The history of the Hebrew people is reflected in nearly all of the literature found in the Old Testament. Sometimes it is the history of the people as a whole; other times, it is that of a smaller group or even the experiences of a particular individual. The writers of the Old Testament believed that Yahweh revealed himself through history in much the same way that we think a person's character is disclosed through that person's actions. For this reason, some familiarity with the historical setting of each of the writings is prerequisite to an understanding of them.
The exact order in which the contents of the Old Testament were initially placed is not known. The literature as we have it today contains many fragments that appear to have existed separately at one time. They have been combined, copied, edited, supplemented, and arranged so many times that not even the most expert scholars are in complete agreement about the order in which they first appeared. This confusion does not mean that we are unable to know anything concerning the Old Testament or that we cannot be reasonably certain about the approximate time when the various parts of the literature were produced. On the other hand, our conclusions should be reached with considerable caution, and we must always be ready to revise them in consideration of new evidence. Our purpose here is merely to outline the approximate order of the writings in accordance with generally recognized Old Testament scholarship.
