Editing Nevi'im (section)

===Former Prophets===
{{further|Deuteronomist#Deuteronomistic history}}
The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, and 1st & 2nd Kings. They contain historical narratives that begin immediately after the death of Moses with the divine appointment of Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land, and end with the release from imprisonment of the last king of Judah. Treating Samuel and Kings as single books, they cover:
# Joshua's conquest of the land of Canaan (in the [[Book of Joshua]]), 
# the struggle of the people to possess the land (in the [[Book of Judges]]), 
# the people's request to God to give them a king so that they can occupy the land in the face of their enemies (in the books of 1st and 2nd [[Samuel]])
# the possession of the land under the divinely-appointed kings of the House of David, ending in conquest and foreign exile (1st and 2nd Kings)
The reference to the "former prophets" or "earlier prophets" in [[Zechariah 1#Preface (1:1–6)|Zechariah 1]]:4 probably includes "the whole body of prophets" prior to the post-exilic period when [[Haggai]] and [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Zechariah]] were active.<ref>[[T. T. Perowne|Perowne, T. T.]], (1890), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/zechariah/1.htm Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges] on Zechariah 1, accessed on 27 December 2024</ref>

====Joshua====
The [[Book of Joshua]]  (''Yehoshua'' יהושע) contains a history of the [[Israelites]] from the death of [[Moses]] to that of [[Joshua]]. After Moses' death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses' successor, receives from God the command to cross the Jordan. In execution of this order Joshua issues the requisite instructions to the stewards of the people for the crossing of the Jordan; and he reminds the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half of Manasseh of their pledge given to Moses to help their brethren. He also performs miracles, or magic, such as stopping the sun and moon, and stopping the Jordan river.

The book essentially consists of three parts:
# The history of the conquest of the land (1–12).
# The allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites (13–22), and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes.
# The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death (23, 24).

====Judges====
The [[Book of Judges]] (''Shoftim'' שופטים) consists of three distinct parts:
#The Introduction (1:1–3:10 and 3:12) giving a summary of the book of Joshua.
#The Main Text (3:11–16:31), discussing the five Great Judges, [[Abimelech (Judges)|Abimelech]], and providing glosses for a few minor Judges.
#The Appendices (17:1–21:25), giving two stories set in the time of the Judges, but not discussing the Judges themselves.

====Samuel====
The [[Books of Samuel]] (''Shmu'el'' שמואל) consists of five parts:
* The period of [[Tetragrammaton|God]]'s rejection of [[Eli (biblical figure)|Eli]], [[Samuel]]'s birth, and subsequent judgment (1 Samuel 1:1–7:17).
* The period of the life of [[Saul]] prior to meeting [[David]] (1 Samuel 8:1–15:35).
* The period of Saul's interaction with David (1 Samuel 16:1 – 2 Samuel 1:27).
* The period of David's reign and the rebellions he suffers (2 Samuel 2:1–20:22).
* An appendix of material concerning David in no particular order, and out of sequence with the rest of the text (2 Samuel 22:1–24:25).

A conclusion of sorts appears at [[1 Kings]] 1–2, concerning [[Solomon]] enacting a final revenge on those who did what David perceived as wrongdoing, and having a similar narrative style. While the subject matter in the Book(s) of Samuel is also covered by the narrative in [[Books of Chronicles|Chronicles]], it is noticeable that the section (2 Sam. 11:2–12:29) containing an account of the matter of [[Bathsheba]] is omitted in the corresponding passage in 1 Chr. 20.

====Kings====
The [[Books of Kings]] (''Melakhim'' {{lang|he|מלכים}}) contain accounts of the kings of the ancient [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Kingdom of Israel]] and the [[Kingdom of Judah]], and the [[annals]] of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon until the subjugation of the kingdom by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] and the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]].