The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era. 1] Its subject is the Return to Zion following the close of the Babylonian captivity, and it is divided into two parts, the first telling the story of the first return of exiles in the first year of Cyrus the Great (538 BC) and the completion and dedication of the new Temple in Jerusalem in the sixth year of Darius (515 BC), the second telling of the subsequent mission of Ezra to Jerusalem and his...

Scripturally, the Song of Songs is unique in its celebration of sexual love. It gives "the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proffering invitations to enjoy." The two are in harmony, each desiring the other and rejoicing in sexual intimacy; the women (or "daughters") of Jerusalem form a chorus to the lovers, functioning as an audience whose participation in the lovers' erotic encounters facilitates the participation of the reader.

The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired leaders whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as champions for the Israelites from oppression by foreign rulers, and models of wise and faithful behaviour required of them by their God Yahweh following the exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan. The stories follow a consistent pattern: the people are unfaithful to Yahweh and he therefore delivers them into the hands of their enemies; the people...

The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land. Joshua forms part of the biblical account of the emergence of Israel, which begins with the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, continues with the book of Joshua, and culminates in the Book of Judges with the conquest and settlement of the land. The book is in two roughly equal parts. The first part depicts the campaigns of...

It is named after its central figure, Ruth the Moabitess, the great-grandmother of David. The book tells of Ruth's accepting the God of the Israelites as her God and the Israelite people as her own. In Ruth 1:16 and 17 Ruth tells Naomi, her Israelite mother in law, "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." The book is held in esteem by Jews who fall under the category of Jews-by-choice,...

Proverbs is not merely an anthology but a "collection of collections" relating to a pattern of life which lasted for more than a millennium. It is an example of the Biblical wisdom tradition, and raises questions of values, moral behaviour, the meaning of human life, and right conduct. The repeated theme is that "the fear of God (meaning submission to the will of God) is the beginning of wisdom." Wisdom is praised for her role in creation; God acquired her before all else, and through her he gave order to chaos; and since humans have life and prosperity by conforming to the order of creation,...

The book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of King David, although his authorship is not accepted by modern Bible scholars.

Job is an investigation of the problem of divine justice. 30] This problem, known in theology as theodicy, can be rephrased as a question: "Why do the righteous suffer?" 2] The conventional answer in ancient Israel was that God rewards virtue and punishes sin (the principle known as "retributive justice"). 31] This assumes a world in which human choices and actions are morally significant, but experience demonstrates that suffering cannot be sensibly understood as a consequence of bad choices and actions, and unmerited suffering requires theological candour. 32] The biblical concept of...

Deuteronomy is a series of speeches by Moses on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho. Also referred to as Mishneh Torah in Hebrew (a repeat of the Torah) the essential gist of the entire book is a rebuke to the Children of Israel to not worship idolatry, to not follow in the ways of Cana'an, and to cleave to God. Moses proclaims the Law (Deuteronomy 12-26), gives instruction concerning covenant renewal at Shechem (Deuteronomy 27-28) and gives Israel new laws (the "Deuteronomic Code"). 16] At the end of the book (Deuteronomy 34) Moses is allowed to see the promised land from a mountain, and...

Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, which they had just built (Leviticus 1-10). This is followed by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11-15), which includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: Kashrut), the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17-26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following God's commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them.