Ezekiel is the fourth of the major prophets. He was of the tribe of Levi, and served as a priest among God’s people in the land of the Chaldeans (1:3). Ezekiel was carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 when King Jehoiachin was taken captive (1:1-2). The LORD refers to the prophet as “son of man” throughout the book of Ezekiel.
Jeremiah spent over 40 years as a prophet of God. He began in the 13th year of Josiah (1:2) and continued until after Gedaliah was appointed governor over Judah (40:5). His work spanned the reigns of five kings in Judah (Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoichin and Zedekiah). The work of at least five other prophets (Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Joel, Daniel and Ezekiel) intersected the work of Jeremiah.
Isaiah is the first of the four major prophets in the Bible. The timeframe for Isaiah is given in 1:1, “…in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” He wrote and prophesied from 740-681 BC. The northern tribes were destroyed by Assyria about half way into Isaiah’s tenure.
“The song of songs, which is Solomon’s.” (Song of Solomon 1:1)
This opening verse confirms the authorship of the book, but also emphasizes the greatness of this song. It is not a song among songs, but “the song of songs.” It is deemed to be the greatest of Solomon’s songs.
The title Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek translation of the opening line, “The words of the preacher…” The word preacher is qoheleth in Hebrew or ekklesiates in Greek. The Hebrew term appears in the feminine form, which shows “…that divine Wisdom herself speaks through the inspired king Solomon” (Fausset’s Bible Dictionary). It is fitting the word appears 7 times, inferring the perfection of wisdom.
After Solomon rose to the throne, the LORD appeared to him in a dream saying, “Ask! What shall I give you?” Solomon responded, “…give to your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil” (1 Kings 3:5, 9). It took a measure of wisdom to ask this rather than for longevity, wealth, power, etc… The LORD honoured Solomon’s request and blessed him with great wealth, honour and longevity. The book of Proverbs records some of Solomon’s wisdom.
A Psalms is a poem which is typically set to music. In fact, some of the psalms give instructions for the musicians (ie. Psalm 4:1, “To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.).
There are 150 psalms in the book of Psalms. Several of them are labeled as psalms of David (73), the “…sweet psalmist of Israel…” (2 Samuel 23:1). Others are associated with Asaph (12), the sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), and Ethan (1). The other 50 psalms do not have names linked to them.
The Book of Job looks at the question of suffering. We know very little about Job. Unlike many books in the Bible, we do not know who authored the book nor do we know when it was written. There is insufficient information to know when Job lived, but we can have confidence he was a real man (Ezekiel 14:14; James 5:11) who lived in Uz (Job 1:1) which is southeast of Palestine (the region associated with Edom). There is an absence of genealogical data which would lead us to believe Job was a Gentile who served as the spiritual leader for his family (Job 1:1-2, 5) perhaps during the patriarchal age.
The book of Esther is a historical record falling in the period of the return from the Babylonian captivity. There were three phases to the return: the first under Zerubbabel (536 BC) who oversaw the rebuilding of the temple; the second under Ezra (458 BC) who re-established worship; and the third under Nehemiah (444 BC) who led the people in rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. The events which include Queen Esther fall between the time of Zerubbabel and Ezra.
The books of Ezra & Nehemiah pick up where 2 Chronicles ends (compare 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). They record Israel’s return from Babylonian exile and the restoration of Jerusalem.
The return to Judah unfolded in three phases. First, Zerubbabel led a group, then Ezra another, and finally, Nehemiah the third. A clear pattern emerges across these phases and the men who led them. Each one: