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In the Holy Books of Kings and Chronicles the author repeatedly says that the rest of his (the king of Judah or Israel) acts are written in the Books of the Kings of Judah (or Israel). Did they keep a sort of biography for all the kings? Where are these books now?

Your question requires some background knowledge of the Holy Books of Kings and Chronicles.

In the Holy Books I and II Kings (like I and II Samuel and I and II Chronicles) are actually one literary work, called in Hebrew tradition simply "Kings." The division of this work into two books was introduced by the translators of the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and subsequently followed in the Latin Vulgate and most modern versions.


Jewish tradition credits the author of the Holy Books of I, II Kings as Jeremiah. The author of the Holy Books of I, II Kings was familiar with the Holy Book of Deuteronomy. He used a variety of sources such as 1) the book of the annals of Solomon, (11:41), 2) the annals of the kings of Israel, (14:19), the book of annals of the kings of Judah, (14:29). Probably more sources were used than were mentioned.

The three sources specifically cited were records of the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah compiled by the succession of Israel's prophets spanning the kingdom period of Biblical History. The Holy Books of I and II Chronicles make reference to a number of such writings: "the records of Samuel the see;, the records of Nathan the prophet and the records of Gad the seer" (I Chronicles 29:29); "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite" and "the visions of Iddo the seer" (II Chronicles 9:29); "the records of Shemaiah the prophet" (II Chronicles 12:15); "the annals of Jehu son of Hanani" (II Chronicles 20:34); "the annotations on the book of the kings" (II Chronicles 24:27), the "events of Uzziah's reign....recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz" (II Chronicles 26:22) and others. Most probably, these books were all lost at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and during the exile.