The Bible Book

the importance of the kingdom of

Israel. The text follows a similar

format to the Book of Genesis:

people are blessed, then fail God,

are punished, and then blessed

again. Noth cited Judges as an

example of this pattern. As the

judges (leaders appointed by God

to deliver the Israelites) arise,

they then fail, and the Israelites’

situation worsens. The story of the

last judge, Samson (Judges 13–16),

ends in civil war.

Throughout Judges, it is said

that the people do what is right

in their own eyes as there is no

king in Israel to lead them. Noth

believed the author was compiling

both Deuteronomy and the

Historical Books immediately after

the Temple was destroyed by the

Babylonians in 586 BCE, to offer an

explanation for the fall of Jerusalem.

After the events in the Book of

Judges, the Israelites cry out for a

king to deliver strong government.

In the Book of Samuel, God grants

their request in the form of Saul,

whose successor, King David,

consolidates the 12 tribes of Israel

as the United Monarchy of Judah

and Israel. Given that the Bible is

written mostly from the perspective

of Judah, the central concern of the

Historical Books is the rise of David

in Judah, as the prophets later say

that a Messiah will come from

David’s line.

Material evidence of King

David’s reign and his unification

of the tribes is scant, although an

elaborate stone structure that may

have been David’s palace has been

discovered in Jerusalem. There is,

however, conclusive evidence

that his son, Solomon, built the

Jerusalem Temple, thereby

establishing the way ancient Jews

would worship for almost 1,000

years. The destruction of the Temple

by the Babylonians in 586 BCE

would shape the theology of the

Jews and have lasting effects on

Judaism through the centuries.

Hopes for a Messiah

After the dissolution of the United

Monarchy following the death of

Solomon, the idea of a Messiah,

which originally simply meant

“anointed one,” began to change

from someone who would revive the

monarchy to someone who would

establish the everlasting Kingdom

of God. For Christians, this would

mean Jesus, whose Davidic

ancestry is documented in the

genealogy of Jesus given at the

start of Matthew’s Gospel. ■

THE HISTORICAL BOOKS

1 SAMUEL

10:1

1 SAMUEL

17:1– 51

1 KINGS

3:16–28

2 KINGS

25:1–21

ESTHER

2:1–18

2 SAMUEL

11:1– 27

2 KINGS

2:1–12

NEHEMIAH

2:17–3:32

David battles

Goliath and

defeats him, using

a sling and a stone.

In his wisdom,

Solomon settles a

dispute between

two mothers

over a child.

Jerusalem falls to

Nebuchadnezzar II,

King of Babylon.

King Xerxes

of Persia

chooses Esther

as his queen.

The Prophet

Samuel annoints

Saul, the first

king of Israel.

King David

seduces Bathsheba

and has her husband

killed so that he may

marry her.

A chariot of fire

appears and

takes Elijah to

heaven in

a whirlwind.

Nehemiah and

the Israelites

rebuild the walls

of Jerusalem.

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