Book of History; the eleventh book of the Old Testament; the eleventh book of the Bible.
Author: The book itself does not name its author and remains anonymous. Jewish tradition states it was written by the prophet Jeremiah. However, at least some portion of the book was likely written by someone else. Jeremiah did not travel to Babylon, and the final section (2 Kings 25:27–30) is set in Babylon in 561 BC.
Audience: First and Second Kings were originally completed as one book, for the Jewish people who were most likely living in exile at the time. The text emphasizes the history of the kings of Judah and Israel. Those living under the judgment of exile could learn much from the judgments upon evil kings, as compared to God’s blessing upon the kings who served in the tradition of David, called a man after God’s own heart.
Date: Unknown. The final additions to the text would have been added after the final events of 2 Kings. This was probably written in Babylon during the exile, between approximately 561 and 538 BC.