Basic Questions On Prophetic Literature
Basic Questions On Prophetic Literature
Basic Questions On Prophetic Literature
Isaiah-Jeremiah-Ezekiel-The Twelve
(“Latter Prophets”)
The Twelve:
Ho-Jo-Am
Ob-Jon-Mi
Na-Ha-Zep
Hag-Zech-Mal
Historical Books as Prophetic Books
Prophets as Historians
1) Deut 18:15-18 and 2 Kgs 17:13
2) 1 Chr 29:29
Henry Fuseli
King David being warned by The Prophet Nathan
circa 1772
Black chalk, grey wash on paper, 616 x 918 mm
Private collection, courtesy of Aroldo Zevi Limited,
London PHOTO GRAB: tate.org.uk
Division of the Kingdom
Prophet Ahijah the Shilonite
King Rehobam vs. King Jeroboam of the
new Northern kingdom (1 Kings 11)
Neo-Assyrian Empire threat vs.
Israel
2 Kings 15
Eight century B.C.
Amos and Hosea
TIGLATH-PILESER III
745-727 B.C.
Photo grab:
wikipedia.org
Neo-Assyrian Threat vs.
Judah
Micah 1:10-16
Isiah 36-37
2 Kings 18-19
Sennache
rib
campaign
vs. Judah
in 721
B.C.
Photo grab:
Neo-Babylonian attack on
Jerusalem in 597 and 587
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Cuneiform
tablet
mentioning
the capture of
Jerusalem in
597
(British
Museum,
London) photo
During the Exile
Will God be with this people?
Will there still be a covenant?
Ezekiel and his vision of the valley of the
bones (ch. 37)
Second Isaiah (chaps. 40-55), see 54:11-12
Jeremiah and the new covenant (Jer 31:31)
Haggai and restoration of monarchy, see
2:20-23
Zechariah and a new order, see chap. 4
Restoration, Rebuilding of the
Temple
515 B. C. – Temple Rebuilt (Second Temple
Period)
Prophetic literature were in the form of
notes, additions, and supplements to
earlier words.
Religion was now practiced also in Diaspora
(Egypt and Mesopotamia)
New oracles from the deity was no longer
necessary.
Prophets were no longer needed.
In summary, prophets emerged in times of
crisis, from the beginning of the monarchy
up to the time of restoration or the
beginning of the Second Temple Period
(515 B.C.).
4. What is the Social Status of
the Prophet?
Readings:
D. L. Petersen, “Introduction to Prophetic
Literature,” pp. 8-9.
J. Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in
Israel, rev. and enl., pp. 30-39.
1) Most prophets were active in the cities.
•AMOS moving
from Tekoa
(South) to
Bethel (North)
•JEREMIAH of
Anathoth
preached in
Jerusalem in the
Temple area.
2) Often, prophets worked for the royal
court.
Nathan
And hundred years later, Haggai
NAB
NRSV
1. Prose Accounts
Most reports on the activity of prophets are
in prose
But they are not all stories.
Seven (7) accounts of prose accounts
7 Types of Prose Accounts
1) Symbolic Action Report – it describes
prophetic behavior that is designed to
convey a message.
Isaiah 20:1-6
For nakedness as a symbolic expression see 1 Sam
19:19-24; Micah 1:8-9
Ezek 4:1-3
Ezek 5:1-4
2) Commissioning Report = “Call
Narratives”
Six elements (Norman Habel)
Structure of a Call Narrative
(From: Habel, Norm. “The Form and Significance of the Call
Narratives.” ZAW 77 (1965): 297-323; For online, click here
3. Vision Report
Note: “prophet” as “seer”
“to look up and see” (Amos 7:1)
Examples
Amos’ five visions (7:1-9; 8:1-3; 9:1-4)
Ezekiel’s four visions (1:1; 8:1; 37:1; and 40:1
Zechariah’s eight visions
Daniel’s vision (Dan 7:15-16)
4) Legenda
story of the life of a saint (Webster)
A report about something holy, whether on
object or a person
E.g. “ark of God” in 2 Sam 6:6-7
Elisha as “man of God” in 2 Kgs 2:23-24; 2 Kgs 4:1-7
5) Prophetic Historiography
History is written from the point of view of
the role of the prophet.
See Isaiah 36-39 = 2 Kgs 18:13-19:37
For ancient Israelites, “the prophetic word
[has] a major place in history” (Petersen, p.
14).
6) Autobiography [not biography as
presented earlier]
E.g. Jeremiah 37-44
7) Divinatory Chronicle
Text narrating the prophet as a diviner
(one who could give information from the world
beyond that of normal human knowledge)
“to inquire from Yahweh”
E.g. 1 Samuel 9
Zechariah 7-9
Ezekiel 20
2. Poetic Speech
Claus Westermann,
Basic Forms of
Prophetic Speech
(trans. H. C. White;
Philadelphia:
Westminster, 1967).*
Online outline of Westermann’s
Basic Forms*
Adele Berlin,
“Introduction to
Hebrew Poetry,” in
The New
Interpreter’s Bible
vol. 4, pp. 301-315.
2. Poetic Speech
It is the predominant form of prophetic
literature
Special attention to Hebrew poetic techniques
and rhetorical styles
Regular forms of speech might been created
and preserved in ancient society
“Köh ´ämar yhwh” (“thus says the Lord”)
“says the Lord”
1) Judgment Oracle
e.g. Jer 6:16-21
2) Woe oracle
Isa 10:1-4
Hebrew hôy
Probably used originally to someone who had
just died. = person is good as dead
Opposite: Beatitudes ´aºšürê
3) Lawsuit (rîb)
Legal process that ends with the passing of a
sentence.
Must have been derived from Israel’s law
courts.
Most common prophetic speech.
e.g. Micah 1:2-7
Micah 1:2-7
Nahum 1:1-8
Two important books on prose
and poetry
See chapter VI
“Prophecy and
Poetry”, pp. 137-162.