Continuing 1 Kings, 2 Kings follows the northern kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah from Elijah's succession by Elisha to both kingdoms' exile. The action ranges across Israel, Judah, Aram, Assyria, and Babylon; firm anchors include Samaria's fall to Assyria in 722/721 BC, Jerusalem's destruction by Babylon in 587/586 BC, and Jehoiachin's release around 562/561 BC. The work is anonymous. Jewish tradition attributed Kings to Jeremiah; many scholars see annals and prophetic traditions shaped around or after the exile by editors who interpreted Israel's history through Deuteronomy's covenant theology, though the stages remain debated. For later Israelite and Judean readers, this theologically shaped account interprets exile as covenant failure after persistent idolatry, injustice, and rejected prophetic warnings. Jehoiachin's survival may leave restrained hope. Chronicles revisits much of Judah's monarchy from a different perspective; Ezra continues beyond exile.
Ahaziah inquires of Baal-zebub instead of the LORD and receives a death sentence from Elijah. Fire falls on two companies of soldiers before the prophet relents. Elijah and Elisha journey together to the Jordan, where Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire and Elisha receives a double portion of his spirit.
Elisha provides water for three armies in the wilderness and oil for a widow. He promises a son to a Shunammite woman and raises him when he dies. Naaman's leprosy is healed through Jordan's waters; Gehazi's greed brings the leprosy on himself. An axe head floats, and Elisha prays to reveal the army of God surrounding Dothan.
Ben-hadad besieges Samaria until famine drives the city to extremity. Elisha prophesies that food will be plentiful the next day. Four lepers discover that the Aramean army has fled in the night. Elisha's word is fulfilled to the last detail. The Shunammite's land is restored. Hazael kills Ben-hadad and seizes Aram.
Elisha sends a young prophet to anoint Jehu king over Israel. Jehu kills Joram and Ahaziah, then returns to Jezreel where Jezebel is thrown from a window and eaten by dogs. He executes the seventy sons of Ahab, all of Ahab's house, the Baal worshipers, and Jezebel's house. But the calves of Jeroboam remain.
Athaliah seizes Judah's throne; Joash is hidden and restored through Jehoiada's coup. In Israel, a succession of kings accelerates toward the Assyrian siege of Samaria. 2 Kings 17 delivers the theological verdict on why the northern kingdom fell: persistent, willful, warned idolatry across generations.
Hezekiah removes the high places and smashes the bronze serpent. Sennacherib's army surrounds Jerusalem and his officer Rabshakeh mocks the LORD before the walls. Hezekiah spreads the letter before the LORD and prays. Isaiah sends word of deliverance; 185,000 Assyrians die in the night. Hezekiah is healed of illness, then receives Babylonian envoys and hears a warning of future exile.
Manasseh's 55-year reign undoes Hezekiah's reforms and fills Jerusalem with innocent blood. After Amon's assassination, the child-king Josiah initiates comprehensive reform. The book of the Law is found in the temple. Huldah prophesies both Josiah's peaceful death and Judah's coming destruction. Josiah celebrates the greatest Passover since Samuel but judgment is irrevocable.
Judah's final kings fall in succession to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar besieges and takes Jerusalem twice. The temple is stripped and burned. Gedaliah is appointed governor and assassinated. The book ends with Jehoiachin released from prison in Babylon — a faint light in the darkness of exile.