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Thehistorical books are a division ofChristian Bibles, grouping 12 books of theOld Testament[1][page needed] that follow thePentateuch, beginning with theBook of Joshua.[2] It includes theFormer Prophets from theNevi'im and two of the ungrouped books ofKetuvim of theHebrew Bible together with theBook of Ruth and theBook of Esther which in the Hebrew are both found in theFive Megillot.[1][page needed] These books describe Israel’s history as a people in the land of Canaan. These books make up the historical books in the Old Testament, with several differences between Protestant, Catholic and OrthodoxBiblical canons.
The sequence of books that have been categorised by Christians as "the historical books" is based on theSeptuagint (LXX, also known as "Greek Old Testament") rather than on theHebrew Bible, which has a different order.[1]: ix Branick (2011) stated: 'The grouping seems to be based on the narrative character of all the books, some describing the major events in the history of Israel, others describing characters set in that history. This is the sequence more or less found in Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Bibles.'[1]: ix
The 4th-century Christian bishopAthanasius of Alexandria was the first to label this collection of biblical books as "histories".[3] This term is misleading for three reasons:
The books provide a collection of stories about theIsraelites spanning nearly a millennium, from theirconquest of Canaan until thereturn to Zion in 539 BCE. The historical books tell of the entry of the Israelites into thePromised Land afterThe Exodus, the leadership of thebiblical judges, the establishment of theUnited Monarchy and its subsequent division into the northernKingdom of Israel and southernKingdom of Judah, and theBabylonian captivity.[4][5] Modern scholars think that what reliable material can be found in these books of the Bible describes a period from the late second millennium to the 4th century BCE, often written down long after the alleged events, and edited several times. In addition, they warn that it is important to try to distinguish fact from fiction and that the term "historical books" should be taken with a grain of salt.[3]: 313
The historical books of the mainChristian canons are as follows:[6]
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