Source: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
GENESIS
Author: Moses
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To record God’s creation of the world and his desire to have people worship him
Date Written: Approximately 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: In the wilderness during Israel’s wanderings, somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula
EXODUS
Author: Moses
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To record the events of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and development as a nation
Date Written: 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: In the wilderness during Israel’s wanderings
Special Features: Exodus relates more miracles than any other Old Testament book and is noted for containing the Ten Commandments
LEVITICUS
Author: Moses
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: A handbook for the priests and Levites to outline their duties in worship, and a guidebook of holy living for the Hebrew people
Date Written: 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: In the wilderness during Israel’s wanderings
Special Features: Holiness is mentioned more times (152) than in any other book of the Bible
NUMBERS
Author: Moses
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To tell the story of how Israel prepared to enter the Promised Land, how they sinned and were punished, and how they prepared to try again
Date Written: 1450-1410 B.C.
Where Written: In the wilderness during Israel’s wanderings
Special Features: It contains stories related to Israel’s wilderness wanderings and a beautiful priestly blessing, often used in worship (Numbers 6:24-26)
DEUTERONOMY
Author: Moses (except for the final summary, which was probably written by Joshua after Moses’ death)
Audience: The new generation of Israel entering the Promised Land
Purpose: To remind the people of what God had done and encourage them to rededicate their lives to him
Date Written: 1406 B.C.
Where Written: The east side of the Jordan River, in view of Canaan
Special Features: It includes many reminders to the Israelites (and to all God’s people) of the blessings that come from following God’s instructions.
JOSHUA
Author: Unknown. Some parts may have been written by Joshua or Phinehas, the high priest.
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To give the history of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land
Setting: Canaan, also called the Promised Land, which occupied the same general geographical territory of modern-day Israel
Special Features: Out of over a million people, Joshua and Caleb were the only two adults who left Egypt and entered the Promised Land.
JUDGES
Author: Unknown. Possibly Samuel.
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To show that God’s judgment against sin is certain, and his forgiveness of sin and restoration to relationship are just as certain for those who repent
Setting: The land of Canaan
Special Features: Records Israel’s first civil war
RUTH
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To show how three people remained strong in character and true to God even when the society around them was collapsing
Setting: A dark time in Israel’s history when people lived to please themselves, not God (Judge 17:6)
1 SAMUEL
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To record the life of Samuel, Israel’s last judge; the reign and decline of Saul, Israel’s first king; and the choice and preparation of David, Israel’s greatest king
Setting: Israel, during its transition from a theocracy (led by God) to a monarchy (led by a king)
2 SAMUEL
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To record the history of David’s reign, showing what effective leadership under God looks like
Setting: The land of Israel under David’s rule
Date Written: c. 930 B.C.; shortly after David’s reign
1 KINGS
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To contrast the lives of those who live for God and those who refuse to do so through the history of the kings of Israel and Judah
Setting: The once great nation of Israel turned into a land divided, not only physically, but also spiritually
Special Feature: The books of 1 and 2 Kings were originally one book.
2 KINGS
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To demonstrate the fate that awaits all who refuse to make God their true leader
Setting: The once-united nation of Israel has been divided into two kingdoms for over a century.
1 CHRONICLES
Author: Ezra, according to Jewish tradition
Audience: The exiles who returned from captivity
Purpose: To unify God’s people, to trace the Davidic line, and to teach that genuine worship ought to be the center of individual and national life
Date Written: c. 439 B.C., recording events that occurred from much earlier
Special Features: Written from a priestly point of view after the exile, 1 Chronicles emphasizes the religious history of Judah
2 CHRONICLES
Author: Ezra, according to Jewish tradition
Audience: The exiles who returned from captivity
Date Written: c. 430 B.C., recording events that had occurred much earlier
Purpose: To unify the nation around the worship of God by showing his true standard for judging kings. The righteous kings of Judah and the religious festivals under their rule are highlighted, and the sins of the evil kings are exposed.
Special Features: Parallels 1 and 2 Kings and serves as their commentary. Written after the Exile from a priestly point of view, 2 Chronicles highlights the importance of the Temple and the religious festivals in Judah.
EZRA
Author: Not stated, but probably Ezra
Audience: The exiles who returned from captivity
Purpose: To show God’s faithfulness and the way he kept his promise to restore his people to their land
Setting: Ezra follows 2 Chronicles as a history of the Jewish people, recording their return to the land after the Captivity.
Date Written: Around 450 B.C., recording events from about 538-450 B.C.
NEHEMIAH
Author: Much of the book is written in the first person, suggesting Nehemiah as the author. Nehemiah probably wrote the book with Ezra serving as editor.
Audience: The exiles who returned from captivity
Purpose: Nehemiah is chronologically the last of the Old Testament historical books. It records the history of the third return to Jerusalem after captivity, telling how the walls were rebuilt and the people were renewed in their faith.
Setting: Zerubbabel led the first return to Jerusalem in 538 B.C. In 458 B.C., Ezra led the second return. Finally in 445 B.C., Nehemiah returned with the third group of exiles to rebuild the city walls.
Date Written: Approximately 445-432 B.C.
ESTHER
Author: Unknown
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To demonstrate God’s sovereignty and his loving care for his people.
Setting: Although Esther follows Nehemiah in traditional Bibles, its events happen about 30 years prior to those recorded in Nehemiah. The story is set in the Persian Empire, and most of the action takes place in the king’s palace in Susa, the Persian capital.
Date Written: Approximately 470 B.C. (Esther became queen in 479 B.C.)
Special Features: Esther is one of only two books in the Bible named for women.
JOB
Author: Unknown
Purpose: To demonstrate God’s sovereignty. It addresses the question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”
Date Written: Unknown. Seems to record events that take place around the time of the patriarchs, approximately 2000-1800 B.C.
Setting: The land of Uz, possibly located northeast of Palestine, near the desert land between Damascus and the Euphrates River
Special Features: Job is the first of the poetic books in the Hebrew Bible.
PSALMS
Author: Various. David wrote 73 psalms; Asaph wrote 12; the sons of Korah wrote 9; Solomon wrote 2; Heman, Ethan, and Moses each wrote one; 51 are anonymous.
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To provide poetry for the expression of praise, worship, confession, and prayer to God
Setting: Each psalm is unique; many have specific events identified as the background, but most are generic and applicable to many settings.
PROVERBS
Author: Solomon wrote or collected most of the book with Agur and Lemuel contributing.
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To teach people how to attain wisdom, discipline, and a prudent life, and how to do what is right, just, and fair–in short, to apply divine wisdom to daily life and to provide moral instruction
Date Written: Solomon wrote and compiled most of these proverbs during his reign
Special Features: The book used a variety of literary forms: poems, brief parables, pointed questions, and couplets. Other literary devices include antithesis, comparison, and personification.
ECCLESIASTES
Author: Solomon
Audience: Solomon’s subjects in particular, and all people in general
Purpose: To spare future generations the bitterness of learning through their own experience that life is meaningless apart from God
Setting: Solomon was looking back on his life, much of which was lived apart from God.
SONG OF SONGS
Author: Solomon
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To tell of the love between a bridegroom and his bride, to affirm the sanctity of marriage, and possibly to picture God’s love for his people.
ISAIAH
Author: The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
Purpose: To call the nation of Judah back to God and to tell of God’s salvation through the Messiah
Setting: Isaiah is speaking and writing mainly from Jerusalem
Special Features: Many of the prophecies in Isaiah contain predictions that foretell a soon-to-occur event and a distant future event at the same time.
JEREMIAH
Author: Jeremiah
Audience: Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem
Purpose: To urge God’s people to turn from their sins and back to God
Setting: Jeremiah ministered under Judah’s last five kings. The nation was sliding quickly toward destruction and was eventually conquered by Babylon in 586 B.C.
Special Features: The book is a combination of history, poetry, and biography. Jeremiah often used symbolism to communicate his message.
LAMENTATIONS
Author: Jeremiah
Audience: The exiled people of Judah
Purpose: To teach people that to disobey God is to invite disaster, and to show that God suffers when his people suffer
Setting: Jerusalem had been destroyed by Babylon and her people killed, tortured, or taken captive.
Date Written: Soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.
Special Features: Three strands of Hebrew thought meet in Lamentations–prophecy, ritual, and wisdom. Lamentations is written in the rhythm and style of ancient Jewish funeral songs or chants. It contains five poems corresponding to the five chapters.
EZEKIEL
Author: Ezekiel son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest
Audience: The Jews in captivity in Babylonia
Purpose: To announce God’s judgment on Israel and other nations and to foretell the eventual salvation of God’s people
Setting: Ezekiel was a younger contemporary of Jeremiah, but he was already exiled to Babylon in 597 B.C., and he prophesied from there.
DANIEL
Author: Daniel
Audience: The other captives in Babylon
Purpose: To give a historical account of the faithful Jews who lived in captivity and to show how God is in control of heaven and earth, directing he forces of nature, the destiny of nations, and the care of his people
Setting: Daniel had been taken captive and deported to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 B.C. There he served in the government for about 70 years during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus.
Date Written: Approximately 536 B.C., recording events that occurred from about 605-536 B.C.
Special Features: Daniel’s apocalyptic visions (Daniel 7-12) give a glimpse of God’s plan for the ages, including a direct prediction of the Messiah.
HOSEA
Author: Hosea son of Beeri (“Hosea” means “salvation”)
Audience: The people of Israel (the northern kingdom)
Purpose: To illustrate God’s love for his sinful people
Special Features: Hosea employs many images from daily life: God is depicted as a husband, lion, leopard, bear, dew, rain, moth, and others; Israel is pictured as a wife, sick person, vine, grapes, early fruit, olive tree, woman in childbirth, oven, morning mist, chaff, and smoke, to name a few.
JOEL
Author: Joel son of Pethuel
Audience: The people of Israel
Purpose: To warn of God’s impending judgment because of sin and to urge the people to turn back to God
Setting: The people had become prosperous and complacent. Taking God for granted, they had turned to self-centeredness, idolatry, and sin. Joel warned them that this kind of lifestyle would inevitably bring God’s judgment.
Date Written: Unknown, possibly around 800 B.C. or 430 B.C.
AMOS
Author: Amos
Audience: The people of Israel (the northern kingdom)
Purpose: To pronounce God’s judgment upon Israel, the northern kingdom, for its complacency, idolatry, and oppression of the poor
Setting: The wealthy people of Israel were enjoying peace and prosperity. They were quite complacent and were oppressing the poor, even selling them into slavery. Soon, however, Israel would be conquered by Assyria, and the rich would themselves become slaves.
OBADIAH
Author: Obadiah. Very little is known about him. His name means “servant of the Lord.”
Audience: The Edomites and the Jews in exile
Purpose: To show that God judges those who have harmed his people
Setting: Historically, Edom had constantly harassed the Jews. Prior to the time this book was written, they had participated in attacks against Judah, and more recently had celebrated Babylon’s destruction of Judah.
Special Features: The book of Obadiah uses vigorous poetic language and is written in the form of a dirge of doom.
JONAH
Author: Jonah son of Amittai
Audience: All the people of Israel
Purpose: To show the extent of God’s grace–the message of salvation is for all people
Special Feature: This book is different from the other prophetic books because it tells the story of the prophet and does not center on his prophecies. In fact, only one verse summarizes his message to the people of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4).
MICAH
Author: Micah, a native of Moresheth, near Gath, about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem
Audience: The people of Israel (the northern kingdom) and of Judah (the southern kingdom)
Purpose: To warn God’s people that judgment is coming and to offer pardon to all who repent
Special Feature: This is a beautiful example of classical Hebrew poetry. There are three parts, each beginning with “Attention!” or “Listen” (Mic 1:2; 3:1; 6:1) and closing with a promise.
NAHUM
Author: Nahum
Audience: The people of Nineveh and of Judah (the southern kingdom)
Purpose: To pronounce God’s judgment on Assyria and to comfort Judah with this truth
Setting: This particular prophecy took place after the fall of Thebes in 663 B.C. (see Nahum 3:8-10).
HABAKKUK
Author: Habakkuk
Audience: The people of Judah (the southern kingdom)
Purpose: To show that God is still in control of the world despite the apparent triumph of evil
Setting: Babylon was becoming the dominant world power of Judah would soon feel Babylon’s destructive force.
ZEPHANIAH
Author: Zephaniah
Audience: The people of Judah (the southern kingdom)
Purpose: To shake the people of Judah out of their complacency and urge them to return to God
Setting: King Josiah of Judah was attempting to reverse the evil trends set by the two previous kings of Judah– Manasseh and Amon. Josiah was able to extend his influence because no strong superpower was dominating the world at that time (Assyria was declining rapidly). Zephaniah’s prophecy may have been the motivating factor in Josiah’s reform. Zephaniah was a contemporary of Jeremiah.
HAGGAI
Author: Haggai
Audience: The people living in Jerusalem and those who had returned from exile
Purpose: To call the people to complete the rebuilding of the Temple
Setting: The Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed in 586 B.C. Cyrus had allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild their Temple in 538 B.C. They had begun the work but had been unable to complete it. Through the ministry of Haggai and Zechariah, the Temple was completed (520-515 B.C.).
Date Written: 520 B.C.
Special Features: Haggai was the first of the postexilic prophets. The others were Joel, Zechariah, and Malachi. The literary style of this book is simple and direct.
ZECHARIAH
Author: Zechariah
Audience: The Jews in Jerusalem who had returned from their captivity in Babylon
Purpose: To encourage the rebuilding of the Temple and to give hope to God’s people by revealing God’s future deliverance through the Messiah
Setting: The exiles had returned from Babylon to rebuild the Temple, but the work had been thwarted and stalled. Haggai and Zechariah confronted the people with their task and encouraged them to complete it.
Date Written: Chapters 1-8 were written approximately 520-518 B.C. Chapters 9-14 were written later.
Special Features: This book is the most apocalyptic and messianic of all the minor prophets.
MALACHI
Author: Malachi
Audience: The people in Jerusalem
Purpose: To confront the people with their sins and to restore their relationship with God
Setting: After Haggai and Zechariah had successfully rebuked the people for their failure to rebuild the Temple, Malachi confronted them with their neglect of the Temple and their false and profane worship.
Special Features: Malachi’s literary style employs a dramatic use of questions asked by God and his people (for example, see Malachi 3:7-8).