and looks to research on the neo-Babylonian chronicles to offer insight into what this means for the composition of these texts and how they entered into what is now the final form of the books of 1-2 Kings.