Joel Obadiah Habakkuk Zephaniah

Tchavdar S. Hadjiev introduces students to the books of Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (the Minor Prophets) in their original historical contexts and to the issues surrounding their composition and interpretation. Hadjiev pays particular attention to important topics such as eschatology, prophecy and cult, intertextuality, theodicy and the genre of the prophetic book. Readers will come to grips with the key themes of judgment, repentance, and salvation in relation to their historical and canonical contexts. Finally, Hadjiev provides a theological evaluation of the prophetic attitude to foreigners and the vision of their final destruction, which is pervasive in Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, and helps readers to grapple with this theme in a modern context.

"Tchavdar S. Hadjiev introduces students to the books of Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (the Minor Prophets) in their original historical contexts and to the issues surrounding their composition and interpretation. Hadjiev pays particular attention to important topics such as eschatology, prophecy and cult, intertextuality, theodicy and the genre of the prophetic book. Readers will come to grips with the key themes of judgment, repentance, and salvation in relation to their historical and canonical contexts. Finally, Hadjiev provides a theological evaluation of the prophetic attitude to foreigners and the vision of their final destruction, which is pervasive in Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, and helps readers to grapple with this theme in a modern context."--

Tchavdar S. Hadjiev introduces students to the books of Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (the Minor Prophets) in their original historical contexts and to the issues surrounding their composition and interpretation. Hadjiev pays particular attention to important topics such as eschatology, prophecy and cult, intertextuality, theodicy and the genre of the prophetic book. Readers will come to grips with the key themes of judgment, repentance, and salvation in relation to their historical and canonical contexts. Finally, Hadjiev provides a theological evaluation of the prophetic attitude to foreigners and the vision of their final destruction, which is pervasive in Joel, Obadiah, Habakkuk and Zephaniah, and helps readers to grapple with this theme in a modern context.

The six Old Testament books dealt with in this volume of the Commentary are part of a larger unit originally copied on one scroll and called, for the sake of simplicity, the books of the twelve or minor prophets. The prophetic visions, liturgies and oracles contained in the twelve books were collected over a period of more than 300 years and given their final shape not earlier than the middle of the fifth century BC. In his opening chapter Dr Watts provides the historical and liturgical background to the books and discusses the nature and role of prophecy in worship. In the style established for the series, the NEB translation of the text then follows, divided into brief sections alternating with sections of commentary. The results of Old Testament scholarship and modern theological though are conveyed to the student and the layman in simple language.

This commentary builds on the work of previous scholarship and addresses contemporary issues. It gives serious attention to questions of textual criticism, philology, history, and Near Eastern backgrounds and is sensitive to the literary conventions characteristic of the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. The book is an earnest attempt to hear the message of the ancient prophets, a message that remains relevant today. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

The eloquent and uncompromising calls for social righteousness by the Minor Prophets are familiar to many, yet the writings themselves are probably the least-studied and least-known texts of the Old Testament. Those who are familiar with these books are also aware of the historical and literary problems that plague their study. Drawing on theological, historical, and literary insights, Leslie Allen’s commentary on Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah carefully and imaginatively reconstructs the context in which the original Hebrew audience received the prophets’ messages. In turn, Allen shows what relevance they hold for contemporary Christians. For each of the books, Allen includes a substantial introduction, presenting and assessing a broad range of scholarship, a select bibliography, and an extensive commentary on the author’s own translation of the text. Allen pays special attention to Micah, in which he treats at greater length many of the forms and motifs that also appear in Joel, Obadiah, and Jonah. The introductory material for Joel includes discussions of canonicity and textual criticism that apply to the entire volume.

In the language of the Bible, "prophecy" has quite a broad meaning, but refers, primarily, to the idea of "speaking in the name of God". The entire Old Testament could be said to be prophetic, but some books carry the names of twelve "minor" prophets - a distinction based on their length. Not all of them easy to date, the authors and editors of these books in the "roll of the twelve prophets" lived at times between the eighth century and second century BC.