King James Bible
King James Version (KJV)
King
Is in Scripture very generally used to denote one invested with "authority, whether extensive or limited. There were thirty-one" "kings in Canaan (Josh. 12:9, 24), whom Joshua subdued." Adonibezek subdued seventy kings (Judg. 1:7). In the New "Testament the Roman emperor is spoken of as a king (1 Pet. 2:13," "17); and Herod Antipas, who was only a tetrarch, is also called" a king (Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22). "This title is applied to God (1 Tim. 1:17), and to Christ, the "Son of God (1 Tim. 6:15, 16; Matt. 27:11). The people of God are" "also called "kings" (Dan. 7:22, 27; Matt. 19:28; Rev. 1:6," "etc.). Death is called the "king of terrors" (Job 18:14)." "Jehovah was the sole King of the Jewish nation (1 Sam. 8:7; Isa. 33:22). But there came a time in the history of that people when "a king was demanded, that they might be like other nations (1" "Sam. 8:5). The prophet Samuel remonstrated with them, but the" "people cried out, "Nay, but we will have a king over us." The" misconduct of Samuel's sons was the immediate cause of this demand. "The Hebrew kings did not rule in their own right, nor in name of "the people who had chosen them, but partly as servants and" "partly as representatives of Jehovah, the true King of Israel (1" Sam. 10:1). The limits of the king's power were prescribed (1 "Sam. 10:25). The officers of his court were, (1) the recorder or" remembrancer (2 Sam. 8:16; 1 Kings 4:3); (2) the scribe (2 Sam. "8:17; 20:25); (3) the officer over the house, the chief steward" "(Isa. 22:15); (4) the "king's friend," a confidential companion" (1 Kings 4:5); (5) the keeper of the wardrobe (2 Kings 22:14); (6) captain of the bodyguard (2 Sam. 20:23); (7) officers over "the king's treasures, etc. (1 Chr. 27:25-31); (8)" commander-in-chief of the army (1 Chr. 27:34); (9) the royal counsellor (1 Chr. 27:32; 2 Sam. 16:20-23). "(For catalogue of kings of Israel and Judah see chronological table in Appendix.) "(Matt. 6:33; Mark 1:14, 15; Luke 4:43) = "kingdom of Christ" "(Matt. 13:41; 20:21) = "kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:5)" "= "kingdom of David" (Mark 11:10) = "the kingdom" (Matt. 8:12;" "13:19) = "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; 13:41), all" "denote the same thing under different aspects, viz.: (1)" "Christ's mediatorial authority, or his rule on the earth; (2)" the blessings and advantages of all kinds that flow from this "rule; (3) the subjects of this kingdom taken collectively, or" the Church. One of the three special relations in which Christ stands to his people. Christ's office as mediator comprehends three different "functions, viz., those of a prophet, priest, and king. These are" "not three distinct offices, but three functions of the one" office of mediator. "Christ is King and sovereign Head over his Church and over all things to his Church (Eph. 1:22; 4:15; Col. 1:18; 2:19). He "executes this mediatorial kingship in his Church, and over his" "Church, and over all things in behalf of his Church. This" royalty differs from that which essentially belongs to him as "God, for it is given to him by the Father as the reward of his" "obedience and sufferings (Phil. 2:6-11), and has as its especial" object the upbuilding and the glory of his redeemed Church. It "attaches, moreover, not to his divine nature as such, but to his" person as God-man. "Christ's mediatorial kingdom may be regarded as comprehending, "(1) his kingdom of power, or his providential government of the" "universe; (2) his kingdom of grace, which is wholly spiritual in" "its subjects and administration; and (3) his kingdom of glory," which is the consummation of all his providential and gracious administration. "Christ sustained and exercised the function of mediatorial King "as well as of Prophet and Priest, from the time of the fall of" "man, when he entered on his mediatorial work; yet it may be said" that he was publicly and formally enthroned when he ascended up on high and sat down at the Father's right hand (Ps. 2:6; Jer. "23:5; Isa. 9:6), after his work of humiliation and suffering on" "earth was "finished." "Mentioned only in Gen. 14:17; 2 Sam. 18:18, the name given to" "the valley of Shaveh, where the king of Sodom met Abram." The two books of Kings formed originally but one book in the Hebrew Scriptures. The present division into two books was first "made by the LXX., which now, with the Vulgate, numbers them as" "the third and fourth books of Kings, the two books of Samuel" being the first and second books of Kings. "They contain the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon till the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). The books of Chronicles (q.v.) are more comprehensive in their contents than those of Kings. The latter synchronize with 1 Chr. 28-2 Chr. 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or "Levitical office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to" the kingly. "The authorship of these books is uncertain. There are some "portions of them and of Jeremiah that are almost identical," "e.g., 2 Kings 24:18-25 and Jer. 52; 39:1-10; 40:7-41:10. There" are also many undesigned coincidences between Jeremiah and Kings "(2 Kings 21-23 and Jer. 7:15; 15:4; 19:3, etc.), and events" recorded in Kings of which Jeremiah had personal knowledge. These facts countenance in some degree the tradition that Jeremiah was the author of the books of Kings. But the more "probable supposition is that Ezra, after the Captivity, compiled" "them from documents written perhaps by David, Solomon, Nathan," "Gad, and Iddo, and that he arranged them in the order in which" they now exist. "In the threefold division of the Scriptures by the Jews, these "books are ranked among the "Prophets." They are frequently" quoted or alluded to by our Lord and his apostles (Matt. 6:29; "12:42; Luke 4:25, 26; 10:4; comp. 2 Kings 4:29; Mark 1:6; comp." "2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4, etc.)." "The sources of the narrative are referred to (1) "the book of "the acts of Solomon" (1 Kings 11:41); (2) the "book of the" "chronicles of the kings of Judah" (14:29; 15:7, 23, etc.); (3)" "the "book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel" (14:19;" "15:31; 16:14, 20, 27, etc.)." "The date of its composition was some time between B.C. 561, the "date of the last chapter (2 Kings 25), when Jehoiachin was" "released from captivity by Evil-merodach, and B.C. 538, the date" of the decree of deliverance by Cyrus.