Joshua
Nine Old Testament historical books come between the Law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) and the poetry (Job-Songs) and narrate 700 years of Israelite history from the death of Moses (josh. 1:1) to the lives of Esther and Mordecai in Persia (Esther 1-1o). Their order mirrors the order of books in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, in which Ruth bridges judges and 1-2 Samuel, while the postexilic books (1-2 Chronicles, EzraNehemiah, Esther) follow up 1-2 Kings. (See "Why Are These Books in the Bible?" [18-241) The historical books derive from an earlier historical work that scholars call "the Deuteronomistic History." Deuteronomy formed the preface, and its view of history shaped the history proper (Joshua-2 Kings). The first edition of this history probably ended with the reign of King Josiah (ca. 620 B.c.; 2 Kings 23), but a second edition (ca. 550) extended the history to its present form (2 Kings 24-25). Its compilers drew on ancient written sources - lists of cities and boundaries (Joshua 14-19), the "Ark Narrative" (1 Samuel 4-6 + 2 Samuel 6), the "Court History of David" (2 Samuel 7-1 Kings 1), royal annals of the northern and southern kingdoms, and the lives of Elijah and Elisha (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 13). Completed in exile in Babylon, this history assessed Israel's past to prepare Israel for its future after restoration from exile in Babylon.
From Joshua to Jehoiachin: Preexilic and Exilic History
Five books narrate the story of Israel from its entrance into Canaan (ca. 1200) to its exile in Babylon (560). Named for its hero, the book of Joshua details how Yahweh conquered Canaan for Israel (Joshua 1-12) and how Israel settled there (chs. 13-24). Two important speeches - Yahweh's to Joshua (1:1-9) and Joshua's farewell to Israel (ch. 23) - bracket it. They sound its main themes: the land as Yahweh's gracious gift to Israel and Israel's need to remain loyal to him despite Canaanite influences. Two solemn religious ceremonies - the crossing of the Jordan (chs. 3-4) and conquest of Jericho (ch. 6) - feature the ark of the covenant, symbol of another theme - that Yahweh, not Israel, wins the victories (e.g., 10:42). To the Great Warrior alone fall Ai (chs. 7-8) and the allied armies of southern (chs. 9-10) and northern Canaanite cities (ch. 11). The book also stresses how Joshua faithfully carries out Moses' instructions (8:30-35; 11:15; chs. 14, 20-21), distributes the land among the tribes (chs. 14-19), and leads Israel in a solemn covenant-renewal ceremony (ch. 24).
Ruins of Shiloh, the center of Israelite tribal administration and worship following the conquest and settlement in Canaan. (Richard Cleave, Pictorial Archive)
The book of judges details Israel's settled life under the "judges;" who led Israel for 200 years after Joshua's death. Some judges settled legal matters (see, e.g., Judg. 12:8-15; cf. 4:4-5), but most were spirit-empowered military heroes who delivered Israel from local or regional oppressors - e.g., Deborah and Gideon in the north (4:5, 6; 6:35), and Samson in the west (14:19; 16:1). The book has two parts - reports of the judges' exploits (chs. 1-16) and an appendix of other events (chs. 17-21). It portrays the period as a sad, repeated cycle of Israelite disobedience, slavery to invading nations, divine rescue through judges, and peace (chs. 2-10). Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter to keep a vow (ch. 11) troubles readers, but the book probably aims starkly to contrast their devotion to Yahweh against Israel's fickle behavior. The Samson story (chs. 13-16) marks God's own unsought response to the gravest threat, the Philistines (who caused the Danites to move far north, ch. 18), a rescue finished by David (2 Sam. 8:1). The appendix treats two other ominous threats, an idolatrous shrine to Yahweh at Dan (chs. 17-18) and civil war among the tribes (chs. 19-21). The book's varied contents sound its main theme: Israel's need for central leadership by a king (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25).
The book of Ruth reports a peaceful interlude amid the larger chaos. Most scholars date this lovely short story about a family from Bethlehem to either the late monarchy (ca. 700) or postexilic period (ca. 450). The book has two parts - the story of David's ancestors (1:1-4:17) and the king's genealogy (4:18-22). Central to the story is Ruth's remarkable devotion to Naomi (Heb. hesed) - her stunning statement (1:16-17), risky gleaning of food (ch. 2), and bold marriage proposal to Boaz (ch. 3). Central also are Boaz's generosity with food (ch. 2) and his clever initiative as "kinsman-redeemer" - the duty whereby, as close relative, he "redeems" Elimelech's childless family by marrying Ruth, providing an heir (Obed), and caring for Naomi's property (chs. 3-4; cf. Deut. 25:5-10). Obed symbolizes the reversal of Naomi's tragic fate and the reward of Ruth's faithfulness (2:12); and, surprisingly, the newborn turns out to be King David's grandfather (4:17b). The story celebrates the work of divine providence hidden behind the efforts of Ruth and Boaz - a centuries-long process according to the genealogy (4:18-22) - that brought David to power.
1-2 Samuel trace the complex saga of David's rise and lengthy rule. Two poetic pieces - the Song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1-1o) and the Last Words of David (2 Sam. 23:1-7) - bracket the books around their main theme, God's sovereign appointment of righteous leaders and judgment on wicked ones. Samuel, son of the devout Hannah, exemplifies the righteous leader. He announces the end of Eli's corrupt priestly family (1 Samuel 3), reluctantly anoints Saul (chs. 8-10), and warns Israel to stick with Yahweh (ch. 12). Interestingly, 1 Samuel incorporates narratives both for and against the new royal institution, an indication of how controversial it was at first. Despite early promise (chs. 11, 14), Saul's disobedience (chs. 13,15) shows him to be a wicked leader, and Yahweh sends an "evil spirit" (the Hebrew probably means a "bad depression") to symbolize his rejection as king. Tragically, after failing to find and kill David (chs. 18-30), Saul dies by his own hand rather than face the Philistine victors (ch. 31). David models the righteous leader par excellence. Anointed king-designate by Samuel (ch.16), David passes up two chances to kill Saul (chs. 24, 26) - he accepts God's timing over a human coup. Victories by his guerrilla band rout Judah's enemies and win him popularity (chs. 23, 27, 30).
David first becomes king of Judah and then becomes king of the northern tribes, too (2 Samuel 2-5). He captures his new capital, Jerusalem, brings the ark of the covenant there (chs. 5-6), and receives God's promise that his family will always rule Israel (ch. 7) - a truly new leadership innovation for Israel. Unlike Saul, David repents of his sins in the Bathsheba incident (chs. 11-12), but 2 Samuel details the resulting divine punishment - two bloody coups against him (chs. 13-20). An appendix rounds out the report of his reign (chs. 21-24), including his defeat of the Philistines (ch. 21), his poetic praise of Yahweh (chs. 22, 23), and his experience of God's mercy after his sinful census (ch. 24). The latter led him to purchase the site where the temple would later sit.
Life under the monarchy is the focus of 1-2 Kings. The first chapters portray Solomon as a wise king who built an empire, brought Israel great prosperity, and left the temple as his lasting legacy (1 Kings 3-10). But 1 Kings also regards his worship of foreign gods as the root of the nation's doom (ch.11). His punishment inaugurates the second focus of the books - the divided kingdom (1 Kings 12-2 Kings 17), with the Davidic dynasty ruling "Judah" (Judah and Benjamin) and another king ruling "Israel" (the northern tribes; ch. 12). Sadly, Israel's first king makes a fatal misstep - the "sin of Jeroboam," a new, idolatrous religion (1 Kgs. 13:26-33) that later kings fail to uproot. But the books' true villains are King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, whose state-sponsored idolatry the prophets Elijah and Elisha battle (1 Kings 17-2 Kings 9). The books cast Elijah as a new Moses who shows that Yahweh, not Baal, controls the rain (1 Kings 17-19) and who condemns Ahab's dynasty (1 Kings 20-2 Kings 1). His successor, Elisha, continues the battle with a series of miracles (2 Kings 2-8; cf. 13:14-21) and anoints Ahab's successor, the dynasty of Jehu (chs. 9-10). But coups and countercoups weaken Israel (chs. 11-15) until it falls to Assyria (722 B.c.), as punishment, 2 Kings stresses, for its idolatry (ch. 17). The books' final chapters follow the kingdom of Judah alone (2 Kings 18-25). Sadly, religious reforms by Hezekiah (chs. 18-20) and Josiah (chs. 22-23) cannot offset the idolatry of Judah's counterpart to Israel's Ahab - King Manasseh (ch. 21). Judah limps through two decades of puppet-kings and falls to the Babylonians, who destroy Jerusalem and the temple and carry thousands into exile (chs. 24-25). Samuel's early warning about idolatry proves true (1 Sam. 12:25), but Nebuchadnezzar's release of Jehoiachin from prison ends 1-2 Kings on a hopeful note (2 Kgs. 25:27-30).
Postexilic Historical Books
The remaining historical books originated as the community rebuilt its ruined land following the exile in Babylon and reckoned with its tragic past. Chronicles has two parts - the genealogies (1 Chronicles 1-9) and the history of the monarchy (i Chronicles 10-2 Chronicles 36) - and draws (often word-for-word) on other biblical books (Genesis, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, Psalms) and extrabiblical sources (see i Chr. 29:29; 2 Chr. 9:29; 20:34). Its ending with Cyrus's decree (538) and its dependence on other books imply a compilation date after ca. 35o but before the books' translation into Greek (ca. 200). Some scholars credit Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah to the same author ("the Chronicler"), either as a single work or as two separate books (Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah), but others consider them as three independent works. The opening genealogies and list of returnees (i Chronicles 1-9) sound two key themes - the indivisibility of Israel and the community's continuity with Israel's storied past. Chronicles affirms God's continuing commitment to Israel but gives special prominence to Judah, Levi, and Benjamin. It barely mentions the northern kingdom, spotlighting the Davidic dynasty as central to Israel's national life. It credits David with the temple's construction plans, organization, and worship personnel (i Chronicles 22-26) and adds material to highlight the religious reforms of Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 17, 19), Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29-31), and Josiah (2 Chronicles 34-35). Its message seems to be that temple worship under the Levites and covenantal obedience, rather than a ruling king, fulfill the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7).
Ezra and Nehemiah offer the only record of Cyrus's decree and of events in postexilic Judah. The books probably originated in Judah, if not Jerusalem, ca. 40o as a single work (Ezra-Nehemiah), since that is how they appear in the earliest manuscripts. They are composed of three parts: reports on the decree's implementation (Ezra i-Nehemiah 7); Judah's celebration of resumed community life under Torah (Neh. 8-13:3); and Nehemiah's report of his reforms (Neh. 13:4-31). The books highlight three rebuildings - the temple by Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua (538-515), the Jewish community by the priest Ezra (458-457), and Jerusalem's walls by Nehemiah (445-444)• They also report official letters with the Persian court in Aramaic, incorporate extensive lists from archives, and include first-person reports probably drawn from the written "memoirs" of Ezra and Nehemiah. Archaeological evidence and extrabiblical sources generally fit well with the reports of Ezra-Nehemiah. The books stress the importance of the whole Jewish community, the crucial role of written documents (especially the Torah), and the holiness of both the temple and the whole city of Jerusalem.
Esther reports how a remarkable escape from annihilation (mid-5th century) led Jews to celebrate a new festival, Purim. The book's familiarity with Persia, its court and customs, and its lack of Greek influences suggests a Jewish author in the 4th-3rd centuries. Set in Susa, the story of rescue (chs. 1-8) details the cleverness and courage of beautiful Queen Esther and a remarkable series of coincidences, which enable her to expose Haman's secret plot and the Jews to defend themselves against their enemies. She and her uncle, Mordecai - by then imperial vizier under the king (cf. ch. 1o) - institute Purim empire-wide to celebrate the escape (ch. 9). A major theme of the book is role reversal - from domination to downfall (Vashti, Haman, the Jews' enemies) and from certain doom to victory (Esther, Mordecai, the Jews). The vengeance of Jews against their enemies may trouble some readers, but one must take seriously the deathly danger that necessitated the Jews' preemptive strike against their enemies. Though the book never mentions God, the coincidences imply the hidden hand of divine providence at work.
ROBERT L. HUBBARD JR.