Author and Title Revelation 1:1 announces both the book’s title (it is a “revelation”) and its divine author (“Jesus Christ”). The book is an “unveiling” of unseen spiritual forces operating behind the scenes in history and controlling its events and outcome.… Read More »Introduction to Revelation
Author and Title As its title implies, the book was written by Jude, brother of James and Jesus (cf. Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3, where Gk. “Judas” is the same as “Jude” in Jude 1). There is little debate regarding the authenticity of the… Read More »Introduction to Jude
Author and Title See Introductions to 1 John and 2 John. Like 2 John, 3 John claims to have been written by “the elder,” most likely the apostle John. In NT times and into the post-apostolic era, “elders” (Gk. presbyteroi) could refer to the… Read More »Introduction to 3 John
Author and Title Ancient manuscripts uniformly identify this as a second letter by “John.” Due to the writing style, position in the Canon, and theological outlook, it is best viewed as written by the apostle John (seeIntroduction to 1 John:… Read More »Introduction to 2 John
Author and Title Manuscript evidence is unanimous that someone named “John” wrote this little treatise, which is consistently labeled the “first” of his extant letters in titles found in ancient copies. But who is this “John”? For a number of… Read More »Introduction to 1 John
Author and Title Within 2 Peter itself there is strong evidence for authorship by the apostle Peter. In 1:1 the author claims to be “Simeon Peter … apostle of Jesus Christ.” Moreover, he claims to have been an eyewitness of the transfiguration (1:16–18;… Read More »Introduction to 2 Peter
Author and Title That this letter was written by the apostle Peter is explicitly affirmed by 1:1 and by the author’s claim to be an “eyewitness of the sufferings of Christ” (5:1). The title of the letter, The First Letter of Peter,… Read More »Introduction to 1 Peter
Author and Title The title of this book derives from the name of its author, James the Just (as he was called), the brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55) and leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15). There is general consensus… Read More »Introduction to James
Author, Audience, and Title The author of Hebrews neither names himself nor clearly designates his audience. The traditional title “to the Hebrews” reflects the ancient assumption that the original recipients were Jewish Christians. The author’s identity has been a matter… Read More »Introduction to Hebrews
Author and Title Paul and Timothy are explicitly named as the authors in verse 1. It becomes apparent, however, that the apostle Paul is the principal author when the first person singular (“I”) is used from verse 4 throughout the rest of the… Read More »Introduction to Philemon
Author and Title As the first verse states, this letter was written by the apostle Paul to his coworker Titus. In the last two centuries the Pauline authorship of Titus (as well as 1 and 2 Timothy) has been called… Read More »Introduction to Titus
Author and Title The first two verses of 2 Timothy clearly present the author as Paul and the recipient as Timothy. As with 1 Timothy and Titus (the other two “Pastoral Epistles”), the authorship of 2 Timothy has been challenged… Read More »Introduction to 2 Timothy
Author and Title The first verse of 1 Timothy clearly states that Paul is the author, and this was universally affirmed until the nineteenth century. In the last 200 years a significant shift has occurred in biblical scholarship so that… Read More »Introduction to 1 Timothy
Author and Title Although some scholars today have questioned Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians, the unanimous testimony of the early church fathers supports Pauline authorship. The main reasons given by those who question Pauline authorship include: (1) The eschatology of… Read More »Introduction to 2 Thessalonians
Author and Title Paul is widely regarded as the author of 1 Thessalonians, as evidenced by how compatible the vocabulary, style, and theology are with his other letters. The mention of Silas (“Silvanus”) and Timothy as co-senders (1:1) may indicate… Read More »Introduction to 1 Thessalonians
Author and Title Paul and Timothy are explicitly named as the authors of Colossians (1:1). Timothy probably served as Paul’s secretary (amanuensis) since the first person singular (“I”) is used throughout the letter (e.g.,1:24). The title indicates that Paul wrote… Read More »Introduction to Colossians
Author and Title Paul is the stated author of Philippians, and few have questioned his authorship. It was written to the Christians in the Roman colony of Philippi. Date Scholars have debated Paul’s location when he wrote Philippians. Caesarea, Ephesus,… Read More »Introduction to Philippians
Author and Title Pauline authorship of Ephesians was universally accepted until modern times. Today a number of scholars claim that it was written in Paul’s name by an unknown follower or imitator of Paul, and they give two main reasons:… Read More »Introduction to Ephesians
Author and Title The first word of the letter to the Galatians is “Paul,” and there has been widespread agreement by scholars down through the ages that Paul is indeed the author. The title in most Greek editions of the… Read More »Introduction to Galatians
Author and Title The apostle Paul is the undisputed author of 2 Corinthians. Although some scholars have questioned whether Paul wrote 6:14–7:1, due to its unique vocabulary and subject matter, these differences are more likely due to the fact that in… Read More »Introduction to 2 Corinthians
Author and Title The first word of 1 Corinthians states that Paul is its author. There is no good reason to doubt this. The theological concerns of the letter, the energy of its style, its vocabulary, and its historical connections… Read More »Introduction to 1 Corinthians
Author and Title As the opening words of the letter indicate, the apostle Paul wrote the book of Romans. Only a few scholars in history have doubted his authorship, and their doubts have been shown to be groundless. The title… Read More »Introduction to Romans
Acts is unique among the NT writings, in that its main purpose is to record a selective history of the early church following the resurrection of Christ. It is the second part of a two-volume work, with the Gospel of… Read More »Introduction to Acts
Author and Title The title says that the Gospel was written by John, and other evidence identifies this John as the son of Zebedee. The internal evidence indicates that the author was (1) an apostle (1:14; cf. 2:11; 19:35), (2)… Read More »Introduction to John
Author The third Gospel does not name its author. This is also true of the book of Acts, the author’s second work. This does not mean, however, that the original readers did not know who wrote these two books. The… Read More »Introduction to Luke
Author and Title Widespread evidence from the early church fathers affirms that Peter passed on reports of the words and deeds of Jesus to his attendant and writer, John Mark. Of particular significance in this regard are the brief statements… Read More »Introduction to Mark
Author and Title Since none of the four Gospels includes the names of their authors in the original manuscripts, they are all technically anonymous. This is not surprising, since the authors likely compiled their Gospel accounts for members of their… Read More »Introduction to Matthew
Author and Title The Hebrew name “Malachi” means “my messenger,” or perhaps “messenger of (the Lord)” if “Malachi” is a shortened form of “Malachiah” (2 Esd. 1:40). Based on the lxx and Targum Jonathan, some scholars have argued that “Malachi” in 1:1 ought to be understood… Read More »Introduction to Malachi
Author and Date The prophet Zechariah was a priest, the son of Berechiah and grandson of Iddo. He was a member of a prominent priestly family who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel in about 538 b.c. (Neh. 12:4). Zechariah began his ministry… Read More »Introduction to Zechariah
Author and Title The book of Haggai contains messages delivered by the prophet Haggai, and thus it is reasonable to consider Haggai its author. The name Haggai, which means “festal,” promotes the conjecture that his birth occurred during a festival… Read More »Introduction to Haggai
Author and Title While the originator of the words of this book ultimately was Israel’s God (“the Lord”), the prophetic intermediary who delivered them to Judah was Zephaniah, after whom the book is named. Little is known about him apart from… Read More »Introduction to Zephaniah
Author and Title Little is known about the prophet Habakkuk. He was likely a contemporary of Zephaniah and Jeremiah, and possibly even of Ezekiel and Daniel, but none of the other prophets mention him. His name appears twice in the… Read More »Introduction to Habakkuk
Author and Title The book is named after its author, the prophet Nahum of Elkosh. His name means “comfort.” The message given to him by God, that Nineveh would be destroyed, brings comfort to Judah. The location of Elkosh is… Read More »Introduction to Nahum
Author and Title Rather than being identified by his father or family (cf. Joel “son of Pethuel” [Joel 1:1]; Jonah “son of Amittai” [Jonah 1:1]), this prophet is identified by a location, “Micah of Moresheth” (Mic. 1:1; for Moresheth-gath, see 1:14).… Read More »Introduction to Micah
Author and Title The title of the book is the name of the main character, Jonah. The book is anonymous, and there are no indicators elsewhere in Scripture to identify the author. The foundational source for the book was likely… Read More »Introduction to Jonah
Author and Title The superscription for the book identifies the genre as a “vision,” a prophetic revelation from God spoken through his prophet “Obadiah.” Unfortunately, the only thing known about this prophet is his name (a common one in the… Read More »Introduction to Obadiah
Author and Title The first verse of the book identifies it as the work of Amos, one of “the shepherds of Tekoa.” Nothing else is known about Amos apart from what he says about himself in 7:14–15. There Amos insists that… Read More »Introduction to Amos
Title and Author “Joel, the son of Pethuel,” whose name means “Yahweh is God,” gives the book its title. Little is known of Joel except what is learned from the book itself. His references to Judah (3:1, 6, 8, 18,… Read More »Introduction to Joel
Author and Title The opening verse, “The word of the Lord that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri,” identifies Hosea with other OT prophets and follows the same general pattern of naming the book after its author (cf. Joel 1:1;Jonah 1:1; Mic. 1:1; Zeph.… Read More »Introduction to Hosea
Author and Title The book of Daniel, named after and written by Daniel in the sixth century b.c., records the events of his life and the visions that he saw from the time of his exile in 605 (1:1) until the… Read More »Introduction to Daniel
Author and Title Ezekiel is both the name of the sixth-century b.c. prophet and the title of the book that records his preaching. Ezekiel’s name (Hb. Yekhezqe’l) means “God strengthens” or “May God strengthen,” appropriate for a prophet called to proclaim a message… Read More »Introduction to Ezekiel
Author and Title In the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations is called Ekah (“How”), after the first word in the book. This word occurs in 1:1, 2:1, and 4:1 to emphasize how much Jerusalem has suffered. The book does not identify its author, which should keep… Read More »Introduction to Lamentations
Author and Title Determining the authorship of the book of Jeremiah is complicated by several factors: the variety of types of literature found in the book, the differences between the Hebrew and Greek versions of the book, and the difficult… Read More »Introduction to Jeremiah
Author and Title The opening words of the book explain that this is “the vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz” (1:1). Unlike Jeremiah, who discloses aspects of his inner personal life (e.g., Jer. 20:7–12), Isaiah says little about himself. Isaiah 6 records… Read More »Introduction to Isaiah
Author and Date The questions of who wrote the Song of Solomon, when it was written, how to read it properly, and what it means as part of Scripture are intertwined, and have occasioned many disagreements. Jews and Christians have… Read More »Introduction to The Song of Solomon
Author, Title, and Date The traditional English title comes from the book’s heading in the Latin Vulgate translation (Liber Ecclesiastes) and is an anglicized version of the Greek and Latin renderings of the speaker’s designation in Ecclesiastes 1:1 (Gk. ekklēsiastēs; Hb. Qoheleth). The Hebrew… Read More »Introduction to Ecclesiastes
Author and Date Proverbs itself mentions Solomon (reigned c. 971–931 b.c.) as author or collector of its contents (1:1; 10:1), including the proverbs copied by Hezekiah’s men (25:1). There are also two batches of sayings from a group called “the wise”… Read More »Introduction to Proverbs
Title The book of Psalms, or Psalter, has supplied to believers some of their best-loved Bible passages. It is a collection of 150 poems that express a wide variety of emotions, including: love and adoration toward God, sorrow over sin,… Read More »Introduction to The Psalms
Author While Job is one of the most profound books of the Bible, its anonymous author can be known only through reading between its lines. Certainly he can be numbered among “the wise” (cf. Prov. 24:23), given his fondness for proverbs,… Read More »Introduction to Job
Author and Title Like many OT books, Esther is an anonymous work. The only hints of its origin are the references it contains to some of the key events of the story being committed to writing in either official court… Read More »Introduction to Esther
Author and Title Nehemiah is the central figure in the book, and it contains some of his own records, but he is not the author of the whole book. The author is probably the same as the author of Ezra… Read More »Introduction to Nehemiah
Author and Title Ezra 1–6 recounts events long before Ezra’s time, and the book does not state who wrote this section. Ezra is the main figure in chapters 7–10; part of this section clearly comes from his own hand, since it is… Read More »Introduction to Ezra
For an outline for 2 Chronicles, see Outline for 1–2 Chronicles. The beginning of what is today called 2 Chronicles comes midway in the second major section of Chronicles, on the united kingdom of David and Solomon (1 Chronicles 10–2 Chronicles… Read More »Introduction to 2 Chronicles
Author and Title The text nowhere directly identifies its author (traditionally designated “the Chronicler”). Jewish tradition assigned the work to Ezra the scribe, who lived in the fifth century b.c., and some modern scholarship has supported this view. But the question… Read More »Introduction to 1–2 Chronicles
Outline The Death of Ahaziah (1:1–18) Elisha and Israel (2:1–10:36) Elijah gives way to Elisha (2:1–25) Elisha and the conquest of Moab (3:1–27) Elisha’s miracles (4:1–44) A Syrian is healed (5:1–27) Elisha and Syria (6:1–23) The siege of Samaria (6:24–7:20)… Read More »Introduction to 2 Kings
Author and Title As the titles of the books indicate, 1–2 Kings describe the period of the monarchy in ancient Israel (970–586 b.c.), excluding most of the reigns of King Saul and King David (which are mainly described in 1–2 Samuel,… Read More »Introduction to 1–2 Kings
Outline Story of King David (1:1–20:26) David and the death of Saul (1:1–27) David becomes king (2:1–5:5) Jerusalem, the city of David (5:6–25) Zion, the place of worship (6:1–23) Davidic covenant: eternal throne (7:1–29) Catalog of David’s military activities (8:1–18)… Read More »Introduction to 2 Samuel
Author and Title The Hebrew title “Samuel” refers to Samuel as the key figure in 1–2 Samuel, the one who established the monarchy in Israel by anointing first Saul and then David; Samuel was the kingmaker in the history of… Read More »Introduction to 1–2 Samuel
Author and Title The book is named for its main character, Ruth, a Moabite widow who married the Bethlehemite Boaz. She became an ancestor of King David (4:17, 22) and thus an ancestor of the Messiah (Matt. 1:1, 5–6). The… Read More »Introduction to Ruth
Author and Title The name of the book of Judges comes from the title given to the 12 leaders (“judges,” whose temporary leadership was both civil and military) of Israel during the period between Joshua and Samuel. The book is… Read More »Introduction to Judges
Author and Title The book of Joshua is named for its leading character. (For more on Joshua, see note on 1:1.) The book’s author, however, is not explicitly mentioned. The Talmud—a collection of ancient writings by rabbis on Jewish law and… Read More »Introduction to Joshua
Author and Title The name “Deuteronomy” derives from the Greek for “second law,” an early mistranslation of “copy of this law” in 17:18. In fact, Deuteronomy emphasizes that its laws are not a new law but rather the preaching of the… Read More »Introduction to Deuteronomy
Author, Date, and Title The composition of Numbers cannot be discussed just on its own, as it is an integral part of the Pentateuch, so for a fuller review see Introduction to the Pentateuch. The evidence for the authorship of Numbers… Read More »Introduction to Numbers
Author, Date, and Title The authorship of Leviticus is closely related to the larger question of who wrote the Pentateuch. As discussed in Introduction to the Pentateuch: Composition, the Pentateuch itself clearly presents Moses as the mediator between the Lord and… Read More »Introduction to Leviticus
Title Exodus is the second of the first five books of the OT, which are referred to collectively as either “Torah” (“law,” “instruction” in Hb.) or “Pentateuch” (“five-volumed” in Gk.). The English title “Exodus” is taken from the Septuagint and… Read More »Introduction to Exodus
Author, Title, and Date The English title “Genesis” comes from the Greek translation of the Pentateuch and means “origin,” a very apt title because Genesis is all about origins—of the world, of the human race, of sin, and of the… Read More »Introduction to Genesis