ABSTRACT
In Jewish tradition, the Writings include, besides the more ‘literary’ books, two non-historical narratives, Esther and Ruth, and also the acrostic poem Lamentations, (attributed to Jeremiah), and Daniel, who is not a prophet. In addition, the last ‘historical’ books, the sequence from Chronicles to Nehemiah (by a single author, probably written c.250–150 bc), are recognised as belonging to a later tradition, and are also included among the Writings. Of all these works, much material in Psalms and Proverbs is very early, but the books as they stand were compiled in stages after the exile, between the sixth and second centuries bc. The rest on the whole belong within the same late period, and are regarded as less sacred, though still with their place in the liturgy.
