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The Latter Prophects
ISAIAH.
The first, and perhaps the most valuable, of
the major Prophets is Isaiah. The earlier part can be identified as
having been written at a very turbulent time in the histories of Judah
and Israel (Ephraim), during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and
Hezekiah. Israel, sometimes allied to Syria, and Judah, warred with each
other, and it was feared that in time Assyria, and Assyria's vassal
state of Babylon, would try to annex both Israel and Judah. Egypt was an
occasional but unreliable ally and the Philistine cities of the coast
were a constant problem. Towards the end of this period Assyria did in
fact destroy Israel and carry off a large part of its people, replacing
them with groups from other conquered nations.
Isaiah seems to have had four main aims: to
condemn corruption, to condemn the failure of the Jews to maintain the
Law of Moses, to condemn her many enemies, to rally and encourage the
people in difficult times. The assurance of God's ultimate justice on
his enemies seems to have been the intent of his prophesy rather than
any deliberate futurism.
The first part of Isaiah seems to end at Ch 35.
Chapters 36 - 39, a straightforward narrative concerning King Hezekiah,
have been taken practically word for word from 2 Kings 18:13-20:18, and
clearly do not belong. At the end of this period Isaiah would have been
some 80 years old.
After the fine poetry of Ch 40 we seem to enter
a new period altogether. The main enemy is now Babylon (Chaldea), feared
but never a serious problem in the time of the earlier historical
Isaiah, except as a vassal state of Assyria. Jerusalem has been
destroyed, Assyria has long completed the destruction of Ephraim. New
ideas are introduced, God as the Redeemer of Israel, the concept of the
Servant, and the old targets dropped. There is an entirely new attitude
to Gentiles. Textual critics find substantial differences in the
underlying language and conclude that Isaiah 40 to 55 was written by a
second and much later individual whom they call Isaiah II, and 56 on by
an Isaiah III. It may be noted that the existence of Isaiah II, dated
around 550 BC is recognised by some Jewish biblical authorities. After
Ch 56 the themes change again - there is no more 'Servant' and the
writer draws a picture of a glorious future for Israel as a leader of
all nations. There are many references, such as Isaiah 64:10-11, which
confirm that it was written after the Exile to Babylon.
The verses on 'Immanuel' (God with us) in
Isaiah 7:13-17 are traditionally supposed to refer to Christ, but surely
7:16 refers to Ephraim and Syria and fixes the Immanuel period firmly in
the current time-frame. Isaiah's prophecies are further discussed in the
article on Prophesy.
Harsh comment has been made in an earlier
article on the way God is portrayed in Joshua; surely the God of the
Isaiahs, in some of the finest poetry ever written, offers a more
accurate picture. |
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JEREMIAH.
Jeremiah is a figure well attested to in the
Bible, and there is little or no controversy about the period of his
life or of the authorship of the contents of the Book of Jeremiah. The
word 'contents' is used deliberately since it is evident that the book
has been compiled by a later authority, who has collected and roughly
sorted the material. The version of Jeremiah in the Septuagint orders
the text differently and is substantially different in length, but is
close to a version found with the Dead Sea Scrolls
Jeremiah's initial aim is to reform Judah.
Subsequently, after the destruction of Solomon's temple, he teaches that
their exile to Babylon is direct punishment for their abandonment of the
Law, and that Babylon was acting as the servant of God. Later still he
assures the people that the Exile is for a limited time only and that
they would eventually be restored. It is significant that when Ezra (in
Chronicles) looks for a source of prophesy regarding the end of the
exile, he turns to Jeremiah rather than Isaiah.
Jeremiah also foresees a new Covenant to
replace the old one made with the Patriarchs, which had become too
remote and had been broken too many times. The new Covenant would
involve and instruct the people as individuals rather than as a race. |
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EZEKIEL.
Ezekiel prophesied in the period 593-571 BC. He
was among the first group of Judah's leaders to be exiled to Babylon
from where he saw the destruction of the Temple and the further exile of
the elite. Most scholars accept that the main body of the book was
written in this 6th century BC, with the inclusion of some later
additions. Stripped of its dramatic literary forms and devices his
message is very similar to that of Jeremiah. The belief of Ezekiel and
Jeremiah in the ultimate establishment of a new covenant between God and
the people of Israel is likely to have provided support and
justification for the postexilic reconstruction and reorganization of
Judaism by Ezra and Nehemiah. Chapters 40 to 48 contain a description of
a new temple, certain rites, and a new division of the land of Israel
between the tribes. These do not appear to have been adopted and the
section is considered to be a later addition to the book and not
attributable to Ezekiel.
Ezekiel initiated the literary form known as
apocalypticism - the view that in time of disaster God would intervene
to save the faithful remnant and that this intervention would be
accompanied by dramatic, cataclysmic events.
The prophets were not afraid to challenge
existing doctrine. Both Ezekiel and, less positively, Jeremiah,
challenged the words of Ex 20:5, which says that God visits the iniquity
of one generation upon succeeding ones. Ezekiel teaches that this is
false doctrine - a man should not carry any responsibility for the sins
of his father. |
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The Minor Prophects
Hosea: Prophesied in the
last days of Israel against a nation that had abandoned God. Hosea
distinguished between the love of God as a formal requirement of the
Covenant and the love that should result from true spiritual knowledge
of God. This vision of a spiritual love is portrayed in a parable in
which Hosea represents God, and his wife the erring Israel.
Joel: There seems to be no agreement as
to the date of Joel or to the meaning of the events he relates. The
general import is the common one of calamity occurring as a punishment
and requiring a return to God. It concludes with an Apocalypse while
reference to 'Greeks' shows that it was written late in the period.
Amos: A very influential book dating to
the latter half of the 8th century BC. His main targets are social
injustices, both in Israel and in neighbour states. He forecast the
collapse of Israel's religious life and the later restoration of the
Davidic Kings.
Obadiah: Probably post-exile. Condemns
Edom for failing to support Judah.
Jonah: Significant because it is one of
the earliest indications that some Jews felt that Jehovah belonged to
the whole world, and not just the Hebrews. Probably written sometime
between 500 and 350 BC (or perhaps even 250 BC), the message of Jonah
protested against the exclusiveness of a post-exilic Judaism, with its
policy of a pure blood race of Jews that the reformers Ezra and Nehemiah
had implemented in the 5th century. There is no historical support from
Assyrian records and the similarity of the story of the whale to Indian
legend has led to a widespread assumption that it is pure parable.
Micah: 8th Century, with a similar
message to that of Amos. Micah 4:2, referring to Bethlehem, is used by
Matthew to link Christ with the Jewish Messiah.
Nahum: Probably written around 612 BCE
(the date of the destruction of Nineveh, the Assyrian capital). The book
celebrates the belief that Yahweh has saved Judah from the Assyrians.
Habakkuk: Around 600 BC. Habakkuk
complains that God is doing nothing to counter evil ways in Judah. God's
reply is that Babylon will destroy Judah, but be destroyed in its turn -
ultimately righteousness will always prevail.
Zephaniah: Late 7th Century. Theme is
idolatry in Judah before the Deuteronomic reforms. Chapter 3:14-20, a
psalmlike passage praising God for the future glorious restoration of
the remnant of Judah, is commonly accepted as a later addition.
Haggai: Writing after the return from
exile in Babylon Haggai urges the rebuilding of the Temple.
Zechariah: Contemporary of Haggai and
supporter of the those who returned from Babylon in their quarrels with
those who had remained in Judah during the exile. The work includes the
well known 'Court' scene in which Satan, as prosecutor, calls on God to
ignore Joshua (High Priest of the exiles). This is commonly interpreted
as an attempt to blacken the image of those who opposed the returned
exiles. Chapters 9-14 are thought to be insertions, dated to the 3rd and
4th centuries BC. A Messianic reference from 9:9 - a king riding on the
foal of an ass - is used in the New Testament to link Messiah and
Christ.
Malachi: Perhaps written from about
500-450 BCE, the book is concerned with spiritual degradation, religious
perversions, social injustices, and unfaithfulness to the Covenant. This
would refer to a period between the re-building of the Temple and Ezra's
major reforms. |
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