The Eighth Century Prophets Amos Hosea Isaiah Micah

Bernhard Anderson has written a commentary that gives new perspective and clarity to the prophetic tradition and demonstrates the timely nature of the prophets' messages for today. 'The Eighth Century Prophets' treats the four Old Testament figures as a 'prophetic quartet' that produced a powerful and startling consensus about Israel's relationship to God and the world. The core of the prophetic message is shown to be both religious and political as Anderson describes and explains the great themes of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah: divine judgment, the present and the future, justice and mercy, the covenant, walking humbly with God, and waiting for God. Included is a bibliography and time chart of Eighth Century Israel.

This book introduces readers to three Hebrew prophets of the eighth century BCE, Amos, Hosea, and Micah. After a survey of the historical background for these prophets, and a brief introduction to each, five selected prophecies of Amos, Hosea, and Micah are discussed in detail. At the conclusion of each passage questions are provided for reflection, making the book suitable for Bible study and small group discussions.

In this powerful sociological introduction, D. N. Premnath brings together the social reality of eighth century B.C.E. Israel and Judah and the prophetic oracles of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah to explore the significance of their prophetic message and vision in today's context. He focuses on various dimensions of land accumulation by the upper class and its effect on the poor. Premnath uniquely uses a systemic sociological approach, incorporating both comparative and historical data to reconstruct the social reality of the period and to reveal aspects of the oracles not covered by previous exegesis. The sociohistorical section will be of keen interest to students as well as to scholars.

The plan of this volume of commentary on the New English Bible text of three Old Testament books follows the pattern established by the New Testament series of Cambridge Bible Commentaries on the New English Bible. The main divisions of the text are those provided by the New English Bible itself. The text is further subdivided for the purposes of the commentary, which is printed in short sections following the relevant portion of text. In his introduction Dr McKeating discusses the chronology of the books in this volume, indicating briefly the historical events of the period. He examines the structure and content of these books and shows how these three men, alike in their intensity but utterly different in background and in temperament, reflect three different attitudes to a corrupt society.

These six prophets proclaim powerful messages about judgment and the sovereignty of God. Amos challenges hypocrisy and injustice. Hosea's marriage symbolizes the covenant between God and Israel, moving from love to separation and then reunion. Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah condemn corrupt leadership, injustice to the poor, and worship of false gods. Habakkuk reminds all to rely on God, who will punish the evil and defeat chaos. Flowing through all these calls to be a better people is the unfailing promise of a faithful and forgiving God.