2 Kings

1 and 2 Kings together form a continuous story, which is a sequel to 1 and 2 Samuel. In Bibles the story is spread over two books, probably because of the size of the narrative. In these books we read stories about the kings who reigned after David.

The title Kings refers to the kings who reigned over Israel and Judah for four centuries, from the tenth to the sixth centuries BC.

2 Kings concerns:

Both parts end with the conquering of a capital city and an exile. These national disasters are seen as a consequence of the fact that both Israel and Judah have become unfaithful to the Lord. The destruction of the Temple and the carrying off of a great number of the population to Babylon form a great turning point in the history of the people of Israel.

1 and 2 Kings are not concerned with giving a dispassionate account of history. The stories give a point of view of certain events and an assessment of the various kings.
The criterion for this judgement is whether a king acts in accordance with the will of the Lord, or against it. Serving other gods is chiefly seen as a mark of disobedience. It puts at risk the existence of the people of Israel from both a religious and a political aspect. According to this criterion the kings of the Northern Kingdom come off badly, and the judgement is only partly favourable for the kings of Judah.
The history of Judah described in 1 and 2 Kings is reformulated in 2 Chronicles.

On the grounds of their historical content, 1 and 2 Kings are to be seen as historical books, like Judges, Joshua, 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.
In the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, the books are grouped with the Early Prophets. In these books the people are constantly reminded of the Law of Moses and warned against breaking the commandments.
These books are written from the perspective of the exile. So they offer a view of how history led to the crisis of exile.