The sacred writings of the Old Testament include not only the prophets and the historical narratives but also a collection of miscellaneous books, which are sometimes referred to as the Hagiographa. These writings cannot be dated with precise accuracy, nor can they be placed in the exact chronological order in which they were produced. Concerning this group of writings as a whole, they are relatively late and belong for the most part to the post-exilic period. Three of these books — Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job — are known as wisdom literature. Characterized by features that sharply distinguish them from the writings of the prophets, they address problems of a universal nature rather than problems peculiar to the Hebrew people. Their appeal is to essential reasonableness instead of the "Thus saith Yahweh" of the prophets. The topics that they consider are ones that pertain to the practical affairs of everyday living.
The Book of Daniel, one of the latest to be included in the Old Testament, represents a different literary type known as apocalyptic. As such, Daniel stands in sharp contrast with the prophetic writings. Produced during a period of crisis that occurred in connection with the Maccabean wars, it was designed to strengthen and encourage those who were suffering extreme persecution. The Book of Psalms is a collection of hymns, prayers, and poems reflecting both individual and group experiences of the Hebrew people from almost every period of their national history. A part of this collection was used as the hymn book of the restored Temple after the people's return from the Babylonian captivity. "Short stories" is an appropriate title for three books produced during the post-exilic years: Jonah, which is a classic protest against narrow-minded nationalism on the part of the Jews; Ruth, written in protest against the law forbidding international marriages; and Esther, which provides an account of events leading to the origin of the Feast of Purim. The book called Lamentations portrays some of the bitter experiences that followed King Zedekiah's flight from the city of Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian conquest. The Song of Songs is a love poem that came to be included in the sacred writings because of the allegorical interpretation given to it.
