I am considering 2 Kings 13:12 (KJV):
And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Is this literally referencing 1 and 2 Chronicles or what? This questions seems to be rhetorical, but it is non-obvious to me.
There are two matters here.
1. Bible Books of Chronicles
It is generally understood that the Bible book of Chronicles were very probably written by Ezra, well after the Babylonian exile. Therefore, the frequent references to Annals/Chronicles of the kings of Israel (1 Kings 15:31, 16:5, 20, 27, 2 Kings 1:8, etc) and Annals/Chronicles of the kings of Judah (1 Kings 14:29, 15:7, 23, 22:45, 2 Kings 8:23, etc) cannot refer to what is now in the Bible as the books of Kings were written before the Babylonian exile.
2. Quotes & References to Non-Biblical Documents
The Bible quite often refers to, or quotes from, non-Biblical sources. Here is a sample:
| Source | Reference |
|---|---|
| Direct Quotes | |
| Book of Jashir, “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” | Josh 10:13 |
| Book of Jashar, Lament for Jonathan. | 1 Sam 1:18-27 |
| King Hiram’s Order (in a letter) to provide materials for Solomon’s temple | 2 Chron 2:11-16 |
| King Cyrus’ Edict to free Jews and return to Judah | 2 Chron 36:23 |
| King Cyrus’ Edict to free Jews and return to Judah | Ezra 1:2-4 |
| Rehum’s Letter to King Artaxerxes | Ezra 4:9-16 |
| King Artaxerxes’ Letter to Rehum | Ezra 4:17-22 |
| Tattenai’s Letter to King Darius | Ezra 5:7-17 |
| King Darius’ Letter and Decree concerning the building of the temple in Jerusalem on the basis of King Cyrus’ decree found at Ecbatana | Ezra 6:3-12 |
| King Artaxerxes’ Decree to establish Jewish autonomy in Judah | Ezra 7:12-26 |
| Sanballat’s letter to Nehemiah | Neh 6:6-7 |
| King Nebuchadnezzar’s Decree after the fiery furnace | Dan 3:28-29 |
| King Nebuchadnezzar’s Decree and confession after his insanity | Dan 4 |
| King Darius’ decree in writing concerning Daniel’s God | Dan 6:25-27 |
| Epimenides the Cretan, 6th Cent BC, “In him we live and move and have our being” | Acts 17:28 |
| Aratus of Cilicia, Didactic poem, Phaenomena, (An Invocation to Zeus), line 5, 270 BC, “We are his offspring”. | Acts 17:28 |
| Epimenides the Cretan, 6th Cent BC, “Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.” | Titus 1:12 |
| Direct References | |
| Annals/Chronicles of the kings of Israel | 1 Kings 15:31, 16:5, 20, 27, 2 Kings 1:8, etc. |
| Annals/Chronicles of the kings of Judah | 1 Kings 14:29, 15:7, 23, 22:45, 2 Kings 8:23, etc |
| Unnamed Sources | |
| Book of Acts and Gospel of Luke compiled from numerous sources | (see Acts 1:1-4 & Luke 1:1-4) |
| Enoch’s prophecy about coming judgement (see Deut 33:2, 3) 1 En 1:9 | Jude 14, 15 |
| Noah’s flood and preaching to spirits in prison (???) 1 En 21:6 | 1 Peter 3:19, 20 |
| “After this I saw …an innumerable and uncountable multitude who stood before the glory of the Lord of the Spirits.” 1 Enoch 40:1 | Rev 7:9 |
| “…as I looked, behold a star fell down from heaven…” 1 Enoch 86:1 | Rev 9:1 |
| Trumpet blasts heralding cosmic events in Apocalypse of Zephaniah chapters 9 – 12 | Rev 8 & 9 |
| Mythological Allusions | |
| Hades (river Styx, etc) | Luke 16:19-31 |
| Hecate as Christ | Rev 1:12-16 |
| Chimera as sea beast | Rev 13:1-11 |
| Tartarus (= Hell) | 1 Peter 2:4 |
The above list is far from exhaustive. Thus, the Bible was written in the context, culture and idiom of its time and thus we should not be surprised to find reference, quotes and allusions to writings and ideas of the time.
An understanding of these helps us better understand the meaning of the Bible text.
The frequent references to Annals/Chronicles of the kings of Judah and Israel appear to be the official royal records of kept in the palace as there is also frequent reference to various people being appointed royal "recorder" such as 2 Sam 8:16, 20:24, 1 Chron 18:15, etc.
Note the comments of Benson on 1 Kings 14:19 -
1 Kings 14:19. Behold, they are written in the book of the Chronicles — Not that canonical book of Chronicles, for that was written long after this book; but a book of civil records, the annals, wherein all remarkable passages were recorded by the king’s command from day to day; out of which the sacred penman, by the direction of God’s spirit, took those passages which were most useful for God’s honour, and men’s edification.
Matthew Poole is similar:
Heb. in the book of the words or things of the days, & c. By which you are not to understand that canonical book of the Chronicles, for that was written long after this book; but a book of civil records, the annals, wherein all remarkable passages were recorded by the king’s command from day to day; out of which the sacred penman, by the direction of God’s Spirit, took those passages which were most considerable and useful for God’s honour, and men’s edification.
Why Does the Bible Reference Other History Books?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_the_Kings_of_Israel
The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is a book that gives a more detailed account of the reigns of the kings of ancient Kingdom of Israel than that presented in the Hebrew Bible, and may have been the source from which parts of the biblical account were drawn. The book was likely compiled by or derived from the kings of Israel's own scribes, and is likely the source for the basic facts presented in the Bible.
Is this literally referencing 1 and 2 Chronicles or what?
No, according to this, it is a lost book outside of the Bible.
The book is referred to a number of times in the Hebrew Bible, but was either not included in the corpus of the biblical text or was removed from it at some stage. The book is counted as one of the Lost books of the Old Testament. This text is sometimes called The Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel or The Book of the Annals of the Kings of Israel.
