A-2. History, Historiography, and the Biblical Text

The historians who composed the ancient historiographical work, which is found today in the ancient core of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, reflected their worldview in it. They aimed not to tell the history of Judah (or of Israel and Judah), but to explain the historical progression, the overall situation, and the reasons why Judah and Jerusalem were where they were at that period of time. This is a historiographical text designed to explain history, not historical literature designed to plainly record what happened. That is how it should be read and understood.