Tremper Longman III Even a superficial reading of the Old Testament shows the importance of coming to grips with its relationship to history in order to hear God’s word in it. Much of the Old Testament purports to narrate past events. Genesis through Ezra-Nehemiah and Esther present narrative accounts of a time period that stretches from creation to the late postexilic period.1 The prophetic books often begin with superscriptions that associate oracles with