Writing in the ancient world was an activity mainly confined to a professional class located in two powerful institutions, the Temple and the royal court. The traditions out of which the Old Testament grew were most likely written by scribes trained in either or both of these institutions, as located in the northern kingdom, Israel, and the southern kingdom, Judah. Given that the content of the Old Testament is diverse, including narratives, psalms, laws, proverbs, regulations about sacrifices and priesthood, prophetic literature and “wisdom” writings (e.g. Job and Ecclesiastes) it will be necessary to investigate the origin and occasion of each type of literature. This exercise has to be tempered, however, by the fact that little is known about the extent or function of literacy in ancient Israel. Just as a previous chapter has warned against assuming that biblical writers were similar to modern writers, so here it must not be assumed that the intended readers of biblical writings were similar to modern readers, even if it is not easy to be more precise.

Historical Writings

More that half of the books of the Old Testament contain the cultural memories of Israel and Judah. They tell the story of Israel, the people of God, from the time of Abraham to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (fifth century BCE).