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2dchaikin
The book of the Twelve Minor Prophets - sort of a group read - roughly October/November 2015
Here are links to all our previous threads.
from le Salon:
Prep: http://www.librarything.com/topic/127545
Genesis: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129966
Exodus: http://www.librarything.com/topic/131811
Leviticus: http://www.librarything.com/topic/133405
Numbers: http://www.librarything.com/topic/135184
Deuteronomy: www.librarything.com/topic/136380
Joshua: http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927
Judges (same thread as Joshua, starts on post #69): http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927#3452932
Ruth (same thread as Joshua, starts on post #142): http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927#3478722
1 & 2 Samuel: http://www.librarything.com/topic/139684
1 & 2 Kings: http://www.librarything.com/topic/142552
1 & 2 Chronicles: http://www.librarything.com/topic/146697
Ezra and Nehemiah: http://www.librarything.com/topic/154880
Tobit & Judith: http://www.librarything.com/topic/159435
from Club Read 2014:
Ester http://www.librarything.com/topic/168909
Job: https://www.librarything.com/topic/171374
Psalms: https://www.librarything.com/topic/179892
Proverbs: https://www.librarything.com/topic/183854
from Club Read 2015:
Ecclesiastes: https://www.librarything.com/topic/187190
Song of Songs: https://www.librarything.com/topic/188278
Book of Isaiah: https://www.librarything.com/topic/189974
Book of Jeremiah: https://www.librarything.com/topic/191443
Book of Lamentations (same thread as Jeremiah, post 50): https://www.librarything.com/topic/191443#5208549
Book of Ezekiel: https://www.librarything.com/topic/193044
Book of Daniel: https://www.librarything.com/topic/195257
Here are links to all our previous threads.
from le Salon:
Prep: http://www.librarything.com/topic/127545
Genesis: http://www.librarything.com/topic/129966
Exodus: http://www.librarything.com/topic/131811
Leviticus: http://www.librarything.com/topic/133405
Numbers: http://www.librarything.com/topic/135184
Deuteronomy: www.librarything.com/topic/136380
Joshua: http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927
Judges (same thread as Joshua, starts on post #69): http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927#3452932
Ruth (same thread as Joshua, starts on post #142): http://www.librarything.com/topic/137927#3478722
1 & 2 Samuel: http://www.librarything.com/topic/139684
1 & 2 Kings: http://www.librarything.com/topic/142552
1 & 2 Chronicles: http://www.librarything.com/topic/146697
Ezra and Nehemiah: http://www.librarything.com/topic/154880
Tobit & Judith: http://www.librarything.com/topic/159435
from Club Read 2014:
Ester http://www.librarything.com/topic/168909
Job: https://www.librarything.com/topic/171374
Psalms: https://www.librarything.com/topic/179892
Proverbs: https://www.librarything.com/topic/183854
from Club Read 2015:
Ecclesiastes: https://www.librarything.com/topic/187190
Song of Songs: https://www.librarything.com/topic/188278
Book of Isaiah: https://www.librarything.com/topic/189974
Book of Jeremiah: https://www.librarything.com/topic/191443
Book of Lamentations (same thread as Jeremiah, post 50): https://www.librarything.com/topic/191443#5208549
Book of Ezekiel: https://www.librarything.com/topic/193044
Book of Daniel: https://www.librarything.com/topic/195257
4dchaikin
Another blind introduction. I don't know anything going in, well other than Jonah. Amos and Habakkuk came up a few times as, ircc, sources for Jeremiah and Ezekiel. I think Micah was cited too. I don't think I've ever heard of Nahum or Haggai, or if I have I've forgotten. I think Amos is supposed to particularly ancient. Not sure. (The spurious dates above are the supposed author's (read prophet's) supposed lifetimes.)
Anyway, while each section is short, taken together there is a lot here. It should be interesting to find what's inside.
Anyway, while each section is short, taken together there is a lot here. It should be interesting to find what's inside.
5dchaikin
The Twelve
1. Hosea (Osee) - Syro-Ephraim war of 732, and fall of Northern Kingdom of Israel, around 722
2. Joel - undated
3. Amos - considered the oldest prophetic text. c760 during Jeroboam II.
4. Obadiah (Abdias) - either 835-841 or 605-586. I'll explain in the notes
5. Jonah (Jonas) - a story with a style from a later period (like Esther?). Story time-period is sometime during Jeroboam II, 786-746.
6. Micah (Micheas) - shortly after 722?
7. Nahum - supposedly before the fall of Nineveh in 612, predicting that fall
8. Habakkuk (Habacuc) - 600's, before Josiah.
9. Zephaniah (Sophanias) - during Josiah's reform in 622
10. Haggai (Aggeus) - during construction of 2nd temple - 521-516
11. Zechariah (Zacharias) - same as Haggai, but with later parts
12. Malachi (Malachias) - undated, but after all that above
1. Hosea (Osee) - Syro-Ephraim war of 732, and fall of Northern Kingdom of Israel, around 722
2. Joel - undated
3. Amos - considered the oldest prophetic text. c760 during Jeroboam II.
4. Obadiah (Abdias) - either 835-841 or 605-586. I'll explain in the notes
5. Jonah (Jonas) - a story with a style from a later period (like Esther?). Story time-period is sometime during Jeroboam II, 786-746.
6. Micah (Micheas) - shortly after 722?
7. Nahum - supposedly before the fall of Nineveh in 612, predicting that fall
8. Habakkuk (Habacuc) - 600's, before Josiah.
9. Zephaniah (Sophanias) - during Josiah's reform in 622
10. Haggai (Aggeus) - during construction of 2nd temple - 521-516
11. Zechariah (Zacharias) - same as Haggai, but with later parts
12. Malachi (Malachias) - undated, but after all that above
6dchaikin
Some general notes:
Ben Sira mentions the book of twelve minor prophets in 190 bce, and the Dead Sea scrolls have them the in current order. (Although the Septuagint and most Orthodox Christian bibles have them in a different order)
Wikipedia thinks they were compiled during the Persian Empire, except for Jonah which is dated from the Hellenistic period. But I don't know what is behind this dating.
Ben Sira mentions the book of twelve minor prophets in 190 bce, and the Dead Sea scrolls have them the in current order. (Although the Septuagint and most Orthodox Christian bibles have them in a different order)
Wikipedia thinks they were compiled during the Persian Empire, except for Jonah which is dated from the Hellenistic period. But I don't know what is behind this dating.
7dchaikin
Hosea
Hosea is the wife-beater prophet, which is unfortunate because quality-wise he one of the more interesting writers. He's just very ambiguous and curious. The Harper Collins Study Bible says his Hebrew is unusually difficult.
His oracles condemn the Northern Kingdom of Israel for worship of other gods, and much of his criticism is in the form of marriage, where the unfaithful wife, Gomer, represents the Israelites. He prophecies that she will be punished (although he's a little vague how, it sounds bad) because of her whoring. This seems to say you can punish your wife severely if you think she was unfaithful, hence the wife-beating sense. But he supposedly only means to Israel. Anyway, the northern kingdom fell, so his prophecy is true (although who knows when it was given)
Some interesting bits:
His key line in v13.4:
...
The first chapter tells the story of his marriage to Gomer the unfaithful prostitute. Her children get the names Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi. L-ruhamah means "not pitied" and Lo-ammi means "I am not yours", references to their questionable parentage. But Jezreel is the most interesting name. This is the site Ahab stole and the where Ahaziah was slaughtered. It's remembered as a blood-soaked field of greed.
...
The worst and best part is 2:1-15. This is where he condemns Gomer, but he does it in such interesting in and curious ways. The poem tells how Gomer used lovers to basically get by. "they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink." But it was a trick of Hosea/God to make her/Israel think these things came from her lovers when they came really from him, Hosea/God. So, the whole picture gets a bit morally ambiguous. Also Hosea refines his meaning of true faith. I think he kind of gives it some cold-steel sense.
...
I learned the term "futility curse" - this describes the curses that say you will get (food, wealth, etc.) but not be satisfied.
...
Chapter six opens with a quote, "Come, let us return to the Lord...After two days he will revive us...". It's a parody. Hosea is mocking insufficient worship. I didn't expect that.
...
Hosea is condemned in 9:7-9: "Israel cries, ‘The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!’ ". We aren't supposed to agree with them, but we might. It's his own words.
Hosea is the wife-beater prophet, which is unfortunate because quality-wise he one of the more interesting writers. He's just very ambiguous and curious. The Harper Collins Study Bible says his Hebrew is unusually difficult.
His oracles condemn the Northern Kingdom of Israel for worship of other gods, and much of his criticism is in the form of marriage, where the unfaithful wife, Gomer, represents the Israelites. He prophecies that she will be punished (although he's a little vague how, it sounds bad) because of her whoring. This seems to say you can punish your wife severely if you think she was unfaithful, hence the wife-beating sense. But he supposedly only means to Israel. Anyway, the northern kingdom fell, so his prophecy is true (although who knows when it was given)
Some interesting bits:
His key line in v13.4:
Yet I have been the Lord your GodThe key word is "Yet", which should be understood as "despite all the terrible things you have done"
ever since the land of Egypt;
you know no God but me,
and besides me there is no saviour.
...
The first chapter tells the story of his marriage to Gomer the unfaithful prostitute. Her children get the names Jezreel, Lo-ruhamah and Lo-ammi. L-ruhamah means "not pitied" and Lo-ammi means "I am not yours", references to their questionable parentage. But Jezreel is the most interesting name. This is the site Ahab stole and the where Ahaziah was slaughtered. It's remembered as a blood-soaked field of greed.
...
The worst and best part is 2:1-15. This is where he condemns Gomer, but he does it in such interesting in and curious ways. The poem tells how Gomer used lovers to basically get by. "they give me my bread and my water, my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink." But it was a trick of Hosea/God to make her/Israel think these things came from her lovers when they came really from him, Hosea/God. So, the whole picture gets a bit morally ambiguous. Also Hosea refines his meaning of true faith. I think he kind of gives it some cold-steel sense.
...
I learned the term "futility curse" - this describes the curses that say you will get (food, wealth, etc.) but not be satisfied.
...
Chapter six opens with a quote, "Come, let us return to the Lord...After two days he will revive us...". It's a parody. Hosea is mocking insufficient worship. I didn't expect that.
...
Hosea is condemned in 9:7-9: "Israel cries, ‘The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!’ ". We aren't supposed to agree with them, but we might. It's his own words.
8dchaikin
Joel
Joel is all of three chapters. He tells of a plague of locusts, which is described as if it were an invading army. There is a call to lament, a reference "the day of the Lord, then a "happy" ending, where the invading nations are are judged and Israelites restored to prosperity.
...
The day of the Lord is interesting in that has apocalyptic language, but it's not an apocalypse. There is no end of time meaning. It includes a famous line:
Just before this the book says, "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh", where the word for "spirit" also means "wind". The reference is to the Khamsin, a wind that comes from the east and marks the end of the dry season. During this wind dust fills the skies, hiding the sun and turning the moon red.
...
Joel is undated but quotes about everybody: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Amos, Malachi, Obadiah, Micah, and 2 Chronicles. (for details, see his wikipedea page under the section "Biblical quotes and allusions")
...
One oddity is that he reverses Isaiah's most famous line, the one quoted by the United Nations. He writes in 3:10:
Joel is all of three chapters. He tells of a plague of locusts, which is described as if it were an invading army. There is a call to lament, a reference "the day of the Lord, then a "happy" ending, where the invading nations are are judged and Israelites restored to prosperity.
...
The day of the Lord is interesting in that has apocalyptic language, but it's not an apocalypse. There is no end of time meaning. It includes a famous line:
"The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."This line is quoted in Revelation (6:12-17) and Matthew (24-29:31) where it clearly has dreadful, apocalyptic meaning. But here it's actually a natural description.
Just before this the book says, "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh", where the word for "spirit" also means "wind". The reference is to the Khamsin, a wind that comes from the east and marks the end of the dry season. During this wind dust fills the skies, hiding the sun and turning the moon red.
...
Joel is undated but quotes about everybody: Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zephaniah, Amos, Malachi, Obadiah, Micah, and 2 Chronicles. (for details, see his wikipedea page under the section "Biblical quotes and allusions")
...
One oddity is that he reverses Isaiah's most famous line, the one quoted by the United Nations. He writes in 3:10:
"Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears; let the weakling say, ‘I am a warrior.’"
9dchaikin
Amos
Amos is the first. He has the first prophetic book and has the first reference to regular guy called to be prophet by God. He is the first to speak of judgment day, or The Day of the Lord. Despite all this his writing is not very interesting, nor does it feel very original. His story is good though.
Amos was a southern Israelite from Tekoa, near Bethlehem, who traveled north during the height of the northern kingdom's prosperity. Jeroboam II was king. Syria, trying to protect itself from Assyria, was weakened and Jeroboam took advantage and greatly expanded his territory. Amos went to two cities, the capital Samaria and the old holy site of Bethel, where he preached against the wealthy and the sacrilege of the kingdom. He preached doom and death to Jeroboam. For this he was kicked out of Bethel by the high priest there. His run was short and dated to "two years before the earthquake". (date is c760 bce)
The political play was that Amos was a Levite, a group removed from the priesthood at Bethel, so he condemned those priests, calling their practices as sacrilege, whereas he preached a better way.
In 722 the northern kingdom falls, making Amos's prophecy come true.
Amos is the first. He has the first prophetic book and has the first reference to regular guy called to be prophet by God. He is the first to speak of judgment day, or The Day of the Lord. Despite all this his writing is not very interesting, nor does it feel very original. His story is good though.
Amos was a southern Israelite from Tekoa, near Bethlehem, who traveled north during the height of the northern kingdom's prosperity. Jeroboam II was king. Syria, trying to protect itself from Assyria, was weakened and Jeroboam took advantage and greatly expanded his territory. Amos went to two cities, the capital Samaria and the old holy site of Bethel, where he preached against the wealthy and the sacrilege of the kingdom. He preached doom and death to Jeroboam. For this he was kicked out of Bethel by the high priest there. His run was short and dated to "two years before the earthquake". (date is c760 bce)
The political play was that Amos was a Levite, a group removed from the priesthood at Bethel, so he condemned those priests, calling their practices as sacrilege, whereas he preached a better way.
In 722 the northern kingdom falls, making Amos's prophecy come true.
10dchaikin
Amos has a few interesting and maybe famous lines. Some quotes:
4:12 - a threat
prepare to meet your God, O Israel
5:18 - turning judgment day into something ominous
Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
5:21-24 - the last two lines here are, I think, very famous. At least I recognize them. But I had no idea of the context. He is saying just doing ritual isn't enough...well he saying it a bit more strongly than that. I think we can assume he is speaking about the priests in Bethel and Samaria.
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
4:12 - a threat
prepare to meet your God, O Israel
5:18 - turning judgment day into something ominous
Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
5:21-24 - the last two lines here are, I think, very famous. At least I recognize them. But I had no idea of the context. He is saying just doing ritual isn't enough...well he saying it a bit more strongly than that. I think we can assume he is speaking about the priests in Bethel and Samaria.
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
11dchaikin
Chapter 7 to 9 includes Amos's five visions, which are quite simple. Just a few lines each. They start "This is what the Lord showed me" and then there is an often curious vision. One he sees the Lord. (9:1).
In midst of this he condemns Jeroboam to death. The next line has the priest of Bethel, Amaziah's response: "And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel..."
In midst of this he condemns Jeroboam to death. The next line has the priest of Bethel, Amaziah's response: "And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; but never again prophesy at Bethel..."
12FlorenceArt
>11 dchaikin: The reference to "earn your bread" makes me curious. Do you think prophecy was a business and they got paid for prophesying? Probably, as there were a lot of prophets around.
13dchaikin
Isn't it interesting how commonplace that line makes prophecy seem. Just another profession.
14dchaikin
Obadiah
Obadiah has a single chapter - 21 verses condemning Edom, the nation of Jacob's brother Esau.
(Susan Cain considers the Jacob the introverted brother -- and, thereby, in her logic, the better and smarter one -- and Esau the dumber extroverted one...but that's probably better discussed elsewhere...)
I find the Oracles against nations about the least interesting and most offensive part of the bible, which doesn't leave me much to say here. There are, however, a few interesting tidbits:
1. We don't when Obadiah's oracle is supposed to apply. The book is undated and there are several times where Edomites were problems for Judah. There are two likely times:
- 1 Kings 18 tells about a prophet under Ahab named Obadiah who interacts with Elijah. 2 Kings 8 then tells about an Edomite revolt under Jerhoram, one of Ahab's successors. That would date this book to the 840's BCE and put Obadiah in the northern kingdom
- But the text seems to be more about Edom helping Babylon loot Jerusalem. And this would date the book to 598-586.
2. Jeremiah's oracle against Edom (Jer 49:7-22) and Obadiah v9 & V14-16 has the same phrases. Likely Jeremiah is quoting Obadiah, but who knows.
3. Obadiah's name translates to slave or servant of Yaw (YHWH)
Obadiah has a single chapter - 21 verses condemning Edom, the nation of Jacob's brother Esau.
(Susan Cain considers the Jacob the introverted brother -- and, thereby, in her logic, the better and smarter one -- and Esau the dumber extroverted one...but that's probably better discussed elsewhere...)
I find the Oracles against nations about the least interesting and most offensive part of the bible, which doesn't leave me much to say here. There are, however, a few interesting tidbits:
1. We don't when Obadiah's oracle is supposed to apply. The book is undated and there are several times where Edomites were problems for Judah. There are two likely times:
- 1 Kings 18 tells about a prophet under Ahab named Obadiah who interacts with Elijah. 2 Kings 8 then tells about an Edomite revolt under Jerhoram, one of Ahab's successors. That would date this book to the 840's BCE and put Obadiah in the northern kingdom
- But the text seems to be more about Edom helping Babylon loot Jerusalem. And this would date the book to 598-586.
2. Jeremiah's oracle against Edom (Jer 49:7-22) and Obadiah v9 & V14-16 has the same phrases. Likely Jeremiah is quoting Obadiah, but who knows.
3. Obadiah's name translates to slave or servant of Yaw (YHWH)
16dchaikin
Jonah
Jonah feels too big for me since his story is such a cultural icon, his fish has become Moby Dick. The book is short and simple, four fast-moving chapters and I only took one page of notes on the text. It's dated to the Hellenistic period and while I don't know why that is, it does seem to have stylistic consistency with Ester, especially chapter 3 where Jonah wanders through the Assyrian capital of Nineveh shouting, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’".
notes:
1. In 2 Kings 14:25 Jonah is mentioned as a court prophet for Jeroboam II during the high point of the Norther Kingdom of Israel (786-746 bce).
2. Jonah means dove and refers his passivity.
3. In the NT Matthew and Luke use Jonah as a Jesus figure. He spent three days in the fish. In the Book of Jonah, chapter 2, Jonah gives a psalm to God about his experience in the fish and he uses Shoel imagery. In Matthew 12:38-42, 16:1-4 and in Luke 11:29-32 these three days are related to Jesus's three days in Shoel before he was resurrected.
From chapter 2
4. This fish took a long path toward becoming a whale. When Matthew was translated from Greek to Latin, his word for the fish become Cetus, and this word later become Latin for whale (hence cetaceans). William Tyndale translated the word in Jonah as "fyshe", but translate the word in Matthew as "whale" and that was preserved in the King James Version.
5. The story of Jonah as some oddball aspects. When Nineveh repents, and God spares it, Jonah is really upset. He wanted the city punished. He tells god, "That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. He is quoting Exodus 34, but he left out the rest of the line, how the Lord is a god that is "yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Here God has to teach him a lesson which isn't clear to me but seems to say that you should be thankful for what God gives, and not complain when he takes it away.
But we and the authors know Nineveh had it coming. Babylon and the Medes wipe Nineveh out in 612 bce. So, the left-out passage is relevant.
6. The story of Nineveh will be picked up Nahum, who describes it's fall in 612, and by Zephaniah. I've read Nahum and I think it should be pared with Jonah. I haven't read Zephaniah yet.
ETA - that I had confused Habakkuk with Nahum in point 6. Not easy to do. Anyway, now fixed.
Jonah feels too big for me since his story is such a cultural icon, his fish has become Moby Dick. The book is short and simple, four fast-moving chapters and I only took one page of notes on the text. It's dated to the Hellenistic period and while I don't know why that is, it does seem to have stylistic consistency with Ester, especially chapter 3 where Jonah wanders through the Assyrian capital of Nineveh shouting, "Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’".
notes:
1. In 2 Kings 14:25 Jonah is mentioned as a court prophet for Jeroboam II during the high point of the Norther Kingdom of Israel (786-746 bce).
2. Jonah means dove and refers his passivity.
3. In the NT Matthew and Luke use Jonah as a Jesus figure. He spent three days in the fish. In the Book of Jonah, chapter 2, Jonah gives a psalm to God about his experience in the fish and he uses Shoel imagery. In Matthew 12:38-42, 16:1-4 and in Luke 11:29-32 these three days are related to Jesus's three days in Shoel before he was resurrected.
From chapter 2
'I called to the Lord out of my distress,3. Note the line "into the heart of the seas" - 2:3. This is from Jonah's psalm in chapter 2, it's also the title of a book about the true story behind Moby Dick, In the Heart of the Sea.
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
3 You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
4 Then I said, “I am driven away
from your sight;
how shall I look again
upon your holy temple?”
5 The waters closed in over me;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me for ever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit"
4. This fish took a long path toward becoming a whale. When Matthew was translated from Greek to Latin, his word for the fish become Cetus, and this word later become Latin for whale (hence cetaceans). William Tyndale translated the word in Jonah as "fyshe", but translate the word in Matthew as "whale" and that was preserved in the King James Version.
5. The story of Jonah as some oddball aspects. When Nineveh repents, and God spares it, Jonah is really upset. He wanted the city punished. He tells god, "That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. He is quoting Exodus 34, but he left out the rest of the line, how the Lord is a god that is "yet by no means clearing the guilty, but visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation."
Here God has to teach him a lesson which isn't clear to me but seems to say that you should be thankful for what God gives, and not complain when he takes it away.
But we and the authors know Nineveh had it coming. Babylon and the Medes wipe Nineveh out in 612 bce. So, the left-out passage is relevant.
6. The story of Nineveh will be picked up Nahum, who describes it's fall in 612, and by Zephaniah. I've read Nahum and I think it should be pared with Jonah. I haven't read Zephaniah yet.
ETA - that I had confused Habakkuk with Nahum in point 6. Not easy to do. Anyway, now fixed.
17dchaikin
Micah
Occasionally I come across someone who is reading the bible for inspiration. Not that anyone would, but if someone were to ask me what part of the OT to read for inspiration, my answer would probably be, Don't read it. I do like the OT and find it satisfying both in a literary way and as the backbone to all western-influenced literature, but I don't find it inspiring. Micah might be an exception...well at least parts of it.
Part of the reason I say that is simply because Micah's bad parts, the oracles against nations, just aren't so bad as all the other prophets. Partially it's because he very has a social justice theme. In Micah the bad are corrupt leaders and irresponsible wealthy, and he kind of cheers for the poor, or at least makes known their neglect. But also he just sometimes has a nice way of putting things.
There are some notable overlaps/similarities between Micah and parts of Isaiah. Micah has another version of the "swords into plowshares" part like Isaiah 2.4 (which is inscribed on the outside of the United Nations building in New York. See Here). And Micah has a messiah-like figure, similar to Isaiah's Immanuel. I like to think that the Micah inspired Isaiah...or something like that The Book of Micah inspired the authors of Isaiah. But we don't really know which came first, or whether there was a now lost source for both - which seems to be the scholarly consensus.
Occasionally I come across someone who is reading the bible for inspiration. Not that anyone would, but if someone were to ask me what part of the OT to read for inspiration, my answer would probably be, Don't read it. I do like the OT and find it satisfying both in a literary way and as the backbone to all western-influenced literature, but I don't find it inspiring. Micah might be an exception...well at least parts of it.
Part of the reason I say that is simply because Micah's bad parts, the oracles against nations, just aren't so bad as all the other prophets. Partially it's because he very has a social justice theme. In Micah the bad are corrupt leaders and irresponsible wealthy, and he kind of cheers for the poor, or at least makes known their neglect. But also he just sometimes has a nice way of putting things.
There are some notable overlaps/similarities between Micah and parts of Isaiah. Micah has another version of the "swords into plowshares" part like Isaiah 2.4 (which is inscribed on the outside of the United Nations building in New York. See Here). And Micah has a messiah-like figure, similar to Isaiah's Immanuel. I like to think that the Micah inspired Isaiah...or something like that The Book of Micah inspired the authors of Isaiah. But we don't really know which came first, or whether there was a now lost source for both - which seems to be the scholarly consensus.
18dchaikin
Notes on Micah, part 1
1. His name should probably something like Micayahu, or "Who is like YHWH?"
2. Micah preached during Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715) and Hezekiah (715-687/6), but likely mainly during Hezekiah. These are kings of Judah and this is the era when the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria (722). Damascus has fallen in 732. Ahaz made Judah a vassal of Assyria, protecting it. Hezekiah rebelled and kicked off a religious movement, known bionically as a religious reform movement. During his reign, in 701, Judah was ransacked by a now provoked Assyria, and my study bible tells me 46 cities were taken and looted, including infamously Lachish. Jerusalem was besieged but did not fall. All of this plays into Micah's book. Micah "predicts" the Assyrian invasion and in chapter has oracles on the fall of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) and eleven other cities.
3. One of the side effects of the fall of the Northern Kingdom was, apparently, a much more wealthy and prominent Judah. The wealthy were grabbing more land, literally seizing homes. Anger of this is part of what fuels Micah. From Chapter 2:
1. His name should probably something like Micayahu, or "Who is like YHWH?"
2. Micah preached during Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715) and Hezekiah (715-687/6), but likely mainly during Hezekiah. These are kings of Judah and this is the era when the Northern Kingdom fell to Assyria (722). Damascus has fallen in 732. Ahaz made Judah a vassal of Assyria, protecting it. Hezekiah rebelled and kicked off a religious movement, known bionically as a religious reform movement. During his reign, in 701, Judah was ransacked by a now provoked Assyria, and my study bible tells me 46 cities were taken and looted, including infamously Lachish. Jerusalem was besieged but did not fall. All of this plays into Micah's book. Micah "predicts" the Assyrian invasion and in chapter has oracles on the fall of Samaria (the Northern Kingdom) and eleven other cities.
3. One of the side effects of the fall of the Northern Kingdom was, apparently, a much more wealthy and prominent Judah. The wealthy were grabbing more land, literally seizing homes. Anger of this is part of what fuels Micah. From Chapter 2:
Alas for those who devise wickedness4. Micah took some heat, more from chapter 2:
and evil deeds on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in their power.
2 They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and take them away;
they oppress householder and house,
people and their inheritance.
‘Do not preach’—thus they preach—5. But, naturally, it didn't seem to bother him. From 3:8:
‘one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.’
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Is the Lord’s patience exhausted?
Are these his doings?
Do not my words do good
to one who walks uprightly?
But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression
and to Israel his sin
19dchaikin
Notes on Micah, part 2.
This is Micah's version of the sword into plowshares:
This is Micah's version of the sword into plowshares:
4:1 In days to comeAnd this is Isaiah's, from Isaiah chapter 2. I put the part the UN quoted in italics
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised up above the hills.
Peoples shall stream to it,
2 and many nations shall come and say:
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3 He shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
4 but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
5 For all the peoples walk,
each in the name of its god,
but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
for ever and ever.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
3 Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
20dchaikin
Notes on Micah, part 3
Chapter 5 has as Messiah and what I find to be particular striking curse.
The curse, a general oracle against nations. I can't say I found this inspiring, but I do admire his way with words.
Chapter 5 has as Messiah and what I find to be particular striking curse.
5:2 But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,Bethlehem is the hometown of David. Later Jesus of Nazareth will have to somehow also be from Bethlehem.
who are one of the little clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
The curse, a general oracle against nations. I can't say I found this inspiring, but I do admire his way with words.
10 On that day, says the Lord,
I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
11 and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off sorceries from your hand,
and you shall have no more soothsayers;
13 and I will cut off your images
and your pillars from among you,
and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
14 and I will uproot your sacred poles from among you
and destroy your towns.
15 And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.
21dchaikin
Notes on Micah, part 4. From chapter 6:
6 ‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
22dchaikin
Nahum
Nahum reports the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Ok, he "predicts" it, this is an oracle. But he's not mourning it, he's actually celebrating. This is bit odd, but also a bit consistent with other prophets, since they almost all contain rather offensive oracles against nations.
John Calvin called Nahum a "complete and finished" poem. And other authors cite the Hebrew poetry, which has a lot of play on sound. In English it's OK, sometimes quite interesting, but mostly more of the same and depressingly negative.
Nahum also has riff on god, and very vengeful, wrathful god.
Nahum reports the fall of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Ok, he "predicts" it, this is an oracle. But he's not mourning it, he's actually celebrating. This is bit odd, but also a bit consistent with other prophets, since they almost all contain rather offensive oracles against nations.
John Calvin called Nahum a "complete and finished" poem. And other authors cite the Hebrew poetry, which has a lot of play on sound. In English it's OK, sometimes quite interesting, but mostly more of the same and depressingly negative.
Nahum also has riff on god, and very vengeful, wrathful god.
A jealous and avenging God is the Lord,As for Nineveh
the Lord is avenging and wrathful;
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries
and rages against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power,
and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty.
Because of the countless debaucheries of the prostitute,
gracefully alluring, mistress of sorcery,
who enslaves nations through her debaucheries,
and peoples through her sorcery,
I am against you,
says the Lord of hosts,
and will lift up your skirts over your face;
and I will let nations look on your nakedness
and kingdoms on your shame.
I will throw filth at you
and treat you with contempt,
and make you a spectacle.
Then all who see you will shrink from you and say,
‘Nineveh is devastated; who will bemoan her?’
Where shall I seek comforters for you?
23dchaikin
Habakkuk
I liked Habakkuk, although I can't quite explain what it was I like about him. He just leaves an interesting overall affect. Only three chapters, the first two deal with the "future" Babylonian invasion, here called Chaldeans. These two chapters have something like the format of a psalm in content ("O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?") but mixed are complicated questions to God, some of them Job-like, and quite challenging questions. Then there are answers. Habakkuk just has a way about it that doesn't fully work with quotes - it's an overall impression kind of thing.
The most famous line is 2:4 "the just (or righteous) shall live by his faith. Or in context:
In the Jewish Zohar Habakkuk is considered the son of the Shumanite woman who was brought back to life by Elisha. This is because in 2 Kings 4:16 Elisha tells her "though shalt embrace a son". The Hebrew word for embrace, "Khavak", is about as close as any to "Habakkuk". The origin of the name is unknown.
I liked Habakkuk, although I can't quite explain what it was I like about him. He just leaves an interesting overall affect. Only three chapters, the first two deal with the "future" Babylonian invasion, here called Chaldeans. These two chapters have something like the format of a psalm in content ("O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?") but mixed are complicated questions to God, some of them Job-like, and quite challenging questions. Then there are answers. Habakkuk just has a way about it that doesn't fully work with quotes - it's an overall impression kind of thing.
The most famous line is 2:4 "the just (or righteous) shall live by his faith. Or in context:
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:If you believe wikipedia, this one line within v2.4 is practically the foundation of Christian doctrine. I haven't read the NT, but I'm told this line forms the backbone to the Pauline Epistle to the Romans and Epistle to the Galatians, and the Epistle to the Hebrews (I don't know if this is Pauline). Then wikipedia calls these "the three great doctrinal books of the New Testament".
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
3 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.
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.
5 Moreover, wealth is treacherous;
the arrogant do not endure.
In the Jewish Zohar Habakkuk is considered the son of the Shumanite woman who was brought back to life by Elisha. This is because in 2 Kings 4:16 Elisha tells her "though shalt embrace a son". The Hebrew word for embrace, "Khavak", is about as close as any to "Habakkuk". The origin of the name is unknown.
24dchaikin
Chapter three is a hymn. William Cowper wrote a famous hymn, "Sometimes a Light Surprises" based on Habakkuk 3:16-19
Habakkuk:
Habakkuk:
17 Though the fig tree does not blossom,Cowper
and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails
and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold
and there is no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will exult in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
and makes me tread upon the heights.
Though vine nor fig tree neither their wonted fruit should bear,Full Cowper hymn, from 1779, is available here: http://cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/o/m/sometime.htm
Though all the field should wither, nor flocks nor herds be there;
Yet God the same abiding, His praise shall tune my voice,
For while in Him confiding, I cannot but rejoice.
25dchaikin
Zephaniah
Zephaniah basically kicks off three very uninteresting prophets. In the Harper Collins Study Bible, Keith Harold Richards tells how he never gained the stature of the other prophets, but is a vital link in the prophetic tradition.
Historically the book seems interesting. He is the prophet of Josiah's reforms of 622 bce, the reforms credited with putting Deuteronomy into the biblical cannon and making Jerusalem the cultic center. (Hezekiah may have initiated similar reforms around 700 bce) And so his theme is to encourage Jerusalem and Judah to reform and to religious purity.
So, interesting, but in his book really stands out in any way.
Zephaniah basically kicks off three very uninteresting prophets. In the Harper Collins Study Bible, Keith Harold Richards tells how he never gained the stature of the other prophets, but is a vital link in the prophetic tradition.
Historically the book seems interesting. He is the prophet of Josiah's reforms of 622 bce, the reforms credited with putting Deuteronomy into the biblical cannon and making Jerusalem the cultic center. (Hezekiah may have initiated similar reforms around 700 bce) And so his theme is to encourage Jerusalem and Judah to reform and to religious purity.
So, interesting, but in his book really stands out in any way.
26dchaikin
Haggai
Haggai and Zechariah bring us to the time after exile, when the new temple is being built. The overlap in the apparently still very small Jerusalem, are both mentioned in Ezra, but never mention each other. They both talk about the construction of the new temple in 521 to 516 bce, after the return from exile. They are both pretty dull.
Haggai gets two chapters where he talks about the building of the temple beginning, and notably, how much motivation it took to get it going, and then covers the dedication of the new temple.
Haggai and Zechariah bring us to the time after exile, when the new temple is being built. The overlap in the apparently still very small Jerusalem, are both mentioned in Ezra, but never mention each other. They both talk about the construction of the new temple in 521 to 516 bce, after the return from exile. They are both pretty dull.
Haggai gets two chapters where he talks about the building of the temple beginning, and notably, how much motivation it took to get it going, and then covers the dedication of the new temple.
27dchaikin
Zechariah
Zechariah has 14 chapters which is a lot for a minor prophet. I mainly recall finding him dull, but there are interesting things I found reading over my notes. Chapters 1-8 include eight short visions of some oddity. Chapters 9-14 are considered to be from different and later periods. Sometimes they are called the second Zechariah. They may be something like an appendix and or just a later collection of writings added on, likely along with all of Malachi.
His visions pertain to Jerusalem during the building of the second temple and about the leaders at that time - especially the high priest Joshua. They seem to be influenced a lot by Ezekiel. In The Literary Guide to the Bible, Herbert Marks notes some structure and symmetry in the 8 visions, but I won't go into that here. There are men on horses around myrtle trees, Satan, a giant scroll with two commandments, an angelic guide and a women in a basket:
Zechariah has 14 chapters which is a lot for a minor prophet. I mainly recall finding him dull, but there are interesting things I found reading over my notes. Chapters 1-8 include eight short visions of some oddity. Chapters 9-14 are considered to be from different and later periods. Sometimes they are called the second Zechariah. They may be something like an appendix and or just a later collection of writings added on, likely along with all of Malachi.
His visions pertain to Jerusalem during the building of the second temple and about the leaders at that time - especially the high priest Joshua. They seem to be influenced a lot by Ezekiel. In The Literary Guide to the Bible, Herbert Marks notes some structure and symmetry in the 8 visions, but I won't go into that here. There are men on horses around myrtle trees, Satan, a giant scroll with two commandments, an angelic guide and a women in a basket:
5 Then the angel who talked with me came forward and said to me, ‘Look up and see what this is that is coming out.’ 6I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘This is a basket coming out.’ And he said, ‘This is their iniquity in all the land.’ 7Then a leaden cover was lifted, and there was a woman sitting in the basket! 8And he said, ‘This is Wickedness.’ So he thrust her back into the basket, and pressed the leaden weight down on its mouth.9Then I looked up and saw two women coming forward. The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket between earth and sky. 10Then I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘Where are they taking the basket?’ 11He said to me, ‘To the land of Shinar, to build a house for it; and when this is prepared, they will set the basket down there on its base.’
28dchaikin
Malachi
After Haggai and Zechariah, I was ready to make quick work on Malachi and his four chapters and be done with the OT. But I was forced to slow down a bit. He a very influential prophet, especially for Christians. He is sited some 19 times in NT. (For a list see the bottome of his wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Malachi )
Written for a period later in this history, after the second temple dedication, after Zechariah. Malachi may not actually be name. It means "my messenger" and may simply be a description. His book may not have been intended as a book, but was perhaps just another writing added on along with chapters 9-14 of Zechariah. But Malachi is distinct from Zechariah. He's much more interesting, even if he isn't stuffing women in baskets and calling them wickedness.
He gives six oracles on purity of ritual and sacrifice, on divorce (he's against it) and on his a coming messenger. This messenger is often interpreted to refer to Christ. He will will reunite the Isrealites, purify them and their priests and will announce the Day of the Lord, which is Judgment Day.
The last paragraph looks to the return of Elijah (cited in Matthew 11:14, 17:12, Mark 9:13 and Luke 1:17)
After Haggai and Zechariah, I was ready to make quick work on Malachi and his four chapters and be done with the OT. But I was forced to slow down a bit. He a very influential prophet, especially for Christians. He is sited some 19 times in NT. (For a list see the bottome of his wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Malachi )
Written for a period later in this history, after the second temple dedication, after Zechariah. Malachi may not actually be name. It means "my messenger" and may simply be a description. His book may not have been intended as a book, but was perhaps just another writing added on along with chapters 9-14 of Zechariah. But Malachi is distinct from Zechariah. He's much more interesting, even if he isn't stuffing women in baskets and calling them wickedness.
He gives six oracles on purity of ritual and sacrifice, on divorce (he's against it) and on his a coming messenger. This messenger is often interpreted to refer to Christ. He will will reunite the Isrealites, purify them and their priests and will announce the Day of the Lord, which is Judgment Day.
The last paragraph looks to the return of Elijah (cited in Matthew 11:14, 17:12, Mark 9:13 and Luke 1:17)
5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. 6He will 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.
29dchaikin
Notes from How to Read the Bible by James Kugel
Amos
He finds Amos more interesting than I did. He notes that Amos is something like the country boy come reluctant prophet.
Oracles Against Nations
I hated the oracles against nations. I think they are in every prophet's writing except Jonah, including Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel where they up a lot of scroll space. They are usually boring and always offensive, and just put a stain on this whole prophetic enterprise.
Kugel's take is that maybe the oldest prophecies were always against other nations. And self-criticism, which is the most prominent part of the bible, derived from this. I find that suspect. I think these people were just angry.
(In The Literary Guide to the Bible, Herbert Marks says, "It is difficult to comprehend this ecstatic fury of the negative. Where does the energy for the prophet's wrath come from?". Then later, "The aggression at the root of all poetic enthusiasm has been recognized since Longinus, the first literary critic to mention the Bible, but it burns hottest in the prophets")
Jonah
Chapter 2 of Jonah is a psalm of thanksgiving, where Jonah thanks the lord for saving him from death. He uses drowning and deep sea imagery for death, including the phrase "belly of Shoel". Kugel thinks the psalm was written first, and that it inspired the story that become Jonah getting swallowed by a fish.
End of prophets
By the time the books are cannonized, there are no more prophets. They have ceased. Kugel sees a pattern of how the role of prophets were reconfigured. In Jeremiah and Ezekiel the writing of a scroll has prominence. Ezekiel eats the scroll. In Zechariah, there is a giant scroll that floats along by itself giving the message. His idea is that at some point the writing seems to have become more important than the authors. And new interpretation of the text began to trump and new prophetic additions. Kugel argues that Chronicles actively downplays the prophets.
Amos
He finds Amos more interesting than I did. He notes that Amos is something like the country boy come reluctant prophet.
Oracles Against Nations
I hated the oracles against nations. I think they are in every prophet's writing except Jonah, including Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel where they up a lot of scroll space. They are usually boring and always offensive, and just put a stain on this whole prophetic enterprise.
Kugel's take is that maybe the oldest prophecies were always against other nations. And self-criticism, which is the most prominent part of the bible, derived from this. I find that suspect. I think these people were just angry.
(In The Literary Guide to the Bible, Herbert Marks says, "It is difficult to comprehend this ecstatic fury of the negative. Where does the energy for the prophet's wrath come from?". Then later, "The aggression at the root of all poetic enthusiasm has been recognized since Longinus, the first literary critic to mention the Bible, but it burns hottest in the prophets")
Jonah
Chapter 2 of Jonah is a psalm of thanksgiving, where Jonah thanks the lord for saving him from death. He uses drowning and deep sea imagery for death, including the phrase "belly of Shoel". Kugel thinks the psalm was written first, and that it inspired the story that become Jonah getting swallowed by a fish.
End of prophets
By the time the books are cannonized, there are no more prophets. They have ceased. Kugel sees a pattern of how the role of prophets were reconfigured. In Jeremiah and Ezekiel the writing of a scroll has prominence. Ezekiel eats the scroll. In Zechariah, there is a giant scroll that floats along by itself giving the message. His idea is that at some point the writing seems to have become more important than the authors. And new interpretation of the text began to trump and new prophetic additions. Kugel argues that Chronicles actively downplays the prophets.
