Overview of the Old Testament

Overview of the Old Testament

The OT can be divided into books of history (17), poetry (5), and prophecy (17). These can be further sub-divided. The terms “major” and “minor” refer to the length of the books, not the importance of the prophets. The prophets are therefore not listed entirely in chronological order.

History17 Poetry 5 Prophecy17
5 books of Moses 5 books of poetry 5 major prophets

Genesis Job Isaiah
Exodus Psalms Jeremiah
Leviticus Proverbs Lamentations
Numbers Ecclesiastes Ezekiel
Deuteronomy Song of Solomon Daniel
(or song of Songs)

12 other history books 12 minor prophets

Joshua Hosea
Judges Joel
Ruth Amos
1 Samuel Obadiah
2 Samuel Jonah
1 Kings Micah
2 Kings Nahum
1 Chronicles Habakkuk
2 Chronicles Zephaniah
Ezra Haggai
Nehemiah Zechariah
Esther Malachi

There is an overlap between some of these books: The story of Job is set in the era of the Patriarchs (=early Genesis), 1Chronicles covers the same time-period as 2 Samuel. 2Chronicles overlaps with 1 and 2 Kings. The story of Ruth is set in the time of the Judges. Jonah’s story comes before the Exile of Israel into Assyria. Esther’s story is set in Persia at the same time as Ezra was writing in Jerusalem after the Exile.

Genesis tells about the creation, man’s rebellion, the promise of a saviour and the early heroes of faith. God selected one man, Abram (later called Abraham), to be the pro-genitor of his chosen people through whom the rest of humanity would be blessed. It includes the stories of Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph and his twelve brothers, and their move to Egypt.
Exodus: tells the story of Moses and the liberation of the Jews from slavery in Egypt. Leviticus describes the laws, feasts and rituals of the Israelite people.
Deuteronomy is a long speech by Moses before his death and the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan.
Joshua is Moses’ successor. The book is about the conquest of Canaan by the tribes of Israel.
Judges ruled Israel before the establishment of the monarchy.
Ruth is a love story. She was a young Moabite widow who embraced the faith and nation of her mother-in-law, Naomi, rather than her own pagan people. She became an ancestor of King David and, hence, of Jesus.
Samuel was a prophet and judge. During his life the monarchy was established. (1Samuel and 1Kings). Saul was first king, followed by David and his son Solomon (2 Samuel and 1Chronicles). After Solomon’s death the Kingdom split into two. (2 Kings). The ten northern tribes formed the kingdom of Israel with Samaria as the capital. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin formed the southern kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem as the capital. In general, the Northern Kingdom rebelled against God. Not one of her Kings was faithful to God. Israel was invades by the cruel Assyrians and its people were killed or relocated to other parts of the Assyrian empire, never to be heard of again. Over a century later Judah is invaded by the Babylonians and some of her people were exile to Babylon. (2 Chronicles)
Ezra and Nehemiah tell of the return of various groups of Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem and the re-building of the Temple and the walls of the city.
Esther was the Jewish queen of Persia whose courage and wisdom result in the thwarting of a plot to exterminate the Jews. It is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God.
Job is a classic on suffering and the sovereignty of God.
Psalms is a collection of 150 poems or hymns. Some are set as early as the time of David; others date to as late as the Exile. They cover every type of experience or emotion and are a wonderful resource for comfort and prayer. They demonstrate that there is no human emotion which we cannot express to God.
Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings, largely attributed to King Solomon.
Ecclesiastes, is an existential exploration of the emptiness of life without God.
Song of Solomon (or Song of Songs) is a love story full of romance and poetry.

The books of prophecy date to the divided kingdom (pre-exilic), the exile, and post-exilic periods.

Pre-exile Exile Post-exile
All the rest Ezekiel and Daniel Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

The most important of the pre-exilic prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos and Hosea.