Song of Solomon is beautiful poetry. This book reminds us of why love and marriage is so beautiful! Solomon was the wisest man to live, yet he took the time to compose such beautiful poetry. He knew that the beauty of love is to be appreciated. Although we don't know the time period between Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes, love remains one of the few things Solomon never calls a waste of time or "vanity." Read more »

Job is one of my favorite books in the Bible. It touches on the ultimate question believers often struggle with: "Why do bad things happen to good people?" The book revolves around a man named Job—hence the name of the book—who loses all of his blessings for seemingly no reason. Job enlists the help of his friends—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar—to determine the cause of his misfortune to no avail. Eventually, the younger, but more wise, … Read more »

Esther is a unique book in the Bible. It is one of two books that is named after and centers on a woman. It is also the only book of the Bible in which God is never mentioned. Introduction Esther is one of those books that reminds us a woman can accomplish great things. Esther contains the "cinderella"-story of an orphan becoming queen and gives us the origins for the Jewish holiday of Purim. The book has actually been c… Read more »

Nehemiah was written near the end of the Babylonian captivity by a man who was the cupbearer to the king of Persia (who overthrew Babylon). Nehemiah wasn't always a stand alone book. Initially, it was combined with Ezra . The tradition of separating the book was popularized with Jerome used this method for organizing the Latin Vulgate. Since joining point of the books (the end of Ezra and beginning of Nehemiah) are very abrupt, s… Read more »

Yet another reason to take care that the divisions in the Bible do not effect our reading and understanding is seen in the arbitrary split of Ezra and Nehemiah. After completing Ezra, you will see that it ends abruptly. This is because up until the third century (AD), Ezra and Nehemiah were one book. The books were initially split by Origen, a Biblical scholar from Alexandria. [1] [3]  When Jerome constructed the Latin Vulgate, which had a majo… Read more »

Like Kings & Samuel , Chronicles started as 1 book. Chronicles repeats much of what we are told in Genesis and Kings concerning the history and lineage of Israel, though it focuses on the Southern kingdom of Judah. Chronicles is titled Dibre Hayyamim  in Hebrew, which is roughly translated “The Matters of the Days.” In Greek, the book is called Paraleipomenon, which means “things omitted”. The latter title possibly refers to … Read more »

Ruth is one of the most famous women in the Bible and one of the few who receives a whole book dedicated to them. Notably, the bulk her story takes place in Bethlehem, the future birthplace of Jesus (who is also a descendant of hers). Read more »