THE HISTORY OF THE BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS

The oral tradition of the Books of the Prophets was first committed to paper around 550 BCE during the Babylonian Captivity, when the need to preserve the oral traditions of Israel's early history became urgent. As such, the Books are the quintessential record of Israel's existence as a sovereign nation before successive conquests by Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman rulers.

Until the 20th century, some biblical scholars were inclined to treat the Books as legend; but modern archeological discoveries, including the translation of cuneiform tablets which record the deeds of Assyrian and Babylonian king, now appear to corroborate many of the stories in the Book of the Prophets to an often astonishing degree.

The canon of the Book of the Prophets was determined by a council of rabbis around 100 CE. The Christian canon would adopt the Book, though with some minor differences -- probably under influence of the canonical arrangement of the Hebrew Scripture in the Greek version known as the Septuagint. Christians calls the books of the Former Prophets the 'Historical Books', and separates both Samuel and Kings into two successive volumes. Roman Catholic bibles also divide Isaiah in two distinct books. Protestant versions place Jeremiah and Ezekiel (both Latter Prophets) into the Historical Books. Unlike Jews and Protestants, Roman Catholics also accept the Book of Baruch as scripture in its canon.