Solomon's temple and wealth, then a kingdom split in two.
First Kings covers the reign of Solomon, the building of the temple in Jerusalem, and the division of the kingdom after his death into a northern kingdom of Israel and a southern kingdom of Judah.
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ReadWisdom, trade, and a temple in Jerusalem.
Learn MoreTen tribes break away under Jeroboam.
Learn MoreA prophet challenges the northern kings and the cult of Baal.
Learn MoreSolomon succeeds David and is remembered for a request for wisdom, for extensive building projects, and for wide-ranging trade and diplomacy. The centerpiece is the construction and dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. The account also notes the heavy taxation and forced labor that supported these projects, and Solomon's many foreign marriages and shrines.
After Solomon's death, his son Rehoboam refuses to lighten the people's burdens, and ten northern tribes break away under Jeroboam to form the kingdom of Israel, leaving Judah in the south. From this point the book alternates between the two lines of kings, judging each ruler mainly by their loyalty to the worship of Israel's God in Jerusalem.
The prophet Elijah opposes King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and their promotion of the god Baal, most famously in the contest on Mount Carmel. These chapters introduce a recurring pattern in Kings: prophets speaking against royal policy, often at great personal risk, and interpreting national events as consequences of the kings' choices.