2 Kings (Berit Olam Series) (Robert L. Cohn) - Hardcover

Opening with the prophet Elijah's ascent into heaven and closing with the people of Judah's descent to Babylonia, 2 Kings charts the story of the two Israelite kingdoms until their destruction.  This commentary unfolds the literary dimensions of 2 Kings, analyzes the strategies through which its words create a world of meaning, and examines the book's tales of prophets, political intrigue, royal apostasy, and religious reform as components of larger patterns.

2 Kings pays attention to the writers' methods of representing human character and of twisting chronological time for literary purposes.  It also shows how the contests between kings and prophets are mirrored in the competing structures of regnal synchronization and prophecy-fulfillment.  Much more than a common chronicle of royal achievements and disasters, 2 Kings emerges as a powerful history that creates memories and forges identities for its Jewish readers.

This book is part of the series Berit Olam, Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry, a multi-volume commentary series that reflects the latest developments in a relatively new method of biblical study:  literary criticism.  The authors approach the books of the Hebrew Bible as literary works, recognizing that the stories and poetry can be better appreciated if one is acquainted with the techniques whereby the ancient Hebrew authors told stories and wrote poems, as well as the strategies that modern readers use to understand them.

• Author:  Robert L. Cohn
  
• Editor:  David W. Cotter, O.S.B
• Format:  208 pages, hardcover
  
• Series:  Berit Olam, Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry
  
• Publisher:  Liturgical Press (2000)
  
• ISBN:  9780814650547