By the end of the Old Testament, many Jews had settled back into Palestine, they had rebuilt the temple, and they were conducting their own religious ceremonies. Alexander the Great swept into the area in 332 B.C., leaving wherever he went an emphasis on Greek culture called Hellenism. After his death, his kingdom was divided into four kingdoms run by different families, two of which became important for their relations with the Jews. One, the Ptolemies, took over Egypt while the other, the Seleucids, ruled Syria and Mesopotamia. Both battled endlessly for dominance, and, as in the past, Palestine was caught in a tug-of-war struggle between the two powers.

Jews continued to spread throughout the known world. This Diaspora, as it is called, led to widely scattered groups of Jews settling into a life focused on the Torah and the synagogue where personal piety and a relationship with God replaced national ideals. In 285 B.C. the Old Testament was translated into Greek. The resulting work was called the Septuagint, a Latin term meaning “seventy,” a reference to the story that seventy men worked on the translation. This was an important book because it made the Scriptures available to all people of the western world; it became the Bible of the early Christian church.

The struggle for political control took a bad turn when the Seleucids defeated the Ptolemies, who had given the Jews religious freedom. Persecutions started in earnest under the leadership of Antiochus Epiphanes with the result that a Jewish guerilla group, the Maccabees, fought for freedom from 167-142 B.C. For the next eighty years, the Jews enjoyed autonomy until 63 B.C. when the Romans took possession of Palestine and put an end to Jewish nationhood until 1948.

MALACHI

After the Jews were allowed to return to their land from exile in Babylon, they rebuilt their temple and the walls surrounding Jerusalem. The story of this part of Jewish history is found in Ezra and Nehemiah with prophetic utterances from Haggai and Zechariah, who lived during the same time. But eighty years passed; the people had sunk into apathy.

Around 440 B.C. the prophet Malachi came on the scene, calling for better temple worship and ethical living. He condemns the same sins Nehemiah saw long before—people weren’t tithing, they were breaking the Sabbath and intermarrying with foreigners, and their priests were acting in a corrupt fashion. Much of this sounds familiar–the prophets rebuked the people for failing to live up to the covenant they had agreed to in the desert at Sinai. We see God here as in other prophetic books as a jilted lover, asking his people to return to him. Take a look at Malachi 4:4-6; it serves as a good conclusion to all the Old Testament prophets.

This prophetic book also has good examples of figures of speech like other books in the Old Testament.  Some critics comment on the mirror image produced by scenes here in which the sections appear in this format—ABCCBA. In other words, the first section is reflected in the last section, the second section is mirrored in the next-to-last section, and the third section is followed by another section resembling it in content. See if you can construct this pattern by using the following sections—1:2-5, 1:6-2:9, 2:10-16, 2:17-3:5, 3:6-12, 3:13-4:3.

HAGGAI

After the Persians came to power, they decreed that displaced peoples could go back to their homelands. So about 50,000 Jews made their way back to their promised land and began to rebuild their temple destroyed by the Babylonians. But that was only a small remnant of Jews who returned after 70 years of captivity. Much local opposition stopped the work; for sixteen years the temple stood unfinished and ignored. It was at this time (about 520 B.C.) Haggai came on the scene, and along with Zechariah, he successfully urged the people to resume their task. The same events are recounted in Ezra chapters 1-4. Haggai represents a new type of prophet who existed after the Babylonian exile. He describes many hardships in the first chapter.  What sort of hope does the conclusion offer?

ZECHARIAH

The prophet Zechariah ministered at the same time as Haggai to the exiles who had returned to their land from Babylon about 520 B.C. He, like the other prophet, encouraged the Jews to finish rebuilding their temple. The first eight chapters are fairly straightforward, but the final six chapters are obscure ones focused on the far future. Christians point to 9:9, 11:13-14, 12:10-13:9 as looking forward to Jesus.

 Habakkuk

Imagine a sensitive Jewish man about 600 B.C. thinking about the world situation and the future of his land, Judah. He sees his people have strayed from their religious heritage, but God has not stepped in to make it all right. He asks God why the wicked seem to be doing well—where’s their punishment? Later he asks why God would use the hated Babylonians, a wicked bunch much worse than the backsliding Jews, to punish his people. Habakkuk offers questions and answers with a concluding prayer.  See 1:5-11. What is God’s answer to why evil people are not being punished? See 2:2-20. What is God’s answer to why the Babylonians are being used to punish the Jews? 5.  Habakkuk 2:4 was a key verse for Paul in the New Testament and Martin Luther. Can you see why?

Zephaniah

Covering events about 630-610 B.C., this book comes from one who was a contemporary of Jeremiah. Zephaniah predicts a future catastrophe, the Day of the Lord (1:7-3:20) , which will be judgment not only on Judah but on the entire world because of wide-spread corruption. Is there a typical prophetic pattern of judgment and restoration?  There is a long genealogy in 1:1. Why does he stress this? Look at chapter 1; it is frightening in its scope. But then chapter 2 offers some hope. Who’s to blame for the ills of the land? See 1:4-6, 3:4-5, 3:1-3.  Notice the interesting interplay between God and the prophet. Watch for a shift in pronouns. Who’s speaking in each section—1:2-6, 1:7, 1:8-13, 1:14-16, 1:17, 1:18-2:7, 2:8-10, 2:11, 2:12, 2:13-3:5, 3:6-13, 3:14-17, 3:18-20?

Micah

Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, prophesied as Assyria threatened to attack the northern kingdom in the 700s B.C. He warned about God’s judgment against both northern and southern nations using the voice of a commoner, one familiar with the countryside. He was especially concerned with social sins of the Jewish people. Christians turn to 5:2–can you see why? There is an alternating pattern here–see the key point of chapters 1-3 and 6:1-7:6? Check the pattern for chapters 4-5 and 7:7-20.  There are lots of figures of speech in Micah; look for good examples.

Nahum

Nahum was written before the fall of Ninevah in 612 B.C. by a contemporary of Jeremiah. It’s important to realize how much fear the Assyrians had spread as they ruled their part of the world. They had conducted total war—butchering and maiming people, leading thousands into slavery, scattering conquered individuals throughout their kingdom. Nahum prophesied against Ninevah, the capital city of this terrifying nation, with great relish. Throughout the book there is good poetry with figures of speech, repetition, short but powerful phrases. Find some that strike you as powerful.  For what sins did God judge Ninevah?

OBADIAH

Shortest of all the Old Testament books, Obadiah contains an oracle relating God’s future punishment of the land of Edom, a mountainous kingdom south of the Dead Sea. It’s important to remember the origin of this nation. The people of Edom were descendants of Esau while the people of Israel were from the line of Jacob. There had been many conflicts between the two groups, especially given their geographical locations. This book is hard to date. But see verses 1-9 and then read Jeremiah 49:7-22. Does this sound similar? It’s possible they were contemporaries?

JONAH

Before Assyria attacked and carried off the northern ten tribes of Israel, Jonah was appointed to go to Ninevah, the capital city of this powerful enemy. Unlike other books by prophets, this one does not contain records of prophetic teaching. Instead, it is a single narrative of a prophetic mission. Some critics see this as a parable and ridicule the historical elements. However, it’s interesting to note that Assyria during this period had weak kings, military setbacks, economic problems, riots, and a solar eclipse. That’s certainly enough to cause any group of people to consider repentance. In addition, there are Assyrian historical records that tell of regional and national periods of repentance. Finally, there have been stories of people who have survived long periods of time in sea creatures. What makes Jonah interesting are the occasional humor elements and the use of irony.

JOEL

Little is known about the author or the date of his work, but the many references to Jerusalem and Judah cause critics to associate him with the southern tribes. The book is divided into two sections—the first deals with a terrible plague of locusts and drought while the second speaks of the coming Day of the Lord in apocalyptic language. No one knows if the plague was real; if not, it could be a symbol for coming political destruction or moral decay. Acts 2:16-21 is a sermon by Peter; it refers to Joel chapter 2 as part of his message. There are signs that some of the prophets knew each other’s works. See Isaiah 2:4/Joel 4:10 and Joel 3:16-18/Amos 1:2, 9:13. Joel speaks of the Day of the Lord. Other books in the Bible refer to this day as well.

AMOS

A lowly shepherd, Amos was a prophet to the northern tribes when they were wealthy; they didn’t realize within thirty years Assyria would descend upon them. Amos is known as a social critic who lashed out at various behaviors (1:6, 8:5-7, 1:9, 4:1-3, 6:1, 3:12-15, 6:4-6, 2:6-7, 5:7-15). Chapters 1 and 2 deliver oracles against seven nearby nations, chapters 3-6 contain denunciations against social and religious sins of the kingdom, and chapters 7-9  reveal visions granted to Amos by God. Amos surprises the reader repeatedly. See 2:13-15, 3:12, 4:4, 5:18-20, 5:21-22. These are  reversals of what might have been expected by the Jews. A lot of sarcasm here.

Daniel

Daniel was one of many Jews who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon after Judah fell. He lived long enough to see the Babylonians fall to the Persians. This is an unusual book that has puzzled people for centuries. The first half is a plain history that sounds similar to many other Old Testament stories; the second half, however, is strange, surrealistic apocalyptic prophecy. A debate rages as to the dating of Daniel because his prophecies are remarkable accurate for Alexander and the leaders who came after him. If Daniel is an old book, it contains miraculous prophecies. Unlike other prophets, Daniel focuses much more on the Gentile nations than the Jewish state. The book is also odd for the way it switches from Hebrew(1:1-2:3) to Aramaic(2:4-7:28) and back to Hebrew(8:1-end). No one knows why although many theories abound.

HOSEA

This book starts a section of the Hebrew Bible called the Minor Prophets, not because the twelve books are less important but because they are shorter in length than the three Major Prophets (Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah). They are laid out in chronological order, starting with the ones who served before the Assyrians invaded and ending with the ones who ministered after all twelve tribes had been taken captive. Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom, which he called Ephraim, because it and part of Manasseh were all that were left after Assyria had carried off the other northern tribes in 733 B.C. For the next ten years these two tribes were alone until they too went into captivity in 722 B.C.  Hosea is the only prophet from the northern ten tribes whose words have survived in the Hebrew Bible. He shares a great deal with Amos—they were contemporaries, they preached to the same people, they both used poetry effectively. When we look at Amos, we  will see one major difference in their approach. Like other prophets we have reviewed, Hosea used a startling visual aid to illustrate his message.

LAMENTATIONS

Attributed to Jeremiah, this book is made up of five funeral songs that mourn the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. Other books of the Bible contain laments, but Lamentations is the only one made up solely of these mournful poems. The book is so powerful that Jews read it annually to remember the tragedy of the loss of their city and place of worship.

The writer set up the poems as acrostics in which each chapter except 3 is twenty-two verses long, a verse for every letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In chapter 3 there are sixty-six verses with every third verse starting a new letter. So the author has attempted the tough task of  combining emotional events with a tight structure.

EZEKIEL

A contemporary of Jeremiah and Daniel, the prophet Ezekiel ministered to the Jewish people in Babylon, where he had been taken along with other captives about 590 B.C. Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, his book has oracles against Israel and other nations as well as consolation for the Jews regarding their future. Again, much like other prophets, Ezekiel became a living symbol of God’s message by carrying out strange actions. Take a look at chapter 4 to see some of the things God told him to do as a warning to his people.

Several things make Ezekiel unique. He stressed God’s sovereignty so effectively through his descriptive visions that he does give us a glimpse of the spiritual realm. His strange, grotesque, puzzling images go beyond other prophets; in medieval times Jews under the age of 30 were not allowed to read the book for fear of unsettling them. Ezekiel is a mystic whose work connects with Revelation in the New Testament—both are considered apocalyptic works.

This book covers the last years of the kingdom of Judah long after the northern ten tribes had been taken into captivity by Assyria. A long work, Jeremiah is considered another major prophet along with Isaiah and Ezekiel. It’s a collection of prophecies, narratives, monologues about himself, lamentations, oracles from God, declarations of impending disaster, and hints of future hope.

The organization is not clear, but generally chapters 1-20 tell of the author’s pleading for Judah to do right and sorrow at the people’s rejection of his message, 21-45 tell the story of his ministry, 46-51 include prophecies against other nations (especially Babylon), and 52 gives the sad description of the fall of Jerusalem.

Like other prophets, Jeremiah carried out physical demonstrations for the people—he wore a yoke to tell the people they would become slaves, he wore a ruined and useless belt, he broke a bottle in the presence of a ruler, and he bought a field and buried the deed there. He spoke of God’s judgment, God’s ultimate power, and God’s concern for people. He spent most of his time attacking religious apostasy rather than the  social sins other prophets warned of.

What makes him unique is his autobiographical material—he recorded a great deal of his innermost experiences. His life was in constant danger from political and religious leaders since he preached acceptance of Babylon’s intrusion; he felt this heathen nation was God’s tool to punish Judah. When the Babylonians captured Jerusalem, they offered to take Jeremiah with other prominent Jews to Babylon, but he refused. Instead, he stayed behind with other poor Jews in the ruined city of Jerusalem.