Introduction to the Historical BooksPage | 1
Introduction to the Historical Books
Some people are prevented from readingthe historical books because theyfind history dull or pointless. They shareHuckleberry Finn’s attitude to historicalstudy: “I don’t put no stock in dead people.”However, the same people who saythey find history dull find great enjoymentin other forms of storytelling, such as novels,television, movies, and gossip. Why,then, does history stand accused of beingboring? Perhaps only a certain understandingof history is at fault. Modern peopletend to think of historical narrativesstrictly as accounts of what actually happenedin the past. Even a cursory readingof the Bible’s historical narratives, however,should reveal that the biblical writersdid not share this view.
Biblical Narrativesversus Modern History
Biblical narratives differ from modernhistorical (or even fiction) writing inseveral respects. One striking difference isthat biblical writers make extensive use ofcomposed speeches and dialogue. Modernhistorians rarely include speeches in theirnarratives unless they have reliable accessto the exact spoken words of persons wholived in the past. Biblical writers, however,like other ancient historians, abided by differentconventions in the narration of history.Although they also lacked reliableaccess to spoken words, they regularlycomposed speeches to add interest to theirnarratives and highlight the issues at stakein the events (e.g., Joshua, chapter 23; 1 Samuel 8:10–18; 1 Kings 8:22–64).
Since modern historians do not oftenmake use of dialogue, they resort to otherliterary devices to add color to their histories.For example, they sometimes supplydetailed descriptions of landscape andcharacter sketches that profile the temperament,attitudes, and values of individualsimportant to the story. By contrast,biblical writers rarely provide descriptivedetails concerning the landscape, buildings,or people unless these details are importantto the narrative.
In fact, the biblical writers rarely givethe reader access to the internal life ofcharacters. We are left to infer characterthoughts and motives from their wordsand actions. This reticence frequently createsambiguity. For example, in Second Samuel,the motive for Ahithophel’s suicide is notprovided (17:23). Does he kill himself becausehe is overly concerned about his failingreputation or because he knows that,once his advice is ignored, David will regainthe throne and punish those who sidedwith Absalom?
Modern historians often make explicitjudgments about the actions of the peoplethey describe. Even though many peoplethink of the Bible as moralistic, biblicalwriters rarely state explicitly whether anaction was good or bad. For instance, theseveral suicides in biblical narrative occurwithout narrative comment, so that interpretersmay disagree about whether theOld Testament prohibits suicide (Judges9:52–54, 16:25–30; 1 Samuel 31:4–5; 2 Samuel 17:23;1 Kings 16:15–20). Most often, moral evaluationsare placed in the mouths of othercharacters (2 Samuel 13:12–13). The major exceptionto this rule is the regular evaluationof kings as good or bad according totheir obedience to the Law (1 Kings 15:34).
Illuminating the past to understand the present. The biblical narrativeemploys engaging storytelling aboutthe past in order to understand the present.The past is illuminating becauseevents have a way of recurring. We cangain insight into our present situation notonly by understanding how it developedfrom past events but by searching for pastsituations analogous to our own. Biblicalnarrative employs extensive use of analogyto indicate the commonalities among diverseevents. These similarities invite thereader to consider historical patterns andto discern what is unique in each episode.
For instance, the crime at Gibeah (Judges, chapter 19) connects with several othernarratives. In the story, the men of Gibeahwant to rape the male guest who is stayingwith one of their neighbors. To avoid thiscrime, the male guest thrusts his concubineoutside for the men to gang rapethrough the night. In the morning, he findsher body on the doorstep, takes her corpsehome, cuts it into twelve pieces, and sendsthe parts to the Twelve Tribes of Israel in anattempt to mobilize the tribes to exact revengefor the crime. Most obvious, the outrageat Gibeah is strikingly reminiscent ofthe attempted rape at Sodom (Genesis, chapter19) in which the men of the city want torape the male guests of Lot. Although Lotoffers his daughters as substitute victimsfor his guests in Genesis, chapter 19, theguests are angels who save themselvesand Lot’s family from the crowd. Throughthe many connections between the stories,Gibeah is presented as an Israelite city thatis as bad as the proverbial wicked city ofSodom (Isaiah 1:9–10, 3:9; Jeremiah 23:14). The magnitudeof the crime is adequate cause forthe civil war that follows. Gibeah, which isthe hometown of Saul (1 Samuel 10:26, 11:4),stands in contrast to Bethlehem (Judges19:1–2), the hometown of David (1 Samuel, chapter 16),and to Jebus, a Canaanite city that will laterbe known as Jerusalem (Judges 19:10). Theoutrage at Gibeah leads the Israelite tribesnearly to extinguish the Tribe of Benjaminafter the Levite sends the twelve parts ofhis concubine’s body among the Tribes ofIsrael to raise an army (Judges 19:29–30). Later,Saul will send parts of oxen among thetribes to raise an Israelite army (1 Samuel 11:4–8). The connections among these storiesinvite the reader to consider the storiestogether. Among the implications is acomparison between David and Saul. Davidis the better man (1 Samuel 15:28) whocomes from the better city. Saul, meanwhile,has a dubious heritage for a king(1 Samuel 9:21).
Perhaps the most obvious reason toread the historical books is to learn aboutIsrael’s past. However, one can fairly askwhether this history can best be learnedfrom the biblical accounts or from bookswritten by modern scholars with suchtitles as A History of Ancient Israel? Modernhistorians have access to informationthat is not mentioned in the biblical texts,such as ancient inscriptions found in andaround the land of Israel. Also, we think ofmodern historical works as somehow objectivein a way that ancient narratives arenot. Consequently, a modern book mightbe a more accurate guide to Israel’s historythan the biblical books.
Fact or fiction. The first section inthis introduction began the discussion ofhow ancient and modern historical narrativesdiffer and how these differences reflectvarious ideas about what history is.Because modern historians often seek topresent their work as objective and scientific,they avoid rhetorical techniques associatedwith imaginative or persuasivewriting. Biblical narrative uses techniquescommon to imaginative and persuasive discourse(such as composed dialogues) becausehistory is understood as animaginative enterprise (representing thepast) with a persuasive dimension.
Because the biblical narrative does userhetoric in an imaginative effort to persuade,scholars disagree about how reliablethe information derived from biblicalnarrative is. Consequently, they strive toseparate the interpretations from the facts.The facts are difficult to establish with certaintybecause the Bible remains the onlysignificant written source for the history ofIsrael. In order to gauge the historical accuracyof the biblical narrative, scholarsseek to correlate biblical texts with archeologicalevidence to determine whether ornot the archeology confirms the biblical account.These efforts have met with mixedand inconclusive results. For example,archeologists have found that the gates ofHazor, Meggido, and Gezer, dating fromSolomon’s time, share nearly identical fortificationpatterns, suggesting centralizedcontrol. Since 1 Kings 9:15 credits Solomonwith construction at these sites, scholarsassociated the archeological finds withSolomon’s activity. Recently, however,some archeologists have questioned thatthe gates date to Solomon’s time and thinkthey were erected at a later time. If this isso, then the Bible attributes to Solomon thework of a later king, which leads one towonder how much of the biblical account ofSolomon is exaggerated. Overall, thearcheological evidence concerning ancientIsrael does not offer the definitive proof ofthe Bible’s historicity that some had hopedfor. At the same time, several correlationsbetween the Bible and archeology and thebiblical claims to historicity are not easilydismissed.
Biblical narrative (like other historicalnarrative) is not merely a passive presentationof historical facts but an imaginativepresentation of Israel’s history that seeksto persuade the reader of a given interpretationof that history. Historical information,however, can be interpreted in morethan one way. Modern books with titleslike A History of Ancient Israel narrate aninterpretation of Israelite history that mayor may not be similar to the interpretationof the biblical narrative. For example, thebiblical narrative frequently involves theaction of God in history, since it aims to reflecton Israel’s relationship with God.God’s activity, however, is beyond thescope of modern historical study. Therefore,modern histories of Israel (like modernhistories of any other nation) make noreference to God as an agent in history.This significant difference between biblicaland modern history necessarily leadsmodern historians to interpretations of Israel’shistory that may be at variance withthe biblical version. Although modern historiesare valuable for learning about thehistory of Israel and the history of the biblicaltext, all of these historians, in varyingdegrees, use the Bible as a primarysource. Consequently, anyone who wishesto learn about the history of ancient Israelshould begin where the modern historiansbegin—with the biblical narrative.
What Are theHistorical Books?
The historical books consist of the followingbiblical books: Joshua, Judges,Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith,Esther, and First and Second Maccabees. Someof these books are more closely related toeach other than others. Joshua, Judges,Samuel, and Kings together comprise acontinuous narrative of Israel’s historyfrom the death of Moses until the end ofthe monarchy and the Exile to Babylon.The Books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiahnarrate a separate history of Israelthat concludes with the reconstructionof Jerusalem after the return from theBabylonian Exile. The Books of Maccabeesnarrate partially parallel storiesabout the attempt of the Israelites to throwoff the oppressive rule of the Greeks. Finally,Ruth, Tobit, Judith, and Esther areeach short narratives that stand independentlyof each other and the other historicalbooks (although Ruth is placed betweenJudges and First Samuel).
The first set of the historical books(Joshua to Kings) constitute the bulk ofthe historical material and are thought tobe the most ancient of the various narratives.Although this narrative consists ofseveral books, modern scholars believethat these books were edited together asone larger work known as the Deuteronomistichistory. The Deuteronomistic historyincludes Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges,Samuel, and Kings. This historical work iscalled “Deuteronomistic” because thewhole history seems to be influenced bythe language and thought of Deuteronomy.For instance, the historical books shareDeuteronomy’s view that worship shouldbe centralized in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:4–14;1 Kings 11:13, 32, 36; 2 Kings 21:4, 7; 23:27).The work seems to have incorporated earliersources and edited them into a largerwork narrating the history of Israel fromMoses’ final speech in the wilderness tothe destruction of the Judean state and theExile of its leaders. Consequently, manyscholars now approach these works as aninterconnected whole rather than a disparatecollection. The final editor gaveshape and meaning to the whole narrativeby composing several passages at significantmoments. Some of these passages arenarrative statements (Judges, chapter 2; 2 Kings, chapter 17) while others arespeeches placed in the mouths of majorcharacters (Joshua in Joshua, chapter 23;Solomon in 1 Kings, chapter 8).
The Deuteronomistic history providesthe most detailed history of Israel beforethe Exile. It begins with Moses’ summaryof the Law in Deuteronomy. The Book ofJoshua narrates the conquest of the PromisedLand under the leadership of Joshua.After Joshua’s death, the period of theJudges begins. Although the Book ofJudges ends before the birth of Samuel,the period of the monarchy does not beginuntil Samuel anoints the first king of Israel.During the reigns of Saul, David, andSolomon, the Twelve Tribes of Israel areunified under the rule of one king. Afterthe death of Solomon, the period of theunited monarchy ends and the dividedmonarchy begins when the northerntribes establish their own kingship apartfrom the dynasty of David. Ultimately, thisnorthern kingdom is destroyed by the AssyrianEmpire. Shortly afterward, theBabylonian Empire destroys the southernkingdom and forcibly removes its leadingcitizens to Babylon.
Among the historical books is anotherset of books related to one another. Thework of the chronicler’s history includes First and Second Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah.Scholars disagree about whether a singleeditor is responsible for all of these books.However, the fact that the beginning of Ezra is the same as the end of Second Chroniclesindicates a connection between the works:Ezra and Nehemiah is the continuation of the history narrated in First and Second Chronicles.The Books of Chronicles draw on earliersources (including the Deuteronomistichistory) to narrate the history of Israel untilthe decree of Cyrus permitted the Jewsto return from Exile. Ezra and Nehemiahtell the history of Israel after this decree.In Chronicles, the description of events issometimes significantly different from thatof the Deuteronomistic history. For example,Chronicles shows little interest in thehistory of the northern kingdom of Israelthat separated from the dynasty of Davidafter the death of Solomon, whereas Kingsnarrates the history of this kingdom insome detail. Comparison of these two historieswill reveal many differences largeand small.
Unlike the dual Books of Samuel, Kings,and Chronicles, First and Second Maccabees do notform a continuous narrative. Rather, eachbook relates some of the same history indifferent ways. These works tell the storyof Israel from the conquest of Alexanderthe Great into the Maccabean period. TheMaccabees were Jews who lead a successfulrevolt against their Greek rulers and establishedIsrael’s independence until theRoman conquest.
The remaining historical books aresometimes characterized as short stories.They are Ruth, Tobit, Judith, and Esther.Each book is named after its main character.In three of the four cases, the maincharacter is a woman who somehow savesIsrael. Judith and Esther rescue Israelfrom the threat of destruction at enemyhands. Ruth, although a foreigner, saves anIsraelite family from childlessness and becomesan ancestress of King David andtherefore of Jesus. Finally, the Book of Tobitnarrates the suffering and redemptionof two Israelite families living in Exile.
(This article is from “Introduction to the Historical Books,” by David A. Bosworth, PhD, in The Saint Mary’s Press® College Study Bible, New American Bible [Winona, MN: Saint Mary’s Press, 2007], pages 269–273.)