The Bible Book

T

he Historical Books,

which follow the books of

the Torah, describe how

the Israelites conquer the land of

Canaan, their experiments with

finding a leader, the rise of King

David and the monarchy, their fall

at the hands of the Babylonians,

and the rebuilding of Jerusalem

under Nehemiah.

The designation “historical”

does not mean that the text is more

historical than other parts of the

Bible. It is more to do with the style

of writing and the reporting of

specific events, and the inclusion

of dating systems. The texts that

are included depend on the canon

being used. For instance, the

Samuel–Kings texts are found

in the Prophets section (Nevi’im)

of the Hebrew Bible because of

the prominence of Samuel, Nathan,

Elijah, and Elisha. However, Esther

and Ruth, which most Christian

canons include in the Historical

Books (the equivalent of the

Hebrew Bible’s Prophets), are

considered part of the “Writings”

(Ketuvim) section of the Hebrew

canon. For Christians, the inclusion

of the Book of Ruth is important in

establishing the line of David that

eventually leads to Jesus.

Like the Exodus, the account

of the conquest of Canaan is

fraught with historical anomalies.

Many of the sites mentioned in the

conquest have not been located

or their dating does not align with

that given by the Bible. Most likely,

the authors were drawing on stories

of destruction that had been woven

into the Israelites’ oral history.

Some scholars doubt that the

conquest occurred at all and

believe that the Israelites slowly

settled the area, increasing in

number over time. This theory is

bolstered by the Book of Judges,

which suggests the people of the

land were never driven out. Efforts

to find signs of the conquest

continue today, with archaeologists

looking for evidence of destruction

embedded in the earth below

broken pieces of Israelite pottery.

A monarchy emerges

German Bible scholar Martin

Noth (1902–1968), who specialized

in the early history of the Israelites,

believed that the theologies of the

Historical Books were similar to

Deuteronomy, indicating a common

date and source: the people are

corrupt and need to return to the

Mosaic covenant, and emphasis

on the line of David underlines

INTRODUCTION

JOSHUA

5:13–6:21

JOSHUA

24:29

JUDGES

13:1–25

JUDGES

16:25–30

1 SAMUEL

3:1–17

JUDGES

6:1–32

JUDGES

16:1–22

RUTH

1:1– 4:22

Joshua dies

and is buried at

Timnath-serah.

An angel of

the Lord

prophesizes

Samson’s birth.

Samson destroys

the temple of the

Philistines and dies

in the process.

God appears to

Samuel and calls

him to become

a prophet.

The city of

Jericho

falls to the

Israelites.

Gideon destroys

the Canaanites’

altar to Baal and

builds one to God.

The Philistines

pay Delilah to

extract the secret of

Samson’s strength.

Ruth travels to Bethlehem

with Naomi and marries

Boaz. Their child will be

the grandfather

of King David.

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