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ZEPHANIAH:

THE PROPHET: What is known about the prophet is from the superscription of 1.1 or must be inferred from the book. His calling is not mentioned. His name means Yahweh hides or Zaphon is Yahweh. While the issue is debatable, the mention of a Hezekiah in the superscription probably identifies Zephaniah as a relative of Josiah.

DATE: The date of the book is during Josiah's reign and before the fall of Nineveh (639-612BC). Zephaniah is probably before Josiah's reforms (621BC), about 627/6BC, reacting to the conditions left from Manasseh's reign.

THEMES/EMPHASES: Wrath will come upon wicked Judah; wrath will also come upon Judah's enemies (Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria); imminent judgment, ultimate deliverance/restoration.

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. Zephaniah does not mention the king himself, but only the royal household. This indicates that Josiah, who was 8 when he became king, was probably not yet in control of the kingdom when Zephaniah prophesied. Rather, royal officials were running the country until Josiah grew up.

2. It is quite possible that Zephaniah's prophecy influenced Josiah's reforms of 621BC.

NAHUM

THE PROPHET: Name means "comfort" or "compassion;" from Elkosh, site unknown, but probably in Judah.

DATE OF THE BOOK: Earliest 664BC-latest 612BC, before Nineveh's destruction. Most likely immediately prior to their destruction. (The textbook is WAY OFF when it tries to date the book to 655-650BC; Manasseh was a vassal to Assyria during that time.)

THEMES/EMPHASES: It predicts, with great accuracy, the destruction of Nineveh (which occurred in 612 BC).

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. Unlike Jonah's day, this time Nineveh did not repent, but was defeated by the Babylonians.

The book of Nahum could be characterized as "Jonah gets his wish."

2. Another way to characterize the book is "Nahum: a thesaurus of violence." The language of the book is extremely violent, with about twice as much destructive terminology (relative to its size) as most prophetic literature.

HABAKKUK

In my opinion, the textbook's chapter on Habakkuk is the weakest one in the whole book.

DATE: Between 612 and 586 BC, after the fall of Assyria (and probably after the battle of Carchemesh [605], where the remnant of Assyria was defeated again by Babylon).

THE PROPHET: Nothing known. Meaning of name unknown. Probably a musician, possibly a Levite or a Temple prophet.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: The reforms of Josiah did not reach the hearts of the people. It was a surface repentance. When Josiah was killed in 609 while attempting to prevent Pharaoh Neco of Egypt from helping the remaining Assyrians (at what would become the battle of Carchemesh in 605), the disillusioned people returned to their old ways. In 605, the Babylonians made their first siege on Jerusalem and took some nobility into captivity. 597 was the first major deportation to Babylon, and in 586 Jerusalem, along with the Temple, was destroyed, with many more being taken into exile.

THEMES/EMPHASES: Habakkuk laments about the wickedness and injustice in the land, and calls for Yahweh to bring judgment. (The "wicked" should be understood to be Israelites, not foreigners.) Yahweh replies, saying He will use the Chaldeans/Babylonians (pronounced Kal-dee-uns). Habakkuk replies, saying how could God use a more wicked nation (Babylon) to judge a less wicked one (Judah)? God then indicates that the Babylonians will be judged.

Chapter 3 is a psalm which describes God in cosmic terms. The book ends on a note of trust in light of the coming invasion ("Though the fig tree should not blossom....")

POINTS OF NOTE: The modern equivalent is roughly as follows: "God, I see all this wickedness in the USA; when are You going to do something about it?" God replies, "I am, and I'm going to use the Russians (or the Iraqis/N. Koreans/Iranians) to do it." "What? They're more wicked than we are!"

THE PROPHET: OBADIAH. Name means "servant of Yahweh."

DATE: Sometime between 550 and 450, with allusions to late 6th cent and early 5th.

THEMES/EMPHASES: God is going to punish Edom for their mistreatment of Israelites (specifically Judah); Israel will return to her land.

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. Intense hatred of Edom by Israelites; Edom aided Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple; Edom took advantage of Israelites at the time of this calamity; Edom took over southern Palestine during the exile; Edomites were expelled from their ancestral territory in the late 6th or early 5th century B.C. For other references to Edom's activity at the time of the exile see Ezekiel 25:12; 35:1-15; Psalm 137:7; Lamentations 4:21f; and the apocryphal book 1 Esdras 4:45- 50.

2. The allusions to height in Obadiah are apt metaphors, for Edom contained many cliffs.

THE PROPHET: HAGGAI

DATE: 520 BC (explicit dating).

THEMES/EMPHASES: Haggai mainly is an exhortation to rebuild the temple which was destroyed in 586 BC.

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. Haggai and Zechariah's ministries overlapped.

2. The prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah can be specifically dated.

3. Historical background for Haggai and Zechariah: Post-exilic; work on the Temple had been begun but stopped; Temple had not been rebuilt yet; Judah under the authority of Persia. Cyrus was a "unitarian," i.e. he was interested in having the peoples in his dominion worship their own god(s) wherever they wanted. There was a large Jewish community in Babylon; a small portion left and returned to Israel. Those who remained in Babylon formed a large community over time, eventually producing what is known as the Babylonian Talmud. There was also a large Jewish community in Egypt.

Zerubbabel: The Jewish governor of Palestine; a Davidite; his uncle, Sheshbazzar, began the temple foundations and led the first return from Babylon in 538BC.

Joshua: the high priest (not Joshua the son of Nun); co-ruled with Zerubbabel.

Read Ezra 5:1-2; 6:1-5.

4. Application: here we have people who have their hearts right with God, and God exhorts them to reestablish proper worship.

THE PROPHET: ZECHARIAH

DATE: 520-518 (Dated prophecies); other prophecies in the book could be later or earlier.

THEMES/EMPHASES: Don't rebel as your ancestors did; exhortations to rebuild the Temple; messages of encouragement to Zerubbabel the Governor and Joshua the High Priest; Yahweh is more interested in justice and obedience than religious rites; the Day of Yahweh, when He shall personally come and rule.

The message of Zechariah 1-8 to the postexilic community, in its present form, is that (1) wrath came because of rebellion against Yahweh; (2) restoration is coming; therefore (3) live in a just, upright manner in the restored land.

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. There is much thematic overlap with Haggai.

2. Zech 9- 11 and 12-14 begin the same way that Malachi does: "An Oracle." This has led many to believe that Zechariah is really 3 books, not one.

3. The literary order of the visions in Zech 1-6 is probably not chronological, but is rather intended to present a literary Menorah (lampstand with many arms).[So Paul Hanson]

4. In 7-8 the people inquire as to whether God wants them to continue the fasts they established during the exile. God says that these fasts were not His idea, but that He wanted them to live in an upright manner before Him, as He told them to do before.

THE PROPHET: MALACHI.

The name means "My messenger," and is possibly not a name at all; there is no way to settle the issue.

DATE: About 475; after the rebuilding of the temple and before Ezra travelled to Israel from the east.

THEMES/EMPHASES: Affirmation of Yahweh's love for Israel; complacency with religious observances (exhortations to the cynical priests); marriage with non-Yahwists and divorce among Israelites condemned; wickedness, oppression, and lack of tithing condemned; Elijah will come; remember the Law of Moses.

POINTS OF NOTE:

1. Malachi uses many rhetorical questions to get God's point across.

2. Note: those who exploit the poor are classed with sorcerers and adulterers.

3. Malachi's view of the tithe is probably what is seen in Deuteronomy chapters 14 and 26. This would include a portion (1/3) going to help the needy.