The books of the Bible
Before you read a book: who wrote it, when, what kind of writing it is, how it is laid out, and why it matters — with every source named.
66 of the 66 books carry a full introduction, quoted from the public-domain encyclopedias; the rest link straight to the reader.
Torah
GenesisEaston's ascribes the book to Moses, allowing that he may…ExodusEaston's ascribes Exodus, like the rest of the Pentateuch…LeviticusEaston's calls it the third book of Moses; ISBE grants…NumbersEaston's says the book, like the rest of the Pentateuch…DeuteronomyEaston's holds that the author was none other than Moses…
History
JoshuaEaston's follows the Jewish tradition that Joshua wrote…JudgesEaston's thinks the author was most probably Samuel; ISBE…RuthEaston's says the author was probably Samuel, according to…1 SamuelEaston's names Samuel, Gad and Nathan as the probable…2 SamuelEaston's names Samuel, Gad and Nathan as the probable…1 KingsEaston's calls the authorship uncertain, noting the…2 KingsEaston's calls the authorship uncertain, noting the…1 ChroniclesEaston's follows the Jewish tradition that Ezra wrote…2 ChroniclesEaston's follows the Jewish tradition that Ezra wrote…EzraEaston's thinks Ezra was probably the author of at least…NehemiahEaston's says the author was no doubt Nehemiah himself…EstherBoth articles call the author unknown: Easton's supposes a…
Wisdom & Song
JobEaston's calls the authorship altogether uncertain…PsalmsEaston's says the psalms are the work of various authors…ProverbsEaston's says Solomon gathered and recast earlier proverbs…EcclesiastesEaston's maintains the traditional view that Solomon wrote…Song of SolomonEaston's holds that internal and external evidence…
Major Prophets
IsaiahEaston's ascribes the whole book to Isaiah the son of…JeremiahEaston's treats the book as Jeremiah's own prophecies…LamentationsBoth articles follow the LXX, the Targum and Jewish…EzekielEaston's identifies the author as Ezekiel, a priest among…DanielEaston's holds that Daniel wrote the book, as the book…
Minor Prophets
HoseaEaston's: the prophet Hosea, a contemporary of Isaiah…JoelEaston's: the prophet Joel, probably a resident of Judah.AmosEaston's: Amos of Tekoa, a herdsman and dresser of…ObadiahThe prophet Obadiah, of whom Easton's says only that he…JonahEaston's finds every reason to believe Jonah wrote the…MicahEaston's: Micah of Moresheth, a prophet of Judah and a…NahumThe prophet Nahum, whom Easton's thinks wrote in Jerusalem.HabakkukThe prophet Habakkuk, whom Easton's calls a contemporary…ZephaniahEaston's: Zephaniah the son of Cushi, great-grandson of…HaggaiEaston's: Haggai, the first of the three prophets after…ZechariahEaston's: Zechariah the son of Berechiah, a prophet of…MalachiEaston's: the prophet Malachi, a contemporary of Nehemiah…
Gospels
MatthewEaston's says the author was beyond a doubt the apostle…MarkEaston's: Mark, drawing mainly on Peter's preaching; ISBE…LukeEaston's: Luke, who traced the facts from the best sources…JohnEaston's says the apostle John's authorship is beyond all…
Acts
Pauline Letters
RomansPaul, writing from Corinth (Easton's); ISBE says its…1 CorinthiansPaul, writing from Ephesus (Easton's); Easton's says its…2 CorinthiansPaul, writing from Macedonia after Titus brought news from…GalatiansPaul; Easton's says its genuineness is not called in…EphesiansPaul, writing from Rome during his first imprisonment…PhilippiansPaul, writing in bonds at Rome (Easton's).ColossiansPaul, from Rome during his first imprisonment (Easton's)…1 ThessaloniansPaul, writing from Corinth; Easton's calls it the first of…2 ThessaloniansPaul, again from Corinth (Easton's); ISBE defends the…1 TimothyPaul, writing from Macedonia to Timothy at Ephesus…2 TimothyPaul, a prisoner at Rome for the second time (Easton's)…TitusPaul, writing from Nicopolis after leaving Titus in Crete…PhilemonPaul, writing from Rome with the letters to Colossae and…
General Letters
HebrewsEaston's thinks Paul the best-supported author while…JamesEaston's: James the Lord's brother; ISBE says it was…1 PeterThe apostle Peter, writing from Babylon on the Euphrates…2 PeterEaston's says the weight of evidence favours the apostle…1 JohnEaston's: evidently John the evangelist, writing at…2 JohnEaston's treats it as the apostle John's, written soon…3 JohnEaston's treats it as the apostle John's, written soon…JudeEaston's identifies “Judas, the brother of James” with the…
Apocalypse