In the
Kritische Geschichte, Gramberg divides the history of Old Testament religion into seven periods: (1) Genesis,
Exodus, and
Judges, reflecting the time of the monarchy from
King David to
Hezekiah; (2)
Samuel and
Ruth, originating in the early monarchy but written down just before the
Babylonian Exile; (3) the prophetic books of
Isaiah 1-35,
Hosea,
Joel,
Amos,
Micah,
Nahum, and
Zephaniah, from the 8th-7th centuries BCE; (4) the cultic regulations of
Leviticus and
Numbers, as well as
Jeremiah,
Lamentations,
Ezekiel,
Habakkuk, and
Obadiah, from the time of the Babylonian Exile; (5)
Kings,
Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Isaiah 40–66,
Proverbs,
Job, and
Jonah, from the end of the Exile; (6) the period of the return from the Exile, represented by, among others, the books of
Ezra and
Nehemiah; and (7) the Persian and Hellenistic periods, in which were written Chronicles,
Esther, and
Daniel. Gramberg then evaluates the history of Old Testament religion, specifically the priesthood (vol. 1) and the theocratic rulers (vol. 2), in light of this schema. The priests are seen as having consolidated their power as time went on, with the theocracy surviving only in messianic hopes for a glorified Messiah king. Much of Gramberg's historical division is owed to the work of
W. M. L. de Wette, on whose
Beiträge zur Einleitung in das Alte Testament Gramberg frequently draws. He did not share with de Wette, however, an adherence to the philosophy of
Jakob Friedrich Fries. The lasting influence of Gramberg's work, which he was unable to complete in his short lifetime, is most visible in
Johann Friedrich Ludwig George's book on Israelite festivals, which extended the
historical reconstruction of de Wette and Gramberg to its natural conclusion. ==References==