The Book of 1 Kings: Kingdom Atlas

1. 1 Kings 1:5-10 — Adonijah proclaims himself king (United monarchy)With David old and bedridden, his son Adonijah exalts himself, prepares chariots and runners, and holds a sacrificial feast at En-rogel with Joab and Abiathar, but he does not invite Nathan, Benaiah, Solomon or the mighty men.
2. 1 Kings 1:11-27 — Nathan and Bathsheba appeal to David (United monarchy) · Prophet: NathanNathan prompts Bathsheba to remind David of his oath that Solomon would reign, and then enters himself to report Adonijah's feast, moving the king to act on his sworn word.
3. 1 Kings 1:38-40 — Solomon anointed king at Gihon (United monarchy) · Prophet: NathanAt David's command Zadok, Nathan and Benaiah bring Solomon down on the king's mule to Gihon, where Zadok anoints him with oil from the tent; the trumpet sounds and the people shout, 'God save king Solomon.'
4. 1 Kings 2:1-9 — David's charge to Solomon (United monarchy)As death nears, David charges Solomon to keep the law of Moses so that his house may endure, and leaves him instructions concerning Joab, Barzillai's sons and Shimei.
5. 1 Kings 2:13-25 — Adonijah's request and execution (United monarchy)Adonijah asks Bathsheba to obtain Abishag the Shunammite for him; Solomon treats the request as a bid for the throne and has Benaiah put him to death.
6. 1 Kings 2:26-46 — Solomon settles accounts with Abiathar, Joab and Shimei (United monarchy)Solomon banishes Abiathar to Anathoth, has Joab killed at the altar he clings to, and later executes Shimei for breaking the terms of his confinement, so that 'the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.'
7. 1 Kings 3:5-14 — Solomon asks for wisdom at Gibeon (United monarchy)At the great high place of Gibeon the LORD appears to Solomon in a dream and offers him whatever he asks; Solomon requests an understanding heart to judge the people, and is granted wisdom together with riches and honour.
8. 1 Kings 3:16-28 — Solomon judges between the two women (United monarchy)Two women claim the same living child; Solomon calls for a sword to divide it, and the true mother's plea to spare the child reveals her, so that all Israel sees the wisdom of God is in him to do justice.
9. 1 Kings 4:20-28 — Solomon's officers and prosperity (United monarchy)Solomon organises officials and twelve district governors to provision the court; Judah and Israel are described as many, eating, drinking and safe, and Solomon rules over kingdoms from the River to the border of Egypt.
10. 1 Kings 5:1-18 — Treaty with Hiram and the labour levy (United monarchy)Solomon makes a treaty with Hiram of Tyre for cedar and cypress from Lebanon in exchange for wheat and oil, and raises a levy of forced labour out of all Israel, with tens of thousands working in Lebanon and quarrying stone.
11. 1 Kings 6:1-38 — Building the temple (United monarchy)In the four hundred and eightieth year after the exodus Solomon begins the temple; the narrative details its dimensions, cedar-lined walls, inner sanctuary and carved cherubim, and notes the LORD's conditional promise to dwell among Israel if Solomon walks in his statutes.
12. 1 Kings 7:1-51 — The palace and the temple furnishings (United monarchy)Solomon spends thirteen years on his own house and the House of the Forest of Lebanon, and Hiram the bronzeworker of Tyre casts the two pillars, the molten sea, the lavers and the vessels; the gold furnishings are completed and the dedicated things stored.
13. 1 Kings 8:1-13 — The ark brought into the temple (United monarchy)The elders bring up the ark of the covenant to the inner sanctuary under the wings of the cherubim, and a cloud fills the house so that the priests cannot stand to minister, for the glory of the LORD fills the temple.
14. 1 Kings 8:22-53 — Solomon's dedication prayer (United monarchy)Standing before the altar, Solomon prays that the LORD, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, will hear from heaven when his people pray toward this house, and will forgive and restore them even in exile.
15. 1 Kings 8:62-66 — The dedication sacrifices and feast (United monarchy)Solomon and all Israel offer an immense number of sacrifices, hold the feast for seven days, and are sent away joyful and glad of heart for the goodness the LORD has shown to David and to his people.
16. 1 Kings 9:1-9 — The LORD appears to Solomon again (United monarchy)The LORD appears a second time, promising to establish Solomon's throne if he walks as David did, but warning that if Israel turns to other gods, the people will be cut off and this house made a proverb and a byword.
17. 1 Kings 9:26-28 — Solomon's navy and the gold of Ophir (United monarchy)Solomon builds a fleet at Ezion-geber on the Red Sea, and Hiram's servants sail with Solomon's to Ophir, bringing back a great quantity of gold to the king.
18. 1 Kings 10:1-13 — The queen of Sheba visits Solomon (United monarchy)The queen of Sheba comes to test Solomon with hard questions; she finds his wisdom and the prosperity of his house surpassing the report, blesses the LORD, and exchanges lavish gifts of gold, spices and precious stones.
19. 1 Kings 10:14-29 — Solomon's gold, horses and chariots (United monarchy)Solomon accumulates enormous quantities of gold, makes silver as common as stones in Jerusalem, and imports horses and chariots from Egypt and elsewhere, gathering trade in his own hand.
20. 1 Kings 11:1-8 — Solomon's foreign wives turn his heart (United monarchy)Solomon loves many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter, and in his old age his wives turn his heart after other gods; he builds high places for Chemosh and Molech on the hill east of Jerusalem and burns incense to the gods of his wives.
21. 1 Kings 11:9-13 — The LORD's anger and the sentence on the house (United monarchy)The LORD, angry that Solomon's heart has turned, tells him the kingdom will be torn from him and given to his servant, yet for David's sake not in his days and not the whole of it, leaving one tribe to his son.
22. 1 Kings 11:14-25 — Adversaries raised against Solomon (United monarchy)The LORD raises up adversaries: Hadad the Edomite, who returns from Egypt, and Rezon of Damascus, who becomes an enemy of Israel all the days of Solomon.
23. 1 Kings 11:29-39 — Ahijah tears his garment for Jeroboam (United monarchy) · Prophet: AhijahThe prophet Ahijah of Shiloh meets Jeroboam, tears his new garment into twelve pieces and gives him ten, declaring that the LORD will tear ten tribes from Solomon's son and give them to Jeroboam, leaving one tribe for David's sake.
24. 1 Kings 11:41-43 — The death of Solomon (United monarchy)Solomon reigns forty years over all Israel, dies, is buried in the city of David, and Rehoboam his son reigns in his place.
25. 1 Kings 12:1-15 — Rehoboam rejects the elders' counsel (Judah / Israel)At Shechem the people ask Rehoboam to lighten the heavy yoke his father laid on them; he forsakes the counsel of the elders, follows the young men, and threatens to make their burden heavier, adding scorpions to whips.
26. 1 Kings 12:16-24 — The northern tribes secede (Judah / Israel) · Prophet: ShemaiahIsrael answers, 'What portion have we in David?' and departs to their tents; they make Jeroboam king over the ten tribes, and when Rehoboam sends Adoram the taskmaster he is stoned, so that only Judah follows the house of David.
27. 1 Kings 12:25-33 — Jeroboam sets up calves at Bethel and Dan (Judah / Israel)Fearing that pilgrimage to Jerusalem will turn hearts back to Rehoboam, Jeroboam makes two golden calves, places them at Bethel and Dan, appoints non-Levitical priests and devises a feast, saying, 'Behold thy gods, O Israel.'
28. 1 Kings 13:1-10 — A man of God cries against the altar (Israel) · Prophet: The man of God from JudahA man of God from Judah cries out against the altar at Bethel, foretells a coming king named Josiah, and gives a sign; when Jeroboam stretches out his hand to seize him it withers, and the altar is rent, until the king begs him to pray for its healing.
29. 1 Kings 13:11-32 — The old prophet of Bethel and the lion (Israel) · Prophet: The old prophet of Bethel, The man of God from JudahAn old prophet of Bethel overtakes the man of God, deceives him into eating in Bethel against the LORD's command, and a lion kills him on the road; the old prophet buries him and confirms that his cry against the altar will surely come to pass.
30. 1 Kings 14:1-18 — Ahijah's word against the house of Jeroboam (Judah / Israel) · Prophet: AhijahWhen Jeroboam's son falls ill, his disguised wife visits the blind, aged Ahijah, who recognises her and pronounces that the child will die and that the LORD will cut off the house of Jeroboam for the calves and idols he made.
31. 1 Kings 14:25-28 — Shishak of Egypt plunders Jerusalem (Judah / Israel)In the fifth year of Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt comes up against Jerusalem and carries off the treasures of the temple and the palace, including the gold shields Solomon made, which Rehoboam replaces with bronze.
32. 1 Kings 15:9-15 — Asa's reforms in Judah (Judah / Israel)Asa does what is right in the eyes of the LORD like David his father, puts away the male cult prostitutes and idols, removes his mother from being queen for her image of Asherah, yet the high places are not taken away though his heart is perfect all his days.
33. 1 Kings 15:27-30 — Baasha wipes out the house of Jeroboam (Judah / Israel) · Prophet: AhijahBaasha conspires against Nadab, strikes him down at Gibbethon, and kills all the house of Jeroboam, leaving none that breathed, according to the word the LORD spoke by Ahijah.
34. 1 Kings 16:8-20 — Zimri's seven-day coup (Israel)Zimri, captain of half the chariots, kills the drunken Elah at Tirzah and destroys the whole house of Baasha; but the people make Omri king, and when Omri takes Tirzah, Zimri burns the palace over himself and dies after reigning seven days.
35. 1 Kings 16:23-28 — Omri founds Samaria (Israel)After defeating his rival Tibni, Omri reigns, buys the hill of Samaria from Shemer, builds a city there and makes it his capital, and does worse than all who were before him.
36. 1 Kings 16:29-34 — Ahab's accession and the cult of Baal (Israel)Ahab son of Omri does evil above all before him, marries Jezebel daughter of the king of Sidon, serves Baal, builds a temple and altar for Baal in Samaria and makes an Asherah, provoking the LORD more than all the kings of Israel before him.
37. 1 Kings 17:1-7 — Elijah announces the drought (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahElijah the Tishbite declares to Ahab that there will be neither dew nor rain these years except by his word, then hides by the brook Cherith where ravens feed him until the brook dries up.
38. 1 Kings 17:8-24 — Elijah, the widow of Zarephath, and her son (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahAt Zarephath in Sidonian territory Elijah is fed by a poor widow whose meal and oil do not fail; when her son dies, Elijah stretches himself over the child and the LORD revives him, and she confesses that the word in his mouth is truth.
39. 1 Kings 18:20-40 — The contest on Mount Carmel (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahBefore all Israel Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to call down fire; from morning to evening they cry and cut themselves in vain, then Elijah repairs the altar of the LORD, drenches the sacrifice, and fire falls and consumes it, so the people cry, 'The LORD, he is the God.'
40. 1 Kings 18:41-46 — The rain returns (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahElijah tells Ahab that rain is coming; after his servant sees a small cloud rise from the sea, the sky grows black and a great rain falls, and the hand of the LORD comes on Elijah so that he runs before Ahab's chariot to Jezreel.
41. 1 Kings 19:1-4 — Jezebel threatens Elijah (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahWhen Ahab tells Jezebel that Elijah has slain the prophets of Baal, she swears to take his life by the next day; Elijah flees for his life into the wilderness and, sitting under a juniper, asks to die.
42. 1 Kings 19:9-21 — Horeb, the still small voice, and Elisha's call (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahAt Horeb the LORD passes by in wind, earthquake and fire, but is found in a still small voice; he tells Elijah that seven thousand have not bowed to Baal, and sends him to anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha, whom Elijah calls from the plough at Abel-meholah.
43. 1 Kings 20:1-43 — The Aramean wars and the sparing of Ben-hadad (Israel) · Prophet: A prophet in SamariaBen-hadad of Aram besieges Samaria, but a prophet assures Ahab of victory and Israel routs the Arameans twice; when Ahab spares Ben-hadad and makes a treaty, a prophet condemns him, declaring that his life will go for the life he let go.
44. 1 Kings 21:1-16 — Naboth's vineyard is seized (Israel)When Naboth refuses to sell his ancestral vineyard, Ahab sulks; Jezebel writes letters in the king's name, has Naboth falsely accused of blaspheming God and the king by hired witnesses, and stoned, then tells Ahab to take possession.
45. 1 Kings 21:17-29 — Elijah pronounces judgment on Ahab's house (Israel) · Prophet: ElijahElijah meets Ahab in the vineyard and declares that dogs will lick Ahab's blood and consume Jezebel, and that his house will be cut off like the houses of Jeroboam and Baasha; when Ahab humbles himself, the disaster is deferred to his son's days.
46. 1 Kings 22:5-28 — Micaiah and the lying spirit (Judah / Israel) · Prophet: MicaiahBefore the campaign for Ramoth-gilead, four hundred prophets promise Ahab success, but Micaiah, summoned reluctantly, foresees Israel scattered and describes a lying spirit put in the mouth of the prophets to entice Ahab to fall; he is struck and imprisoned.
47. 1 Kings 22:29-40 — Ahab's death at Ramoth-gilead (Judah / Israel)Ahab disguises himself but a bowman strikes him at random; he props himself in his chariot until evening and dies, and when his chariot is washed at the pool of Samaria the dogs lick his blood, according to the word of the LORD.
48. 1 Kings 22:41-53 — The reigns of Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah (Judah / Israel)Jehoshaphat of Judah does right like Asa his father, though the high places remain, and makes peace with Israel; in the north Ahaziah son of Ahab reigns and does evil, walking in the ways of his father, his mother and Jeroboam.

1. 1 Kings 1:11 — Nathan → David (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Nathan and Bathsheba remind David of his oath that Solomon would reign after him. — Consequence: Solomon is made king and Adonijah's feast collapses.

2. 1 Kings 11:31 — Ahijah → Jeroboam (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Ahijah tears a new garment into twelve pieces and gives Jeroboam ten, promising ten tribes and a sure house if he obeys. — Consequence: Ten tribes are later torn away to Jeroboam, fulfilling the sign.

3. 1 Kings 12:22 — Shemaiah → Rehoboam (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Shemaiah declares, 'Ye shall not go up nor fight, for this thing is from me.' — Consequence: Civil war is averted and the division stands.

4. 1 Kings 13:2 — The man of God from Judah → The people / the land (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: The man of God cries against the altar and foretells a coming king, Josiah, who will burn its priests upon it. — Consequence: The word marks Bethel's altar for destruction from the moment of its founding.

5. 1 Kings 13:4 — The man of God from Judah → Jeroboam (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: The man of God's word is confirmed by a sign against the king's own body. — Consequence: The king is forced to acknowledge the prophet's power, though he does not repent.

6. 1 Kings 13:18 — The old prophet of Bethel → The man of God from Judah (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: The old prophet falsely claims an angel told him to bring the man of God back to eat. — Consequence: A lion kills the man of God on the road, showing that even a prophet must obey the word given him.

7. 1 Kings 14:10 — Ahijah → Jeroboam (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Ahijah foretells the child's death and the cutting off of every male of Jeroboam's house. — Consequence: Jeroboam's dynasty is doomed and is destroyed by Baasha.

8. 1 Kings 16:2 — Jehu son of Hanani → Baasha (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Jehu son of Hanani declares that Baasha's house will become like the house of Jeroboam. — Consequence: Baasha's house is later destroyed by Zimri, as the word foretold.

9. 1 Kings 17:1 — Elijah → Ahab (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

   The prophetic word: Elijah swears there will be neither dew nor rain these years except by his word. — Consequence: A years-long drought grips the land until the contest on Carmel.

10. 1 Kings 17:21 — Elijah → The people / the land (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: Elijah cries to the LORD and stretches himself over the child three times. — Consequence: The widow confesses that the word of the LORD in Elijah's mouth is truth.

11. 1 Kings 18:21 — Elijah → The people / the land (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: Elijah challenges the people and the prophets of Baal to see whose God answers by fire. — Consequence: The people confess, 'The LORD, he is the God,' and the prophets of Baal are seized.

12. 1 Kings 19:12 — Elijah → The people / the land (Link to outcome: Strongly implied; Theological interpretation)

    The prophetic word: At Horeb the LORD, in a still small voice, tells him seven thousand have not bowed to Baal and sends him to anoint Hazael, Jehu and Elisha. — Consequence: A remnant is affirmed and a succession of judgment and prophecy is set in motion.

13. 1 Kings 19:19 — Elijah → Elisha (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: Elijah passes by Elisha at the plough and casts his mantle upon him. — Consequence: Elijah gains a successor who will continue the prophetic work.

14. 1 Kings 20:13 — A prophet in Samaria → Ahab (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: A prophet tells Ahab the LORD will give the multitude into his hand, that he may know the LORD is God. — Consequence: Israel wins a victory attributed openly to the LORD.

15. 1 Kings 20:40 — A prophet in Samaria → Ahab (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: A prophet, by a parable of a lost prisoner, declares that Ahab's life will answer for the life he let go. — Consequence: The word anticipates Ahab's death in battle at Ramoth-gilead.

16. 1 Kings 21:19 — Elijah → Ahab (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: Elijah declares that dogs will lick Ahab's blood where they licked Naboth's, and will consume Jezebel and cut off his house. — Consequence: The disaster on his house is deferred to his son's days, but the word stands.

17. 1 Kings 22:19 — Micaiah → Ahab (Link to outcome: Interpretive; Theological interpretation)

    The prophetic word: Micaiah describes a heavenly scene in which a lying spirit is put in the mouth of the prophets to entice Ahab. — Consequence: The vision frames the court prophecy as deception permitted for Ahab's fall.

18. 1 Kings 22:17 — Micaiah → Ahab (Link to outcome: Stated in the text; Text)

    The prophetic word: Micaiah foretells Israel scattered on the mountains as sheep without a shepherd. — Consequence: Ahab is struck by a random arrow and dies, fulfilling the word.

1. The temple in Jerusalem (Jerusalem temple, Jerusalem; Founder or patron: Solomon)Presented as the legitimate central sanctuary for the name of the LORD, the standard against which other sites are judged.
2. The great high place at Gibeon (High place, Gibeon; Founder or patron: pre-temple Israel; Solomon)Treated with relative tolerance as the great high place before the temple, where Solomon receives wisdom, yet still a high place.
3. The royal calf shrine at Bethel (Royal shrine, Bethel; Founder or patron: Jeroboam)Condemned as the sin of Jeroboam that makes Israel to sin; the altar is cursed by the man of God at its founding.
4. The calf sanctuary at Dan (Sanctuary, Dan; Founder or patron: Jeroboam)The northern counterpart to Bethel, condemned together with it as Jeroboam's calf worship.
5. The temple of Baal in Samaria (Foreign cult, Samaria; Founder or patron: Ahab and Jezebel)Presented as the deepest apostasy of the northern kings, provoking the LORD more than all before Ahab and setting up the Carmel contest.
6. The contest ground on Mount Carmel (Prophetic site, Mount Carmel; Founder or patron: Elijah)The site where the LORD answers by fire and Baal is shown to be no god, the climax of the conflict over worship.
7. The repaired altar of the LORD on Carmel (Altar, Mount Carmel; Founder or patron: Elijah)Elijah repairs the broken-down altar of the LORD, and the fire that falls vindicates it against the Baal altar.
8. Solomon's high places east of Jerusalem (High place, Jerusalem; Founder or patron: Solomon)The high places Solomon builds for his foreign wives' gods, the decisive compromise that brings the sentence on his house.
9. The Asherah and prophets of the groves in Samaria (Foreign cult, Samaria; Founder or patron: Jezebel)The cult of Asherah promoted alongside Baal under Jezebel, part of the state apostasy Elijah opposes.
10. The altar at Bethel cursed by the man of God (Altar, Bethel; Founder or patron: Jeroboam)The altar of the Bethel shrine, marked for destruction by the man of God's word and a splitting sign.

It follows the monarchy from Solomon's accession and the building of the Jerusalem temple, through Solomon's compromises and the schism that splits the kingdom, into the parallel histories of Judah and Israel and the prophetic conflict of Elijah against Ahab and the worship of Baal.

The book is anonymous. It reads as part of a larger edited history of the monarchy and cites royal and prophetic source records — the acts of Solomon, the chronicles of the kings of Judah and of Israel — that it does not preserve; most scholars read it as the work of editors rather than a single named author.

Yes. Kings was a single book in the Hebrew tradition; the division into two came later, in the Greek and Latin transmission, and is a matter of length rather than a break in the story.

By a recurring evaluation formula — whether a king 'did right' or 'did evil in the sight of the LORD' — measured against David, Jeroboam or Ahab and often noting whether the high places were removed. This atlas records that verdict as a category, never a numeric score.

It dates reigns by regnal formulas and by cross-referencing the kings of Judah and Israel against each other, not by BCE years. This atlas keeps those synchronisms as the text's own claim and confines any BCE reconstruction to a clearly labelled scholarly note.

Yes. Use the embed configurator to generate an iframe for the dual-kingdom timeline, a chapter, the royal-evaluation matrix, a king, a comparison, the prophet explorer, the worship tracker, the map, a question or a reading plan — free for editorial and non-profit use with attribution.