Starlight Book Review – Old Testament – Minor Prophets III

Images of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah on a Dark Blue Background.
| © Starry Night Elf

Part of a series of Starlight Book Reviews (SBR) on Old Testament (OT) Books. Click here to see other OT SBR.

* The following post transparently exhibits my Christian faith.

5/5 In this Starlight Book Review (SBR), I look at the Minor Prophets/ Twelve Prophets Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah.

Click here to check out the Sacred Texts Journey SRC.

The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets (Hebrew: שנים עשר, Shneim Asar; Imperial Aramaic: תרי עשר, Trei Asar, “Twelve”) (Ancient Greek: δωδεκαπρόφητον, “the Twelve Prophets”), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, which are in both the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament… In the Christian Old Testament, the collection appears as twelve individual books, one for each of the prophets: the Book of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Their order, and position in the Old Testament, varies slightly between the Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles.

“The Book of Nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Nahum, and was probably written in Jerusalem in the 7th century BC… The subject of Nahum’s prophecy is the approaching complete and final destruction of Nineveh which was the capital of the great and flourishing Assyrian empire, at that time. Ashurbanipal was at the height of his glory. Nineveh was a city of vast extent, and was then the center of the civilization and commerce of the world, according to Nahum a “bloody city all full of lies and robbery”, a reference to the Neo-Assyrian Empire’s military campaigns and demand of tribute and plunder from conquered cities.”

“The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. The original text was written in the Hebrew language… Of the three chapters in the book, the first two are a dialogue between Yahweh and the prophet. The message that “the just shall live by his faith” plays an important role in Christian thought. It is used in the Epistle to the Romans, Epistle to the Galatians, and the Epistle to the Hebrews as the starting point of the concept of faith. A copy of these chapters is included in the Habakkuk Commentary, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Chapter 3 is now recognized as a liturgical piece. It is debated whether chapter 3 and the first two chapters were written by the same author.”

“The Book of Zephaniah (Hebrew: צְפַנְיָה, Ṣəfanyā; sometimes Latinized as Sophonias) is the ninth of the Twelve Minor Prophets of the Old Testament and Tanakh, preceded by the Book of Habakkuk and followed by the Book of Haggai. Zephaniah means “Yahweh has hidden/protected,” or “Yahweh hides”. Zephaniah is also a male given name. The original text was written in Biblical Hebrew.”

With my eighth reading of these three books – Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, what stood out most to me was God’s love. Each of these tried to reach the people, to help return them to God. Below are verses which I found outstanding in my eighth reading in 2023.

These verses stood out to me:

⁷ The Lord is good,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him,

Nahum 1:7 NIV

⁴ His splendor was like the sunrise;
    rays flashed from his hand,
    where his power was hidden.

Habakkuk 3:4

¹⁷ The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:14 NIV

Select Bibliography (Alphabetical Order by Author’s Surname)

• Carson, D. A.; Hess, Richard S.; Alexander, T. D.; Moo, Douglas J.; Naselli, Andrew David, eds. (2015). NIV Zondervan Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan. ISBN 978-0-31043833-5.
• “The Chronology of Biblical Prophets”, Adapted from Hauer, C.E. & Young, W. A., An Introduction to the Bible: A Journey into Three Worlds, p.123, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1994.
• Cross, F. L. & Livingston, E. A., eds. (2005). The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280290-9.
• Grudem, Wayne; Dennis, Lane T.; Packer, J. I.; Collins, C. John; Schreiner, Thomas R.; Taylor, Justin, eds. (2008). ESV Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway. ISBN 978-1-43350241-5.
• Josephus, Flavius (1958). Vol. VI: Jewish Antiquities, Books IX–XI. Loeb Classical Library. Vol. 326. Translated by Marcus, William. London: William Heinemann. pp. 125–129, XI.xi.2–3.
• Kent H. Richards, Nahum Introduction: The Harper Collins Study Bible, (New York: Harper Collins, 2006) 1250.
• Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-8308-9482-6.

Starlight Book Review – Old Testament – Minor Prophets II

Images of Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah on a Dark Blue Background.
| © Starry Night Elf

Part of a series of Starlight Book Reviews (SBR) on Old Testament (OT) Books. Click here to see other OT SBR.

* The following post transparently exhibits my Christian faith.

5/5 Next up, in this Starlight Book Review (SBR), I look at the Minor Prophets/ Twelve Prophets Books of Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah.

Click here to check out the Sacred Texts Journey SRC.

The Minor Prophets or Twelve Prophets (Hebrew: שנים עשר, Shneim Asar; Imperial Aramaic: תרי עשר, Trei Asar, “Twelve”) (Ancient Greek: δωδεκαπρόφητον, “the Twelve Prophets”), occasionally Book of the Twelve, is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries BCE, which are in both the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Old Testament… In the Christian Old Testament, the collection appears as twelve individual books, one for each of the prophets: the Book of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Their order, and position in the Old Testament, varies slightly between the Protestant, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles.

“The Book of Obadiah is a book of the Bible whose authorship is attributed to Obadiah, a prophet who lived in the Assyrian Period. Obadiah is one of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the final section of Nevi’im, the second main division of the Hebrew Bible. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses with 440 Hebrew words, making it the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible, though there are three shorter New Testament epistles in Greek (Philemon with 335 words, 2 John with 245 words, and 3 John with 219 words). The Book of Obadiah is a prophecy concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel… The Book of Obadiah is based on a prophetic vision concerning the fall of Edom, a mountain-dwelling nation whose founding father was Esau. Obadiah describes an encounter with Yahweh, who addresses Edom’s arrogance and charges them for their “violence against your brother Jacob.”

“The Book of Jonah is one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi’im (“Prophets”) in the Hebrew Bible, and an individual book in the Christian Old Testament. The book tells of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah, son of Amittai, who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh, but attempts to escape his divine mission… The story has a long interpretive history and has become well known through popular children’s stories. In Judaism, it is the Haftarah portion read during the afternoon of Yom Kippur to instill reflection on God’s willingness to forgive those who repent, and it remains a popular story among Christians. The story is also retold in the Quran.”

“The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu (Hebrew: מִיכָיָ֫הוּ), meaning “Who is like Yahweh?”, an 8th-century BCE prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah (Hebrew name from the opening verse: מיכה המרשתי)… Micah reproaches unjust leaders, defends the rights of the poor against the rich and powerful; while looking forward to a world at peace centered on Zion under the leadership of a new Davidic monarch… Micah reproaches unjust leaders, defends the rights of the poor against the rich and powerful; while looking forward to a world at peace centered on Zion under the leadership of a new Davidic monarch. While the book is relatively short, it includes lament (1.8–16; 7.8–10), theophany (1.3–4), hymnic prayer of petition and confidence (7.14–20), and the “covenant lawsuit” (6.1–8), a distinct genre in which Yahweh (God) sues Israel for breach of contract of the Mosaic covenant.”

Of these three books, I’m most familiar with Jonah. This is perhaps the funniest book in the Bible! I did laugh when he sulked about the Ninevites. Also, I learned that Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament. Micah, like Isaiah, also lamented without clothing which truly stood out to me.

These verses stood out to me:

²¹ Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion
    to govern the mountains of Esau.
    And the kingdom will be the Lord’s.

Obadiah 1:21 NIV

¹⁷ Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 1:17 NIV

⁸ He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
    And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
    and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 NIV

Select Bibliography (Alphabetical Order by Author’s Surname)

• Allen, Leslie C (1976). The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah. Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0802825315. Micah
• Coogan, Michael (2009). A Brief Introduction to the Old Testament. Oxford University Press.
• “Jonah’s Path and the Message of Yom Kippur”. Archived from the original on 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2009-08-18. United Jewish Communities (UJC), “Jonah’s Path and the Message of Yom Kippur.”
• King, Philip J (1988). Amos, Hosea, Micah: an archaeological commentary. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664240776.
• Limburg, James (1988). Hosea-Micah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664237578.
• Mays, James L (1976). Micah. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 978-0664208172.
• Nelson’s Compact Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1978, p. 191, ISBN 0-8407-5636-4
• Sweeney, Marvin A (2000). The Twelve Prophets. Liturgical Press. ISBN 978-0814650912.