This is the eighth in a series of biblical summaries from David Dorsey's book: The Literary Structure of the Old Testament. This is the fourth in the sub-series of historical books, covering the Book of (1 and 2) Kings.
a Solomon's reign in Jerusalem; Jerusalem's wealth; temple is built (1 Kings 3:1-11:43)
b rise of northern kingdom: its first seven kings (1 Kings 12:1-16:34)
c prophet Elijah and early Omride dynasty (1 Kings 17:1-2 Kings 1:18)
d CENTERPIECE: Elisha's miracles of kindness (2 Kings 2:1-8:6)
c' prophet Elisha and end of Omride dynasty (2 Kings 8:7-13:25)
b' fall of northern kingdom: its last seven kings (2 Kings 14:1-17:41)
a' Solomon's dynasty in Jerusalem ends; fall of Jerusalem and destruction of Solomon's
temple (2 Kings 18:1-25:30)
The 'a' pattern shows the rise and fall of Solomon's dynasty. The first section shows Solomon's temple being built. The second section shows it being destroyed. The first section shows the making of the temple's bronze and gold articles, bronze pillars, and Sea. The second section shows the plunder of these same items from the temple. All this underscores that the glory of Israel's achievements were not truly theirs, but had to do with obedience.
The 'b' pattern focuses on the reign of the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel. Even as Israel rises to power, the kings grow worse and worse. In the first section, the first unit is the longest, in which Jeroboam's sins are emphasized, as "the sins of Jeroboam" will follow Israel throughout its history and will eventually lead to its downfall. In the second section, the last unit is the longest, detailing the ultimate downfall of the kingdom of Israel. All this underscores the shared patterns of disobedience that (nearly) all the Israelite kings shared with Jeroboam.
The 'c' pattern shows how Elisha's prophetic ministry parallels his master Elijah's prophetic ministry with regard to Jezebel and Ahab. The whole first section centers on Jezebel killing Naboth for his vineyard. The whole second section centers on Jezebel being killed for the sin against Naboth. In the first section, it is predicted that dogs will lick up Jezebel's blood in Naboth's vineyard. In the second section, this is fulfilled. In the first section, it is predicted that Ahab's family will be annihilated in his son's day. In the second section, this is fulfilled. In the first section, Baal worship is established. In the second section, Baal worship is removed. In the first section, there are instructions to anoint Jehu and Hazael as new kings. In the second section, Elisha does this. All this shows that Elijah and Elisha both served as mouthpieces for God's Word in bringing judgment upon the family of Ahab and Jezebel.
The 'd' section shows Elisha's miracles and acts of kindness toward the poor and unfortunate. The politics that dominate the remainder of the book of Kings recede into the background. No king's reign is traced, and most of the stories do not even involve a king. There are fourteen episodes in this episode of Elisha's ministry, twice the number of those in the Elijah cycle, which Dorsey notes is at least curious in light of Elisha's requesting a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit when Elijah is carried away by chariots of fire. All this suggests that the book is centered around the type of work that truly pleases Yahweh - "with Yahweh's admirable prophet Elisha quietly doing what pleases Yahweh, Israel's rightful king (in contrast to Israel's evil human kings) - helping the poor and helpless." (Dorsey 139)
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