kings the books of

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kings the books of - Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary :

  Kings, The Books of
  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.