2 Kings: The Forms of the Old Testament Literature

Kings is Volume X of The Forms of the Old Testament Literature, a series that aims to present a form-critical analysis of every book and each unit in the Hebrew Bible. Fundamentally exegetical, the FOTL volumes examine the structure, genre, setting, and intention of the biblical literature in question. They also study the history behind the form-critical discussion of the material, attempt to bring consistency to the terminology for the genres and formulas of the biblical literature, and expose the exegetical process so as to enable students and pastors to engage in their own analysis and interpretation of the Old Testament texts.

Long views 1–2 Kings as a substantially unified written work of historiography, produced during the Babylonian exile. Hence he begins his detailed form-critical commentary on 2 Kings where he left off in his volume on 1 Kings. Following the series format, Long discusses the text of 2 Kings unit by unit in terms of structure, genre, setting, and intention, concluding each unit with a bibliography. As in his volume on 1 Kings, Long here integrates his form-critical work with a discussion of the book’s literary art (e.g., style, metaphor, imagery) to expose “the narrative genius which awakens imaginative response in the reader.” The volume concludes with a glossary of the genres and formulas identified in 2 Kings.