Nahum

The author of Twelve Prophets, Volume 1 completes his study with a commentary on Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, who foretold the birth of the Messiah; Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, prophets who spoke for God in the last days of the Kingdom of Judah; and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, whose messages were directed to those reforming the community of God's people after the Babylonian Exile. Individuals who proclaimed different messages according to the times in which they lived, these prophets nevertheless have in common the task of speaking the Word of God to the people of God. Through his insightful commentary, Peter C. Craigie shows the persistent meaning of this Word through the ages. Carrying forward brilliantly the pattern established by Barclay's New Testament series, the Daily Study Bible has been extended to cover the entire Old Testament as well. Invaluable for individual devotional study, for group discussion, and for classroom use, the Daily Study Bible provides a useful, reliable, and eminently readable way to discover what the Scriptures were saying then and what God is saying today.

Robertson's study of the Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah is a contribution to The New International Commentalry on the Old Testament, a commentary which strives to achieve a balance between technical information and homiletic-devotional interpretation. The commentary proper is based on the author's own translation of the Hebrew text.

In this commentary an attempt is made to prove that the book of Nahum was written in Jerusalem, ca. 660 BCE, by a talented, faithful royal scribe. He used the pseudonym Nahum as an indication of his purpose: to encourage the people of Judah groaning under the tyranny of the Assyrians. He took his inspiration from the earlier prophetics of Isaiah and from Psalms, which he probably regularly heard or sang in the temple. He also used his familiarity with the Assyrian literature, especialy with the texts of vassal treaties and royal annals, to express in fitting words the announcement of the downfall of the Assyrian empire symbolized by its capital Niniveh.After the fulfilment of this prediction in 612 BCE the book of Nahum must have become very popular, as it proved clear example of true prophecy. It had much influence upon Habakuk and exilic prophets like the Second Isaiah and Jeremiah, who interpreted its message in the new situation of the Babylonian opprression. Traces of this influence are also found in the literature of the community of Qumran and in the NT.

"The Anchor Yale Bible is a fresh approach to the world's greatest classic. Its object is to make the Bible accessible to the modern reader; its method is to arrive at the meaning of biblical literature through exact translation and extended exposition, and to reconstruct the ancient setting of the biblical story, as well as the circumstances of its transcription and the characteristics of its transcribers ... [It] is a project of international and interfaith scope: Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute individual volumes ... [and] is an effort to make available all the significant historical and linguistic knowledge which bears on the interpretation of the biblical record ... [It] is aimed at the general reader with no special formal training in biblical studies, yet it is written with the most exacting standards of scholarship, reflecting the highest technical accomplishment"--Vol. 1, p. [ii].

From the Wisdom Commentary series . This volume offers a womanist and feminist analysis of the books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, attending to translation and textual issues, use of power and agency, and constructions of gender and its significance for the real and metaphorical women in the texts. The unit on Nahum takes an unflinching look at God’s role and rhetoric in the rape of Nineveh and considers implications for the women of Nineveh and Israel and for contemporary readers. Habakkuk is read employing a womanist stratagem, talking back to God. The section on Zephaniah explores the racialized history of interpreting “Cushi” in Zephaniah’s genealogy and the figures of Daughter Zion/Jerusalem. The commentary also assesses these texts as scriptures of synagogue and church, their use and utility. A Jewish feminist reading and womanist hermeneutic accompanies each biblical book.?

The distinctiveness of this commentary lies in its consistent rotation between synchronic and diachronic views. This double perspective is directed toward the three prophetic books as a single entity, toward each individual book, and toward the interpretation of each pericope. The result is a sophisticated picture, on the one hand of the structure and intention of the texts in their final form, and on the other hand of their compositional history - from the second half of the 7th century to the late Old Testament period. Each exegetical section opens with a precise, text-critically supported translation and finishes with a synthesis that attempts to make note of the lasting insights from each text and the most important results of the analysis.

In this commentary, Thomas Renz reads Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah as three carefully crafted writings of enduring relevance, each of which makes a vital contribution to the biblical canon. Discussing the historical settings, Renz takes up both long-standing issues, such as the relationship of Zephaniah to Josiah’s reforms, and the socioeconomic conditions of the time suggested by recent archaeological research. The place of these writings within the Book of the Twelve is given fresh consideration, including the question of what one should make of the alleged redaction history of Nahum and Habakkuk. The author’s careful translation of the text comes with detailed textual notes, illuminating some of the Bible’s most outstanding poetry (Nahum) and one of the biblical chapters that is among the most difficult to translate (Habakkuk 3). The thorough verse-by-verse commentary is followed by stimulating theological reflection, opening up avenues for teaching and preaching from these prophetic writings. No matter their previous familiarity with these and other Minor Prophets, scholars, pastors, and lay readers alike will find needed guidance in working through these difficult but important books of the Bible.

THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include:* commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION;* the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary;* sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages;* interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole;* readable and applicable exposition.