How does the Hebrew Bible see history?

Answer 1

The Hebrew Bible certainly contains a number of stories, if by these are meant non-factual allegories. These are usually told in order to teach or instruct or illustrate some particular meaning to the person to whom the story is told. One good example of this is the story which the prophet Nathan told to King David after his relationship with Bathsheba. The result proved effective as it resulted in David's repentance, after Nathan said 'you are the man'.

By far the great majority of the Hebrew Bible is historical narrative, apart from the obviously poetical books such as the Song of Songs (although these also contain valuable facts). The historical parts include the account of the creation of the world in Genesis 1:1 through 2:4 and the account of the creation of man in Genesis 2:5 onwards, the account of Noah's flood, etc.

If the historical narratives and their setting are not taken factually as intended, then the messages which they contain would be valueless as well. If a God who requires perfection and holiness and truthfulness from His people would use a fictitious medium, then this God would be neither perfect nor holy nor truthful and could not teach anything worth being followed.

Answer 2

The Hebrew Bible views history as the interactions between people and God, and between people and people. History is laden with lessons and is a lesser form of Torah, to be studied and contemplated (Deuteronomy 32:7). In many cases, the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud (Sotah 9b-14a, for example) spell out the lessons explicitly.

Answer 3

God's working in the affairs of the world and mankind to bring about his purpose for the Jews and Gentiles.

Answer:

History is a source of learning about the ways of God. The reason why we concentrate on the study of Torah rather than history, is because the Torah is much less ambiguous and unclear. But within the Tanakh itself, the bits of history which are woven within the text often state the reason for which God had a particular historical event take place. King so-and-so did what was evil in the eyes of God, so God delivered him into the hands of his enemy.

Answer 4

This link may be useful: http://judaism.answers.com/jewish-history/timeline-of-jewish-history

Answer 5

As abundantly demonstrated through Archaeology, the Hebrew Bible is comprised of historically-accurate information (other than the obviously lyrical passages, which serve a function other than historical documentation). See also:

Archaeology and the Hebrew Bible

Answer 6

The Hebrew Bible is a mixture of story and history. Scholars believe it to have been written during the second half of the first millennium BCE, based on some written records, earlier manuscripts, oral traditions and emerging beliefs. Yair Zakovitch, Dean of Humanities at Hebrew University is quoted as saying, "The thing to remember about the Bible is that the events and characters are just vehicles to convey messages. The biblical narrative was written to educate our young nation, not so much to tell us what really happened."