The first six minor prophets
Hosea
The Book of Hosea, the first of the canonical Twelve (Minor) Prophets, was written by Hosea (whose name means “salvation,” or “deliverance”), a prophet who lived during the last years of the age of Jeroboam II in Israel and the period of decline and ruin that followed the brief period of economic prosperity. The Assyrians were threatening the land of Israel and the people of the Covenant acted as though they were oblivious to the stipulations of their peculiar relation to Yahweh. The Book of Hosea is a collection of oracles composed and arranged by Hosea and his disciples. Like his contemporary Amos, the great prophet of social justice, Hosea was a prophet of doom; but he held out a hope to the people that the Day of Yahweh contained not just retribution but also the possibility of renewal. His message against Israel’s “spirit of harlotry” was dramatically and symbolically acted out in his personal life.
The Book of Hosea may be divided into two sections: (1) Hosea’s marriage and its symbolic meaning (chapters 1–3); and (2) judgments against an apostate Israel and hope of forgiveness and restoration (chapters 4–14).
In the first section, Hosea is commanded by Yahweh to marry a prostitute by the name of Gomer as a symbol of Israel’s playing the part of a whore searching for gods other than the one true God. He is to have children by her. Three children are born in this marriage. The first, a son, is named Jezreel, to symbolize that the house of Jehu will suffer for the bloody atrocities committed in the Valley of Jezreel by the founder of the dynasty when he annihilated the house of Omri. The second, a daughter, is named Lo Ruḥama (Not pitied), to indicate that Yahweh was no longer to be patient with Israel, the northern kingdom. The third child, a son, is named Lo ʿAmmi (Not my people), signifying that Yahweh was no longer to be the God of a people who had refused to keep the Covenant. In chapter 2, Hosea voiced what probably was a divorce formula—“she is not my wife, and I am not her husband”—to indicate that he had divorced his faithless wife Gomer, who kept “going after other lovers.” The deeper symbolism is that Israel had abandoned Yahweh for the cult of Baal, celebrating the “feast days of Baal.” Just as Yahweh will renew his Covenant with Israel, however, Hosea buys a woman for a wife—probably Gomer. The woman may have been a sacred prostitute in a Baal shrine, a concubine, or perhaps even a slave. He confines her for a period of time so that she will not engage in any attempt to search for other paramours and thus commit further adulteries.
The second section, chapters 4–14, does not refer to the marriage motif; but the imagery and symbolism of marriage constantly recur. The Israelites, in “a spirit of harlotry,” have gone astray and have left their God. Their infidelity emphasized their lack of trustworthiness and real knowledge of love, a love that could not be camouflaged by superficial worship ceremonies. Thus, Hosea emphasized two very significant theological terms: ḥesed, or “Covenant love,” and “knowledge of God.” In attacking the superficiality of much of Israel’s worship, Yahweh, through Hosea, proclaimed: “For I desire steadfast (Covenant) love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.” Because they have broken Yahweh’s Covenant and transgressed his law, however, the Lord’s anger “burns against them.” For “they sow the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind.” Israel will be punished for its rebellion and iniquities, but Hosea’s message holds out the hope that the holiness of Yahweh’s love—including both judgment and mercy—will effect a triumphant return of Israel to her true husband, Yahweh.
Joel
The Book of Joel, the second of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, is a short work of only three chapters. The dates of Joel (whose name means “Yahweh is God”) are difficult to ascertain. Some scholars believe that the work comes from the Persian period (539–331 bce); others hold that it was written soon after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 bce. His references to a locust plague may refer to an actual calamity that occurred; the prophet used the situation to call the people to repentance and lamentation, perhaps in connection with the festival of the New Year, the “Day of Yahweh.” “ ‘Yet even now,’ says the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.’ ” Some scholars, however, believe that the plague of locusts refers to the armies of a foreign power (Babylonia?). In the remaining section of the book (chapter 2, verse 30 to chapter 3, verse 21), Joel, in apocalyptic imagery, predicts the judgment of the nations—especially Philistia and Phoenicia—and the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem.
Amos
The Book of Amos, the third of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, has been one of the most significant and influential books of the Bible from the time it was written (8th century bce) down to the 20th century. Comprising only nine chapters of oracles, it was composed during the age of Jeroboam II, king of Israel from 786 to 746 bce. His reign was marked by great economic prosperity, but the rich were getting richer and the poor poorer. Social injustice ran rampant in the land. The economically weak could find no redress in the courts and no one to champion their cause—until the coming of Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa in Judah, who also said that he was “a dresser of sycamore trees.” Amos, thus, was no professional prophet nor a member of a prophetic guild.
The book may be divided into three sections: (1) oracles against foreign nations and Israel (chapters 1–2); (2) oracles of indictment against Israel for her sins and injustices (chapters 3–6); and (3) visions and words of judgment (chapters 7–9). Amos was the first of the writing prophets, but his work may be composed of oracles issued both by himself and by disciples who followed his theological views.
His prophetic oracles begin with a resounding phrase: “The Lord roars from Zion.” He then goes on to indict various nations—Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Ammon, and Moab—for the crimes and atrocities they have committed in times of peace: “Because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes—they . . . trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted” (chapter 2, verses 6–7).
The second section (chapters 3–6) contains some of the most vehement and cogent invectives against the social injustices perpetrated in Israel. Though the Israelites have prided themselves on being the elect of God, they have misinterpreted this election as privilege instead of responsibility. In chapter 4, Amos, in language that was sure to raise the ire of the privileged classes, attacked unnecessary indulgence and luxury. To the wealthy women of Samaria he said: “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’ ” (chapter 4, verse 1). After a series of warnings of punishment, Amos proclaimed the coming of the day of Yahweh, which is “darkness, and not light.” His attacks against superficial pretenses to worship have become proverbial: “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies” (chapter 5, verse 21). Another verse from Amos has become a rallying cry for those searching for social justice: “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (chapter 5, verse 24).
The third section (chapters 7–9) contains visions of locusts as a sign of punishment, a summer drought as a sign of God’s wrath, and a plumb line as a sign to test the faithfulness of Israel. The priest of the shrine at Bethel, Amaziah, resented Amos’ incursion on his territory and told him to go back to his home in the south. In reply to Amaziah, Amos prophesied the bitter end of Amaziah’s family. Another vision in chapter 8, that of a basket of ripe fruit, pointed to the fact that Israel’s end was near. A fifth vision, depicting the collapse of the Temple in Samaria, symbolized the collapse of even the religious life of the northern kingdom. He ended his work with a prophecy that the Davidic monarchy would be restored.
Obadiah
The Book of Obadiah, the fourth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, contains only 21 verses. Nothing is known about the prophet as a person or about his times. It may have been written before the Exile, though many scholars believe that it was composed either some time after 586 bce or in the mid-5th century, when the Jews returned to the area around Jerusalem. The prophet concentrates on the judgment of God against Edom and other nations, with the final verses referring to the restoration of the Jews in their native land.
Jonah
The Book of Jonah, containing the well-known story of Jonah in the stomach of a fish for three days, is a narrative about a reluctant prophet. This fifth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets contains no oracles and is thus unique among prophetic books. In II Kings, chapter 14, verses 25–27, there is a reference to a prophet Jonah who lived during the early part of the reign of Jeroboam II (8th century bce).
The narrative of the book bearing Jonah’s name, however, was likely composed about the 5th century bce. Probably living during the Exile, the author used the memory of the hated Assyrians to proclaim the mission of Israel—to teach all nations about the mercy and forgiveness of God. In this short book of four chapters, Jonah is commissioned by Yahweh to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, to preach repentance. Attempting to avoid the command of Yahweh, Jonah boarded a ship, which soon was caught up in a storm. The frightened sailors drew lots to discover who was the cause of their unfortunate and calamitous condition. Jonah drew the unlucky lot and was thrown overboard, after which he was swallowed by a fish and stayed in that uncomfortable place for three days and nights. After he cried to the Lord to let him out, the fish vomited Jonah out onto dry land. Jonah, though still reluctant, went to Nineveh to preach repentance and then awaited the city’s destruction on a nearby hill. His preaching was successful, which did not please him—he felt that the Assyrians had deserved God’s wrath. In the end, however, Jonah realized that God was a universal God, not the sole property of Israel.
Micah
The Book of Micah, the sixth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, was written by the prophet Micah in the 8th century bce. Composed of seven chapters, the book is similar in many ways to the Book of Amos. Micah attacked the corruption of those in high places and social injustice, and the book is divided into two sections: (1) judgments against Judah and Jerusalem (chapters 1–3); and (2) promises of restoration for Judah and judgments against other nations (chapters 4–7).
In the first section, Micah of Moresheth utters oracles against the corrupt religious and political leaders of Israel and Judah. He also attacks the prophets who attempted to give the people false hopes: “Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry ‘Peace’ when they have something to eat, but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths . . . the seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame” (chapter 3, verses 5–7). In the second section, Israel’s future is predicted as being glorious, and it is told that out of Bethlehem will come a ruler of the line of David who will bring peace to the earth. Though he issues an indictment against Judah for its idolatries, Micah proclaims what is necessary to renew the Covenant relationship between God and Israel; “and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (chapter 6, verse 8). In this verse, Micah has given a brief summation of the messages of Amos, Hosea, and Isaiah.