The Hebrew Bible divides the Prophets into two sections: the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. Under Former Prophets it lists four of what are now set among the historical works (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), while under Latter Prophets it places the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel (the four major writing prophets), plus twelve shorter works (the minor prophets): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

While the prophets often provide graphic insight into the history of their times, their primary concern was to move and mould the spirit of their people. To do this, they often use colourful symbolic language, and interpret the history and destiny of Israel in a pronouncedly theocratic key. The kind of truth to be sought for in the prophecies is practical rather than critical-historical, as Pierre Benoit pointed out; their main aim is instruction in fidelity to the Covenant.

Prophecies from Different Eras

With its 66 chapters, this is the longest of the prophetical writings of the Old Testament. Its opening phrase identifies Isaiah as the son of Amoz and his book as a vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. His inaugural vision (6:1ff) came to him in the temple, in the year that King Uzziah died (742 B.C.). Isaiah's prophetic ministry is recorded as continuing up to about 700 B.C. Only chapters 1-39 can bear any real reference to events that happened during the prophet's lifetime. It is clear that chapters 40-66 were composed much later and these are therefore designated as Deutero-Isaiah (Second Isaiah). A further distinction is made by some scholars, between Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55) and a third section they name Trito-Isaiah (chapters 56-66).

First Isaiah

First Isaiah (1-39) has of numerous sayings and deeds of the prophet, some of which were doubtless written by himself, though some are attributed to his disciples. Though the structure of the book is rather complicated, its main message is clearly discernible. Isaiah was much influenced by the worship ceremonies in Jerusalem, and his exalted view of Yahweh and of Mount Zion, the temple mount, is reflected in his message. He insists that only a firm trust in Yahweh, rather than in shifting political or military alliances, could protect his people from the advances of their enemies, who, in this latter half of the eighth century, were specifically the Assyrians. He passionately denounced both social injustice and meaningless rituals and warned of Yahweh's judgment upon the sins of Judah and Jerusalem - but like the other prophetic writers who followed him, he also envisioned a new future for those who relied on Yahweh. Isaiah's predictions of a coming Messiah, descended from king David's line, proved very imporant as a basis for later Jewish and Christian hopes.

Deutero- and Trito-Isaiah

The second part, or Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55), is a collection of oracles, songs, and discourses, dates from the Babylonian Exile (586 - 536 B.C.). The anonymous prophetic author was among the exiles and looked forward to the deliverance of his people. He predicts the destruction of Babylon and the return of the exiles to their homeland.. His collection of servant-of-Yahweh songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) are a powerful background for understanding Christ's passion, although the original focus was probably an ideology of kingship: the king, as God's anointed one, had a special power through his righteous obedience to effect his people's deliverance, even from exile in Babylon.

The third part, or Trito-Isaiah (56-66), probably written in a still later period, reflects the cultic concerns of the restored community, back in the land of Israel.

Main Headings:

A. Introductory Collection of Sayings (1:1-31)

B. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: Part I (2:1-5:30)

C. Isaiah's Memoirs (6:1-9:6)

D. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: Part II (9:8-12:6)

E. Prophecies against the Nations (13:1-23:18)

F. The Apocalypse of Isaiah (24:1-27:13)

G. Final Struggle for Jerusalem (28:1-33:24)

H. Judgment On Edom, and Zion Redeemed (34:1-39:8)

Outline of First Isaiah (Chapters 1-39)

A. Introductory Collection of Sayings (1:1-31)

1. The Heading (1:1)

2. The Bruised Survivors (1:2-9)

3. Call for a New Religion of Justice (1:10-20)

4. Purification of Jerusalem (1:21-28)

5. End of Idolatry (1:29-31)

B. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: part I (2:1-5:30)

1. Zion, Focus of Future Peace (2:2-4)

2. The Day of Yahweh's Judgment (2:6-22)

3. Anarchy (3:1-12)

4. Those who Lead Others Astray (3:13-15)

5. Fate of the Women of Jerusalem (3:16-4:1)

6. Life of the Holy Remnant (4:2-6)

7. Song of the Lord's Vineyard (5:1-7)

8. Seven Woes (5:8-24) + (10:1-4)

9. Hand Outstretched in Anger (5:25-30) + (9:8-20)

C. Isaiah's Memoirs (6:1-9:6)

1. Isaiah's Inaugural Vision (6:1-13)

2. Challenge to Faithless Ahaz (7:1-9)

3. The Sign of Immanuel (7:10-17)

4. Devastation to Come (7:18-25)

5. Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz: Spoil-Prey (8:1-4)

6. Rivers Shiloah and Euphrates (8:5-8)

7. God-is-with-Us (8:9-10)

8. Right Standards (8:11-15)

9. Waiting for the Lord (8:16-18)

10. Against Superstition (8:19-22)

11. Prince of Peace (9:1-7)

D. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: Part II (9:8-12:6)

1. Yahweh's Outstretched Hand (9:8-20) + (5:25-30)

2. Woe to Oppressive Rulers (10:1-4)

3. Woe to Assyria (10:5-15)

4. Yahweh's Chastising Fire (10:16-18)

5. Remnant Need Not Fear (10:19-29)

6. Enemy from the North (10:30-34)

7. The Future King: From Jesse's Stump (11:1-9)

8. Future Glory of God's People (11:10-16)

9. Song of Thanksgiving (12:1-6)

E. Prophecies against the Nations (13:1-23:18)

1. Great City, Heading for Ruin (13:1-22)

2. The Gentiles and Israel's Restoration (14:1-2)

3. Taunt-Song against the King of Babylon (14:3-23)

4. Yahweh's Plan for Assyria (14:24-27)

5. Warning to Philistia (14:29-32)

6. Concerning Moab (15:1-16:14)

7. Against Syria and Israel (17:1-11)

8. Attack and Deliverance (17:12-14)

9. Embassy From Egypt (18:1-7)

10. Concerning Egypt (19:1-25)

11. Isaiah a Sign and Portent to Egypt (20:1-6)

12. On the fall of Babylon (21:1-10)

13. Concerning Dumah, Dedan, and Jedar (21:11-17)

14. The Punished Guilt of Jerusalem (22:1-14)

15. Corrupt Officials, Shebna and Eliakim (22:15-25)

16. Concerning Tyre (23:1-18)

F. The Apocalypse of Isaiah (24:1-27:13)

1. Judgment on the World (24:1-20)

2. Yahweh's Kingship (24:21-23)

3. Yahweh Humbles and Exalts (25:1-5)

4. Banquet on Mt. Zion (25:6-10a)

5. Decline of Moab (25:10b-12)

6. Prayer for Deliverance (26:1-21)

7. God's Cherished Vineyard (27:2-6)

8. Future Salvation of Israel (27:7-13)

G. Final Struggle for Jerusalem (28:1-33:24)

1. Against Samaria (28:1-6)

2. Against Drunken Scoffers in Jerusalem (28:7-22)

3. Zion Besieged, like Ariel (29:1-8)

4. Against the People's Shallow Atheism (29:9-16)

5. Salvation is Near (29:17-24)

6. Unwise Refuge with Pharao (30:1-5)

7. Vain Hopes from the South (30:6-7)

8. The Great Alternative (30:8-17)

9. Those who Wait for Yahweh (30:18-26)

10. Yahweh's Feast (30:27-33)

11. Woe against Reliance On Egypt (31:1-7)

12. Against Assyria (31:8-9)

13. An Ideal Kingdom (32:1-8)

14. Complacent Women, Beware! (32:9-15)

15. Gifts of the Spirit (32:16-20)

16. Beginning of the Kingdom (33:1-24)

a) A Prayer for Salvation (33:2-9)

b) To Dwell With Yahweh (33:13-16)

c) The Future Jerusalem (33:17-24)

H. Judgment On Edom, and Zion Redeemed (34:1-39:8)

1. A Judgment On Edom (34:1-17)

2. The Flowering of the Southern Desert (35:1-10)

3. Narratives About Isaiah and Hezekiah (36:1-39:8)

a) Sennacherib's Invasion of Judah (36:1-37:38)

b) Hezekiah's Illness (38:1-22)

c) The Embassy From Merodach-Baladan (39:1-8)

"Deutero" Isaiah(40-55)

A. Overture (40:1-31)

1. Comfort My People (40:1-11)

2. Creator and Saviour (40:12-31)

B. Prophetic Fulfillment in the New Exodus (41:1-48:22)

1. The Servant Hears and Is Saved (41:1-44:23)

a) Yahweh Champions Justice: Fear Not (41:1-42:13)

(1) Champion of Justice (41:1-20)

(2) Peaceful Ways of Justice (41:21-43:21)

b) Yahweh Alone Saves (43:22-44:23)

2. Cyrus, Anointed Liberator (44:24-47:15)

a) Commissioning of Cyrus (45:1-8)

b) Clay and Potter (45:9-13)

c) The Lord's Decree (45:14-25)

d) Trial against Israel (46:1-13)

e) Taunt against Babylon (47:1-15)

3. Conclusion (48:1-22)

a) Yahweh, First and Last (48:1-16)

b) Message of Promise (48:17-19)

c) Concluding Hymn (48:20-22)

C. Comforting Zion (49:1-54:17)

1. From Sorrow to Redemption (49:1-51:8)

a) Commissioning of Servant Prophet (49:1-7)

b) Announcement of the New Exodus (49:8-13)

c) Announcement of Salvation for Zion (49:14-26)

d) Confidence of the Servant Prophet (50:1-11)

e) Promise of Salvation (51:1-8)

2. Comforting the Mourners (51:9-52:12)

a) Lament and Comfort (51:9-52:6)

b) Messenger of Salvation (52:7-10)

c) Conclusion: a New Exodus (52:11-12)

3. Thanksgiving for the Servant Prophet (52:13-53:12)

4. Zion, Mother and Spouse (54:1-17)

D. Conclusion to the Book of Comfort (55:1-13)

Third Isaiah (Chapters 56-66)

A. Outsiders will Worship in the Temple (56:1-8)

B. Struggle for True Leadership (56:9-59:21)

1. False Leaders; Some Faithful People (56:9-57:13)

2. Comforting the Faithful (57:14-21)

3. True and False Fasting (58:1-14)

4. Indictment, Lament, and Victory (59:1-21)

C. Glorious New Zion (60:1-62:12)

1. A Glorious Day is Dawning (60:1-22)

2. Anointing of the Prophet (61:1-3)

3. Glory of the New Zion (61:4-62:9)

4. Welcoming City (62:10-12)

D. From Sorrow to New Heaven and New Earth (63:1-6:16)

1. The Solitary Conqueror (63:1-6)

2. Divine Mercy and Israel's Sin (63:7-64:11)

3. True and False Servants of Yahweh (65:1-25)

4. True and False Worship, in the New Age (66:1-9)

5. The Coming Joy of Jerusalem (66:10-17)

E. Foreigners at home in God's House (66:18-24)

Dictionary, on Isaiah

This major book contains prophecies delivered over an extended and significant period of Israel's history:

(1) in the reign of Uzziah (Chs. 1-5),

(2) of Jotham (Ch. 6),

(3) of Ahaz (7:1 - 14:28),

(4) the first half of Hezekiah's reign (14:28-35),

(5) the second half of Hezekiah's reign (Ch. 36-39),

(6) during the Babylonian Exile (40:1 - 55:13)

(7) after the Babylonian Exile (56:1 - 66:24)

Counting from the fourth year before Uzziah's death (762 BC.) to the last year of Hezekiah (698 BC.), Isaiah's ministry can have extended for as much as sixty-four years. The prophecies of chapters 40-66 were appended long after Isaiah's death, and clearly reflect the experience of exile in Babylon, as well as the hopeful period following the end of that exile.

The book divides into two (or three) main parts:

(1.) The first thirty-nine chapters, almost wholly prophecying against Israel's enemy Assyria, present the Messiah as a mighty Ruler and King.

(2.) Predictions (40-66), of God's triumph over Israel's enemy, Babylon, and describing the Messiah as a suffering victim, meek and lowly.

"The widest possible range of positions is represented in the scholarly literature concerning First Isaiah. First Isaiah is viewed by some as a rhetorical unity accurately depicting historical and political events during the lifetime and from the perspective of the 8th-century prophet Isaiah. Others view only sections of chaps. 1-39 as emerging from the context of 8th-century Judah and understand the present form of First Isaiah to be under major redactional influence. Still others reject the view altogether that First Isaiah is about the prophet Isaiah and events in his day, preferring to see chaps. 1-39 as a pseudepigraphical magnet attracting various postexilic concerns and aspirations." (Anchor Bible Dictionary)

The date of the section Is. 40-66 has been keenly debated by literary critics. Koppe, a German scholar at the close of the 18th century opined that it must be the production of a deutero-Isaiah, who lived toward the close of the Babylonian captivity. There are other portions of the book also (e.g., ch. 13; 24-27; and certain verses in ch. 14 and 21) which may originate from someone other than Isaiah. Some reckon that various unknown prophets had a hand in the production of this book.

The considerations leading to such a result are various:

(1.) How could Isaiah, living in 700 BC., could foretell the appearance and the exploits of Cyrus, who would set the Jews free from captivity one hundred and seventy years after?

(2.) From Is. 40 onward, the prophet takes the time of the Captivity as his standpoint, and speaks of it as then present;

(3) There is such a difference between the style and language of the closing section (40-66) and those of chapters 1-39 as to suggest a different authorship, and lead us to think of at least two Isaiahs.

When the LXX. version was made (about 250 BC.) the entire contents of the book were ascribed to Isaiah, the son of Amoz. In the time of Jesus the book existed in the form in which we now have it. Many words of Isaiah are quoted in the New Testament (Matt. 3:3; Luke 3:4-6; 4:16-41; John 12:38; Acts 8:28; Rm. 10:16-21).

Isaiah's prophetic ministry is recorded as continuing up to about 700 BC. Only chapters 1-39 can bear any real reference to events that happened during the prophet's lifetime. It is clear that chapters 40-66 were composed much later and these are therefore designated as Deutero-Isaiah (Second Isaiah). A further distinction is made by some scholars, between Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55) and a third section they name Trito-Isaiah (chapters 56-66).

First Isaiah (1-39) has numerous sayings and deeds of the prophet, some of which were doubtless written by himself, though some are attributable to his disciples.

Though the structure of the book is rather complicated, its main message is clearly discernible. Isaiah was much influenced by the worship ceremonies in Jerusalem, and his exalted view of Yahweh and of Mount Zion, the temple mount, is reflected in his message. He insists that only a firm trust in Yahweh, rather than in shifting political or military alliances, could protect his people from the advances of their enemies, who, in this latter half of the eighth century, were specifically the Assyrians. He passionately denounced both social injustice and meaningless rituals and warned of Yahweh's judgment upon the sins of Judah and Jerusalem - but like the other prophetic writers who followed him, he also envisioned a new future for those who relied on Yahweh. Isaiah's predictions of a coming Messiah, descended from king David's line, proved very important as a basis for later Jewish and Christian hopes.

Deutero-Isaiah (chapters 40-55) is a collection of oracles, songs, and discourses, set within the Babylonian Exile (586 - 536 BC.). The anonymous prophetic author was among the exiles and looked forward to the deliverance of his people, through the destruction of Babylon and the return of the exiles to their homeland.

His collection of servant-of-Yahweh songs (42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) are a powerful background for understanding Christ's passion, although the original focus was probably an ideology of kingship: the king, as God's anointed one, had a special power through his righteous obedience to effect his people's deliverance, even from exile in Babylon.

Trito-Isaiah (56-66), written in a still later period (perhaps around 450 BC), reflects the cultic concerns of the restored community, after their resettlement in the land of Israel.

Notes on Jeremiah

Prophecy in Turbulent Times
"Confessions of Jeremiah
Notable Passages
Outline
Dictionary

Prophecy in Turbulent Times

Jeremiah, a Judaean prophet from Anatoth near Jerusalem, whose activity spanned four of the most critical decades in his nation's history, as a young man reluctantly received his prophetic call in the 13th year of the reign of King Josiah (627/626 B.C.). His ministry continued for about forty years, until after the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The prophecy bearing his name is one of the three longest books of the Bible, along with Psalms and Isaiah. His oracles mainly concern the turbulent events of his own times, which he describes with warning and lamentation; however, he also points beyond present disaster to a brighter future for the people of God, who will have the covenant written in their hearts.

"Confessions" of Jeremiah

A striking feature of this book is the confessions of Jeremiah, a set of laments reflecting the struggles and isolation endured by the prophet because of his unpopular message that the people should bow before the Babylonian conquest, as the due punishment for their sins. He graphically describes various imprisonments and threats to his life, so that we know more of the personal history of Jeremiah than of any other Old Testament prophet.

Notable Passages

Jeremiah's Call (1:4-19)
The Temple Discourse (7:1-8:3)
Circumcision Is Worthless (9:24-25)
Jeremiah and the Covenant (11:1-14)
Personal Responsibility (31:29-30)
The New Covenant (31:31-34)
Rebuilding Jerusalem (31:38-40)

Outline

A. Warnings to Judah and Jerusalem (1:4-25:13b)

1. Jeremiah's Call (1:4-19)

a) The Dialogue (1:4-10: 17-19)

b) The Visions (1:11-16)

2. Early Prophecies, in Josiah's Reign (2:1-6:30)

a) An Indictment of Israel (2:1-37)

b) The Return of the Apostate (3:1-4:2)

c) Evils of Judah and Evil of War (4:3-6:30)

(1) Invasion (4:3-31)

(2) Moral Corruption (5:1-31)

(3) Correction (6:1-30)

3. Jeremiah's ministry, under Jehoiakim (7:1-20:18)

a) Misunderstood Covenant (7:1-10:25)

(1) The Temple Discourse (7:1-15)

(2) The Queen of Heaven (7:16-20)

(3) Religion and Sacrifice (7:21-28)

(4) False Cult and Punishment (7:29-8:3)

(5) Universal Estrangement (8:4-12)

(6) The Sacked Vineyard (8:13-17)

(7) The Prophet's lament (8:18-23)

(8) An Attempt at Evasion (9:1-8)

(9) Dirge Over the Land (9:9-21)

(10) True Wisdom (9:22-23)

(11) Circumcision Is Worthless (9:24-25)

(12) Satire On Idolatry (10:1-16)

(13) In Full Flight (10:17-22)

(14) Jeremiah's Prayer (10:23-25)

b) Broken Covenant (11:1-13:27)

(1) Jeremiah and the Covenant (11:1-14)

(2) Misplaced Sayings (11:15-17)

(3) The Plot against Jeremiah (11:18-12:16)

(4) Yahweh's Complaint (12:7-13)

(5) Death Or Life, for Judah's neighbours (12:14-17)

(6) Sign of the Rotting Loincloth (13:1-11)

(7) The Broken Wineflasks (13:12-14)

(8) The Dark Night and Grave Illness (13:15-27)

c) Crime and Punishment (14:1-17:27)

(1) The Great Drought (14:1-15:9)

(2) Renewal of the Call (15:10-21)

(3) Jeremiah's Symbolic Celibacy (16:1-13)

(4) Isolated Sayings (16:14-15, 19-21; 17:1-18)

Return From Exile (16:14-15)

Conversion of the Heathen (16:19-21)

Judah's Guilt (17:1-4)

Sapiential Sayings (17:5-11)

Source of Life (17:12-13)

Prayer for Vengeance (17:14-18)

(5) Observance of the Sabbath (17:19-27)

d) The Prophet's Symbolic Life (18:1-20:18)

(1) Visiting the Potter's House (18:1-12)

(2) Israel Forgets Yahweh (18:13-17)

(3) A Plea for Vengeance (18:18-23)

(4) Broken Flask and Quarrel with Priest (19:1-20:6)

(5) The Confessions of Jeremiah; Near Despair (20:7-18)

4. Jeremiah's ministry Under Zedekiah (21:1-24:10)

a) Answering Zedekiah's Envoys (21:1-10)

b) About Judah's Royal Family (21:11-23:8)

(1) General Warning to the Royal House (21:11-12)

(2) Jerusalem (21:13-14; 22:6-7)

(3) against Jehoiakim (22:13-19)

(4) against Jehoiachin (22:20-30)

(5) Messianic Promise: the Future King (23:1-8)

c) Warning against False Prophets (23:9-40)

d) Vision: the Two Baskets of Figs (24:1-10)

5. Babylon, Yahweh's Chastening Scourge (25:1-13)

6. Judgment against the Nations (25:14-38)

B. Promise of Future Happiness (26:1-35:19)

1. Jeremiah Arrested, Condemned (26:1-24)

2. His Controversy With the False Prophets (27:1-29:32)

a) A Coalition of the West (27:1-22)

b) Prophecy against Prophecy (28:1-17)

c) Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles (29:1-32)

d) The Letter Itself (29:1-23)

e) An Exile's Objection (29:24-32)

3. Restoration Promised for Israel (30:1-31:40)

a) Northern Israel Will Be Restored (30:1-31:22)

b) Jacob's Distress at An End (30:1-11)

c) Healing Israel's Wounds (30:12-17)

d) The Restoration (30:18-24)

e) Good News of Return (31:1-6)

f) The New Exodus (31:7-14)

g) End of Rachel's Mourning (31:15-20)

h) En Route to Return (31:21-22)

j) Restoration of the People (31:23-28)

k) Personal Responsibility (31:29-30)

l) The New Covenant (31:31-34)

m) Stability of Israel (31:35-37)

n) Rebuilding Jerusalem (31:38-40)

4. Restoration Promised for Judah (32:1-33:26)

a) Pledge of Restoration (32:1-44)

The Purchase of a Field (32:1-15)

Jeremiah's Prayer (32:16-25)

The Lord's Answer (32:26-44)

b) Promises for Jerusalem and Judah (33:1-13)

c) Promises, to David's Line (33:14-26)

5. Conditions for Salvation (34:1-35:19)

a) Zedekiah's Fate (34:1-7)

b) A Dishonest Deal (34:8-22)

c) Example of the Rechabites (35:1-19)

C. Martyrdom of Jeremiah (36:1-45:5)

1. The Scroll of 605-604 (36:1-32)

2. Zedekiah and the Prophet (37:1-38:28a)

a) Zedekiah Consults Jeremiah (37:1-10)

b) Jeremiah Is Arrested (37:11-16)

c) A New Consultation (37:17-21)

d) Jeremiah in the Muddy Cistern (38:1-13)

e) Zedekiah's Last Words with Jeremiah (38:14-28)

3. The fall of Jerusalem (39:1-18)

4. A Tragedy in Mizpah (40:1-41:18)

a) Jeremiah at Mizpah (40:1-6)

b) The Colony at Mizpah (40:7-12)

c) The Assassination of Gedaliah (40:13-41:3)

d) The Assassination of Pilgrims (41:4-10)

e) Flight and Panic (41:11-18)

5. Jeremiah's Stay in Egypt (42:1-44:30)

a) Search for Guidance (42:1-6)

b) The Divine Answer (42:7-18)

c) The Refusal to Stay Home (42:19-43:7)

d) Nebuchadnezzar in Egypt (43:8-13)

e) Jeremiah's Last Words (44:1-30)

f) The Consolation of Baruch (45:1-5)

D. Oracles against the Nations (46:1-51:64)

1. Against Egypt (46:1-28)

a) The Battle of Carchemish (46:2-12)

b) Invasion of Egypt (46:13-28)

2. Against Philistia (47:1-7)

3. Against Moab (48:1-47)

4. Against Ammon (49:1-6)

5. Against Edom (49:7-22)

6. Against Damascus 49:23-27)

7. Against Arabia (49:28-33)

8. Against Elam (49:34-39)

9. Against Babylon (50:1-51:58)

10. Doom-Scroll, into the Euphrates (51:59-64)

E. Historical Appendix (52:1-34)

Dictionary, on Jeremiah

The book of Jeremiah contains the legacy (Heb dibre in 1:1 and 51:64 covers both "words" and "acts") of Jeremiah the prophet. The earliest record contained is of Jeremiah's boyhood call to be a prophet in the 13th year of King Josiah, i.e., 627 b.c. Jeremiah is last heard from in Egypt following the destruction of Jerusalem, i.e., sometime after 586 b.c. The collection of prophetic utterances, personal dialogues, autobiographical reports, and liturgical compositions, supplemented by a rich corpus of biographical and sermonic material written in another hand, combine to give us the most complete profile of any Hebrew prophet, also one of the best portraits of any known figure out of the ancient world.

The prophecy bearing this name is one of the three longest books of the Bible, along with Psalms and Isaiah. His oracles mainly concern the turbulent events of his own times, which he describes with warning and lamentation; however, he also points beyond present disaster to a brighter future for the people of God, who will have the covenant written in their hearts.

The principal Messianic prophecies are found in 23:1-8; 31:31-40; and 33:14-26. Jeremiah's prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words and phrases and imagery.

A striking feature of this book is the "confessions" of Jeremiah, a set of laments reflecting the struggles and isolation endured by the prophet because of his unpopular message that the people should bow before the Babylonian conquest, as the due punishment for their sins. He graphically describes various imprisonments and threats to his life, so that we know more of the personal history of Jeremiah than of any other Old Testament prophet.

Notes on Lamentations

Song of Wailing
Authorship and Date
Theme of the Five Poems
Outline
Dictionary

Song of Wailing

Book of Lamentations - called in the Hebrew canon 'Ekhah, meaning How, being the formula for the commencement of a song of wailing - How lonely sits the city.... It is the first word of the book (see 2 Sam. 1:19-27). The LXX. adopted the name rendered Lamentations (Gr. threnoi - Heb. qinoth) now in common use, to denote the character of the book, in which the prophet mourns over the desolations brought on the city and the holy land by Chaldeans. In the Hebrew Bible it is placed among the Khethubim. The LXX. and the Targum ascribe it to Jeremiah. The tradition probably rests on 2 Chronicles 35:25 Hebrew tradition says he retired after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to a cavern outside the Damascus gate, where he wrote this book. That cavern is still pointed out as 'the grotto of Jeremiah.'

Authorship and Date

However, though the spirit and subject-matter of the book may relate to Jeremiah's message, its language and imagery differ sufficiently from his, that modern critics are almost unanimous in rejecting this attribution to him (McKenzie, 492). While the poems appear to date from the period they describe, namely the fall of the city to Nebuchadnezzar, they appear to come from different hands. Some suggest a liturgical origins for these poems, for use in an annual commemoration of the disaster of 587 B.C. - as is even hinted in Jer. 41:5 and Zech. 7:3.

Theme of the Five Poems

The book consists of five poems, each of one chapter:

1 - the manifold miseries by which the city sits as a solitary widow

2 - these miseries are linked to the national sins that had caused them.

3 - speaks of hope; the chastisement would be for their good; a better day would dawn for them.

4 - again laments the ruin of the city and temple, due to the people's sins.

5 - prayer that Zion's reproach may be taken away in the recovery of the people.

The first four of these five poems are acrostics, like some of the Psalms (25, 34, 37, 119), i.e., each verse begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet taken in order. The first, second, and fourth have each twenty-two verses. The third has sixty-six verses, in which each three successive verses begin with the same letter. The fifth is not acrostic.

At the Wailing-Wall in Jerusalem, a portion of the old retaining-wall of the temple of Solomon, devout Jews have for centuries assembled every Friday afternoon to bewail the downfall of the holy city, and the woes of their nation. Popular readings for this devotion are the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the Psalms of lament.

Outline

A. The Desolation of Zion (1:1-22)

1. Lament over Zion (1:1-11)

2. Lament of Zion (1:12-22)

B. Yahweh's Wrath (2:1-22)

1. The Lord's Day of Wrath (2:1-10)

2. The Poet and Zion Respond (2:11-22)

C. Out of the Depths I Cry (3:1-66)

1. Loneliness (3:1-22)

2. Memory and Reflection (3:21:39)

3. Experience of Reconnection (3:40-66)

D. The City Revisited (4:1-22)

1. The Distress of the City (4:1-16)

2. Our Futile Hope (4:17-22)

E. Prayer-Lament of Yahweh's People (5:1-22)

Dictionary, on Lamentations

Lamentations, called in the Hebrew canon 'Ekhah, meaning "How," being the formula for the commencement of a song of wailing - "How lonely sits the city...." It is the first word of the book (see 2 Sam. 1:19-27). The LXX. adopted the name rendered "Lamentations" (Grk. threnoi - Heb. qinoth) now in common use, to denote the character of the book, in which the prophet mourns over the desolations brought on the city and the holy land by Chaldeans. In the Hebrew Bible it is placed among the Khethubim. The LXX. and the Targum ascribe it to Jeremiah. The tradition probably rests on 2 Chronicles 35:25 Hebrew tradition says he retired after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar to a cavern outside the Damascus gate, where he wrote this book. That cavern is still pointed out as 'the grotto of Jeremiah.'

However, though the spirit and subject-matter of the book may relate to Jeremiah's message, its language and imagery differ sufficiently from his, that "modern critics are almost unanimous" in rejecting this attribution to him (McKenzie, 492). While the poems appear to date from the period they describe, namely the fall of the city to Nebuchadnezzar, they appear to come from different hands. Some suggest a liturgical origins for these poems, for use in an annual commemoration of the disaster of 587 BC. - as is even hinted in Jer. 41:5 and Zech. 7:3.

The book consists of five separate poems:

Chapter 1 - the manifold miseries by which the city sits as a solitary widow

Chapter 2 - these miseries are linked to the national sins that had caused them.

Chapter 3 speaks of hope; the chastisement would be for their good; a better day would dawn for them.

Chapter 4 - again laments the ruin of the city and temple, due to the people's sins.

Chapter 5 - prayer that Zion's reproach may be taken away in the recovery of the people.

The first four of these five poems (chapters) are acrostics, like some of the Psalms (25, 34, 37, 119), i.e., each verse begins with one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet taken in order. The first, second, and fourth have each twenty-two verses. The third has sixty-six verses, in which each three successive verses begin with the same letter. The fifth is not acrostic.

At the "Wailing-Wall" in Jerusalem, a portion of the old retaining-wall of the temple of Solomon, devout Jews have for centuries assembled every Friday afternoon to bewail the downfall of the holy city, and the woes of their nation. Popular readings for this devotion are the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the Psalms of lament.

Notes on Ezekiel

A Prophet of Exile
Four Major Sections
Theology of Yahweh's Presence
Restoration and Rebirth
Notable Passages
Outline
Dictionary

A Prophet of Exile

One of the four major prophetic books, this is written in the person of Ezekiel, who received his prophetic calling about 592 B.C., after going into exile with his people into Babylon in the first wave of deportations under Nebuchadnezzar (597 B.C., Ez 1:3) and was active amongst them in a ministry of encouragement for at least twenty years (40:1 in the 25th year of our exile, the hand of the Lord was upon me... ) Ezekiel lived by the banks of the river Chebar (1:3), near the town of Tel Aviv - which gave its name to the present-day largest city in Israel. He was married, and movingly describes his feelings at the death of his wife (24:15ff), which calls forth a prophecy.

Four Major Sections

The literary history of his book is difficult to reconstruct, but in its final form it divides into four major sections:

1. warnings of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1-24);

2. warnings against a whole list of foreign nations (chapters 25-32);

3. prophecies of restoration and hope (chapters 33-39);

4. future of the temple and cult, in Jerusalem (chapters 40-48)

Dates are mentioned throughout the book, situating individual visions within this or that year from the start of the exile, giving a sense of chronological development in Ezekiel's ministry. The final section shows him promoting a strong hope that all will be restored. The book provides insights into the life and outlook of the Jewish exiles of Babylon. Deported from Jerusalem and its Temple where alone, according to their Deuteronomic tradition, Yahweh could be worshipped, they were faced with a crisis of faith and practice, which Ezekiel did much to resolve.

Theology of Yahweh's Presence

He dispels the notion that Yahweh lived exclusively in Jerusalem (ch. 1); he eases their sense of corporate guilt, by urging the importance of individual responsibility (ch. 18), and he suggests that the sabbath can be kept holy even far from the Holy Land, by abstaining from work on that day, as a special sign of devotion to Yahweh. This kind of fidelity to the Lord will eventually lead to their being restored to the land of Israel.

Restoration and Rebirth

Ezekiel forms an important link between preexilic Israel and the Judaism of the restoration. He looks both ways: with the former prophets he insists on the vitality and interior nature of religion, on the reality of sin and the certainty of God's judgment. But with Judaism he lays emphasis on the temple and on cultic observances as the earlier prophets do not. His conception of God is transcendent, as is seen most explicitly in his vision of the chariot of the glory of God (ch.1). What is required is not merely a restoration of Hebrew institutions, but an interior regeneration, a new heart and a new spirit within each individual (36:236ff), by which each person will submit to the will of Yahweh (J. L. McKenzie: Dictionary of the Bible).

Notable Passages

The Whirling Chariot of God (1:4-29)

The Siege Map, and Lying On the Side (4:1-8)

Cutting Off the Prophet's Beard (5:1-4)

Commissioned to be a Watchman (3:12-21)

Jerusalem as an Unfaithful Wife (16:1-63)

Responsibility for One's Own Actions (18:1-20)

God Will Be the Good Shepherd (34:11-31)

Valley of the Dry Bones (37:1-14)

The New Jerusalem (48:30-35)

Outline

A. Oracles of Judgment (1:1-24:27)

1. The call to Prophecy (1:1-3:27)

a) The Vision of God (1:1-28)

(1) Superscription (1:1-3)

(2) The Whirling Chariot (1:4-29)

b) The call of the Prophet (2:1-3:11)

c) Commissioned to be a Watchman (3:12-21)

d) Ezekiel is Struck Dumb (3:22-27)

2. Symbolic Actions and Oracles (4:1-7:27)

a) Three Symbolic Actions (4:1-5:4)

(1) The Siege Map, and Lying On the Side (4:1-8)

(2) Eating Unclean Bread (4:9-17)

(3) Cutting Off the Prophet's Beard (5:1-4)

b) Oracles of Judgment (5:5-7:27)

(1) Oracle against Jerusalem (5:5-17)

(2) Oracles against the Mountains (6:1-14)

(3) Oracles against the Whole Land (7:1-27)

3. Vision of the End of the Temple (8:1-11:25)

a) The Vision of the Temple Abominations (8:1-18)

b) The angels of Judgment (9:1-11)

c) The Cherubim Throne Returns (10:1-22)

d) The Destruction for the City (11:1-25)

4. Condemnation of All: People and Leaders (12:1-14:23)

a) The Coming Exile (12:1-28)

(1) Symbolic Attempt to Escape (12:1-16)

(2) The Food of Exiles (12:17-20)

(3) The Proverb of the Long Day (12:21-28)

b) Condemnation of the Prophets (13:1-23)

(1) False Prophets (13:1-16)

(2) False Prophetessess (13:17-23)

c) Idolatry and Unfaithfulness (14:1-23)

(1) Punishment of Idolators (14:1-11)

(2) Need for Personal Righteousness (14:12-23)

5. Allegories of Judgment (15:1-19:14)

a) The Allegory of the Vine-Wood (15:1-8)

b) Jerusalem as an Unfaithful Wife (16:1-63)

(1) Jerusalem the Harlot (16:1-43)

(2) Her Sisters Sodom and Samaria (16:44-58)

(3) The Covenant Restored (16:59-63)

c) The Allegory of the Eagles (17:1-24)

d) A Law Case for Individual Responsibility (18:1-32)

e) Personal Responsibility for One's Own Actions (18:1-20)

f) Personal Conversion and Forgiveness (18:21-32)

g) Laments Over Zedekiah (19:1-14)

(1) The Lioness and Her Cubs (19:1-9)

(2) The Scepter of Vine Wood (19:10-14)

6. Indictment and Condemnation (20:1-24:27)

a) Israel's History of Infidelity (20:1-44)

(1) Past History of Rebellion (20:1-31)

(2) Divine Judgment (20:32-44)

b) Oracles of the Sword (20:45-21:32)

(1) A Sword against the South (20:45-49:21:1-7)

(2) The Sword Polished for Slaughter (21:8-17)

(3) The Sword of the King of Babylon (21:18-27)

(4) The Sword against the Ammonites (21:28-32)

c) Legal Charges against Jerusalem (22:1-31)

(1) A City of Defilement and Blood (22:1-16)

(2) Divine Wrath in Punishment (22:17-22)

(3) All Classes Are Guilty (22:23-31)

d) Allegory of the Two Sisters (23:1-49)

(1) The Allegory of the Oholah and Oholibah (23:1-35)

(2) Interpretation for Jerusalem (23:36-49)

e) Signs of the End (24:1-27)

(1) The Allegory of the Boiling Pot (24:1-14)

(2) The Death of Ezekiel's Wife (24:15-27)

B. Oracles against Foreign Nations (25:1-32:32)

1. Oracles against Israel's Small Neighbours (25:1-17)

a) Oracles against Ammon (25:1-7)

b) Oracles against Moab (25:8-11)

c) Oracles against Edom (25:12-14)

d) Oracles against the Philistines (25:15-17)

2. Oracles against Tyre (26:1-28:19)

a) Tyre Destroyed By Babylon's Tidal Wave (26:1-21)

b) The Wreak of the Great Ship Tyre (27:1-36)

c) Tyre the Proud and Wise (28:1-10)

d) Lament Over Tyre's Fall (28:11-19)

3. Oracle against Sidon (28:20-26)

4. Oracles against Egypt (29:1-32:32)

a) Condemnation of the Pharaoh's Pride (29:1-16)

b) Nebuchadrezzar's Revenge (29:17-21)

c) The Day of the Lord for Egypt (30:1-19)

d) Pharaoh's Arm (30:20-26)

e) The Allegory of the Great Cedar (31:1-18)

f) Lament Over Pharaoh's Destruction (32:1-16)

g) Egypt's Descent to Sheol (32:17-32)

C. Oracles of Restoration and Hope (33:1-39:29)

1. The Prophet's Second Commission (33:1-33)

a) The Prophet as Watchman (33:1-9)

b) Individual Responsibility (33:10-20)

c) Conditions for the New Land (33:21-33)

2. The Good Shepherd and the Sheep (34:1-31)

a) Israel's Bad Shepherds (34:1-10)

b) God Will Be the Good Shepherd (34:11-31)

3. The Mountains of Israel (35:1-36:15)

a) Oracle against the Mountains of Edom (35:1-15)

b) Blessings for the Mountains of Israel (36:1-15)

4. Divine Holiness and Israel's Restoration (36:16-38)

5. Restoration of the People of Israel (37:1-28)

a) Valley of the Dry Bones (37:1-14)

b) The Two Sticks Rejoin as One (37:15-28)

6. The Allegorical Vision of Gog (38:1-39:29)

a) The Attack of Gog against Israel (38:1-16)

b) God's War on Gog (38:17-23)

c) Victory Over Gog (39:1-16)

d) God's Glory Seen By All (39:17-29)

D. New Temple and New Cult (40:1-48:35)

1. Description of the New Temple (40:1-43:12)

a) Outer Dimensions of the New Temple (40:1-47)

b) Description of New Temple Proper (40:48-41:26)

c) The Priests' Chambers (42:1-20)

d) God's Return to the Temple (43:1-12)

2. Regulation for the Cult (43:13-46:24)

a) The Altar of Burnt Sacrifice (43:13-27)

b) The Official Ministers (44:1-37)

c) Division and Use of the Land (45:1-17)

d) Regulation of Feasts (45:18-46:24)

3. Vision: the Stream From the Temple (47:1-12)

4. Boundaries of the New Land (47:13-48:35)

a) Boundaries of the Entire Country (47:13-23)

b) Portions for Each Tribe (48:1-29)

c) The New Jerusalem (48:30-35)

Dictionary, on Ezekiel

One of the four major prophetic books, this is written in the person of Ezekiel, who received his prophetic calling about 592 BC., after going into exile with his people into Babylon in the first wave of deportations under Nebuchadnezzar (597 BC., Ez 1:3) and was active amongst them in a ministry of encouragement for at least twenty years (40:1 "in the 25th year of our exile, the hand of the Lord was upon me..." ). Ezekiel lived by the banks of the river Chebar (1:3), near the town of Tel Aviv - which gave its name to the present-day largest city in Israel. He was married, and movingly describes his feelings at the death of his wife (24:15ff), which calls forth a prophecy.

David Noel Freedman writes that "The prophet Ezekiel lived during the Babylonian Exile and was active as a prophet from 593 b.c.e. to at least 571. He lived as an exile himself and, according to the label of the book that goes by his name (1:1-2), did all his preaching in Babylonia, probably in the Jewish settlement of Tel-abib on the Kebar canal near the ancient city of Nippur (3:15). According to the information in the label, he was the son of the priest Buzi (1:3), and his name is proper Hebrew, yehezqel, meaning "God strengthens (this child)" or possibly, "May God strengthen (this person)." The name, however, is found only once elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, at 1 Chron 24:16, where also it designates a priest, who probably lived in the century immediately after Ezekiel's own lifetime. It is likely that Ezekiel was among the first group of Jerusalemite citizens deported to Babylon when Nebuchadrezzar conquered the city for the first time in 598 b.c.e. (2 Kgs 24:10-17). Because he was of a priestly family, e probably had a good education, especially in the Law, and his father may even have had some influence in Jerusalem. Ezekiel was married (24:18), but little else is known about him personally except what can be gleaned from hints in the collection of his prophecies. Legend says that he is buried in a tomb at al-Kifl, near the modern town of H\illa in Iraq, not far from the site of ancient Babylon. It has been a Jewish shrine of some note. (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, New York: Doubleday. 1997)

The main divisions of the book are:

1. warnings of judgment against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1-25);

2. warnings against a whole list of foreign nations (chapters 25-32);

3. prophecies of restoration and hope (chapters 33-48).

He dispels the notion that Yahweh lived exclusively in Jerusalem (ch. 1); then he eases their sense of corporate guilt, by urging the importance of individual responsibility (ch. 18), and finally, he shows them how the sabbath can be kept holy even far from the Holy Land, by abstaining from work on that day, as a special sign of devotion to Yahweh. This kind of fidelity to the Lord will eventually lead to their being restored to the land of Israel.

Ezekiel forms an important link between pre-exilic Israel and the Judaism of the restoration. He looks both ways: with the former prophets he insists on the vitality and interior nature of religion, on the reality of sin and the certainty of God's judgment. But with Judaism he lays emphasis on the temple and on cultic observances as the earlier prophets do not. His conception of God is transcendent, as is seen most explicitly in his vision of the chariot of the glory of God (ch.1). "What is required is not merely a restoration of Hebrew institutions, but an interior regeneration, and new heart and a new spirit within each individual (36:236ff), by which each person will submit to the will of Yahweh" (J. L. McKenzie: Dictionary of the Bible).

Some visions of this book are echoed in the book of Revelation (Ezek. 38 = Rev. 20:8; Ezek. 47:1-8 = Rev. 22:1,2). Other references to this book are also found in the New Testament. (See Rm. 2:24 with Ezek. 36:2; Rm. 10:5, Ga. 3:12 with Ezek. 20:11; 2 Pet. 3:4 with Ezek. 12:22.). Daniel, fourteen years after his deportation from Jerusalem, is mentioned by Ezekiel (14:14) along with Noah and Job as distinguished for his righteousness, and later is spoken of as pre-eminent for his wisdom (28:3).

Ezekiel's prophecies are are obscure and enigmatical. A cloudy mystery overhangs them which it is almost impossible to penetrate. Jerome calls the book 'a labyrith of the mysteries of God.' It was because of this obscurity that the Jews forbade any one to read it till he had attained the age of thirty.

Ezekiel is singular in the frequency with which he refers to the Pentateuch (e.g., Ezek. 27; 28:13; 31:8; 36:11, 34; 47:13, etc.). He shows also an acquaintance with the writings of Hosea (Ezek. 37:22), Isaiah (Ezek. 8:12; 29:6), and especially with those of Jeremiah, his older contemporary (Jer. 24:7, 9; 48:37).

Notes on Daniel

Authorship and Date
Conflict Allowed by God
Apocalyptic Literature
Not an Historical Text
Major Sections
Outline
Structure and Purpose

Authorship and Date

This book belongs within the Jewish Apocalyptic Literature, written in reaction to persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes, towards the middle of the 2nd century B.C. It is a sort of historical novel, written by a devout anonymous Jewish author, with the purpose of strengthening the morale of the Jews, to overcome the oppression of Epiphanes.

Against the background of the Babylonian Exile of the 6th century, this book tells a set of edifying stories about a devout Jew named Daniel, and the divine visions he received. The actual book was clearly written much later than the period it describes, probably in the crisis of Jewish persecution under the Seleucid Antiochus Epiphanes about the year 170 B.C. After the death of Alexander the Great (of Macedon) in 323, his empire was divided among his generals, with Palestine coming under the dominion of the Egyptian Ptolemies until 198, when the Syrian Seleucids took it over. Up to then the Jews seem to have enjoyed a satisfactory measure of religious liberty. But in his effort to Hellenize the Jews and homogenise his empire, Antiochus attempted to force them to abandon their religion and conform to the pagan worship of his realm. Increasingly sterner restrictions were imposed upon the Jews, until they were pushed into open rebellion, as is described in the books of Maccabees.

Conflict Allowed by God

In Daniel, the conflict between the religion of the Jews and the paganism of their foreign rulers is regarded as foreseen and permitted by God to show the superiority of Hebrew wisdom over pagan wisdom and to demonstrate that the God of Israel will triumph over all earthly kings and can rescue his faithful ones from their persecutors. To convey this message the author adopts the literary form of an apocalypse (from the Greek apokalypsis, revelation), which was widely used in Judaism from about 200 B.C. onward.

Apocalyptic Literature rather than Historical

Apocalyptic literature professes to be a revelation of future events, particularly the time and manner of the coming of the final age of history, when all evil will be routed in combat and God's kingdom will be established. This revelation usually occurs as a vision expressed in complicated, often bizarre symbolism. Such literature is normally pseudonymous, proposed under the name of some authoritative figure of the distant past, such as Daniel, Moses, Enoch, or Ezra. This device allows the author to prsent past history as prophecies of future happenings.

Daniel should be read as an apocalyptic rather than as a historical text. The writer's knowledge of the exilic times was sketchy and inaccurate. His date for the fall of Jerusalem is wrong; Belshazzar is presented as the last king of Babylon, whereas, though a powerful figure, he was never king; Darius, a fictitious character perhaps confused with Darius I of Persia, is made the successor of Belshazzar instead of Cyrus. By contrast, the book is a helpful historical supplement for the Greek period in Israel. It refers to the desecration of the Temple in 167 and possibly to the beginning of the Maccabean revolt. The book is to be dated between 167 and 164 B.C.E.

The purpose of the whole book, stories and visions alike, is to encourage Israel to endure under the threat of annihilation and to strengthen its faith that God is aware of everything and will in the end give victory to his people and establish his kingdom.

Major Sections

Chapters 1-6 are stories about Daniel and his friends in exile, and chapters 7-12 are Daniel's apocalyptic visions. Chapters 13 and (in the Greek version) are an apparently later addition, and are deutero-canonical.

Among the book's best-known texts are:

Daniel's Companions in the Fiery Furnace (3:1-30)

The Writing on the Wall at Belshazzar's Feast (5:1-6:1)

Daniel in the Lion's Den (6:2-29)

The Son of Man and the Ancient One (7:13-14)

Rescue of the Chaste Susanna (13:1-64)

Outline

A. Daniel and his Friends, at the Babylonian Court (1:1-6:29)

1. The Food Test (1:1-21)

2. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Composite Statue (2:1-49)

3. Daniel's Companions in the Fiery Furnace (3:1-30)

4. Nebuchadnezzar's Dream of the Great tree (4:1-34)

5. The Writing on the Wall at Belshazzar's Feast (5:1-6:1)

6. Daniel in the Lion's Den (6:2-29)

B. Daniel's Apocalyptic Visions (7:1-12:13)

1. The Four Beasts (7:1-28)

The Son of Man and the Ancient One (7:13-14)

2. The Ram and the He-Goat (8:1-27)

3. Interpretation of the 70 Weeks (9:1-27)

4. Revelation of the coming Hellenistic Wars (10:1-12:13)

C. Other Exploits of Daniel (13:1-14:42)

1. Rescue of the Chaste Susanna (13:1-64)

2. Daniel and the Priests of Bel (14:1-22)

3. Daniel Destroys the Dragon (14:23-42)

Structure and Purpose

Chapters 1-6 are stories about Daniel and his friends in exile, and chapters 7-12 are Daniel's apocalyptic visions. Chapter 13 (in the Greek version) tells the story of the chaste Susannah, and how she was rescued from false accusation through Daniel's shrewd intervention.

Hosea

Authorship and Date
Major Sections
Marriage Imagery
Outline
Dictionary

Authorship and Date

The opening verse of this prophecy (also called Osee) dates the prophet's ministry during the reigns of four kings of Judah (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah) and that of Jeroboam II of Israel; though these are not exactly contemporaneous, we can think of him as preaching around the middle of the eighth century (perhaps from 750 to about 730 B.C., though hardly as late as Hezekiah, whose reign began in 715). Hosea was a native of the northern kingdom of Israel, which remained the scene of his entire ministry.

Major Sections

The text falls easily into two parts: chs. 1-3 are mainly autobiographical, while 4-14 is a collection of disparate oracles arranged without any obvious order or plan. Insofar as the book has any overall theme, it is Yahweh's enduring compassion for his people, Israel, whose faults are symbolized as those of an erring wife. For playing the harlot with Canaanite rites and practices, Israel must experience Yahweh's wrath, but later the Lord will welcome Israel like a patient husband reconciled to an unfaithful wife.

Marriage Imagery

Hosea reports his own marriage to Gomer, a woman fickle and adulterous whom the Lord inspires him to take back and love yet again. This prophecy-in-action represents Yahweh's love for Israel, and the divine willingness to renew the covenantal relationship with his people despite their adulterous flirting with the Canaanite religion.

Outline

A. Hosea's Marriage (1-3)

1. The prophet's Children (1:2-2:4)

2. Indictment of the Faithless Wife (2:5-17)

3. Reconciliation (2:18-25)

4. The prophet and his Wife (3:1-5)

B. Condemnation of Hosea's Contemporaries (4:1-9:9)

1. Yahweh's Indictment of Israel (4:1-3)

2. Indictment of the Leaders of Israel (4:4-5:7)

3. Political Upheavals (5:8-14)

4. False Repentance (5:15-7:2)

5. Corruption of the Monarchy (7:3-12)

6. Lament over Israel (7:13-16)

7. Sins in Politics and Cult (8:1-14)

8. Exile without Worship (9:1-6)

9. rejection of the Prophet (9:7-9)

C. Sin and History (9:10-14:1)

1. Sin and Decline (9:10-17)

2. Punishment for Apostasy (10:1-8)

3. False Confidence (10:9-15)

4. Love overcomes Ingratitude (11:1-11)

5. Israel's Perfidy (12:1-15)

6. Sentence of Death (13:1-14:1)

D. Epilogue; Repentance and Salvation (14:2-9)

Dictionary, on Hosea

This book stands first in order among the "Minor Prophets." "The probable cause of the location of Hosea may be the thoroughly national character of his oracles, their length, their earnest tone, and vivid representations." This was the longest of the prophetic books written before the Captivity. Hosea prophesied in a dark and melancholy period of Israel's history, the period of Israel's decline and fall. Their sins had brought upon them great national disasters. "Their homicides and fornication, their perjury and theft, their idolatry and impiety, are censured and satirized with a faithful severity." He was a contemporary of Isaiah. The book may be divided into two parts, the first containing chapters 1-3, and symbolically representing the idolatry of Israel under imagery borrowed from the matrimonial relation. The figures of marriage and adultery are common in the Old Testament writings to represent the spiritual relations between Yahweh and the people of Israel. Here we see te apostasy of Israel and their punishment, with their future repentance, forgiveness, and restoration.

The second part, containing 4-14, is a summary of Hosea's discourses, filled with denunciations, threatenings, exhortations, promises, and revelations of mercy.

Quotations from Hosea are found in Matt. 2:15; 9:15; 12:7; Rm. 9:25, 26. There are, in addition, various allusions to it in other places (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:16, see Hos. 10:8; Rm. 9:25, 26; 1 Pet. 2:10, see Hos. 1:10, etc.). As regards the style of this writer, it has been said that "each verse forms a whole for itself, like one heavy toll in a funeral knell."

Inversions (7:8; 9:11, 13; 12:8), anacolutha (9:6; 12:8, etc.), ellipses (9:4; 13:9, etc.), paranomasias, and plays upon words, are very characteristic of Hosea (8:7; 9:15; 10:5; 11:5; 12:11)."

Notes on Joel

Generic Theme
Celebrated Passages
Outline
Dictionary,

Generic Theme

This short prophecy, to be dated possibly in the post-exilic or Persian period (539-331 B.C.), perhaps around 450 B.C., consists of just three chapters. The name Joel means Yahweh is God and no other data is given about him. The content of his prophecy is very generic and could fit into any one of many historical contexts. He calls his people to repentance and lamentation, in preparation for the Day of Yahweh - (perhaps in connection with the festival of the New Year).

Celebrated Passages

Joel's two most celebrated passages are: the penitential call used in the liturgy each Lent: Now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your clothing (2:12-13) and the prediction, quoted in the Pentecost story of Acts 2:16ff, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters will prophecy, etc. (2:28-29). Between them, these convey the essence of Joel's message, which like that of earlier prophets begins with moral castigation and ends with a vision of hope for the repentant people.

Outline

A. Plague of Locusts (1:1-2:17)

1. Lament over the Ruin of the Country (1:2-12)

2. Call to Repentance and Prayer (1:13-20)

3. Impending Attack on the City (2:1-14)

4. Repent before it's too late! (2:15-17)

B. The Future: Yahweh's New Age (2:18-3:21)

1. End of Plague and Poverty (2:18-27)

2. Outpouring of the Spirit (3:1-5)

3. Reversal of Fortune (3:6-21)

a. Yahweh's Vengeance on the Nations (3:6-11)

b. Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (3:12-17)

c. Glorious Future for Israel (3:18-21)

Dictionary, on Joel

Joel was probably a resident in Judah, as his commission was to that people. He makes frequent mention of Judah and Jerusalem (1:14; 2:1, 15, 32; 3:1, 12, 17, 20, 21).

He probably flourished in the reign of Uzziah (about 800 BC.), and was contemporary with Amos and Isaiah.

The contents of this book are,

(1.) A prophecy of a great public calamity then impending over the land, consisting of a want of water and an extraordinary plague of locusts (1:1-2:11).

(2.) The prophet then calls on his countrymen to repent and to turn to God, assuring them of his readiness to forgive (2:12-17), and foretelling the restoration of the land to its accustomed fruitfulness (2:18-26).

(3.) Then follows a Messianic prophecy, which is quoted by St. Peter (Acts 2:39).

(4.) Finally, the prophet foretells portents and judgments as destined to fall on the enemies of God (ch. 3, but in the Hebrew text 4).

Notes on Amos

His Credentials
Polemics
Outline
Dictionary

His Credentials

Amos, a shepherd and gardener (7:14) from the Judaean village of Tekoa, was active as a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II (c. 786-746 B.C.). He declares himself to be neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet (7:14), that is, he belonged to no recognized prophetic group. Yet his credential to prophesy to Israel was the only one that mattered - a personal summons from Yahweh He took me from following the flock and said to me, Prophecy to my people Israel (7:15).

Polemics

Amos' message is primarily of warning and doom. His threats are directed primarily against Israel, which has turned away from the worship of Yahweh to the worship of Canaanite gods. This leads him to fierce polemic against the feasts and solemnities observed by Israel. He also pronounces harsh judgment against the self-indulgent rich for their oppression of the poor and their perversion of justice. Amos warns them not to desire the day of Yahweh's coming in judgment, since it will be a day of darkness for all who have neglected Yahweh's clear will.

Whether Amos himself wrote down any of his own sayings is not clear from the text; his message may have been recorded by a scribe who heard him, or by a later writer who had learned these sayings from the oral tradition. The book ends (9:8-15) with a promise of restoration for Israel, in a tone very different from the threatening nature of the rest of the book.

Outline

A. Introduction (1:1-2)

B. Oracles against the Nations (1:3-2:16)

1. Against Damascus (1:3-5)

2. Against Gaza (1:6-8)

3. Against Tyre (1:9-10)

4. Against Edom (1:11-12)

5. Against Ammon (1:13-15)

6. Against Moab (2:1-3)

7. Against Judah (2:4-5)

8. Against Israel (2:6-16)

C. Three Calls to Hear Yahweh's Word (3:1-5:17)

1. People of Israel (3:1-15)

a. Israel as Yahweh's Covenant Partner (3:1-2)

b. Source of the Prophetic Word (3:3-8)

c. Evil Samaria and its faith (3:9-12)

d. The house of the wicked (3:13-15)

2. Cows of Bashan (4:1-13)

a. Opression of the Poor (4:1-3)

b. Israel's Cult Transgressions (4:4-5)

c. Litany of Unrepentance (4:6-12)

d. Doxology (4:13)

3. Lament for Israel (5:1-17)

a. Mournful Dirge (5:1-3)

b. No Salvation Without Repentance (5:4-7)

c. God's power over Nature (5:8-9)

d. Threats to the Ungodly (5:10-13)

e. Seek Good, not Evil (5:14-15)

f. Impending Disaster (5:16-17)

D. Warnings (5:18-6:14)

1. Beware the Day of Yahweh (5:18-20)

2. Israel's Empty Worship (5:21-22)

3. Warning to The Complacent (6:1-7)

4. Devastation awaits (6:8-14)

E. Visions and Reflections (7:1-9:10)

1. First Vision: Locusts (7:1-3)

2. Second Vision: Fire (7:4-6)

3. Third Vision: Plumb Line (7:7-9)

4. Biographical Note (7:10-17)

5. Fourth Vision: Summer Fruit (8:1-3)

6. Pious Hypocrisy (8:4-8)

7. The Day of Darkness (8:9-10)

8. Famine for God's Word (8:11-14)

9. Fifth Vision: Destruction (9:1-4)

10. The Lord of All (9:5-6)

11. Israel and the Nations (9:7-10)

F. Happy Conclusion (9:11-15)

1. Raising up the Tent of David (9:11-12)

2. Restoration of Israel (9:13-15)

Dictionary, on Amos

The book consists of three parts -

(1.) The nations are summoned to judgment because of their sins (1:1 - 2:3).

(2.) warnings to Judah and especially Israel (2:4 - 6:14).

(3.) Five prophetic visions (7:1 - 9:10), including the promise of the restoration of the kingdom and its final glory in the Messiah's kingdom..

The style is peculiar in the number of the allusions made to natural objects and to agricultural occupations. These phrases are peculiar to Amos: "Cleanness of teeth" [i.e., want of bread] (4:6); "The excellency of Jacob" (6:8; 8:7); "The high places of Isaac" (7:9); "The house of Isaac" (7:16); "He that creates the wind" (4:13). Quoted in Acts 7:42.

Notes on Micah

Setting of the Prophecy
Warning about False Prophets
References in the N.T.
Outline
Dictionary

Setting of the Prophecy

Micah, from the town of Moresheth in Judah, is sixth of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, may be dated in the late 8th or early 7th century B.C. Its seven chapters are similar in many ways to the Book of Amos, attacking social injustice and corruption in high places. The military disaster mentioned in 1:10-16 (Tell it not in Gath, etc. ) was probably the invasion of Sennacherib in 701 B.C., but apart from the opening reference to the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah, there is nothing else in the book by which we could definitely locate its background.

Warning about False Prophets

This prophet thunders against corrupt religious and political leaders of Israel and Judah, and also attacks the prophets who attempted to give the people false hopes: Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry Peace' when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths, etc.(3:5-7). In the second half of the prophecy, predicting Israel's glorious future, he foresees that You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel - a text quoted in Matthew 2:6. Perhaps Micah's best-known saying is his summary of what is required, to live within the Covenant: and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (6:8).

References in the N.T.

There are the following references to this book in the New Testament - 5:2, with Matt. 2:6; John 7:42. 7:6, with Matt. 10:21,35,36. 7:20, with Luke 1:72,73.

Outline

God's Judgment upon His People (1:1-2:11)

Accusation of Samaria and Judah (1:2-16)

Sins of the Oppressors (2:1-5)

rejection of Prophecy (2:6-11)

A Remnant will Return (2:12-13)

Condemnation of the Leaders (3:1-12)

Against the False Prophets (3:5-8)

All who Lead Israel Astray (3:9-12)

A New Dwelling Place for God (4:1-5:14)

Coming to God's Mountain (4:1-8)

Destruction and Exile (4:9-14)

Peaceful Messiah from Bethlehem (5:1-5)

Remnant of Jacob: in Diaspora (5:6-14)

Accusation: Lament and Forgiveness (6:1-7:20)

Yahweh's Accusation (6:1-8)

Jerusalem is Punished for its Sins (6:9-7:7)

A Liturgy of Repentance (7:7-20)

Dictionary, on Micah

The sixth of the minor prophets, his book consists of three sections, each commencing with a rebuke, "Hear ye," etc., and closing with a promise, (1) ch. 1; 2; (2) ch. 3-5, especially addressed to the princes and heads of the people; (3) ch. 6-7, in which Yahweh is represented as holding a controversy with his people: the whole concluding with a song of triumph at the great deliverance which the Lord will achieve for his people. The closing verse is quoted in the song of Zacharias (Luke 1:72, 73). The prediction regarding the place "where Christ should be born," one of the most remarkable Messianic prophecies (Micah 5:2), is quoted in Matt. 2:6.

There are the following references to this book in the New Testament - 5:2, with Matt. 2:6; John 7:42. 7:6, with Matt. 10:21,35,36. 7:20, with Luke 1:72,73.

Notes on Jonah

Title and Theme
Authorship and Date
Main sections
Outline
Dictionary

Title and Theme

This, the fifth of the Minor Prophets, is the most unified and coherent of the prophetic books, being primarily a narrative about the man who was called by God to prophecy, and the message that he does not wish to preach. There is no claim that this was written by Jonah; indeed, he is most probably a fictional character, and his story is a powerfully meaningful parable. He is portrayed as a stubborn prophet who flees from God's summons to preach conversion to the pagan, dominant Assyrian city of Nineveh, whose repentance and salvation Jonah does not desire.

Authorship and Date

It was written by an anonymous Jewish author, of broad religious sympathises, probably in the 5th or 4th century and certainly no later than the 3rd, since Jonah is already listed among the prophets in the book of Ben Sirach, composed about 190 B.C. Like the Book of Ruth, written at about the same period, it opposes the narrow Jewish nationalism which developed after the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah. Like the Jews of that time, the prophet Jonah opposes the idea of salvation for the Gentiles. God chastises him for his attitude, and the book affirms how God's mercy extends even to the capital city of a hated foreign power.

Main sections

1. The prophet's comission from God, to go (north-eastward) to Ninive on a preaching mission; instead he takes ship westward for Tarshish (Spain)

2. Adventures at sea: Storm, Jonah is tossed overboard; swallowed by the whale; repents; is cast up on the shore from which he started.

3. His preaching at Ninive had the result desired by God, but not by the prophet himself! The king and the entire people repent in sackcloth and ashes.

4. The Moral: Angry that Niniveh has escaped, Jonah sulks. God's mercy is proclaimed: And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city?"

Outline

A. First Mission (1:1-2:11)

1. Jonah and the Sailors (1:1-16)

Jonah's Flight (1:1-3)

The Storm (1:4-16)

2. Jonah and the Great Fish (2:1-11)

B. Second Mission (3:1-4:11)

1. The Conversion of Nineveh (3:1-10)

The Action of the Prophet (3:1-4)

The Reaction of the City (3:5-10)

2. Jonah's Response, and God's (4:1-11)

Jonah's Response: Sulking (4:1-5)

God tries to Convert Jonah (4:6-11)

Dictionary, on Jonah

This book professes to give an account of what actually took place in the experience of the prophet. We should interpret the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. Jonah and his story is referred to by Jesus (Matt. 12:39, 40; Luke 11:29), a fact which in no way change our assessment that the book is parable rather than straight history.

Notes on Obadiah

Title and Theme
Authorship and Date
Narrow, post-exilic eschatology

Title and Theme

Obadiah, the fourth of the twelve Minor Prophets, concentrates on the judgment of God against Edom and other nations, with the final verses referring to the restoration of the Jews in their native land. J. D. Watts proposes a positive assessment of the book, in that (like Isaiah) it follows the literary form of a vision, a form that allows the readers to hear God announcing his decisions relating to history. All the forms are highly dramatic and include insights into the happenings of the heavenly court, where the Lord reigns... Obadiah is a pivotal book in the ascending scale toward Micah in the centre. (Oxford Companion, 564).

Authorship and Date

Obadiah is the shortest in the Hebrew Bible (containing only 21 verses) and is extremely difficult to date. Some observers find the book narrow, vengeful and nationalistic, and unworthy of a place in the canon of sacred books (McKenzie, J.L., Dictionary). However, since there is nothing here that is not found in other prophetic works, we may regard it as no more than a collection of prophetic fragments.

Narrow, post-exilic eschatology

This prophet is an exponent of the narrow, post-exilic eschatology. He contrasts with the views in Hosea and Joel and indeed in the somewhat later book of Tobit, where Israel's future is proposed as that of a worshiping people among the empires, hoping for survival, but not expecting a return to political power.

Obadiah, Book of - consists of one chapter, "concerning Edom," its impending doom (1:1-16), and the restoration of Israel (1:17-21). This is the shortest book of the Old Testament.

There are on record the account of four captures of Jerusalem, (1) by Shishak in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 14:25); (2) by the Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram (2 Chr. 21:16); (3) by Joash, the king of Israel, in the reign of Amaziah (2 Kings 14:13); and (4) by the Babylonians, when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (586 BC.). Obadiah (1:11-14) speaks of this capture as a thing past. He sees the calamity as having already come on Jerusalem, and the Edomites as joining their forces with those of the Chaldeans in bringing about the degradation and ruin of Israel. We do not indeed read that the Edomites actually took part with the Chaldeans, but the probabilities are that they did so, and this explains the words of Obadiah in denouncing against Edom the judgments of God. The date of his prophecies was therefore in or about the year of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Notes on Nahum

Title and Theme
Fall of Assyria
Variety of material
Outline
Dictionary

Title and Theme

Seventh of the twelve Minor Prophets; the book's title proclaims it as an oracle (or burden) concerning Nineveh and attributes it to Nahum of Elkosh. It is a short work, in 3 chapters, written in some of the finest poetry of the Hebrew bible. The destruction of Nineveh, capital of Assyria, (612 B.C.), gives Nahum cause for great joy. This happened, he believes, because Assyria's policies did not accord with God's will. His conviction is that The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. (1:2-3)

Fall of Assyria

It is set against the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The collapse of that mighty Empire, which had long been a a particular menace to the Israelite nation, was keenly hoped for and, when it happened, gleefully celebrated.

Variety of material

The book contains many types of material, among which are an acrostic hymn, oracles of judgment, satire, a curse, and funeral laments, all of which were brought together and related to the fall of Nineveh. Watts observes that this is the only prophetic writing which is actually called a book (sefer) in the text, though it is also called a burden - for a prophecy of judgment against a sinful nation.

Outline

A. Yahweh, God of Israel, will destroy their arch-enemy, Nineveh.

1. Acrostic poem, predicting the Lord's vengeance (1:2-8)

2. Warning the leaders of Niniveh (1:9-11)

3. Good news for Judah - no more invaders (1:12-15)

B. The enemies of Niniveh triumph

1. The final battle (2:1-12)

2. God's curse on Niniveh (2:13 - 3:6)

3. A taunt-song over the doomed city (3:7-19)

Dictionary, on Nahum

Nahum prophesied, according to some, in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz (743 BC.). Others, however, think that his prophecies are to be referred to the latter half of the reign of Hezekiah (about 709 BC.). This is the more probable opinion, from evidences within the text. Probably the book was written in Jerusalem (soon after 709 BC.), where he witnessed the invasion of Sennacherib and the destruction of his army (2 Kings 19:35).

Seventh of the twelve Minor Prophets; the book's title proclaims it as an oracle (or "burden") concerning Nineveh and attributes it to "Nahum of Elkosh." It is a short work, in 3 chapters, written in some of the finest poetry of the Hebrew bible and set against the fall of the Assyrian Empire. The collapse of that mighty Empire, which had long been a a particular menace to the Israelite nation, and the destruction of its capital, Nineveh (612 BC.), gave the prophet Nahum cause for great joy. This all happened, he believes, because Assyria's policies were not in accord with God's will. His conviction, which runs through the book, is that "The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet." (1:3)

This is the only prophetic work which is actually called a "book" (sefer) in the text, though it is also called a "burden" - the picturesque Hebrew term for a prophecy of judgment against a sinful nation. He neatly outlines its contents so:

A. Yahweh, the avenging God of Israel, will bring peace by destroying their arch-enemy, Nineveh.

1. Acrostic poem, predicting the Lord's vengeance (1:2-8)

2. Warning the leaders of Niniveh (1:9-11)

3. Good news for Judah - no more invaders (1:12-15)

B. The enemies of Niniveh triumph

1. The final battle (2:1-12)

2. God's curse on Niniveh (2:13 - 3:6)

3. A taunt-song over the doomed city (3:7-19)

Notes on Habakkuk

Title and Theme
Authorship and Date
Notable Passages
Outline
Dictionary

Title and Theme

Like several of the other prophecies, it is quite difficult to fix the date of this text, but it is probably pre-exilic. The mention of the Chaldeans as Yahweh's agent (1:6) suggests the period of Babylonian power following their successful revolt against the Assyrians in 626 B.C. and before their invasion of Israel. A more precise date depends on the identity of the wicked and the righteous who are mentioned in the book.

This book shows a distinct liturgical influence - suggesting that either Habakkuk was a temple prophet or that those responsible for the final form of the book were temple personnel. Chapter 3 is a psalm complete with musical directions, although peculiarly it does not appear in the Habakkuk commentary from Qumran.

Authorship and Date

Nothing is told in the text about this prophet except his name: it is "The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw." But his little book is a minor literary masterpiece about faith in God and his eternal purpose. Since he writes of the coming destruction of Judah, the time was probably not long before Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. So its composition is usually dated about 600 B.C.

In Habakkuk's day the balance of power in the Near East shifted from the Assyrians to the Babylonians. Assyria's empire fell with the fall of its capital city, Nineveh, to the invading Babylonians in 612 B.C. A quarter century later, the Babylonians also destroyed Jerusalem and carried the leading citizens of Judah into captivity. Habakkuk warned that God would punish His Covenant People for their unfaithfulness and worship of false gods.

Notable Passages

1. Complaints and doubts - (1:2-17). Seeing the fierce Chaldeans approaching the prophet brings his complaints and doubts to God

2. God's answer - the future punishment of the Chaldeans was revealed (2:1-20).

3. The third chapter is a theophanic hymn, dedicated to the chief musician, and apparently intended for use at worship. It is splendid in language and imagery.

In his most celebrated text (2:3-4), this prophet speaks of the patience and fidelity that are required as we wait for God to act. For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith. That final phrase becomes a keystone in St. Paul's doctrine of justification by faith. (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:12)

Outline

A. Dialogue Between the Prophet and God (1:1-2:5)

1. Prophet's Complaint: There is No Justice (1:2-4)

2. The Lord's Response (1:5-11)

3. Prophet's Complaint: (1:12-17)

B. The Five Woes (2:6-20)

1. First Woe; against Arrogant Greed (2:6-8)

2. Second Woe; against Presumption (2:9-11)

3. Third Woe; against Vain Glory and Violence (2:12-14)

4. Fourth Woe; against Degrading Human Dignity (2:15-17)

5. Fifth Woe; against Idolatry (2:18-20)

C. The Canticle of Habakkuk (3:1-19)

1. In Wrath, Remember Mercy (3:1-2)

2. The Theophany (3:3-15)

i. God's Appearance and Creation's Response (3:3-7)

ii. Victory over the Forces of Chaos (3:8-15)

3. Conclusion; Reverence and Salvation (3:16-19)

Dictionary, on Habakkuk

Like several of the other prophecies, it is quite difficult to fix the date of this text, but it is probably pre-exilic. The mention of the Chaldeans as Yahweh's agent (1:6) suggests the period of Babylonian power following their successful revolt against the Assyrians in 626 BC. and before their invasion of Israel. A more precise date depends on the identity of "the wicked" and "the righteous" who are mentioned in the book.

This text shows a distinct liturgical influence - suggesting that either Habakkuk was a temple prophet or that those responsible for the final form of the book were temple personnel. Chapter 3 is a psalm complete with musical directions, although peculiarly it does not appear in the Habakkuk commentary from Qumran.

In his most celebrated text (2:3-4), this prophet speaks of the patience and fidelity that are required as we wait for God to act. "For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay. Look at the proud! Their spirit is not right in them, but the righteous live by their faith." That final phrase becomes a keystone in St. Paul's doctrine of justification by faith. (Rm. 1:17; Ga. 3:12)

We may outline the contents so:

1. complaints and doubts - (1:2-17). When the prophet in spirit saw the formidable Chaldeans approaching and and saw the great evils they would cause in Judea, he bore his complaints and doubts before Yahweh,

2. God's answer - the future punishment of the Chaldeans was revealed (2:1-20).

3. A theophanic hymn, set in a biographical framework (3:1-16)

The third chapter is a sublime song dedicated "to the chief musician," and therefore intended apparently to be used in the worship of God.

Notes on Zephaniah

Title and Theme
Notable Passages
Outline
Dictionary

Title and Theme

Zephaniah (Sophonias) is the ninth of the Minor Prophets. His book consists of a series of non-related sayings, possibly dating from the latter half of the 7th century B.C., under the menace of the growing power of Babylon. The book predicts the day of the Lord, rapidly approaching, in punishment of the sins of Judah. Only a remnant (the humble and lowly ones) will be saved through purification by God's judgment. Zephaniah's description of the day of the Lord, however, has entered deeply into the popular image of the judgment day through the great medieval hymn Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), inspired by the selections from Zephaniah.

Notable Passages

Seek God while there is Still Time (2:1-3)

Call to Rejoicing (3:14-15)

Outline

A. Oracles of Doom (1:1-18)

1. Universal Destruction (1:2-3)

2. Judah and Jerusalem (1:4-18)

3. Canaanite Cult (1:4-6)

4. Coming Day of Sacrifice (1:7-9)

5. Invasion of the City (1:10-13)

6. Day of Yahweh (1:14-18)

B. Encouragement, via threats against the Nations (2:1-15)

1. Seek the Lord (2.1-3)

2. Against the Philistines (2:4-7)

3. Against Moab and Ammon (2:8-11)

4. Against the Assyrians (2:13-15)

C. Salvation of Jerusalem and Judah (3:1-20)

1. Bad Leaders (3:1-5)

2. Severe Penalties (3:6-8)

3. Threat Becomes Promise (3:9-20)

4. Transforming Nations (3:9-10)

5. Recovery of Jerusalem and Israel (3:11-13)

6. Call to Rejoicing (3:14-15)

7. Reassurance to Zion (3:16-17)

8. General Restoration (3:18-20)

Dictionary, on Zephaniah

The book of his prophecies consists of: (a) An introduction (1:1-6), announcing the judgment of the world, and the judgment upon Israel, because of their transgressions. (b) The description of the judgment (1:7-18). (c) An exhortation to seek God while there is still time (2:1-3). (d) The announcement of judgment on the heathen (2:4-15). (e) The hopeless misery of Jerusalem (3:1-7). (f) The promise of salvation (3:8-20).

Notes on Haggai

From the Second Temple Period
Encouraging the Builders
Outline
Dictionary

From the Second Temple Period

Although his prophetic work is mentioned in Ezra (5:1; 6:14), nothing else is known about the life of this prophet. His name may derive from the Hebrew word hag (feast), and it fits well with his prediction of agricultural blessings that will follow when the (post-exilic) Temple has been completed. This vision dates his work during the tense period of the reconstruction, when the Samaritans' offer to help in the rebuilding has been rejected (the oracle against the unclean people is probably directed against them, 2:10-14, on account of their partial assimilation to pagan ways, under Assyrian rule).

Encouraging the Builders

Haggai exhorts Zerubbabel and Shealtiel to complete the rebuilding of the Temple (1:1-13), assuring them that it will be greater than the first, since Yahweh will be with them (2:4), and will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations will come in, and I will fill this house with splendour (2:7).

The Temple was completed in 515 BCE (Ezra 6:15) but we hear no more of Haggai after this. Some regard his promise of God's Spirit abiding with the people (2:5) as a later gloss, alluding to the Lord's presence with them during the Exodus, and this suggests that his oracles were handed down among those who saw the return from exile as a second Exodus, and Haggai as having exercised the ministry of a second Moses (Rex Mason, Oxford Companion to the Bible, 267)

Outline

A) Hard Times, from Neglect of the Temple (1:1-11)

B) Work in the Temple is Begun (1:12-15)

C) Rebuilt Temple will bring Blessing (2:1-23)

i. The Glory of God in the Temple (2:1-9)

ii. Prophecy on a Priestly Ruling (2:10-14)

iii. Prosperity in Agriculture (2:15-19)

iv. Zerubbabel, God's servant (2:20-23)

Dictionary, on Haggai

The book consists of two brief, comprehensive chapters. The object of the prophet was generally to urge the people to proceed with the rebuilding of the temple.

First address (1:2-11) and its effects (1:12-15).

The second prophecy (2:1-9), which was delivered a month after the first.

The third prophecy (2:10-19), delivered two months and three days after the second; and

The fourth prophecy (2:20-23), delivered on the same day as the third.

These discourses are referred to in Ezra 5:1; 6:14; Hb 12:26. (See Hag. 2:7, 8, 22.)

Notes on Zechariah

Composite Text
Zechariah's ministry
Outline
Dictionary

Composite Text

Zechariah, like Isaiah, seems like a collection of several pre-existing texts from different authors. Only chapters 1-8 contain the prophecies of Zechariah; chapters 9-14 must be attributed to at least two other authors. We may thus refer to a second and third Zechariah: Deutero-Zechariah (chapters 9-11) and Trito-Zechariah (chapters 12-14).

Zechariah's ministry

According to dates mentioned in chapters 1-8, Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 B.C. A contemporary of the prophet Haggai in the early years of the Persian period, Zechariah shared Haggai's concern that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Unlike Haggai, however, Zechariah thought that the rebuilding of the Temple was the necessary prelude to the eschatological age, the arrival of which was imminent. Accordingly, Zechariah's book, and in particular his eight night visions (1:7-6:8), depict the arrival of the eschatological age (the end of the world) and the organization of life in the eschatological community. Among Zechariah's visions was one that described four apocalyptic horsemen who presaged God's revival of Jerusalem after its desolation during the Babylonian Exile. Other visions announced the rebuilding of the Temple and the world's recognition of Yahweh, Israel's God.

Outline

A. Part I: Meditation on Israel's history (1:1-8:23)

1. Prologue (1:1-6)

2. Eight Night Visions and Oracles (1:7-6:15)

3. Coloured Horses and the Horsemen (1:7-17)

4. Four Destructive Horns (2:1-4)

5. The Surveyor (2:5-17)

6. Joshua and the high priest (3:1-10)

7. Lampstand and Olive Trees (4:1-14)

8. The flying scroll (5:1-4)

9. The woman in the Ephah (5:5-11)

10. Four Chariots, Crowns and Leaders (6:1-15)

11. Assessment of the Past (7:1-14)

12. Promises for the Future (8:1-23)

B. Part II: Hope for Israel's future (9:1--14:21)

1. God the Warrior takes sides (9:1-8)

2. King of Peace (9:9-10)

3. The Divine Warrior Leads to Victory (9:11-17)

4. Abusers of Confidence (10:1-3a)

5. God's Victorious Followers (10:3b-12)

6. Destruction in Lebanon and Bashan (11:1-3)

7. Bad Shepherds, Bad Flocks (11:4-17)

8. Jerusalem Victorious (12:1-9)

9. Mourning and Cleansing in Jerusalem (12:10-13:1)

10. Idols and Prophets Removed (13:2-6)

11. Sorting of Shepherd and Flock (13:7-9)

12. Trial and Exaltation of Jerusalem (14:1-21)

Dictionary, on Zechariah

This book consists of two distinct parts,

(1) chapters 1 - 8, meditation on Israel's history

(2) chapters 9 - 14, hope for Israel's future

Part 1. A preface (1:1-6) recalls the nation's past history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation. Then follows a series of successive eight visions in one night (1:7 - 6:8), which may be regarded as a symbolical history of Israel, intended to console the returned exiles and stir up their hope. A symbolical action, the crowning of Joshua (6:9-15), describes how the kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of the Messiah. Chapters 7 and 8, delivered two years later, are an answer to the question whether the days of mourning for the destruction of the city should be any longer kept, and an encouraging address to the people, assuring them of God's presence and blessing.

Part 2. This second part bears no date, and consists of two sub-sections:

a) an outline of the course of God's providential dealings with his people down to the time of the Advent (ch. 9-11) .

b) The glories that await Israel in "the latter day," the final conflict and triumph of God's kingdom (ch. 12-14).

Notes on Malachi

Date and Theme
Prophecy of Hope
Outline
Dictionary

Date and Theme

The book is usually dated after those of Haggai and Zechariah, but it may predate the coming of Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem in the mid 5th century BCE. Pointing to a post-exilic date are the reference to a governor (1:8) - surely, under Persian rule - and the fact that the Temple is in existence. Very possibly the abuses from which the prophet believes the Temple must be purified are among those which the later reforms of Ezra set out to remove.

The covenant theme is prominent in the book. Malachi blames the priests for failing to properly carry out the ritual, and in contrast the prophet envisages a world-wide sacrificial worship of Yahweh (1:11) - a prediction that Christian theology has seen in reference to the Eucharist.

Prophecy of Hope

While he makes the usual prophetic protest against the vices of his people (3:5-12), he looks forward to better times, when the prophet Elijah will come as a great reconciler before the Day of Yahweh to turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse (4:6).

Outline

1. God's Preferential Love for Israel (1:2-5)

2. Cultic Offenses (1:6-2:9)

3. Mixed Marriages and Divorce (2:10-16)

4. God Will Purify and Justly Judge (2:17-3:5)

5. Tithes for God, Blessings for the People (3:6-12)

6. Those who Fear God will Gain Victory (3:13-21)

Dictionary, on Malachi

The contents of the book are comprised in four chapters. In the Hebrew text the third and fourth chapters (of the) are just one. The whole consists of three sections, preceded by an introduction (Mal. 1:1-5), reminding Israel of Yahweh's love for them.

a) The first section (1:6 - 2:9) contains a stern rebuke addressed to the priests who had despised the name of Yahweh, and been leaders in a departure from his worship and from the covenant, and for their partiality in administering the law.

b) The second (2:9 - 16) rebukes the people for their intermarriages with idolatrous heathen.

c) The third (2:17 - 4:6) warns the people of the coming of the God of judgment, who will reward the righteous and punish the wicked. There is the famous promise "for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings" (4:2).

This book is frequently referred to in the New Testament (Matt. 11:10; 17:12; Mark 1:2; 9:11, 12; Luke 1:17; Rm. 9:13).

Notes on the Prophets

The "Former" and "Latter" Prophets

Notes on Isaiah

Prophecies from Different Eras

Outline of First Isaiah (Chapters 1-39)

A. Introductory Collection of Sayings (1:1-31)

B. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: part I (2:1-5:30)

C. Isaiah's Memoirs (6:1-9:6)

D. Prophecies about Judah and Israel: Part II (9:8-12:6)

E. Prophecies against the Nations (13:1-23:18)

F. The Apocalypse of Isaiah (24:1-27:13)

G. Final Struggle for Jerusalem (28:1-33:24)

H. Judgment On Edom, and Zion Redeemed (34:1-39:8)

A. Overture (40:1-31)

B. Prophetic Fulfillment in the New Exodus (41:1-48:22)

C. Comforting Zion (49:1-54:17)

D. Conclusion to the Book of Comfort (55:1-13)

A. Outsiders will Worship in the Temple (56:1-8)

B. Struggle for True Leadership (56:9-59:21)

C. Glorious New Zion (60:1-62:12)

D. From Sorrow to New Heaven and New Earth (63:1-6:16)

E. Foreigners at home in God's House (66:18-24)

Notes on Jeremiah

Prophecy in Turbulent Times

Jeremiah's Call (1:4-19)

The Temple Discourse (7:1-8:3)

Circumcision Is Worthless (9:24-25)

Jeremiah and the Covenant (11:1-14)

Personal Responsibility (31:29-30)

The New Covenant (31:31-34)

Rebuilding Jerusalem (31:38-40)

A. Warnings to Judah and Jerusalem (1:4-25:13b)

1. Jeremiah's Call (1:4-19)

2. Early Prophecies, in Josiah's Reign (2:1-6:30)

3. Jeremiah's ministry, under Jehoiakim (7:1-20:18)

4. Jeremiah's ministry Under Zedekiah (21:1-24:10)

5. Babylon, Yahweh's Chastening Scourge (25:1-13)

6. Judgment against the Nations (25:14-38)

B. Promise of Future Happiness (26:1-35:19)

1. Jeremiah Arrested, Condemned (26:1-24)

2. His Controversy With the False Prophets (27:1-29:32)

3. Restoration Promised for Israel (30:1-31:40)

5. Conditions for Salvation (34:1-35:19)

C. Martyrdom of Jeremiah (36:1-45:5)

D. Oracles against the Nations (46:1-51:64)

E. Historical Appendix (52:1-34)

Notes on Lamentations

Song of Wailing

A. The Desolation of Zion (1:1-22)

B. Yahweh's Wrath (2:1-22)

C. Out of the Depths I Cry (3:1-66)

D. The City Revisited (4:1-22)

Notes on Ezekiel

A Prophet of Exile

Notes on Daniel

Authorship and Date

Authorship and Date

Notes on Joel

Generic Theme