„Historical books“

The following books are considered “historical books” in the Bible:

As the name suggests, these books continue the story of the people of Israel.

It begins in the Book of Joshua with the entry of the 12 tribes into the land — after their 40-year journey through the desert — which God had promised to the patriarchs, the forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (or Israel), as an inheritance for their descendants.

This is followed by the period of the Judges, during which the people still consisted of a loose confederation of the 12 tribes of Israel. Each tribe lived in its own region of the land and was united solely by their belief in one God.
During this 400-year period, which the Book of Judges covers, the Israelites were repeatedly attacked, plundered, and oppressed by neighboring peoples because of their apostasy from the God of their fathers.
The Book of Ruth, which follows the Book of Judges, also takes place during this time.

This is followed by the era of the kings, during which the nation first rises to become a united great empire, but is then split into two separate kingdoms due to false advisors and godlessness.
The southern kingdom of Judah, comprising the tribes of Simeon, Judah, and parts of Benjamin, and the northern kingdom of Israel, which was formed from the remaining 10 or nine and a half tribes.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 B.C., and a large portion of the population was taken into exile and resettled in other countries. The Assyrians settled other peoples, whose territories they had conquered, in this region. From this ethnic mix emerged the Samaritans (named after the former capital of the kingdom, Samaria), who are frequently mentioned in the New Testament because they lived between the Jews residing in Galilee (in the north) and Judea (in the south).

The Southern Kingdom of Judah lasted until the second conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 B.C.; following this, too, a portion of the people and most of the surviving upper class were taken into captivity.

The approximately 500 years of the monarchy are recounted in the two Books of Samuel (Samuel being considered the last of the judges of Israel), the two Books of Kings, and the two Books of Chronicles.

The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah tell the story of the return from exile in the Babylonian Empire thanks to the generosity of the Persian ruler Cyrus, and the reconstruction of the Temple and the city walls of Jerusalem.

The historical books conclude with the story of Esther, a Jewish woman who rose to become queen of Persia and used her position to save the Jewish people remaining in exile from extermination.