Topic 5 of 33 - Your Place in the Learning Journey
The Old Testament at a Glance
The Old Testament's 39 books (in the Protestant canon) are organized into four sections by type rather than by the order in which they were written. Understanding what each section contains and what kind of literature it represents is one of the most practical skills a Bible reader can develop. It tells you where to look for what, and it prevents the mistake of applying the wrong reading expectations to a text.
The Law, or Torah, consists of the first five books: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books cover creation, the patriarchs, the Exodus from Egypt, the giving of the law at Sinai, and the wilderness period. They are the foundational texts of Judaism and carry enormous weight throughout the rest of the Old Testament and into the New. Tradition attributed them to Moses, though most scholars understand them as composite works assembled from multiple source traditions over several centuries.
The Historical Books run from Joshua through Esther - twelve books covering Israel's history from the entry into Canaan through the tribal period, the monarchy, the divided kingdom, the Babylonian exile, and the partial restoration under Persian rule. Scholars divide these further into the Deuteronomistic History (Joshua through Kings), which was edited as a theological unit explaining why exile happened, and the books of Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, which offer a different perspective on much of the same period. Ruth and Esther are shorter narrative works that stand somewhat apart in style and setting.
The Poetry and Wisdom books - Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon - represent a different kind of religious literature altogether. These books are less concerned with Israel's national story and more concerned with human experience: suffering, praise, practical wisdom, the limits of knowledge, and erotic love. They draw on wisdom traditions shared across the ancient Near East and resist the neat theological conclusions that other parts of the Old Testament sometimes offer. The Prophets - Isaiah through Malachi, 17 books in all - contain the messages of God's spokespersons to Israel and Judah, addressing their own times while sometimes looking toward a different future.