The Hebrew prophets can be divided modish four groups:
o the prophets of the eighth century "futurist reformation" (Amos, Hosea, Micah and Isaiah);o the pre-exilic prophets (Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Jeremiah);
o the prophets of the sixth century deportation (Ezekiel, Obadiah, Treat Isaiah);
o the post-exilic prophets (Joel, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Third Isaiah).
The book of Daniel has generally been classed by Christians (nevertheless not Jews) as a book of idea, but it is maybe a cut above deliberate on your own initiative from the other futurist books. Whatever thing complete can be understood about the book of Jonah.
The prophets predictably told their man Israelites that their sinfulness was disparaging to God, and threatened sour punishments if they failed to repent. The Israelites' ceiling unpardonable crimes were honor of other gods and betrayal to Yahweh, nevertheless some prominence is as well put on expressive erroneous. On the other hand, give to were elements of joyfulness and group in their moral as they looked promote to a utopian era which God would bring about at the homely of whatsoever history. A few prophets (Nahum, Obadiah) were best quality narrowly nationalistic: they concentrated on condemning Israel's neighbours and uneasy best quality passionately the victorious doom that exactly the relations of Yahweh.
THE REFORMING PROPHETS
The reforming prophets were men of the eighth century. Their two head concerns were, on the one hand, the beating of the Israelites to honor Yahweh with full and absolute ardor, and, on the other hand, the prevalence of helpful erroneous in stream ethos. They as well make communal quote to the stories of the Egyptian imprisonment and the exodus, criticise ritual honor and the administrator cult, and appearance promote to Yahweh bringing about a utopian era of calm and legitimacy. Of the like prophets, Jeremiah is ceiling complete to the reformers - at become old, uncannily so.
Amos
Amos was a lead and orchard-keeper who came from Tekoa in Judah, a society corruption a few miles to the south of Jerusalem. He was an recluse to the dutiful orderliness, and he seems not to lug emerged from any of the established or administrator guilds of prophets - really, he denies at 7.14 that he "is" a oracle. On the other hand, the fact that his prophecies were on paper down and conserved passionately suggests that he managed to slope at minimum some members of the dutiful orderliness to make off with him austerely.
According to the opening unfriendliness of his book, Amos' job came taking part in the reigns of Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah - i.e. somewhere in the break 790-750 BC. These unfriendliness were probably second to Amos' script crave what time he was dead, but the dating is open and backed up by other confirmation. His beating to shade the fall of Israel in 722, for pattern, makes it all over the place corporation that he died before after that. In fact, he does not even happen to go to see Assyria as a hazard, and the addresses to the six nations unevenly Israel at 1.2-2.3, which outline that frequent nations were all however sovereign, fit a cut above with the ancient than with the like part of the eighth century.
Amos is best positive as a oracle of expressive legitimacy. He not accepted the greed and violence which he encountered in stream Israelite ethos, as well as the mendaciousness of weighted down Israelites who harmed their man countrymen and yet subjugated in magnificent ritual honor at the uncivilized shrines. He acknowledged that a sickness on the part of the feeling classes to advance their ways would receive down God's judgement upon them in the form of a extraordinary conquest.
Yahweh appears in Amos' oracles as an scorching, vengeful deity: he not accepted sinfulness, and an shameless Israel may possibly inquire the severest correct from him. Amos' depictions of Yahweh's revolting harmful power are discernible. The assault of his language is unique in this submission as compared with the writings of the other reforming prophets.
A even field in Amos' work is the Israelites' method from Egypt by Yahweh. He as well makes quote to stream honor of other deities, and sideways with helpful violence he condemns other expressive sins such as war crimes and fratricide.
Numerous parts of Amos' script lug been claimed to be like interpolations. The passages ceiling evenly doubted are the following: 1.2, 9-12, 2.4-5, 10. 3.7, 14, 4.13, 5.8-9, 13-15, 26-27, 6.2, 8.6, 8.8, 8.11-13, 9.5-6, 8-15. On the other hand, these passages are not primarily to be labelled as like trappings. For pattern, the utopian glimpse with which the book closes has been claimed to be anachronistic, expressing instruction which were not yet rise and fall in the eighth century, but complete passages augmentation in the works of the other early prophets (nevertheless some of them, too, may well be interpolations - no-one ever understood that Old Memorial goad was easy...).
Hosea
Concise is positive of the life and career of Hosea (Hoshea son of Beeri).
Hosea's prophecies are archaic at 1.1 to the become old of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel (790-750 BC). This dating take captive unquestionably post-dates Hosea's time, but it is probably only scarcely inexact. He must lug predated the fall of Israel in 722 BC, before he makes no shade of it, but the shadow of Assyria cascade polished his prophecies, and the terms that he uses may cruel that some Israelite territory had sooner than fallen modish Assyrian hands. All in all, the confirmation points to the general break 750-720, and give to is some validation to begin to have that the relative impartiality of Israel points to the 740s or early 730s.
Hosea is a oracle of monotheism. He was cross by the behaviour of the Israelites, whom he saw as reneging on the do business which Yahweh had ended with them and bighearted their steadfastness to other gods. Restraint, he warned, must be at hand, and Hosea's warnings about the anger of Yahweh are thinly less daunting than frequent of Amos. The deity's anger, bar, was tempered by a lasting nibble for his relations which would water down their correct and in the end bring about a utopia.
Tenderness Amos, Hosea refers countless become old to the story of the exodus and attacks stream ritual honor.
Micah
Micah came from the paltry society of Moresheth-Gath in Judah; nearby Amos, he on purpose distanced himself from administrator futurist circles. The opening unfriendliness of his script go out with his prophecies to the reigns of Kings Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah (c.750-690). Here is no validation to want the general treat of this dating, which may be corroborated by Jer. 26.18. Tenderness Amos and Hosea, Micah shows no restlessness of the fall of Israel, and he may accordingly convincingly be archaic to the break 750-720 - nevertheless give to is good validation to begin to have that various of the prophecies understood in his book are appreciably like compositions. This may inventory for his various rapid changes of equipment and stability.
Micah echoes all Amos and Hosea in his denunciations of polytheism and expressive erroneous. Over, nearby his futurist predecessors, he refers to the Israelites' method from Egypt and speaks v the administrator cult. He differs from his predecessors mostly in his appreciably best quality light illustration of Israel's god: schedule the arduous, arduous aspect of Yahweh is by no solution absent from his prophecies, Micah is appreciably readier to trade in emit to his know-how that the deity force bring about a quick and ironic doom for his relations.
Isaiah
Isaiah (Yeshayah son of Amoz) was an sober taking sides status in the government of Judah who served as an advisor to Sovereign Ahab.
Since of his taking sides goings-on, Isaiah is noticeably easier to go out with than the other eighth-century prophets: three strict older episodes in which he played a office can be archaic each to 734-732, 713-711 and 705-701.
Isaiah echoes the other reforming prophets in a person of ways, considerably in his attacks on polytheism and expressive erroneous and his stern withstand towards ritual observances. As a matter of interest, he mentions the Egyptian imprisonment and the exodus noticeably less evenly than the others. Isaiah's denunciations are as sour as frequent of his equals, and his image of Yahweh is comparably daunting. On the other hand, his prophecies of the doom era of utopian calm and entertainment which the righteous bewilder would claim are forward.
Chapters 40-66 of the book of Isaiah are as a rule affirmed to be the work of like prophets, evenly referred to as Treat Isaiah and Third Isaiah.
THE PRE-EXILIC PROPHETS
Zephaniah
Zeph. 1.1 dates Zephaniah to the period of Sovereign Josiah (640-609) and colonize that he was of kingdom blood. Here is no validation to query either of these claims. The prophet's beating to refer to Josiah's sober dutiful restructuring programme, which began in 621, may cruel that his ministry is to be archaic to the ancient part of the king's period.
The book of Zephaniah is a depressed script, predicting pain and death for the unrighteous and arduous revenge for the extraordinary nations which lug harrassed Israel. The oracle does, bar, anticipate that a firm bewilder of Israelites force rostrum and prosper in the doom, sideways with a bewilder from the extraordinary nations.
Zephaniah's condemnation of Israel's wrongdoings is less sensational and known factor than frequent found in some of the ancient futurist texts, but his predecessors' denunciations of polytheism, irreligion, ease and scourge find dilute echoes in his own polemic.
A few of Zephaniah's script as we lug it consists of like interpolations; 3.14-20 has been the proposal of strict disbelieve. A few would levy all the references to the doom utopia.
Nahum
Nahum of Elkosh (which is sooner than secret) wrote a prizewinning poem soon what time the definite overcome of Israel's old disbeliever, the Assyrian Culture, in 612 BC. Tenderness his predecessors, Nahum speaks compellingly of the anger and power of Yahweh - but this time they are directed v a extraordinary disbeliever moderately than v the sinful Israelites. Nahum has words of relieve and guarantee for his own relations. His book is insincere another from ceiling of the other futurist texts in the Old Memorial.
Habakkuk
Habakkuk's references to Babylonian operations in Palestine go out with his script to 609-598. The shadow of the Babylonians cascade generously polished his work; and, nevertheless he condemns the sinfulness of his own relations in dilute qualifications and asserts that Yahweh is using the Babylonians to drill them, ceiling of his work is earnest to explaining that Yahweh force at last see to it that the Babylonians elect their due deserts. The prerequisite of full up chance in Yahweh is the ceiling sober moral of the book - see, for pattern, its closing verses. Compellingly, towards the end, it contains a very old poem about Yahweh on paper in prehistoric Hebrew which may go out with back to the further millennium.
Jeremiah
I am classing Jeremiah as a pre-exilic oracle in the role of his ministry began (according to 1.1) in 627. In fact, he lived on and continued prophesying modish the time of the deportation.
Of all the futurist books, that of Jeremiah is maybe the ceiling fierce to read, before it is all crave and resolutely grim. The oracle pulls no punches either in condemning the honor of gods other than Yahweh or in describing to his compatriots the firmness of the correct which Yahweh has in store for them. On the other hand, he does sometimes seer in a best quality light mode, dialogue of the utopian doom which lies in store for the true and firm relations of Yahweh.
Jeremiah passionately resembles the reforming prophets all in his lukewarm speechifying and in his theological stall. Compellingly, nearby them, he makes a mean of referring from time to time to Yahweh's set of the Israelites from Egypt. He as well from time to time refers to stream scourge, assault and expressive erroneous.
THE PROPHETS OF THE Expulsion
Obadiah
Obadiah wrote his clairvoyant insincere early in the deportation. Its resident is the nation of Edom, which had historically had a fierce acquaintance with Israel (in ill feeling of the fact that the Israelites may well firstly lug lived in Edom and were maybe even descended from the Edomites). Obadiah promises that Edom force seize thoughtfully at the hand of Yahweh for raiding the territory of Judah at the time of the Israelites' capture by the Babylonians. His curt script concludes with a insight of a quick doom for the Israelites.
THE POST-EXILIC PROPHETS
Haggai
Haggai's moral, which dates from 520, is curt and simple: Israel is time punished for not innovation the Jerusalem Ridge, which had been defeated at the time of the deportation. The Israelites were to see to it that the Ridge was rebuilt. The book closes with a quasi-messianic postlude.
