The Bible and sacred history
The second section of the Hebrew Bible is called Nevi'im, or Prophets. Nevi'im is divided into the Former Prophets (the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the Twelve Minor Prophets). These books cover nearly 700 years of the Jewish history,from the conquest of Canaan (1220—1200 BC) to the Babylonian captivity (6th century BC). The Former Prophets are historical writings and chronicles while the Latter Prophets are collections of prophecies attributed to particular historical figures. Studies of this section of the Bible lead researchers to certain conclusions concerning the dating issue of the Pentateuch and its literary history. In particular, it was noticed that these books contain almost no reference to the Pentateuch and they express the views of the prophets themselves (Wellhausen). That made researchers assume that the Pentateuch had been written by the prophets themselves. In the Pentateuch itself several sources were singled out: first of all the Yahwist and the Elohist (Astruc), then the Priestly source and the Deuteronomist (de Wette). The Pentateuch started to be connected to the period of Solomon. It was the time of cultural rise (von Rad). Recent discoveries in archaeology rose doubts concerning von Rad's conclusions. Now it is supposed that Judaea's Golden Age was not in the epoch of Solomon but in the reign of King Hezekiah.
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