The Book of Kings was originally one book that was later divided into I Kings and II Kings. The first half of 1 Kings concerns the history of Israel from completion of the story of the great King David in the events of the succession of David\'s son, Solomon, and David\'s death. The book continues with Solomon\'s reign in the building of the Jerusalem Temple, and the positive and negative political events of Solomon\'s rule. The second half of the book is concerned with the disaster that led to the dissolution of the United Kingdom of Israel and the formation of the two kingdoms of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (ruled by nine different dynasties) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (that continued to be ruled by Davidic kings). The book concludes with the introduction of the Elijah saga that is continued in II Kings.

The Book of I Kings is listed among the books of the Former Prophets in the Jewish canon and among the Historical Books of the Christian Old Testament. No single author is credited with the work. The book provides a series of stories from the royal histories of the two kingdoms of Israel and the disasters that occur when the covenant people and their rulers are disloyal to Yahweh and abandon His covenant. And yet, the book assures us that God does not abandon His people; instead He continually sends His faithful prophets to call the people to repentance and to restore fellowship with the God of Israel.
References for the course are found in the Course Bibliography.