1 Kings 15:25

EXPOSITION

THE REIGNS OF NADAB , BAASHA , ELAH , ZIMRI , AND OMRI , KINGS OF ISRAEL .—After bringing up the history of the kings of Judah, which has engaged his pen since 1 Kings 14:21 , to the date of the death of Asa, our author goes back some forty years to record the contemporary history of the kingdom of Israel, with which the rest of this book, the last thirteen verses alone excepted, is occupied. On the other hand, none of these reigns are even noticed by the chronicler, who only refers to the history of Israel, so far as it is inextricably connected with the object of his work; in other words, so far as is necessary to explain or illustrate the reigns of the kings of Judah.

And Nadab [= liberal ] the son of Jeroboam began to reign [Heb. reigned ] over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah and reigned over Israel two years. [The reigns of these five kings of Israel are related with great brevity. It was not the object of the author to chronicle secular history—for this he refers us to "the books of the days"—he is only concerned with the events of their reigns in so far as they relate to the kingdom of God.]