Overview of 2 Kings 13:1–25:30

The final movement of the book of Kings in 2 Kings 13–25 is dominated by the downfall of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The trajectory of Israel is rapidly and uniformly downhill. The pathway taken by Judah has several high points (e.g., the reign of Josiah in 2 Kings 22) but ends in a similar place.

The reigns of Amaziah and Azariah in Judah are quickly followed by a brief account of the catastrophic rule of Jeroboam II in Samaria and a rapid procession of similarly ungodly kings: Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah (2 Kings 14–15). As the Assyrian threat grows, the story of Israel is put on hold as Jotham of Judah is introduced in 15:32, and then the syncretistic reign of Ahaz is highlighted, as Judah follows Israel down the path of destruction. In 2 Kings 17, the destruction of Israel by Assyria during the reign of Hoshea is both reported and explained before the focus returns to Judah. King Hezekiah’s national and personal challenges occupy chapters 18–20; as Assyria threatens, he deals with serious illness and then paves the way for future disaster as he welcomes Babylonian envoys. The disastrous reign of his son Manasseh (21:1–18) seals Judah’s fate, and not even the reign of the godly Josiah (22:1–23:30) can reverse it. The rapid-fire account of kings Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah charts the slide of Judah into captivity. Chapter 25 chronicles the Babylonian defeat of Judah, with the survival of the Davidic king Jehoiachin in Babylon, the only note of hope at the end of the book of Kings.