The few detailed
narratives given (2Kings xi seq. xvi. xxii. seq.) have the
temple for their scene, and turn on the temple. Only in
<2Kings?> xviii. seq. does the prophetical interest
predominate.
As for the kingdom of Israel, the statements about the cultus of
that state are very scanty and for the most part rather vague.
Here the prophetical narratives come to the front, generally such
as are told from the prophetic point of view, or at least tell of
the public appearances and acts of the prophets. Here and there
we are told of occasions on which the Northern kingdom came in
contact with Judah; here the Jewish feeling appears which dictated
the selection. What is merely historical, purely secular, is
communicated only in the scantiest measure: often there is
nothing but the names and succession of the kings. We learn
hardly anything about King Omri, the founder of the town of
Samaria and re-founder of the kingdom, who seems to have reduced
Judah also to the position of a dependent ally, nor do we learn
more about Jeroboam II., the last great ruler of Israel; while
the conflict with the Assyrians and the fall of Samaria are
despatched in a couple of verses which tell us scarcely anything
at all.
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