A Tannaitic Book List

The sages taught: The order of the [books of the] Prophets [when they are attached together is as follows]: Joshua and Judges, Samuel and Kings, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, [and] Isaiah and the Twelve [Prophets. The Gemara asks:] Consider: Hosea preceded [some of the other prophets whose books are included in the Bible], as it is written: The Lord spoke first to Hosea (Hosea 1:2). [At first glance this verse is difficult:] But did God speak first with Hosea, [and not with any other prophet before him]? Weren’t there many prophets between Moses and Hosea? And R. Yoḥanan says: He was the first of four prophets who prophesied in that period, and they were: Hosea and Isaiah, Amos and Micah. [Accordingly, Hosea preceded those three prophets;] and [the book of] Hosea [as well] should precede [the books of those prophets].

[The Gemara answers:] Since his prophecy is written together with [those of] Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi [in one book of the Twelve Prophets], and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi were the last of the prophets, he is counted with them. [The Gemara inquires:] But let [the book of Hosea] be written separately and let it precede [the others. The Gemara answers: Were it written separately,] since it is small it would be lost.

[The Gemara further asks:] Consider: Isaiah preceded Jeremiah and Ezekiel; let [the book of] Isaiah precede [the books of those other prophets. The Gemara answers:] Since [the book of] Kings ends with the destruction [of the Temple], and [the book of] Jeremiah [deals] entirely with [prophecies of] the destruction, and [the book of] Ezekiel begins with the destruction [of the Temple] but ends with consolation [and the rebuilding of the Temple], and Isaiah [deals] entirely with consolation, [as most of his prophecies refer to the redemption,] we juxtapose destruction to destruction and consolation to consolation. [This accounts for the order: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah.]

[The baraita continues:] The order of the Writings is: Ruth and the book of Psalms, and Job and Proverbs; Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations; Daniel and the scroll of Esther; and Ezra and Chronicles. [The Gemara asks:] And according to the one who says that Job lived in the time of Moses, let [the book of] Job precede [the others. The Gemara answers:] We do not begin with suffering, [i.e., it is inappropriate to start the Writings with a book that deals so extensively with suffering. The Gemara asks: But the book of] Ruth, [with which the Writings opens,] is also [about] suffering, [since it describes the tragedies that befell the family of Elimelech. The Gemara answers: This is] suffering which has a future [of hope and redemption]. As R. Yoḥanan says: Why was she named Ruth, [spelled resh, vav, tav? Because there] descended from her David, who sated [a word with the root resh, vav, heh] the Holy One with songs and praises.