Writer:
Most are introduced as “the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel” (Prov. 1:1).  Solomon reportedly wrote 3000 proverbs (1 Kings 4:32).  Other proverbs are by a group of unidentified men simply called “the wise” (Prov. 24:23).  And one proverb each attributed to the otherwise unknown Agur along with a king named Lemuel.

Date:
Solomon reigned from about 970-930BC.  Some proverbs however, were probably added several centuries later.  King Hezekiah’s advisors were working on the collection during his reign, nearly 300 years after Solomon (Prov. 24:1).

Location:
Israel

Summary Thoughts:
No plot.  No stories.  No characters.  Proverbs has none of it.  Yet it’s one of the most quoted books in the Bible.  Proverbs for the most part, is a book of snappy one-liners/advice written by old men, for young men.  The genre is called wisdom literature.  And by the time of Solomon, who is said to have written mot of Proverbs, wisdom literature had been popular throughout the Middle East for about 1000 years.  Topics in Proverbs cover just about everything old men think young men should know about life in the real world.  That includes money, sex, marriage, raising kids- even the danger of cosigning loans and the proper etiquette for dinner meetings.  Proverbs is loaded with practical advice for everyday life.

Writer:
Almost half the Psalms- 73 of 150 are attributed to David.  But these bylines weren’t in the earliest scrolls.  And they’re phrased vaguely, calling a psalm “of David” can mean it’s “by David,” “about David,” or even “inspired by David.”  Other psalms are attributed to Solomon and Moses, along with music ministry leaders Korah and Asaph.  Some psalms aren’t attributed to anyone.

Date:
Most psalms are impossible to date because they express intimate feelings instead of historical facts.  Some psalms, though, refer to life during the Jewish exile in Babylon-in the 500s BC.  So the psalms could span about a thousand years, back to the time of Moses in the 1400s BC.

Location:
Most psalms are about people in Israel.  But some are set in Egypt and others are set in Babylon, which is now Iraq.

Summary Thoughts:
Psalms is divided into five books, each ending with a short doxology- a hymn of praise to God, each one of these doxologies starts with the words “Praise the Lord,” which helps clearly mark the beginning and end of each section.  Jewish scholars say its no coincidence that there are five books.  These five sections parallel the five books of Moses- the most revered material in Jewish Bible.  The boos of Moses contain the heart of Jewish law and tradition.

Writer:
The book doesn’t name the writer.

Date:
It’s unclear when Job lived or when his history has written down.  Several clues suggest Job lived about 4000 years ago, in the tie of Abraham or earlier.  Some clues:  Job serves as the family priest apparently before an established priesthood.  His wealth is measured by the size of his herds instead of his currency, and he is raided by Sabeans- a nation of tribe living in that era.

Location:
Unknown.  He lived in the land of Uz.  But no one knows where Uz was.

Summary Thoughts:
Job is a rich man- at least until a string of disasters take just about everything important to him.  In a single day, raiders and a freak firestorm take all of his livestock- 11,000 animals- and kill his shepherds.  Worse, a windstorm destroys the house where Job’s 10 children are eating together, killing every one of them.  Later, sores erupt all over Job’s body.  His friends tell him to repent, since they’re convinced he’s being punished by God.  His wife tells him to curse God and die, apparently expecting God to put Job out of misery.  Job refuses.  He says he hasn’t done anything wrong, and he doesn’t plan to start now.  Later, he demands an explanation from God.  God without explaining himself asks Job to explain the wonders of creation.  Job gets the point: trust in the one whose insight is beyond human understanding.  And job decides to do that.  By story’s end, Job has 10 more children and herds double the size before.  People who later listen to job’s story benefit too.  They learn an important lesson in theology:  Don’t assume people suffer because God is punishing them for sin.  That’s a common misunderstanding in Bible ties-which Job’s story tries to correct.

Writer:
Unknown. And that’s unfortunate since this is one of the best-written short stories in all of Hebrew literature. Possible writers include Ezra or Nehemiah, since the writing style of the stories in Ezra and Nehemiah is similar to the style in Ester’s story. Mordecai is another possibility since he’s at least a key source of information.

Date:
Easter’s story takes place during the reign of King Xerxes, known Hebrew as Ahasuerus. He reigned for 21 years, from 486-465 BC. Ester became queen in about 479 BC, more than 30 years before Ezra and Nehemiah left Persia for Jerusalem.

Location:
Susa, capital of the Persian Empire and now the Iranian city of Shush.

Summary Thought:
It sounds like the plot of a fairy tale; Jewish orphan girl wins beauty contest, marries King, and saves her people from genocide. But it’s a page out of Jewish history. The Jews fall into grave danger during the reign of the Persian King Xerxes. But his Jewish queen, Ester, becomes an advocate for them. Haman convinces the king to issue and irrevocable decree against “a group of troublemakers”- apparently without even bothering to tell the king who these troublemakers are under the rules of engagement, soldiers and citizens will be free to kill the Jews on March 7, 473 BC, and confiscate their property. Mordecai convinces Ester to tell the king that this plot targets her and her people. Persian law prohibits the king from revoking his previous decree. Nevertheless, he issues a counter decree allowing the Jews to depend themselves and the Persian troops to help them. The Jews survive. Moreover, they add a new holiday to their calendar, celebrating the holocaust missed.