The Historical Books

The historical books are comprised of twelve books written by various authors. Some of the authors we know and some we don’t. Let us not forget the second part of the equation, who the book was written to. The historical books, unlike the Pentateuch which were written only for the Children of Israel, are written to the world. A historical record of the establishment of the Jewish people. Let us take these books one by one and discuss them.

Joshua:   Obviously, written by Joshua ( Moses' successor) except for the last part which is believed to be written by the High Priest, Phinehas, who was a witness to the events recounted here.

In Hebrew the name Joshua means “the Lord saves,” or “the Lord is Salvation.” The Greek rendering of his name is “Iesous,” which simply means “Jesus.” Joshua worked with Moses after the receiving of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:13).

Judges: Many scholars believe the book of Judges should be added to the Pentateuch. However, just a very quick look at the book of Judges will convince you of the lack of logic in their theory. The fact that Judges covers a period of about 350 years after the occupation of Canaan shows that Moses could not have written the book. Judges gives an account of a very troubled and dark time in the lives of the Jewish people. We will discuss this more in the next chapter.

Some scholars attribute Samuel as the author of this book and it is very likely he may have written at least the last part since Samuel bridged the gap between the last judge in Israel and the first king.

Ruth: The book of Ruth is an inspiring love story and even though the author is unknown, traditionally the book is credited to Samuel. This book not only shows the love between Ruth and Naomi, it demonstrates God’s love for His people. That’s what makes it such a great love story.

A bit of trivia . Until the New Testament era, the book of Ruth was on the same scroll with four other books (Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) and it was called the Megilloth (scroll). This scroll was required public reading at all festivals. Ruth was read at the Festival of Harvests because much of the book is set in the harvest fields. Note that the Festival of Harvest is also called “the Day of Pentecost.”

If you read carefully the family line in the last chapter of Ruth, you will see that her marriage to Boaz made her an ancestor of David.

I & II Samuel: The books of first and second Samuel were originally combined in one volume. Possibly written by Samuel because the books are mostly attributed to Samuels travels and service to God.

Samuel was a man who loved God and whom God loved. He was faithful to God and obedient to God’s every command. He was even obedient when God would tell him to do things he thought impossible.

It was Samuel whom God chose to appoint the first king of Israel. God told him to appoint Saul. Then God gave him the privilege of Anointing David as king.

There were two other books written that parallel I & II Samuel. They were written by Nathan and Gad (1 Chronicles 29:29)

I & II Kings: Author is really unknown. However, Jewish tradition names Jeremiah as the author and most scholars agree. The Holy Spirit directed the author to use the records of other contemporary prophets to complete the work. The other prophets who wrote during this time, but whose works were not included in the canon of Scripture, include Jehu (1 Kings 16:1), Nathan, Ahijah, and Iddo (2 Ch 9:29), and Shemiaah (2 Ch 12:15). Some of the prophets who wrote portions of the Scripture, such as Isaiah, also wrote other non-canonical works (2CH 26:22).

I & II Chronicles: According to tradition I & II Chronicles were written by Ezra, the scribe, near the end of the period of exile. Ezra’s purpose for coming to Jerusalem was to teach the people about God’s Law (Ezra 7:10, 25). You can also see similarities in the writing style when you read the book of Ezra. He also used, with God’s permission, some of the non-canonical records mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Ezra: Probably written by Ezra. Part of the book was written in Aramaic the language of Babylon (Ezra 4:7-8). Originally the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were one book. The Vulgate ( a Latin translation of the Scriptures) was the first edition of the bible to separate them, however, they were called I & II Ezra.

Note: The books of Haggai and Zachariah should be studied along with Ezra and Nehemiah because the prophesied during this same period of time.

Nehemiah: At one time a part of the book of Ezra, the two books were separated because the mission God sent the two men on were entirely different.

Most of the book was written in the first person indicating it was written by Nehemiah possibly with Ezra as editor.

Esther: Author unknown. Possibly Mordecai the Jew (Esther 9: 29-32). According to the scripture just stated, it was possibly co-written by Esther.

The events of this book took place about thirty years before the return of the people of Israel under Ezra and Nehemiah. The accomplishments of Esther, Mordecai, and Daniel paved the way for the return of the Jews to Jerusalem.

Daily Bible Readings:

Read the book of Ruth. It is only four short chapters.