Dr Joseph Thondiparambil

Prophets One

The Course Outline and General Bibliography

I.: Prophets and  prophecy, a much discussed theme; the relevance and importance of this study; Religious prophecy, a universal phenomenon.  There is a deep seated desire in man to know the mind of the divine.

(the teaching of the church on the prophetical mission of  the disciples of Christ – the socio-religious, economic and political situations of our country-the Indian scene – Kerala in particular- the situation of Christian communities – a deeper understanding of the Person and mission of Christ – understanding of the mission of the church – priestly ministry today –religious prophecy in the ancient world – India – the African and Polynesian scene – the Arabic world – the Greek world – the ancient near East)

II. Old Testament prophets: Background information and Chronology

(the Jewish division of the O.T. books – former prophets – latter prophets – the catholic division –major, minor prophets- canonical, non canonical prophets – writing ,non-writing prophets – pre-exilic ,exilic, and post exilic prophets – the chronology of the prophets)

III. The development of the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel

(seer (roeh) – sons of the prophet, prophetic guild (bene hannabiim) –  their characteristics)

IV. Characteristics of an Old Testament Prophet (nabi)

(traits – etymological definition)

V. The formation of prophetical books. Prophetical literary types

(various stages of prophetic inspiration – the style of prophetic oracle – why were the prophetic words collected- prophetical sayings – prophetical reports – forms borrowed )

VI. Nathan, the voice of the voiceless

 ( study of a non canonical prophet)

VII. Amos, the prophet of social justice (beginning of the study of the canonical prophets)

(the general background – some  personal details – structure of the book – the leading theological themes)

VIII, Amos against empty rituals

(exegetical analysis of Amos 4,4-5; 5,4-9; 5,21-26; 9,1-2)

IX. Conflict between Priest and prophet in Amos 7,10-15

(structure of the  text – implications – the personality of Amaziah- Amos – the divine judgment)

X. Hosea, the prophet of God’s love

(the general background – the structure of the book – leading theological themes)

XI. God, a wounded lover/father/mother

(significance of the names of Hosea’s children – analysis of c.11)

XII. Hosea’s accusations against priests

XIII. Micah, the prophet of God’s glory

(general background – structure of the book – theological themes)

XIV. The meaning of true religion according to Mic 6,6-8

XV. The Savior from Bethlehem in Mic 5,2-4

Some important Bibliographical indications.

A.Guillaume, Prophecy and Divination among the Hebrews and other Semites, 1938

A.Haldar, Association of Cult Prophets among the Ancient Semites,1945

A.R.Johnson, The Cultic Prophet in Ancient Israel, 1962

J.Lindblom, Prophecy in Ancient Israel, 1962

A.C Welch, Kings and Prophets of Israel, 1952

C.F.Whitley, The Prophetic Achievement, 1963

G.von Rad, The  Theology of  Old Testament,II,1965

S.Mowinckel, Prophecy and Tradition, 1946

W.F.Albright, Samuel and the Beginnings of prophetic Movement, 1961

J.Blenkinsopp, A History of Prophecy in Israel from the Settlement in the Land to the  

                         Hellenistic Movement, 1983

K.Koch, The Prophets, 2 vols, 1983

R.B.Y Scott, The Relevance of the Prophets, 1967

R.R.Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel,1980

B.W.Anderson, The Eighth century Prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah,Micah,1978

Bruce, V, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Excursus on Classical Prophecy, 1981

C.Westermann, Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech,1967

(the above mentioned titles are some of the more important monographic studies. For individual prophets, consult the good commentaries in the Old Testament Library series; the Hermeneia; the Word Biblical Commentary series; the Anchor Bible series; the International Critical Commentary series etc. Besides, the Word Biblical Commentary series and the New Interpreters’ Bible commentary series give very good  and up to date bibliographical indications, on individual themes  In addition to these, specially relevant titles will be indicated during the lecture).

Prophets I.

I. Prophets and Prophecy, a much discussed theme The Relevance and Importance of this Subject .Religious prophecy is a universal  phenomenon.

Introduction.

            Here we want to situate this subject in the context of the contemporary realities It would give us an added motivation to study the old testament prophets in its relationship to the pastoral challenges before us This theme has two parts.

Part One. Prophets and Prophecy, a much discussed Theme.

A.   Phenomenologically (the position of the Church)

Especially after the Vatican II  the discussion on priesthood, the mission of the church,

social involvement of the church, etc. insist repeatedly on the prophetical dimension of the Gospel. The priests and religious have taken upon themselves on the whole, this aspect of their ministry quite seriously .Here is a text that explains the position of the church with regard to the temporal duties of the disciples of Christ from Vat II.

            “This council exhorts Christians, as citizens of two cities to strive to discharge their earthly duties conscientiously and in response to the gospel spirit.  They are mistaken, who knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek one which is to come (Heb 13,14) think that they may  therefore shirk  their earthly responsibilities.  For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more than ever obliged to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation.

            Nor, on the contrary, are  they any less wide of the mark who think that  religion  consists  in acts of worship  alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced  from the religious life.  This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.  Long since, the prophets of the Old Testament fought vehemently against this scandal (Is 58,1-l2), and even more so did Jesus Christ Himself in the New Testament threaten it with grave punishments”(Mt 23,3-23; Mk 7,10-13)

            “… The Christian who neglects his temporal duties neglects his duties toward his neighbor  and even God, and jeopardizes his eternal salvation….” G.S.43)

(cfr. The three incidents about the  capuchin mission retreat, the fast unto death of the medical mission sister; and the death of Bishop John Joseph  of the diocese of Faisalabad in Pakistan-  is what they did an expression of the prophetical dimension of their religious and priestly commitments? It is also observed sometimes that some priests and religious have problems with their  traditional roles on the assumption that the church is not prophetical enough or that it does not involve itself with the social problems of the day)

            Hence the questions to be asked are: 1. Who is a prophet?  2. What is the meaning of prophetic function today?  3. What do the Old Testament prophets  teach us about these? It is very important to have a clear and right understanding of these concepts in the light of what the Word of God has to tell us, because  there are exaggerations and one sided emphasis at the detriment of the central mission of the prophets, who are the spokes persons of Yahweh.

• The Socio religious and political situation of our country calls for such a study from us since as ministers of the Word, we are going to be involved  in the life of people around us.  As we look around us on the Indian situation, we find the following  traits as very glaring.

1. The Indian scene.

We are making only a very rather superficial analysis of the situation, without going into the details of these issues; for details an analysis of the leading articles in the contemporary periodicals such as  Mathrubhoomi weekly, Kalakaumudi, Malayalam Varika, The Indian Currents ;The Frontline etc. will be helpful.

1. religious fanaticism; fundamentalism; and rampant corruption
2. the after effects of economic liberalization
3. exploiting political leadership – politics without principles
4. caste system and superstitions
5. great disparity between the haves and the have nots
6. child labor; atrocities against women etc

ii          About Kerala in Particular

            In addition to the above factors  in the case of Kerala, the following factors are at work.

1. the new work culture
2. consumerism as a style of life
3. rapid urbanization
4. break up of traditional family set up and values. cfr. the film “karunam” by Jayarajan
5. the influence of the media

1. The situation of the Christian communities.

1. a strong, rich and influential church
2. a divided church
3. decline of interest in church life
4. growing interest in non-formal church life
5. alienation of the intelligentsia and the youth from the church
6. the traditional areas of service  being systematically  taken away or commercialized
7. the discrimination and unjust criticism about the church from many quarters.

• The deeper understanding about the Person and Mission of Christ

1. Lk 4,16-19; Is 61,1-4

Gospel is a good news of liberation

• Lk 24,19; Mk 6,4

Jesus in the New Testament is more a prophet than a priest  (more on these  in the courses on Priesthood, and letter to the Hebrews).

• The deeper understanding of the Mission of the Church

1. the impetus given by Vat II (G.S.1)
2. the impact of the Latin American Bishops’ Conference (Medellin)
3. the influence of Liberation theology
4. the new understanding of mission and evangelization
5. the Asian Synod
6. the social awareness among the people and the end of the colonial era

• the priestly ministry today

1. priest, minister of the Word and the Sacraments in the person of Christ (P.O.4)
2. Builders of communities
3. Not a cultic functionary (poojari) but a minister (ministrare in Latin= to serve)
4. The impact of servant theology

Conclusion

            For a proper understanding and exercise of our priestly ministry and of the mission of the church in the world, we look to the Old Testament prophets.  Jesus  is the prophet visualized by Moses in Deuteronomy (18,18; Jn 1,25).  The OT. Understanding of the  prophets is to be complemented and completed by the person of Jesus Christ.

Part Two

Prophets and Prophecy is a universal religious phenomenon.  There is a deep seated desire in man to know the will of the divine  and to know what the future holds for him.

            Prophecy is not a phenomenon exclusively limited to Israel only.  It is something that is found in practically in all the cultures. This idea is expressed by G.Fohrer as follows: The history of religions and what ancient Near Eastern material has been  discovered show that prophetism as such was no more unique to Israel and the OT than, say the priesthood.  A considerable body of evidence gathered by Lindblom and Heiler shows that it is neither limited to specific periods or regions nor associated with particular nations, races, or religions.  Male and female prophets, or figures like  prophets, can appear in ;more or less highly  developed form wherever human beings live.  What they share  in common lies in the realm of general structure and psychology; in the content of the revelations they proclaim, the differences are enormous.  A prophet or prophetess is accordingly a person with charismatic  gifts, consciously aware of having been singled  out and called, who feels constrained to proclaim messages and perform actions suggested in the form of divine revelations, during   state of spiritual inspiration, possibly accompanied by mild or intense or ecstasy.

           
            Within the ancient Near East the existence of this phenomenon has so far not been unambiguously demonstrated for Egypt.  Attempts to do so have met with doubt or outright rejection.  Nevertheless, apart from study of the texts so far knows, which is by no means finished, Pliny’s description  (historia naturalis viii.185) of youths who were seized by frenzy during a cultic ceremony about the bull of Apis and predicted things to come demonstrates the appearance  of prophets.

            There is considerable evidence for prophets in the settled areas of western Asia, especially Syria-Palestine and Mesopotamia, and occasionally for the Hittites.  The OT itself mentions the prophets of the Canaanites god Baal (l Kgs 18,19-20; 2 Kgs 10,19) and presupposes prophecy  as an international phenomenon (Jer 27,9).  Until recently the classic extra biblical evidence was the  report of the Egyptian Un-Amun of his voyage along the coast of Syria  from the city of Byblos (about 1100 B.C), where one of the attendants of the local king went into ecstasy and pronounced a divine oracle.  As early as the Sumerian period, however, there was a term for an ecstatic of this sort, which probably means “the man who enters the heavens”.  For the eighteenth century a letter of the ambassador of King Zimri-Lim of Mari to Aleppo speaks of an apilum,”answerer” , with a female counterpart, whose normal ;sphere of activity was the sanctuary.  For the period about 1700 five letters from Mari, on the middle Euphrates, bear witness to the appearance of messenger of God, called a muhhum; another letter mentions the appearance of a prophetess called a muhhutum. They belong to a class of men and women associated with the temple of a deity, from whom they received messages through omens, dreams, and ecstatic experiences; they pronounced these messages as oracles.  In the following period, too, there were priests and priestess in Babylonia that supported the king by means of “spoken dreams”. For Assyria there is evidence for another kind of ecstatic prophecy through individual priestesses known by name , especially the Ishtar temple of Arbela. In the fifteenth century a letter from Rewassa of Taanach mentions an ummanu of Astarte, learned in magic and prediction.  Finally , the inscription of King Zakir of Hamath (ca. 800 B.C.) probably mentions seers.

            Even though it is impossible to sketch a continuous history, we many conclude from this evidence that ecstatic prophecy is a very ancient phenomenon in the ancient Near Eastern civilization, and that priest and prophet were accepted as belonging together. This kind of prophetical activity was known to the early Israelite, who came from northern Mesopotamia; the Israelite groups and tribes who settled in Palestine encountered it in its Canaanite form. (G.Fohrer, Introuduction to the Old Testament, 342-44)

1. In India.

a.    the phenomenon of velichapad

b    devaprasnam think about all what happened at  Sabarimala, in the Devaprasanam      and the controversies around it. The purpose of the rite was to know the mind of the deity about what is going on in Sabarimala.

• Daivam kanal
• Oracles and horoscopes
• What the stars foretell
• Palmistry
• Visions, messages and apparitions also in Christian circles

B. African and Polynesian cultures

1. Shamans and medicine man to mediate between the spirit and the human world
2. Oracles in poetical, mysterious and obscure forms
3. Induced ecstasy by artificial stimuli
4. They had the consciousness of having received a special call
5. They experienced a constraint exercised by spiritual powers
6. They claimed to have an ability  to hear divine voice

• The Arabic World

1. The Kahins and darvishes enjoyed great authority upon the tribes, because they claimed to be in contact with spirits
2. They experienced a religious inspiration which passed into ecstasy
3. Often there was a professional training to induce ecstasy, headed by  a leader
4. Visions and messages were received through symbols and intermediaries; e.g. sacrificial victims

• The Greek World

1. Plato, Philo of Alexandria and Plutarch speak of prophets
2. In Delphi a priest was selected to interpret signs and symbols  given by gods
3. Every one who has something to announce in public was called a prophet
4. Madness when it comes from god is superior to sanity which is of human origin

• The Ancient Near East (Mesopotamia, Egypt and Assyria)

1. Akkadian texts speak of persons who are possessed by supernatural powers
2. The Iranian poet Zarathustra is said to have been inspired by Ahura Mazda
3. The prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel are of Syrian Origin ( 1 Kgs 18; 1 Kgs 8)

• In the Bible

1. Individuals and groups are possessed by the spirit of Yahweh
2. They interpreted  Yahweh’s will for them; pointed out their wrong doings; invited them to repent
3. Often noted for their ecstatic and peculiar behavioral patterns
4. Had the consciousness that they are the mouth piece of Yahweh
5. They were guided by their yahwistic faith, not any individual or selfish motives.

Conclusion

1. The phenomenon of prophecy is not peculiar to any particular race, people, culture or religion
2. These people had the consciousness of having access to information from the world above and experiences originating in the divine world.  It may be a total possession or personal inspiration.
3. Ecstasy of some sort is visible.
4. There are visual and auditory revelations
5.  In the context of comparative religious, a prophet is a person, who because he is conscious of having been specially chosen and called, feels forced to perform actions and proclaim ideas which, in mental state of intense inspiration or real ecstasy have been indicated to him in the form of divine revelation.
6. This helps us to situate the Israelite prophecy in the context of world religions
7. Though the Israelite prophets bear similarities  to the other prophetical figures of world religions they do differ from them in their faith, source of inspiration and often in life style and functioning.

(for personal reflection and discussion:  In the contemporary society, what is the relevance of prophets? In the society, in the church, in the communities where you are etc…find out some phenomena, which are similar to the Israelite prophetic  tradition in your neighborhood How do you view your training for the ministry of the Word? Prophetical? Cultic? In a third world situation like ours, what is the meaning of the prophetical mission of the church?).

II.  Old Testament Prophets, Some background Information; Chronology

      Here we are going to deal with some of the technical terms that are used while speaking about the prophets.  We will be also situating the prophets  in the chronological order.  It is important to know the time in which a prophet lived and worked, because his message is conditioned to some extent by the type of situation he lived in.  It also shows the incarnational style of God’s message and the importance of history to understand the message.

1. The Jewish division of the sacred books.  (TNK, they divide the old testament books into Torah, Nebiim and Ketubim) and there are also differences as regards the number of the books in the old testament.  Compared to the Catholic numbers ( 46+27=73), the Jews have only 39 books (which sometimes they reduce to 22 books  to agree with the  number of alphabets in the Hebrew language

2. Under the section Nebiim, they include two types of books. I. The former prophets, which are the books of Joshua; Judges; 1&2 Samuel; 1&2 Kings and the latter prophets. Here they include Isaiah; Jeremiah and Ezekiel plus the 12 minor prophets which are counted as one book. Hence under the section Nebiim, there are 8 books for them. The significant point to be noted is that what we consider as a prophetical book, namely the book of Daniel, they put it under Ketubiim.

3. The six books which are considered as historical books by the catholics (the so called former prophets according to the Jewish division) are called prophetical books by the Jews.  There are some profound reasons for the same.  First of all, there is no pure history for the Jews.  For them, history is always God’s history. God is speaking through the persons and events of history. As the prophets of the old testament were doing, the historical events reveal God’s plan, hence history is prophetical Besides, the great propheticl figures of  Israel are appearing in this section of the old testament, namely Elijah, Elisha, Nathan etc.

4. The Catholics divide the old testament into 4 distinct groups

Penteteuch; Historical book; prophetical books; sapiential books The so called former prophets are also known as deuteronomistic history, because  these books are edited on the principle of the book of Deuteronomy, namely blessing in the case of the obedience and curse in the case of disobedience.  The freedom of choice is insisted upon, and one is judged on the basis of one’s fidelity to the law

E .Major prophets

            According to the catholic consideration Isaiah, Jeremiah ,Ezekiel and Daniel are called major prophets.  This consideration is made on the basis of the volume of their work.

5. Minor prophets

The remaining canonical prophets are called minor prophets The name is given on the basis of the size of their books and not on the basis of their importance.

6. Canonical prophets

A prophet in whose name there is a book in the canon of the  bible is called a canonical prophet.  He is also called writing prophet e.g. Isaiah.

7. non canonical prophet

A prophet  who is mentioned in the bible but who does not have a book in his name is called a non canonical prophet. E.g. Elijah.  Sometimes they are also known as  non writing prophets

8. pre-exilic;exilic; post exilic prophets.

Making the Babylonian exile as the point of reference, the prophets are classified as pre exilic (those living before the Babylonian exile (B.C. 587-536), exilic ( during the exile) and post exilic (after the exile).  Depending upon the time in which a prophet lived, there is change in the emphasis in their message Hence it is important to know the time in which a prophet lived and worked. The canonical prophets are sometimes also called as classical prophets.

            We find the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel from 10the century B.C. onwards (already Saul is seen as a prophet), but the canonical prophets made their appearance from the time of Amos in the 9^th century, and the last of the canonical prophet is Malachi in the 2^nd century.  It is to be noted,  that the prophecy as a force of correction was active when there was political power for Israel.  It was God’s way of directing history through his messengers.

The Chronology of the Prophets

From Samuel till Daniel we have 6 distinct periods in the history of Prophecy In Israel.

1. From Samuel till Isaiah I (1050-687 B.C)

1. historical books: 1&2 Sam; 1&2 Kgs; 1&2Chro
2. non-canonical prophets: Eli; Samuel; Nathan; Elijah; Elisha
3. Canonical prophets: Amos; Hosea; Isaiah I; Micah

Cc 1-39 of Isaiah – Proto-Isaiah

• – deutero Isaiah
  • – trito Isaiah

• The century before Exile (687-587 B.C.)

1. Historical books ; 2 Kgs 21-25; 2 Chr 28-36
2. Canonical prophets; Zephaniah; Jeremiah; Nahum; Habakkuk

• The Exile (587-538 B.C.)

1. canonical prophets; Ezekiel; II Isaiah; the author of Lamentations

(there is the mystery of the anonymity of the  author of deutero Isaiah, which is perhaps the most  important old testament section for the New testament understanding of the Messiah; still one does not know as to who wrote the servant Songs.  In God’s plan, the message is more important than the messenger)

• The Period following the return (538-480 B.C.)

1. Historical books; 2 Chr 36; Ezra 1-7
2. The prophets: Haggai; Zacharia I (1-9); III  Isaiah.

5. From Nehemiah till the Hellenistic period (480-333)

1. historical books: Ezra II (8-10); Nehemiah
2. prophets : Malachi; Obadiah; Jonah; Joel; Zechariah II (9-14)

6. The Maccabean period (170-100)

1. historical books: 1&2 Maccabees
2. prophets: Baruch; Daniel

Conclusion

1. The socio economic ,political and religious situations influence the message and the emphasis of a particular prophet
2. The knowledge of the times in which a prophet lived is necessary to understand his message.  In this sense every prophet is a child of his times
3. The dominant ideas in the pre-exilic prophets are: indictment; threat; accusation; judgement and invitation to repent.  In the exilic prophets it is one of consolation and hope; whereas the post-exilic prophets stress restoration and learning from history
4. This generalization  is only superficial  All the prophets have practically all these ideas.  Only the emphasis changes.

(for personal reflection and discussion: a prophet is a child of his time, do you agree with this? If so, what is the relevance of the study of Hebrew prophets?  To know the message  of a prophet, it is vital know his background, substantiate this statement)

 III.. The development of the phenomenon of Prophecy in Israel

            Here we are considering the various stages behind the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel.  There were three distinct stages in its growth, namely, Roeh (seer), the bene hannabiim (the sons of the prophets) and nabiim (prophets)  With the help of the biblical material we are going to see the characteristics of each.

A. Ro eh (Seer)

            1 Sam 9,1-10 gives us an important clue as to how the early religious situation (related to prophecy ) was in Israel. The context is  one in which Saul goes about looking for the lost donkey.  When they failed in this, they sought the help of a seer (roeh )in this matter.

“Formerly in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, ‘come, let us go the seer’, for he who is now called a prophet was formerly called seer (1 Sam 9,9) See also 2 Kgs 1,2-3.

We can define a seer as, “a solitary inspired man, living in his own city, who for  small fee gave information  to those  who consulted him on trivial of life”

            Unlike the members of the prophetic guild, the seer was a solitary figure, not living in any community.  He was just living a normal life in his village or city; But people used to see something extra ordinary in him, he was considered to be a man who possesses some gifts. and so  they used to consult him for  things related to their day to day life.  For this service he used to be paid some thing in cash or kind.  The supernatural natural gifts about which is spoken of here need not necessarily be  any thing extra ordinary, it could be the case of a natural ability to discern and to make a prudential judgement. It could be also supernatural in character as in the case of Joseph of old (Gen 37,5)

            The Hebrew words hazah and roeh are  both properly translated as “seer” in English and both appear in contexts suggesting some parallel in function with the prophet. In 2 Sam 24,11, “the prophet Gad “ is ”David’s seer” In 2 Kgs 17,13 it is the role of prophet and seer alike to warn Israel and Judah.  In Isa 29,10 the role is not identical , but the characteristic poetic parallelism of members puts prophet and seer again in the same essential function “The Lord has poured  upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered yours heads, seers” ..In the same way, Mic 3,7 couples seers and diviners “The seers shall be disgraced, and the diviners put to shame” Another occurrence of seer is in Amos 7,12, in the context of the narrative of the prophet’s encounter with Amaziah, the priest of Bethel.  Here, too, the effect is a near-equating of seer and prophet,  since we read,” Amaziah said to Amos,”O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there.”

            In Is 30,9-10 we read. ”They are a rebellious people, who say to the seers, “see not” and to the seers “see not for us” that which is right; speak to us smooth things, see illusions” In this passage both terms appear  to mean the same. So in view  of 1 Sam 9,9 , we can say that a prophet and seer  were understood as exercising  in common the function of “seeing” – i.e. – apprehending that which is not normally accessible, and “speaking forth” proclaiming, that which is thus seen and apprehended.

            The seer-prophet apprehends  not necessarily that which is a smooth but emphatically that which is right.  His function, prophetism, is never reception alone, but reception-articulation  It may be that the “office” of seer was chronologically prior to that of the prophet as an indigenous institution in Israel The institution of Israelite prophets, as an institution, was an appropriation  transacted on the ground of Canaan; and it did not clearly emerge as an   institution until the tenth century at the earliest.  That which responsibly wrought the vast modification of the institution  of prophetism as in time it passed from Canaanite to Israelite form, was present from the beginnings of Israel’s existence; that is simply to say that something significant of the essence of established Israelite prophetism was present, clearly, from the Mosaic era and not impossibly also from the time of the patriarchs, although the latter cannot be determined.

            But granting the  possibility or even probability of the prior establishment of the seer in Israel, our biblical reference strongly suggest more than a relationship of  parent child.  More because the evidence we have just surveyed points to a continuing coexistence of seer and prophet, and constitutes contemporaneous  estimates easily and naturally equating the two.   Less, because Israelite prophetism, if “biologically” indebted to the institutions of seer, is also in unmistakable descent from a prophetism, its origin and distribution, already present  in the Canaan occupied by the Israelites. Hence in all probability, the Israelite prophecy has taken over certain features of the “seer type” phenomenon existing in Canaan.

             Regarding the origin of the phenomenon of Prophecy in Israel, a leading sociologist has the following to say:“The social sciences, especially sociology and anthropology, have provided another direction for studies concerning the background of  Israelite prophecy. In many societies even today “prophetic” or “charismatic” individuals play roles similar to the prophets of Israel in leading, inspiring, and giving direction to movements that have greater or lesser impact on society as a whole.  Revivalist, millenarian, and reformist movements challenge certain elements or directions in a community. Study of these contemporary cross – cultural phenomena reveals parallels and patterns which are then helpful in illuminating what we know of similar movements in ancient Israel, especially those associated with the prophets (A.R.Ceresko, The Old Testament, A Liberation Perspective, 223)

B. Bene hannabiim  (The sons of the prophets – the prophetic guild)

            In the development of prophecy, the association of  prophetic disciples is another stage which we find in the history of Israel.  Here, a group of ecstatic individuals live as a community, with  a leader.  Some sort of institutionalization is found here already. The following are  the main characteristics of this stage.

            “When they came to  Gibeah, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the sprit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them.  And all who knew him before say how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, ‘ what  has come over the son of Kish?  Is Saul also among the prophets”. And a man of the place answered,’ And who is their father?’  Therefore it became a proverb ,’ Is Saul also among the prophets?’ “(1 Sam 10,9-13)  This is a vital piece of information about the growth of the phenomenon of prophecy in Israel.  It shows, that there was a group of enthusiasts who were capable of imparting ecstatic experience to others, and they had a leader. Hence we could define the  bene hannabiim as ” they are the disciples of the prophets .  It is an organized body of enthusiasts, living as guilds and groups, settled down near some sanctuaries like Gilgal ,Bethel, Gaba or Jericho, as Samuel at Ramat and Elijah on Mount Carmel.” One could single out the following traits:

1. They ate at common table, 2 Kgs 4,38-41;
2. They obeyed a chief, 2 Kgs 2,3
3. They rendered all types of service, 2 Kgs 3,11
4. They were allowed to marry, 2 Kgs 4,1
5. Usually they were from very poor families, when people from noble families joined them people were surprised, 1 Sam10,1
6. They had very strange dress and behavioral pattern, and often they were ridiculed, 2 Kgs, 2,23
7. They were ecstatics, threw off their clothes, leaped and whirled around and lay motionless, 1 Sam 19,24
8. Sometimes they mutilated themselves, 1 Kgs 18,28
9. Sometimes they received a small  payment for their services, 2 Kgs 4,8
10. They were held in esteem and held power 2 Kgs 2,19
11. Sometimes they predicted to please the listeners, 1 Kgs 22,5
12. They were associated with sanctuaries and cult, 1 Sam 10,10
13. Sometimes they experienced contagious fervor, 1 Sam 19,20

An analysis

            The Israelite prophets may have been influenced by Canaanite prophets (sacred madness)  Yahweh must be equal to Baal

            Faced by the challenge of foreign deity, and their prophets, the sons of prophets tried to contain them in Yahwistic faith by similar means

            In national crisis and wars, they had a leading role to play by way of encouraging the  people and even giving them leadership (Elijah was known as the chariot  and horseman of Israel, 2 Kgs 13,14)

Conclusion

            Before the emergence of classical prophecy, the Israelite prophecy underwent a process of growth.  The group of disciples under a leader, tried to maintain their faith in Yahweh and in that endeavor even imitated some of the practices of the neighboring religions.  But in all these, they were unique in their Yahwistic faith.  When we say that they have borrowed certain elements from the Canaanite culture, we should keep in mind that they did so only in so far these were in agreement with their faith in Yahweh.

(for personal  reflection and discussion: the principle of inculturation is found very much in the phenomenon of  prophecy in Israel, do you agree with this statement? In the context of the great challenge from  Canaan, the prophets of Israel adopted a highly pastoral approach, illustrate this point)

IV. Characteristics of  Hebrew Nabi (Prophet)

            Here we are going to see the various  characteristics  that are found in the prophetical figures of Old Testament.  In fact this theme should have come right at the end of our course, since it is a summary of the prophetical studies in general.  We take the supportive texts from the various prophetical books.  All the traits need not be equally present in all the prophets. We should also keep in mind the fact  that only very rarely we find biographical details in the prophetical books. We speak about these traits as common to the prophets, because this is the way it is presented in the case of some prophets.

1. A prophet is one who is called, commissioned and specifically set apart by Yahweh; the divine initiative precedes every prophetical call. Jer 1,5 (One should be able to explain these traits using the examples.)
2. A prophet is one who has had a profound experience of Yahweh. This religious experience transforms his life thoroughly, and it helps that person to stand the trials connected with his call, Is 6,6-9
3. A prophet may be chosen from any walk of life; whereas the priests in the old testament were always from the tribe of Levi. E.g. Isaiah was a noble man, moving around the court circles; Jeremiah came from the priestly family; Ezekiel was a priest; Amos was a shepherd; Hosea was a family man, Habakkuk was a farmer. Etc.
4. God calls some one to prophet hood in spite of his weakness.  His sufficiency and  power comes from Yahweh, Jer 1,6
5. One is constrained to take up the call of prophet hood, there is an element of inner constraint, Jer 20,9; Amos 3,8
6. A prophet is to announce judgment and restoration.  His mission includes both negative and positive functions.  Often the negative comes first and more in number, Jer 1,10
7. A Prophet is put under the special care of Yahweh, Jer 1,19
8. Trial and pain is a factor in the life of the prophet, Jer 16,1-3
9. A prophet carries out his mission, not only by oracular preaching, but also by means of symbolic actions, Jer 13,1-9
10. A prophet is often ridiculed, maltreated and misunderstood, Jer 26,1-24
11. A prophet is a sign  of contradiction, He is respected and  hated Hos 1-3; Jer 1,18.19
12. A prophet takes the present seriously in view of God’s future, Jer 27-28
13. A prophet’s frame of reference is fidelity to Yahweh alone, Is 1,1-2
14. A prophet is a watchman, counselor, guide and a threat to the establishment, Ezek 34,1-4; Jer 1,18-19
15. A prophet has a universal function, Jer 1,5
16. A prophet intercedes for the people, Amos 7,1-15; Jer 15,11-13

The definition of a prophet from the point of view of etymology

            In Hebrew the prophet is called, nabi, which comes from the Akkadian root NB.  In the Akkadian language, this root has  the basic meaning of  shouting out, springing up, boiling inside. Hence we can say that the Hebrew prophet shouts out for Yahweh; he is burning inside for Yahweh and his cause.

            In the Greek language, the prophet is called prophetes.  It is a combination of pro (for, instead, before) and phemy (to speak) . So the prophet speaks for God, He is His mouthpiece.

            Putting the Hebrew and Greek  origins of the word, we can say that an old testament is a person who speaks for Yahweh.  His presence and activity among the people is a sign that God is not tired of this people.  Through him, God warns them, invites them to repentance, reminds them of the covenant, and foretells the fate in case of disobedience.  In his prophetic mission, he is fully taken up by Yahweh and His cause.

(for  personal reflection and discussion: those who  in a fit of emotion, (for various reasons) and who want to take up the prophetical mission will do well to reflect upon all the implications of the call to be a prophet)

V.Formation of Prophetical Books : Prophetical Literary Types

            The prophets are primarily preachers, and not writers.  The writing down of their books took place only at a later date. The primary level was preaching, and then the disciples or the circle that was close to prophets wrote down their master’s words and deeds (Jer 36,26-32)  Rarely we find the prophet himself writing down his oracles at the behest of Yahweh (Jer 51,60). In formulating their message they have made use of the contemporary literary devices.  Today scholars are of the view that there took place a major expansion of the prophetic writings (traditions), which  is known as the deuteronomistic additions.  In this connection, the question of biblical inspiration can be raised.  Who was inspired? The  original prophet, or the circle that maintained this tradition? Our answer is that the biblical inspiration is a process. The guidance of the Spirit of God was there in the whole process of the initial preaching (delivery of the message), in its transmission, and in its composition. That is because God carries out  his plan of salvation in history.  It was in his purpose to prepare a people and through them to be a source of blessings to the whole world (Gen 12,1-4) (in this connection, the canonical criticism of B.Childs has valid insights to offer)

1. various stages of prophetic Inspiration

1. A moment of intense personal inspiration (experience) of God which may be a vision (as in Is 6) or audition( Jer 1,11-12)
2. The prophetic exposition of this experience, usually to his close circle (Jer 20,9; Amos 3,8  “ if I say I will not…)
3. Then the prophet gives a rational explanation for the same
4. Its presentation in artistic, literary forms usually by the disciples of the prophets. In the meantime, the original prophecy must have  realized itself or fulfilled, or assumed different connotations.

This process has been explained by G.Fohrer as follows:” The development of the prophetic oracle – like the actions or experiences described in the biographical accounts of the prophets – normally consists of an extended process involving at least four stages.  The first stage is a moment of personal experience of God, in which God’s spirit or word comes to the prophet – the “spirit” being most important in the case of the cult prophet, the “word” in the case of the great individual prophets – or in which he is transported  to another sphere.  In this moment he has a “secret experience”; instances include  visions like the one in Isaiah 6, auditions like Jer 4,5f,  and sudden inspirations like Is 7,13-17, and miraculous knowledge like that in Jeremiah 4-6 concerning the foe form the north. The secret experience takes  place in the full light of spiritual and intellectual consciousness but can be accompanied   by an ecstatic experience. Contrary to an exaggerated assessment that traces all experiences  to ecstasy, which is viewed as the source of prophetical knowledge,   ecstasy can only be termed a possible concomitant of secret experiences, though it can  of course become so intense as to be an experience  of being entranced or transported, as in the case   of Ezekiel.  It must also be distinguished from the ecstatic union of mysticism because the prophet remains conscious of himself  as a person vis-à-vis God.  It is therefore more accurate to follow Lindblom in calling it an ecstasy of concentration, in which the psyche concentrates on a specific emotion or a specific idea or constellation of ideas, while the normal influence of consciousness is abolished and the external senses more or less cease  to function.  In short, the prophet is gripped by a power that he cannot escape.  What he experiences or perceives he is constrained to put into words and to proclaim (Jer 20,9; Amos 3,8).  Therefore, immediately after his secret experience the prophet begins to ponder over it.

            In the second stage comes the prophet’s interpretation and exposition of his unique experience according to the faith by which he lives. The new experience is interpreted in such a way that the individual experience is incorporated into the prophet’s previous total picture of God’s nature and will, enlarging it and vitalizing it.  This interpretation usually distinguishes between true and false prophecy.

Next follows, as the third stage, the process of intellectual revision.  Since what has been experienced must be proclaimed, it cannot remain at the babbling level of glossolalia, but must be translated into comprehensible and rational words.  This takes place so naturally that the prophets sometimes add an appropriate motivation or  appends an obvious conclusion to the word of Yahweh.  At the same time, this stage produces words spoken by the prophet in his own right which he forms without any preceding secret experience on the basis of his certainty that he can speak as Yahweh’s messenger.  This much can generally be said:  the less meditation and rational revision a   prophetical oracle betrays, the more tersely and unconditionally it proclaims God’s will, the more clearly it preserves as its nucleus a primitive complex of sounds (Is 8,1), the closer we are to its origin.

The third stage is paralleled by a fourth, that of artistic development, to which belong the adaptation of the message to a specific, sometimes very ancient, rhetorical form and its clothing in metrical poetry.  This development can draw upon an image or an idea and elaborate it artistically, e.g.,  the fire that goes forth from Yahweh (Amos 1,3f) or his hand (Is 9,7f).” , G.Fohrer, Introduction to the Old Testament, 349-50)

Style of  the prophetic oracle.

            Characteristic of prophetic style are the introductory and concluding formulas that characterize a prophetical discourse as Yahweh’s word: “Thus says Yahweh…” introduces the discourse by employing the ordinary messenger formula, and”…oracle of Yahweh” concludes it in most cases.  These formulas are subject to  various poetic  transformations.  In addition, we frequently find introductory formulas belonging to the prophet personally; these state the identity  of the divine “ I”  that sends the prophet and of the recipient of the message, or who else is called upon to give ear (Is 1,2)  Likewise the state  of the prophet during his secret experience can be described (Is 8,11).  To a large extent the introductory formulas, like the accounts of the prophets’ calls, and visions, serve to legitimate the prophet and support his authority.  Finally, the prophet can expand the beginning of a discourse by adding a motivation to explain the following declaration of God’s will (Amos 4,1)

Why were  the prophetical words collected and kept? And when?

1    During their life time, the prophets were feared and ridiculed

2    History proved that they were right

3    Collections and reminiscences were  made to keep alive what they said.

• By the time the book of Ecclesiaticus was written, the old testament books were already classified as Law, prophet and the other writings.
• In the first century A.D. the new testament writers were referring to the old testament as the law of Moses, the Prophets and the psalms (Torah, Nebiim and Ketubiim, Lk, 24,44
• There was also the messianic interest behind the collection of the prophetical sayings.

The Prophetic Literary types.

            The literary types used by the prophets in their preaching can be classified into three great groups: a)prophetical sayings, b) prophetical reports, and c) imitations of rhetorical forms from other spheres of life. In fact the prophetical books are composed of numerous individual sayings and reports.  The main ones are  indictment of the people on account of their sins, it can be an invitation to repentance; a declaration of judgment, intended to convert them Baudissin, Steuernagel, Holscher Gunkel, Gressmeann Balla, Wildberger, Lindblom  ,Westermann and Koehler are the most noted scholars who have studied the prophetic literary categories in detail.

1. The prophetical sayings.

The purpose of prophetical saying is to convey the will of Yahweh as it affects the future course of history in consequence of man’s present way of life. It is inaccurate, if not misleading, to call the prophetical saying “prophecy” in the sense of “prediction” Luther, limited this expression mostly to the false prophets of Israel and the pagan prophets.  The essential point is not the miraculous prediction of events soon to come; in fact, the prophets frequently erred in this matter.  What is crucial is that what is accounted is already on the point of coming to pass; the prophet has used enough time to point out what is happening and summon men to draw the proper conclusions for the present. The prophet speaks of the future in order to determine  and structure the present in which he lives, which it is his task and goal to influence.

1. The primitive form of the prophetical saying is the oracle.  Originally a person would obtain such an oracle from a cult prophet at a sanctuary, in response to an inquiry addressed by the prophet to the deity or addressed to the prophet directly.  It was a counterpart to the priestly oracle, and can still be found in a series of psalms, e.g., 20,7-9; 60,8-10; 85,9-10, where it was also pronounced in response to a lament.  It also occurs in a series  of prophetical sayings, e.g., 1 Kgs 14,5ff; 2 Kgs 20,1; Jer 37,17.   An oracle is usually marked by the introduction  ko amar yhwh (seboot),  thus says the Lord (of hosts),  which was a cultic liturgical formula. An oracle always declares the immediate future to be favorable or unfavorable on the basis of the present situation, thereby granting  the person concerned the chance so to act in the present moment as to secure the good or avoid the evil through his conduct.  In 2 Kgs 20,2ff Hezekiah successfully proceeds in this manner.  In addition, the prophet could intercede with Yahweh.  The oracle proper is on its way to become a prophetical saying, either positive or negative, when it is offered without being asked, as in 2 Kgs 20,1.

            2. The negative prophetical saying is a threat, with or without motivation, announcing imminent disaster on account of human sin. This form predominates in the great individual prophets. Jer 28,8-9 practically makes it the criterion of a true prophet’s message, while in the case of a prophet who prophesies salvation only the realization of his prophecy demonstrates that Yahweh has sent him. Usually this word of judgement has two parts: the motivation (indictment) and declaration (sentence) Some scholars call it “threat”, “word of Judgement”, “declaration of disaster” or some similar expression. The threat may appear in three forms: as pure threat without motivation (Is 3,25-4,1; 7,18-19; Amos 3,12b-15); as threat with motivation (Is 3,1-9; 8,5-8; Amos 1,3ff; 4,1-3) and as a combination of invective and threat (Is 5,8-10; 22,1-14; 30,1-4); Amos 3,9-11) It can be subdivided into three types: the threat addressed to individuals, to the prophet’s own nation, and to foreign nations.

            The threat addressed to individuals, Amos 7,16-17, comprises the following sequence: summons to listen; motivation; declaration of disaster, introduced by the messenger formula.  It presupposes at the outset God’s favor toward the group as a whole, from which an individual is excluded on account of his transgression, but without further consequences for the group.  Among the great individual prophets Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah continue to employ it to supplement their threats.

            The threat addressed   to the prophet’s own nation begins with Amos. It is based on a complete reversal of the situation in the eyes on the great individual prophets, who no longer see their nation in God’s favor but in God’s disfavor.  Frequently, it contains a motivation, which may exhibit an expanded form or be replaced  by an invective; then follows, introduced by the messenger formula or merely by therefore, the declaration of disaster, which will come to pass through the intervention of Yahweh; a description of the results of this intervention concludes the threat.

            The threat addressed to foreign nations is usually constructed like the threat against Israel.  Originally it was probably similar to the threat addressed to  individuals  because it originated in the optimistic  message of the professional cultic prophets, who announced disaster for the enemy and therefor salvation for their own nation (Nahum, Habakkuk).  It may also be associated with the taunt song (is 37,22-35) or follow the pattern of the Egyptian  execration texts, as the series in Amos 1,3ff still shows.  The great individual prophets associated it with the threat of disaster to Israel, so that it acquired a new meaning, bearing witness to the surpassing majesty of God.

            3. The positive prophetical saying is a declaration of salvation or a promise which, in a present state of distress, announces a favorable turn of fortune.  Indirectly, there threats of the professional prophets against foreign nations were at the same time declarations of salvation for Israel.  Here we may also mention prophetical intercession, whose  goal  may be a positive oracle.  Once again, there were positive sayings addressed to individuals (to which the exhortation is Is 7,1-9 conforms), to the prophet’s own nation, and to foreign nations.  While the first two types are already found in optimistic professional prophecy, the latter first appears in eschatological prophecy.  In the great individual prophets, however, positive sayings are  rare; they are found only in Hosea, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

            The fully developed form of the positive saying, is sometimes called “priestly oracle of deliverance”. It is found in the sayings of Deutero-Isaiah.  It comprises a promise of divine intervention on behalf of the person or persons seeking aid, a statement of the consequences of  this intervention, and a statement of Yahweh’s purpose in grating the petition.

            4. The invective is in part  a secondary literary type.  It derives its great importance from the relevance of the prophet’s message to his own time.  In it the prophet reproaches an individual or the nation for its sin and guilt.(is 1,4-9; Amos 5,12; 6,12)

            5. Exhortations and warnings are found among the prophetical sayings from early times, as the Mari letters show.  The great individual prophets give them a new function.  They are  among the  primitive  forms of prophetical discourse that can be derived from the oracle.  Their purpose is to require the petitioner to follow a course of conduct that will have favorable consequences for the future.  In the case of the great individual prophets, who almost always themselves composed these metrically structured  exhortations, these forms invariably call upon the hearers to turn from the path of sin and commit himself  to a new way of life based on obedience and submission to God.  Jeremiah can even  summarize his entire ministry from this; point of view. (25,3-7)The mention of conversion  is by no means limited to words  of invective and promise; it also occurs in warnings of imminent disaster and as a condition for deliverance from it (Is 1,18-20); Amos 5,14).  Despite the proclamation of apparently unconditional judgment, reference is made to possible deliverance.

b.Prophetical reports

            a. These are sayings which became the precursor of the prophetical vision and audition report 1 Kgs 22,17 is typical. The seer tells the listener what he has seen and its interpretation as spoken by Yahweh.  In the same way Balaam must see before he can speak (Num 22,41); then Yahweh puts a word in his mouth (Num 23,5).  When it is recorded, it is clearly introduced by the word   na um (utterance) which appears in the prophetical saying as a transitional or concluding formula (Num 24,3)

            b. In the report of a vision the prophet describes his perceptions during a secret experience.  Probably through the influence of the seer tradition, such a vision can be based on everyday things: a basket of ripe fruit (Amos 8,1-3), a boiling pot (Jer 1,13), or an almond rod (Jer 1,110  It can also involve the vision of exalted or mysterious events and circumstances, so that in any case an interpretation is needed, which the prophet can clothe in the guise of a word of Yahweh.  Just in these instances the individuality of imagination, thought, and speech of the individual prophets makes itself felt (Is6; Jer 1,4 -10)Ezek 1,1-3,15)

            c. The report of an audition can be distinguished from the prophetical saying by the express statement that the prophet has heard the voice of Yahweh speaking to him (Is 5,9) He may also perceive other voices, which he records, e.g., commands given in the land threatened with disaster (Jer 4,5f) or the lamentation of the people doomed to destruction (Jer 4,31)

            d. Quite frequently  vision and audition are linked with each other .as in the reports concerning them, not least in the first experience of this sort, which should be mentioned as a special case; the call experience, which summons the prophet to the service of Yahweh.  These reports share a common root with the report of the call of Moses in the Yahwists’s account and with the patriarchal narratives of Genesis that report a theophany and positive oracle followed by a cultic act; they represent the experience of the call, endowment, and commissioning of a charismatic.

            e. The report of  symbolic action, such as the prophets frequently performed, is linked to an earlier form; the report  of magical actions.  The Yahwist’s  account of the Egyptian plagues clearly shows this connection.  When complete, it exhibits three main elements: Yahweh’s command to perform the action, the account of the action itself (often lacking because the performance of the action was taken for granted) and the interpretation  of the action (Ezek 12,1-11; 24,15-24) Three subsidiary elements may also be present: data concerning witnesses, statements expressing Yahweh’’ promise to realize what is symbolized, and statements relating the action to the symbolized event.

c.Forms  borrowed.

            The prophets borrowed rhetorical forms from other realms of life, imitated them, and used them in new functions.  The traditional prophetical literary types were far from being sufficient for the  great individual prophets and the eschatological prophets: they needed other forms for their message.  In the process, they extended the use of many literary types (taunt songs and dirge);other types are familiar only from their prophetical imitations.  In many cases, of course, it is proper to ask whether we are really dealing with the literary types or merely with analogous stylistic forms.

            Every day life furnishes the following types, which were borrowed or imitated: drinking song; love song, taunt song, and dirge.  From this realm comes also the discussion, which usually begins with a  question addressed to the other speaker and goes on in the form of a statement  so framed as to obtain agreement, arriving  finally at the crucial statement; it may also progress from an indisputable general statement to the contested statement, raise  an objection and answer it in the same breath (Amos 3,2) Finally, also from the realm of  everyday life, the prophets make use of summonses to battle or to flight.

            From the cultic realm the prophets borrowed and imitated the following: hymnic style and hymns, laments the summons to lamination. ceremonies, priestly torah and cultic instructions, as well as liturgies used by the cult or cult prophets and the “cantata”  a combination of various parts without shift of speaker.( Is 24-27)

            From the realm of wisdom instruction  derive the corresponding rhetorical forms; from the realm of historical narrative derives the prophetical interpretation  of history (Amos 4,6-12; Is 9,7-20) and from the legal realm derives the  prophetical judgment discourse, comprising in particular  the  indictment, the summons to trial and naming of witnesses, the inauguration of the proceedings by the divine judge with his accusation (is 1,2-3; 3,12-15), as well as the dispute between two parties found in II Isaiah .

            Precisely because of this variety it is crucially important  not only to determine the rhetorical form but also to determine the function for which the prophet intends to use it.  The duality of form and function, of original, “Sitz im Leben” and modified “used in discourse” is no where so evident as in the words of the prophets.

            In conclusion, one can say that the prophetic literary categories is a theme in the OT that has been studied extensively.  There is no uniformity of opinions among the scholars about the identity of forms and their categorization. Like in the case of the rest of the OT the prophetical books too underwent a process of growth.  It took time for the word of God to grip the lives of people. Only history proved the validity of the prophetical words, and so they were collected.  While assuming the written form various literary forms were adopted to  present the message.

(for personal reflection and discussion: in the service of Yahweh, the  prophets of Israel made use of all possible resources at their disposal; what does it mean for you?)

VI.Nathan, the Voice of the Voiceless

            Before we proceed with the study of the canonical prophets, here we deal with a non canonical prophet, Nathan, and see how they too were communicating God’s word to their contemporaries.  The  non canonical prophets are those who are mentioned in the Old Testament, but who have no books in their names.  In the book of Samuel and Kings, we have numerous references to such prophets, the names of only some are given.  Often they were the court prophets, i.e. the prophets attached to the royal houses, whose task it was often to know the mind of the deity, for example, the auspicious time to go out for battle against the enemies.  Though quite a number of them were  genuine as Elija, Elisha, Nathan etc. often they are seen as prophesying to please the kings, and to currying favor with them. At any rate the phenomenon of false prophecy was a reality in the OT, and the true prophets had to struggle against these.  The  people were very often in great confusion, as to whom to listen to  while confronting these, the genuine prophets were some times totally helpless as we see in the life of Jeremiah. rfr. The confrontation between Jeremiah and Pashur.

            a. Nathan  was prophet contemporary with David.  He appears three times at the scene of the events of the Davidic court.  The first time he was consulted  by David (David had just finished the building of his palace) concerning the king’s plans to erect a temple for the Lord. At first, Nathan approved the king’s plans ,but later he revealed to David the divine word which prohibited  the building of a sanctuary but promised  the establishment  of the Davidic dynasty forever ( 2 Sam 7,1-17)

            b. When David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, her husband, Nathan presented  a fictive  legal case to David in which a rich man took away the only lamb of a poor man.  When the enraged David announced that the rich man deserved to die, Nathan courageously confronted the royal murderer with is own crime (2 Sam 12,,1-5)

            c .In Solomon’s succession to the throne of David, Nathan, together with Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, played an important role (2 Sam 12,25) When Nathan was told that Adonijah, the elder brother of Solomon  had attempted to seize the royal throne, he sent Bathsehba to the senile David to ask him to fulfill his promise to make Solomon his successor; and later he, himself, went to the aged king to confirm her words.  This plot of Bathsheba and Nathan was successful, for David ordered Nathan and Zadok the priest to anoint Solomon to be king over Israel on that very day ( 1 Kgs 1,5-48)

            d. The Chronicler maintains that Nathan wrote chronicles on the acts of David (1 Chr 29,29) and of Solomon (2 Chr 9,29) and played a role in the development of temple music (29,25)

            e. Apparently Nathan was a court prophet who had an intensive interest in the Davidic dynasty. This fact  has prompted some scholars to deny the historicity of his denunciator of David.  However, association with the court of David  did not necessarily mean the servility of the prophet.

            f. The greatness of Nathan consists precisely in this: He was a close aide of David, and one of his trusted friends. In spite of that he had the courage to say the truth. It is simply natural to disregard such events as human weakness, especially when one knows another person closely and to keep silent. Often this silence is a silence of convenience. David had committed adultery; homicide; and deception. Such things on the part of a ruler in Israel is really grave.  For all practical purposes, what David did  remained hidden before the world. He had covered the evidence also (destroyed evidence in legal terminology, because, Uriah was killed, and no trace of suspicion remained; what happened at the battle field is simply what happens every where.

            g. But there was God, seeing everything.  He sends Nathan  the prophet, as the voice of the voiceless Uriah.  Right on the face of the King, the prophet says, “you are that man”. The irony is that the king has already pronounced the judgment upon himself.  What happens after wards speaks about the character of David.  He is genuinely repentant.  Tradition has it that David composed Ps. 51 (Have mercy on me, Lord..) after Nathan had chastised him. He makes atonement for his sins, and confesses it with humility. In spite of it, God  shows that he Has  taken the sins of the King very seriously.  Though the sins are forgiven, the iniquities of the king had social implications.  Hence that should be rectified. Hence in the house of David, there are strife’s, struggles, and as an old Man David  has to watch it all helplessly.

(for personal reflection and discussion: Nathan resolves a very common problem in human relationship; how  to tell unpleasant truths to dear ones?  What to do when  the choice is between human approval and fidelity to God; when justice is denied to the poor,  there is still  a higher court; when one feels so helpless before the  corrupt beaurocratic structure and  political power, the consoling thought is that God is the God of the poor and the  oppressed)           

VII.Amos, the Prophet of Social Justice

The General background

            A key to understanding Amos is found in the socio-economic situation to which he addressed himself.  True, his message was conveyed in religious terms and arises out of  a profound religious experience and consequent moral outrage.  But that moral outrage was provoked by the suffering and hardship he saw around him.  Further, that outrage was compounded by the heartbreaking realization that the injustice in Israelite society had already doomed his word of extinction. Thus, despite the religious nature and foundation of his preaching, Amos’ message is inextricably bound up with and directed at the socio-economic and, by implication, the political  situation of the community in which he spoke.

            Amos carried out  his prophetic activity during the days of Jeroboam II (786-746).   The threat from the imperial ambitions of Assyria was temporarily in retreat and the monarchic state of Israel was enjoying a time of expansion and prosperity equal to if not greater than in the days of Solomon.  However, the profound changes introduced into Israelite society with the full-scale monarchical apparatus under David and Solomon paved the way for a stratification of the Israelite social order.  These changes were reaching their logical issue by the time of Amos.  Wealth and resources, as well as social and political power, were being concentrated into the hands of an ever smaller, wealthier, and more arrogant ruling class.

            One practice that particularly irked Amos was the accumulation of properties into large estates by wealthy individuals and families.  One of the foundation stones of the socio-economic order under the tribal confederation had been the possession by each extended family of its own dwelling and plot of land sufficient to provide the basic necessities of life to its members.  In addition to this were the  provisions  for mutual aid and support among the extended families of a clan, among the clans which formed  each of the tribes, and finally among the tribes themselves within the larger confederation.  Israel’s foundational vision had been that of a people joined together  in the common project of building a just and peaceful community guided by and animated by their covenant loyalty to their common God. ,Yahweh.  That vision had been  grounded on the right of access to the sources of life’s basic necessities and the provisions for mutual aid.  Both of these foundation stones were  being  crushed and thrown by the wayside.  Motivated by greed and a lust for power, and intent on aping the elegant and arrogant trappings of the court and ruling classes of imperial powers like Assyria, the nobility and rich merchant classes  of the northern kingdom ignored the covenant obligations toward their fellow Israelites.  Instead of low or no-interest loans  to help a family through a period of economic hardship brought on by drought, for example they charged  exorbitant interest rates, often 50 percent or more.   When people could not pay, they seized the land and either evicted the occupants or reduced them to a state of near slavery as tenant farmers.  This is the background of an oracle such as that found in 2,6-7:

            Thus says the Lord”

            For three crimes of Israel, and for four,

            I will not revoke my word;

            Because they sell just man for silver

            And the poor man for a pair of sandals.

            They trample the heads of the weak

            Into the dust of the earth

            And force the lowly out of the way.

            Added to the sharp and questionable economic practices were also the outright unjust and extortionist tactics Amos exposes:

            Hear this, you who trample upon the needy

            And destroy the poor of the land!

            “When will the new moon be over,” you ask,

“that we may sell our grain,

            and the Sabbath, that we may display the wheat”?

            We will diminish the ephah,

            Add to the shekel,

            And fix our scales for cheating!

            We will buy the lowly man for silver,

            And the poor man for a pair of sandals;

            Even the refuse of the wheat we will sell” (Amos 8,4-6)

            The landowners also added to the hardships of the population by shifting the way the land was used.  When controlled by the extended families, the properties were devoted to crops which they themselves ultimately used and consumed, especially grains such as wheat and barley.  As the land came under the control of the large estate owners, however, tenants were forced to turn  the land over more and more to the growing of crops such as grapes and olives for the production of luxury commodities like wine and oil.  These luxury commodities were destined for the ruling groups themselves and for export and sale in exchange of imported luxury items such as carved ivory furniture, jewelry  perfumes, and so on.

            As they increased their land holdings and wealth, the ruling classes also increased their social and political power.  They were eventually able to enforce the levying of taxes in order to siphon off even more wealth from the larger population, and thus added further  to their burdens.  During these “prosperous” and “peaceful” years of Jeroboam II’s reign in Israel, it was a small number, perhaps 5 percent  at the most, who enjoyed this “prosperity” and “peace”.  As more and more of the surplus production of the society came under their control, they used it to support the wasteful and luxurious lifestyle so vividly described and condemned by Amos.

Lying upon beds of ivory,

Stretched  comfortably on their couches,

They eat lambs taken from the flock,

And calves from the stall!

Improvising to the music of the harp,

Like David, they devise their own accompaniment

They drink wine from bowls

And anoint themselves with the best oils…

Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,

And their wanton revelry shall be done away with

(Amos 6,4-7; 3,15; 4,1)

            The surplus production which had come under their control was also used to finance a military to maintain the necessary internal control over the subservient population and to carry on external wars in a game of make-believe imperialism (Amos 3,9-11; 2,14-16)

            Finally, the surplus wealth extorted from the larger population went into lavish liturgical displays intended to hide under the legitimating cloak of Yahwistic ritual the unjust order these ruling groups were responsible for creating.:

            On that day, sys the Lord… I will turn your feasts into mourning

            And all your songs into lamentations.(Amos 8,9-10)

Some personal details.

He was  a shepherd from Tekoa and a dresser of sycamore trees (1,1; 7,14-15) In fact his background has influenced his style of language and imagery. He was preaching at the time of Jeroboam II ( 786-746, 7,11) Only one actual incident  from Amos’ life is recorded in the book, the confrontation between Amos and the priest Amaziah in the royal shrine at Bethel which is narrated in 7,10-17.

            But a careful reading of the book reveals two things about him. First, he has had a profound experience of  Yahweh.  It was so overwhelming that it empowered him courageously to challenge and condemn the injustices he saw around him and to proclaim the imminent and inevitable end of the little world of which  he  was a part.  Second, he had been born and brought up in the rural village of Tekoa, where the traditions and practices of the tribal confederation days were still alive and practiced in so far as the structural institutions of the monarchy had not eroded or destroyed them.  He was deeply imbued with the old ideals of the just and egalitarian social order that those traditions and practices attempted to embody.

            We do not know further about Amos. Most probably his words were collected and kept together by some of his disciples and put in a book form at the time of the Josianic reform (640-609 B.C.) under the guidance of the Spirit, these words were then addressed to the Judeans, where the situation  had worsened as at the time of Amos in Israel Some element of hope was added in c 9  which the reformers thought the Josianic reform would bring about.(Josainic reform refers to that attempt by King Josiah to bring about a radical reformation in the society of the Jews  on  the basis of the law book that was found in the temple of Jerusalem at the time of repair work, at the time of the priest Hilkiah) But that too did not have much effect. The Babylonian exile proved that what Amos said was true. Though the message of unrelenting doom in the original words of Amos were softened, the proclamation of Yahweh as a just God, who stands by and rescues the suffering and oppressed, speeding to their aid comes through forcefully and explicitly in the words of Amos Hence Amos maintains the charm as the prophet of social justice, ;and  in the life of peoples and nations, suffering under exploitation and injustice  the message of Amos gives consolation and hope: our God is a God who has a preferential love for the poor and the oppressed.

Structure of the Book ( It is only a broad division.)

1,1-2                Introduction to the Book

1,3-2,3             Oracles against the nations:

                        (Damascus; Gaza; Tyre; Edom;Amon; Moab)

2,4-16              Oracles against the chosen people

3,1-6,14           Utterances addressed to Israel

7,1-9,6             Symbolic visions

9,7-15              the epilogue; the restoration

            When we examine the structure closely, we see that there is a psychological  technique involved here.  First the oracles against the foreign nations are given; and the people of Israel must have been very happy to hear them, because they are the traditional enemies of Israel and that they are going to be punished. It was a happy news for them.  When people are complacent about this prospect, suddenly the prophets bursts out against them, and that again in more forceful terms

            The book as a whole contains message of doom. In 9,7-15, some elements of hope are given; most probably it is due to the deuteronomistic additions. In God’s plan, the last word is not judgement and condemnation, but one of restoration and hope.

Leading theological themes in Amos

            What follows is not an exhaustive treatment.  Many more themes could be traced. But what is given here will give us an idea of the areas in which the prophet  spoke

1. Yahweh, the Lord of history: judgment on the nations. 1,3-2,3; From the usual understanding of Yahweh as the God of Israel, and so a national God, it is presented now that he has universal dominion. The gentiles also are going to be judged by him. Amos’ views in this direction paved the way for absolute monotheism
2. Yahweh is not the private possession of any one, 3,2; 9,7.8. Israel had a tendency to look at their election as a privilege, and so as immune to judgement. The gentiles were  supposed to be of a  second class. But Amos shatters this concept and says that Israel will be judged  all the more severely. Rfr. The famous  ”therefore” of Amos 3,2
3. The genesis of prophetic call, 3,8; 7,15 For Amos his prophetic mission was not any thing which he has asked for; the Lord called him and he had no other go
4. Social justice, 2,6-8; 4,1-3; 5,10-14; 8,4-6 It is a very dear theme to Amos
5. Amos against empty cult, 4,4-5; 5,21-27; 9,1-6
6. Prophet as an intercessor, 7,1-3
7. The confrontation between priest and prophet, 7,10-17
8. Famine for the word of God, 8,11-12
9. Israel’s restoration, 9,11-15

(for  personal reflection and discussion: the background of Amos and his profession has influenced his language and imagery. Illustrate this statement.)

Exegetical Section

VIII.Amos against the empty rituals

Amos 4,4-5; 5,21-27; 7,9; 9,1-6

Preliminary remarks

• The unjust social system was going on, and yet  the leading sanctuaries like Bethel; Dan; Beersheba; Shiloh and Gilgal were frequented by the devotees for prayer and sacrifices
• There was a widespread thinking that Yahweh can be placated by sacrifices and offerings It was unimportant as how these people live. It is here that the prophets of the classical tradition, came forward with their ideal of “ethical monotheism”

1. Amos 4,4-5

rq,Bol’ Waybih;wÒ [‘vop]li WBr]h’ lG:l]GIh’ W[v]piW laeAtybe WaBo

.µk,yteroc][]m’ µymiy: tv,l¿v]li µk,yjeb]zI

µT,b]h’a} ÷ke yKi W[ymiv]h’ t/bd;nÒ War]qiwÒ hd;/T Åmej;me rFeq’wÒ ⁵

.hwIhyÒ yn:doa} µaunÒ laer;c]yI ynEB]

 Amos 4,4-5  Come to Bethel, and transgress; to Gilgal, and multiply  transgression

Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three days;

Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of that which is leavened,

And proclaim free will offerings, publish them;

For so you love to do, O people of Israel” says the Lord.

1.One notices, that thrice the qualification your sacrifices; your tithes, you love to do are used. It is clearly an indication that Yahweh disclaims what they do. It is not according to his will that they are acting.

            2.The places mentioned. Bethel. According to Gen 28,10-22, this place is related to patriarch Jacob, and it was a place of divine theophany I Kgs 12,25-32 presents this place as the seat of official cult of the northern kingdom under the reign of Jeroboam.  It was a sort of rival sanctuary to Jerusalem.

            a.Bethel: Joshua set up memorial stones there having crossed Jordan (Josh 4,20-26) and celebrated the first Passover feast there having entered the promised land (5,2-9; 10-11) Saul was crowned king there (1 Sam 11,11-14)

            3.Hence Bethel and Gilgal are places related to the  history of Israel, which should remind them of the great things Yahweh has done for them. They were places of  meeting God. Associated with Patriarchs and Kings, reminding them of the great things of God “
magnalia Dei” which should arouse  adoration and thanksgiving in their minds. They were also places for a new beginning.

Offerings and tithes

            According to  I Sam 3,7-21 the sacrifices were to be offered on the part of Israelite families only once a year and the tithes once in three years as per the deuteronomistic regulations (Deut 26,2) But here excessive fervor is shown  in bringing sacrifices every day, and tithes every three day. There is excessive fervor in religious acts, but the required attitudes of justice and fairness is missing. Besides, they love to proclaim it. It is not for the glory of Yahweh that they are offering sacrifices; but to indulge in self gratification The tragedy is that they come to these places seeking justification, but they return more condemned.

            The word that is used is pesha, “transgression” ,“rebellion” In Is 1,2, Peoples rebellion against Yahweh; Jer 2,8, the leaders’ rebellion against Yahweh; Jer 3,13 the people’s attitude of rebellion and in Amos 1,3-2,3, the transgression of the gentile nations  are all expressed by this word. These offerings are rebellion for a number of reasons. They are offered at the wrong place (Deut 12); only in Jerusalem the offerings were to be made after the reform of Josiah; improper manner, because offered by illegitimate priests and associated with idols; wrong motives, they loved to proclaim it; righteous behavior is lacking (5,21-27) Love of neighbor was the covenantal requirement (Deut 5,6; Lev 19,18), what they love is the sacrificial system.

Apparently there is here a total refusal of all kinds of sacrifices and offerings.  That this is only apparent becomes clear when we examine the rest of  the  prophetical material.

b.Amos 5,4-9

.Wyj]wI  ynIWvr]Di laer;c]yI tybel] hw:hyÒ rm’a; hko yKi ⁴

Wrbo[}t’ al¿ [b’v, raeb]W Wabot; al¿ lG:l]GIh’wÒ laeAtyBe Wvr]d]TiAla’wÒ ⁵

.÷w<a;l] hy<h]yI laeAtybeW hl,gÒyI hl¿G: lG:l]GIh’ yKi

wÒ hl;k]a;wÒ ¹se/y tyBe vaeK; jl’x]yIA÷P, Wyj]wI hw:hyÒAta, Wvr]Di ⁶

.laeAtybel] hB,k’m]A÷yae

.WjyNIhi År,a;l; hq;d;x]W fP;v]mi hn:[}l’l] µykip]hoh’ ⁷

Jyvij]h, hl;yÒl’ µ/ywÒ tw<m;l]x’ rq,Bol’ JpehowÒ lysik]W hm;yki hce[o ⁸

  s  ./mv] hw:hyÒ År,a;h; ynEP]Al[‘ µkeP]v]YIw” µY:h’Aymel] are/Qh’

.a/by: rx;b]miAl[‘ dvowÒ z[;Al[‘ dvo gylib]M’h’ ⁹

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

“seek me and live; but do not seek Bethel

and do not enter into Gilgal

or cross over to Beer-sheba;

for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,

and Bethel shall come to naught”

seek the Lord and live,

lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,

and it devour, with none to quench it for Bethel

O you who turn justice to wormwood

and cast down righteousness to the earth

He who made the Pleiades and Orion,

And turns deep darkness the day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea,

And pours them out upon the surface of the earth

The Lord is his name,

Who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,

So that destruction comes upon the fortress.

Observations:

• There is here  a play of words with “seek” Drs Yahweh. What they are doing is “seeking the holy places, like Gilgal, Bethel and Beershebah
• Beersheba is another holy place that is associated with Abraham (Gen 21,33) Abraham worshipped there according to Gen 46,1-5, Jacob consulted the Lord there, and Yahweh revealed himself as the El Elyon there.
• The irony is that the visit to the place  where the patriarchs met God becomes a snare to them. Not only that they are not receiving any blessings, on the contrary, they are getting  trapped.
• “seek the lord, and then you shall live” to live is a blessing. Deut 32,47: For it is no trifle for you but it is your life, and  thereby  you  shall live long in the land which you are going to possess. These are the last words of Moses, and the whole purpose of Torah is presented as a way to live. Also Ezek 37,14
• the choice is between seeking God (God becomes the object) and mere cultic activity (God is not there) It is not the process of religion but the person of God that they should seek
• DRS – seek – has a religious connotation. Gen 25,22; Exod 18,15; Ps 35,4; 78k34
• What they are doing is that turn justice to worm wood and casting righteousness to the earth. Wormwood (la anah) is a poisonous root. Deut 29,18; Prov 5,4; Jer 9,l5. That which was meant to keep alive, is turned into a poison.
• Justice – mishpath-  is proper legal behavior; fairness in court; and social justice;  righteousness – sedekah – is the quality of decency; generosity and piety.
• Pleiades is  a group of stars  Job 9,9; 38,31. Here Yahweh is presented as the powerful God who is controlling even the stars.

Seeking life in the context of the New Testament  has a more profound meaning. Jesus is life. John 10,10; 14,6. He gives the promise of life see Col 3,3; eph 4,18 Rom 12,9, loving good and hating evil, virtually quotes Amos 5,14

Upright behavior should go hand in hand with orthodox faith and worship

c.Amos 5,21-24

.µk,yteroX][‘B] j’yria; al¿wÒ µk,yG«j’ yTis]a’m; ytianEc; ²¹

µk,yaeyrim] µl,v,wÒ hx,r]a, al¿ µk,ytejonÒmiW t/l[o yliAWl[}T’Aµai yKi ²²

.fyBia’ al¿

.[m;v]a, al¿ òyl,b;nÒ tr’m]zIwÒ òyr,vi ÷/mh} yl'[;me rseh; ²³

.÷t;yae lj’n”K] hq;d;x]W fP;v]mi µyIM’K’ lG¾yIwÒ ²⁴

“I hate, I despise your feasts,

and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies

Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and cereal offerings

I will not accept them.

And the peace offering of your fatted beasts

I will not look upon.

Take away from me the noise of your songs;

To the melody of your harps I will not listen

But let justice roll down like waters,

And righteousness like an ever flowing stream.

Observations

• Yahweh hates their liturgical festivities. See for festivals and assemblies Ex 23,15-18;34,22-25; Deut 16,10-16; Hos 2,11; Neh 10,33
• The various types  of sacrifices, burnt offerings, Lev 1; grain offering, Lev 2; and communion meal, Lev 3
• For praises with the accompaniment of musical instruments, see Ps 150; Ezra 2,65
• What God expects is mispatht and sedeqah
• The reason for the rejection of all these cultic acts is that justice and righteousness are lacking in the life of the people
• God expects people to be just and righteous like an ever flowing stream; not as isolated or intermittent acts.

• Amos.9.1-2

wÒ r/Tp]K’h’ Jh’ rm,aYœw” j’BezÒMih’Al[‘ bX;nI yn:doa}Ata, ytiyair; ¹ 9

Aal¿ grohÔa, br,j,B’ µt;yrij}a’wÒ µL;Ku varoB] µ[‘x’b]W µyPiSih’ Wv[}r]yI

.fyliP; µh,l; fleM;yIAal¿wÒ sn: µh,l; sWny:

mi µyIm’V;h’ Wl[}y”AµaiwÒ µjeQ;ti ydiy: µV;mi l/av]bi WrT]j]y”Aµai ²

.µdeyri/a µV;

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar and he said:

“Smite the capitals until the thresholds shake

and shatter them on the heads of all the people;

and what are left of them I will lay with the sword

not one of them shall flee away

not one of them shall escape.

Though they dig into sheol

From there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven

From there I will bring them down.

Observations

• the destruction of the very place of cult is predicted. It is the end of the very place  where God had put his presence rfr. 2 Kgs 9,1-9
• it is part of a prophetical tradition  see Jer 7,1-15; Mic 3,18

Conclusion

The cultic life without justice and righteousness is rejected outright It is a danger lurking in every institutionalized religion Things which had the divine and religious sanction once can degenerate into symbols of rebellion against God. It is not cult as such that God rejects. Prayer, sacrifice and offerings are required of man by God in the scriptures. But when they become substitutes  for an authentic and ethical  life, then God disapproves them.

(for personal reflection and discussion: organized religion is always in danger of falling into ritualism; is it true about the church? Worship can  be used by some  as a substitute for moral and righteous living,  and prayer life as an escapism from confronting life’s issues. What  God wants  is not sacrifice but compassion and mercy)

IX.Amos 7,10-17: Conflict between Priest and Prophet

Introduction

            It is a perennial problem in any organized religion. Priesthood is normally seen as the custodian of the establishment In the context of the Old testament faith, the priest was supposed to stand between Yahweh and the people. Amaziah the priest of Bethel is a typical example of a priest who forgot his primary duty

rmoale laer;c]yIAJl,m, µ[;b]r;y:Ala, laeAtyBe ÷heKo hy:x]m’a} jl’v]YIw” ¹⁰

Ata, lykih;l] År,a;h; lk’WtAal¿ laer;c]yI tyBe br,q,B] s/m[; òyl,[; rv’q;

.wyr;b;D]AlK;

hl,gÒyI hl¿G: laer;c]yIwÒ µ[;b]r;y: tWmy: br,j,B’ s/m[; rm’a; hkoAyKi ¹¹

  s  ./tm;d]a’ l[‘me

w< hd;WhyÒ År,a,Ala, òl]Ajr’B] Jle hz²jo s/m[;Ala, hy:x]m’a} rm,aYœw” ¹²

.abeN:Ti µv;wÒ µj,l, µv;Alk;aÔ

hk;l;m]m’ tybeW aWh Jl,m,AvD’q]mi yKi abeN:hil] d/[ ¹ysi/tAal¿ laeAtybeW ¹³

  s  .aWh

aybin:A÷b, al¿wÒ ykinœa; aybin:Aal¿ hy:x]m’a}Ala, rm,aYœw” s/m[; ÷[‘Y”w” ¹⁴

.µymiq]vi sle/bW ykinœa; rqe/bAyKi ykinœa;

abeN:hi Jle hw:hyÒ yl’ae rm,aYœw” ÷aXoh’ yrej}a’me hw:hyÒ ynIjeQ;YIw” ¹⁵

.laer;c]yI yMi[‘Ala,

al¿wÒ laer;c]yIAl[‘ abeN:ti al¿ rmeao hT;a’ hw:hyÒArb’D] [m’v] hT;[‘wÒ ¹⁶

.qj;c]yI tyBeAl[‘ ¹yFit’

B’ òyt,nœb]W òyn<b;W hn<zÒTi ry[iB; òT]v]ai hw:hyÒ rm’a;AhKo ÷kel; ¹⁷

tWmT; ha;mef] hm;d;a}Al[‘ hT;a’wÒ qL;juT] lb,j,B’ òt]m;d]a’wÒ WlPoyI br,j,

  s  ./tm;d]a’ l[‘me hl,gÒyI hl¿G: laer;c]yIwÒ

S Amos 7:10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said, ‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel must go into exile away from his land.’ ” 12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there; 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.” 14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees, 15 and the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 “Now therefore hear the word of the LORD. You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’ 17 Therefore thus says the LORD: ‘Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be parceled out by line; you yourself shall die in an unclean land, and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’ “

Structure of the text           action		agent
Vv 10-11	report to the king	Amaziah
Vv 12-13	report to the prophet	Amaziah
Vv 14-15	Amos’ reply	Amos
Vv 16-17	Judgment on Amaziah	Yahweh

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel takes the initiative, but Yahweh has the last word.

Implications

The personality of Amaziah

• Amaziah is a royal employee, hence his loyalty is more to the king than to God
• He says only half the truth; the unpleasant half he hides
• His concern is to please the king
• He realizes the power of the Word
• He sees people in his own light. Priesthood was for him a means of livelihood
• He is conscious of the rights of the king, but not that of Yahweh
• He sees Amos only as a roeh, a seer, and not as a  nabi prophet

The personality of Amos

• he is conscious of the fact that his vocation is coming from God; it is not a means of livelihood for him
• He is proud of his independent source of living
• He is not a member of the prophetic guild ; and in fact he didn’t want to be a nabi

The divine judgement

• wife, a harlot in the city, doubly shameful for a priest
• He is deprived of his family;, sons, fallen by the sword
• He is deprived of his land; to lose inheritance in the holy land is getting uprooted  from his existence as an Israelite. The land was part of the blessings to Abraham and his descendents.
• Death in an unclean land. Shameful for a priest, who is supposed to maintain ritual purity in every respect

The figure of Amaziah as a priest

• His basic failure was failure in his duty The duty of a priest in the old testament according to the most primitive tradition is given in Deut 33,l0. To  teach Jacob  my ordinances and Israel my law, and then put incense before the Lord, burnt offering upon the altar.
• According to Mal 2,7-8. The lips of a priest should guard knowledge; men should seek instruction from him; he is  a messenger of the Lord of hosts
• Amaziah  illustrates as to what happens to a man who finds support in man than in God
• He should have realized more than the others the ways of the Lord
• His preoccupation was to be held in esteem by authorities.
• He is a hypocrite, trying to please both the prophet and the king..

Conclusion

Amaziah is a sad reminder and a warning for all priests

(for personal reflection and discussion: when a priest becomes the custodian of the establishment more than  a spokesperson for God and his words, priesthood degenerates. The great temptation in history for priests had been this: to support the power centers and enjoy the privileges which the association with the rich and the powerful gives. Those who had been exceptions to this rule had to pay dearly for their convictions)

X.Hosea, the prophet of God ‘s love.

The General Background.

            Like Amos Hosea too preached in northern Israel He was a younger contemporary of Amos. The political situation  Hosea faced, had evolved from the days of Amos. Assyria’s ominous shadow loomed over Israel.  Political turmoil marked these closing years of the northern kingdom, from the death of Jeroboam II in 745 B.C. until the end of the kingdom in 722 B.C.  six different kings sat on Israel’ s throne during these twenty three years, four of their  reigns ending by assassination.  It was within this context of turmoil and uncertainty that Hosea preached, and his words suggest a widespread attitude of disillusionment and self-interest, especially among the ruling elite.  While his career seems to coincide mainly with these final years of the northern kingdom, Hosea may have survived the collapse of 722 B.C.

            Although a contemporary of Amos, facing a similar but evolving political and socio-economic situation, Hosea’s preaching has its own qualities and distinctiveness. Amos, as we have seen, was sharply critical of the injustices of the contemporary social order and especially of the injustices perpetrated by the ruling classes.

            Hosea likewise spoke out against these injustices (4,1-2; 12,8), but unlike Amos, there is a not of hope with Hosea.  The demise of the present order is inevitable, according to this prophet.  In this he agrees with Amos.  However, Hosea looks beyond the collapse and sees new possibilities on the horizon.  The period following the collapse holds out the hope of rebirth.  It will be in some ways a return to the wilderness, to the desert, but a wilderness and desert like the wilderness and desert in which Israel was born.  It will be an opportunity for repentance and rebirth.  Hosea’s hope is founded on his firm conviction and trust in the mercy and love of Yahweh.  It was that mercy and love that brought Israel into being in the first place, when Yahweh took pity on the people crying out in their misery in the slavery of Egypt.  If Israel repents, there is the hope that Yahweh will once again renew that mercy and love.  But such a renewal will take place only after the inevitable demise of the present order and only if Israel repents.

            Amos’s focus was on nature imagery as a vehicle for his message.  His experience as a shepherd and agricultural worker had provided him with a whole stock of analogies and  comparisons to illumine the historical experience and social injustices that were the target of his condemnations; the lion’s roar of triumph over its quarry (Amos 3,4), the bird caught in the trap (Amos 3,5) the realities and hardship of drought (Amos 4l7-8). Hosea also employed metaphors and similes derived from  agriculture and nature (7,11-12)

            But more prominent in Hosea are images involving human relationships. Especially as those relationships mirror God’s relationship with Israel and with each Israelite. Perhaps the most well-known  and distinctive aspect of Hosea is his use of the marriage metaphor in cc 1-3 illumine and add new dimensions to Israel’s covenant relationship with God. (2,8-9.16.21-22)

            The father-son imagery of c 11 is also a powerful and popular description of God’s love and concern  for his people

            The stress on images and language involving human relationships to mirror God’s relationship with Israel may be an implicit move by the prophet to counteract the frantic and self-centered  attitude of so many in Israel during the confusion and disorientation of the closing years of the monarchy.  This stress by Hosea may also have served to strengthen and recommend those older traditional family, clan, and tribal ties that were an important part of the institutional infrastructure from the days of the tribal  confederacy; these family ties were the vehicles for mutual aid and support in times of hardships.  With the imminent collapse of the state apparatus, what remained of these older  institutions and networks would be important if not essential to those who would manage to survive the storm.

            The powerful language of God’s love and mercy in the covenant relationship with Israel (2,18-20) is easily transferable to the personal level of the individual’s relationship with God (2,21-22) In this context his personal  experience of marriage with Gomer was a powerful message of God’s  love, a love that persists in spite of infidelity. The tragic marriage was an object lesson.

            Hosea began to develop that dimension of biblical tradition as the necessary correlate and support of the social dimensions of the people of Israel’s relationship and obligations to their God. Because of his constant reference to the love of God, Hosea has been called sometimes as the St..John of the Old Testament. In him prophetic language becomes a language of emotions We have in him the most intimate union of the message and the messenger.

            Finally, passages such as Hos 1-3 clearly reveal the obviously patriarchal nature of Israelite society.  On the one hand, the introduction by Hosea of the marriage metaphor as an image for God’s relationship with Israel was a great enrichment for the biblical tradition.  It would be taken up and developed by later generations (in the canticle of canticles, and finally in the new testament).  On the other hand, the patriarchal  form of that marriage metaphor, with its clear subordination of the woman, has too often itself become the message and been used to justify and legitimate the subordination and oppression of women.

The Structure of  the  Book

C 1-3               Hosea’s marriage

(naming of the children; Jezreel (the name of the valley where the Jehu dynasty  was  massacred.) lo ammi (not my  people); lo ruhama (not pitied);his wife’s infidelity; the family break up; the pain of the prophet and remarriage)

4,1-9,9             condemnation  of  Hosea’s contemporaries.

9,10-14,1         sin and history

1. epilogue:  repentance and salvation.

Leading theological themes

• God, a wounded lover, cc 1-3; 11
• The wayward life of Israel , 4,1-3.11-14
• The misleading leadership, 5,1-7
• Hosea’s accusations against the priests, 4,1-10
• Meaning of true repentance, 6,1-6; 7,14-26
• Restoration of Israel, 13,1-8. 14,4-9

(for personal reflection and discussion: God speaks through deeds; the messenger is made an object lesson in God’s plan; where words do not  carry weight, deeds do)

Exegetical section.

XI.Hos 11,1-11. Israel, a rebellious son

            Here we have a fundamental revelation of God’s nature. The usual understanding of God in the Old testament gets radical change in this section. No where else in the whole of the bible (other than on the cross), for instance, is the love of God expressed so tenderly and passionately as in these chapters. The relationship between God and Israel is expressed in Husband-wife imagery This theme is continued in the  canticle of canticles and in the new testament while speaking about the relationship between Christ and the church

            In this section we make a rather detailed study only of the eleventh chapter ;as far as the first three chapters are concerned only the message is considered.

            Cc1-3 contains autobiography and biography. There are also disputes among the scholars whether there was a divorce in between and in that case two marriages.. In that case the order of the events will be as follows. A first marriage of Hosea and Gomer; then the adultery of Gomer and the consequent putting off (divorce); intervention of Yahweh ,and the prophet’s marrying Gomer again.  Whatever the actual course might have been, this tragic marriage relationship brings out the love of God for Israel in spite of its infidelity, and the prophet’s personal experience is utilized to illustrate that message.

Significance of the names of the children

            God asks the prophet to name his children in a very special way. The first child was to be called Jezreel Jezreel is the name of a valley where  the atrocities of Jehu against the house of Ahab was carried out( Kgs 9,1-11) Yahweh was going to punish the house of Jehu for what he had done to the dynasty of Ahab.  We should remember that these atrocities were carried out at the instigation of prophet Elisha Excessive zeal and treachery were shown there in that process. In God’s justice every such  act of injustice is avenged. The name of the

Hos 11,1-11  is a historical- theological accusation against the people of Israel, and that is the best designation possible to determine its literary genre .The passage has similarities to the form of the legal complaint made by parents against a rebellious child (Deut 21,18-21; Is 1,2-20), where there is hope held out that the child (Israel) may yet repent and receive compassion rather than death. Complaint yields to punishment, then to hope.

a) Structure of Hos 11,1-11

a                      .past                             vv 1-4              God’s paternal/maternal love

                                                                                    Israel’s ingratitude

b                      .present                        vv 5-6              punishment foretold

                         and future

                                                            v 7                   people’s sins reinstated

                                                            vv 8-9              love stronger than anger

c.                     eschatological              vv.10-11         by loving Yahweh converts

                        future

In the English text there is a difference between v 11 and v 12 compared the Hebrew version.

In this chapter thematic  echoes from c 2 such as God’s love for Israel (2,19-20; ) Israel’s exodus from Egypt (2,15) and its worship of the gods of Canaan  are seen  However the metaphor  applied to God is that of the caring parent, rather than the loving husband.  The metaphor for Israel is the rebellious son, instead of the adulterators wife.

As in the previous historical retrospect’s (9,10; 10,11), the wilderness period becomes the idyllic time between God and Israel.  The covenant ratified in the wilderness is phrased in the language of kinship.  The very “to call” (qara) can mean both “to summon” and “to name”.  Thus when God summons Israel from Egypt, God also names Israel as an adopted son (11,1).  In first person narrative, Yahweh describes a series of nurturing gestures performed on the son’s behalf during this time: teaching Ephraim to walk, caring, healing, leading, lifting, and stooping down to feed the youngster (11,3-4; Cf Deut 32,10-14).  In contrast to chapter 2 which views God explicitly as husband, the author of chapter 11 does not call Yahweh “mother” or “father”.  Teaching a son to Walk, holding, healing and feeding him are all activities that both parents perform, although one could argue that the primary caregiver during childhood is the mother.  Emphasized in the parental metaphor is Yahweh’s nurturing, sustaining love.

Just as the wife/Israel “did not know” that her husband, Yahweh,  provided for her (2,8), so also the son/Israel “did not know that I (YHWH) healed them (v 3; cf 5,13; 6,1; 14,4).As in the other retrospect God’s election is juxtaposed with Israel’s desertion to the gods of Canaan (9,10; 10,1-2)The more God “called” Israel, the more he abandoned God to worship the Baals (11,2).  The son thus disowns himself from his parent, just as the wife/Israel rejects her husband (2,2a)  The son whom God called from Egypt “will return” (sub) to Egypt, because he has refused to “repent” (sub) of  his impiety (v5).  The reality of war, described so unsparingly in 10,9.14 will come upon him (v6)Yahweh laments in the conclusion  of this judgment that “my people (ammi) are determined to turn away (sub) from me”

b)Study of Individual units

1.         11,1-4: God’s paternal/maternal love and Israel’s ingratitude

It is the history of God’s people in a nutshell.

Yahweh called and loved

Israel – the more Yahweh called them the more they went away.

Yahweh taught them to walk

Israel – walked away from Yahweh (sacrifices to Baal and burning incense before them)

Yahweh took them by hand

Israel did not know that Yahweh did it

Yahweh lifted them up and fed them

Israel did not acknowledge it.

Implications:

i)God’s love is the reason for Israel’s election.  It is mentioned for the first time in the OT tradition. Cfr. Deut 4,32; 7,7-9; 10,15

ii) For Hosea, the history of Israel begins with Exodus.  The patriarchal traditions are not counted here.

iii)the disappointment of a father/mother about their son is expressed here

iv) Yahweh as the educator of children is another theme occurring here. Cfr. Deut 8,5-6

v)The concept of Yahweh as a father is well attested elsewhere in the OT (Deut 4,1; 32,6; Isaiah 1,2-20; 3,9; Jer 3,19.22.4,22; 31,9.20).Though in ancient  texts kings are often referred to as the children of the gods (see ANET Sup 218), and the Davidic king is possible called “son” in Ps 27, these appellations hardly provide  meaningful parallels for the biblical metaphor of Israel as a son.  Yahweh’s words in Hos 11,1 are best understood in light of Exod 4,22-23, the commission from Yahweh to Moses at the very beginning of his journey to Egypt to lead the Exodus: “Israel is my firstborn son… Let my son go.”  Hosea and Exodus both link the adoption of  Israel  to son ship with the liberation from Egypt, the emphasis  being placed on the very first encounter of Yahweh with his infant  nation.  Other references to early Israel from the surrounding context (9,10; 10,1) presupposed this earliest  encounter, but did not mention it directly.  The distant past functions now again as a point of comparison with the present (2,14-15) and even future (vv 8-11)

Hosea continually speaks of the people’s “return to Egypt” if they continue in their sinful ways. A return to Egypt mans an actual uprooting from the land and captivity in a foreign and hostile country (9,3; 11,5)  Throughout chapters 9-11, Hosea summons the people to ‘remember” their history; how God freed  them from slavery in Egypt (11,1) how God chose and protected them in the wilderness (9,10; 11,3-4).  Israel, however, refused to learn from its history and change its course.  In very real ways, Hosea’s prophecy is fulfilled: Symbolically, Ephraim did “return to Egypt” in its exile by the Assyrians from its beloved land.  The Hosean text challenges us to own history.  Hosea warns us that we too can “return to Egypt” if we turn a blind eye to racial/ethnic tensions and hostilities in our midst.

11,1a functions as a Messianic prophecy.  A second special exodus from Egypt, that of the child Jesus after the death of Herod (Mt 2,15) comports precisely with wording Hosea was inspired to use, and which therefore does double duty It has its own meaning in Hos 11,1, in a context which does not concern itself with the Messiah.  It has as well a sensus plenior, deriving from the double potential of the specific wording chosen.

The imagery in 11,4 illustrates the beneficence  of God toward Israel in the exodus and in the wilderness. The yoke (al ) is a symbol of oppression and/or servitude in the covenant vocabulary (Lev 26,13; Deut 28,48) Israel’s rescue from  the house of  bondage is like the lifting of the yoke from the jaw of an animal.  The reference to reaching out and feeding the animal probably symbolizes the constant presence of Yahweh with Israel, and his feeding them, even miraculously, as in Exod 16,4-35 and Num 11,4-34  the verse is a masterful illustration of divine grace and condescension.

2) 11,5-6: Punishment foretold

i)There is a play of words with “sub” – return .

Israel has not returned to Yahweh

So they are going to return to Egypt See the covenantal curse in Deut  28,68.

ii) devastation of their city and the security is expressed by  the imageries of broken fortresses and city bars.

3) 11,7 sins restated

i)people are bent on turning away from Yahweh

ii)God still calls them “my people”, an expression of tenderness

iii)going to Baal is turning away from Yahweh

iv)going away from Yahweh is subjecting oneself  to slavery

v)Baal is not going to save them.

5) 11,8-9: God’s love is stronger than his anger

i)there is here a series of 4 questions  the answer to which is always “no” Besides the text speaks of  the emotions, which the thought about annihilating Israel aroused in Yahweh’s heart, and the reason why He decides not to carry out his wrath against them.

ii)consider like Admah and Zeboiim… see Gen 10,19; Deut 29,23. Admah and Zeboiim are the equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah  in the elohistic tradition. They are part of the cities of the Pentapolis.

iii)Yahweh’s response. “my heart moves within me”   It is translated as ,”fever grips my heart” by the Jerusalem Bible. Leb  has got the meaning of  heart, the middle or center part of a man including his inner organs. The reactions are expressed by hapak (to turn over or about) and kamar (to burn to be blackened or to be moved)

iv)Yahweh’s change of mind is a product not of whim or circumstance, but of his eternally consistent nature.  He is a compassionate God whose basic desire toward his people is to win them back to himself (2,3.16-17; 1 Kgs 18,37)  Yahweh announces that  that he will restore Israel because his character includes grace.  He is not one of the Israelites whose emotions might reflect arbitrary passions and whose wrath might be vindictive rather than equitable.  He is the Holy one (qadosh)  “To be holy” is to be set apart from typical human things so as to reflect Godlikeness.  From a human point of view  his holiness embodies all that makes him different form human, especially the qualities  that elevate his thinking and moral behavior above their usually petty standards.

6)Hos 11,10-11: By loving Yahweh converts.

i)Yahweh roaring like a lion. The roaring of Yahweh like a lion (Amos 1,2; 3,8; Joel 4,16; Jer 25,30) seems to function as  a symbolic representation of his calling people to hear his judgment.  When the great lion Yahweh will roar, no one will fail to hear, and the restoration of Israel will be at hand

ii)the imagery of the migratory birds , Ps 55,6-7 connotes the idea of returning joyfully to the nest.

iii)God makes them dwell in the land

iv)Here is the fulfillment of  God’s plan in 2,14-23

Conclusion

Here we have one of the fundamental revelations about the nature of God in the Old Testament Human love is selfish, changeable and so is open to revenge.; whereas divine love  is steadfast, self emptying and redeeming. Yahweh will not act according to  legalistic human logic,- annihilate Israel. The promise in Deut 4,30 that Yahweh cannot forget the covenant is two sided.  The covenant is restorable, but only on the grounds of the fidelity of both parties.

In a broader sense Israel’s real restoration began  only in Christ, the author and finisher of  the new covenant. God’s full, complete plan for Israel was not revealed even in the remarkably sweeping  predictions of Deut 4,20-31.  It could be finally understood, in its most complete sense, only in the life and work of the Messiah.  This passage  is a story of how divine disappointment is overcome by divine determination to restore a people to faith.  Jesus, the Christ accomplished this.

Several feminists have seized upon Hosea 11 as a rare biblical description of a female God teaching and caring for her son who, filled with maternal compassion, refuses to have her son put to death. Arguing that  in 11,9 literally means” man”  not “humanity” these scholars think that the God of Hosa 11 radically distinguishes her self from men “For I am God (el) and not man (is), he Holy One in your midst (11,9).  For them, God rejects male behavior in favor of the female actions and attitudes expressed in Hosea 11

The point God makes in 11,9 is that God is not a mortal being who operates under human (Israelite) laws.  God transcends  these laws in dealing with Israel.  The contrast is between creature and Creator and between God and Israel, not between male and female.

Hosea 11 does not call God “mother”, but does not call God “father” either.  The chapter highlights a parental love that stresses other dimensions of the God/Israel relationship vis-à-vis the marital love described in Hos 1-3.  Such love is creative, bringing the child into existence to share in the love between the parents.  It is an instructive love that teaches a child to become a better person and to strive for the common good.  It is a tolerant and patent love that allows a child to make mistakes and accepts that child back in forgiveness. It is a unconditional love in spite of the child’s rebelliousness.  It is a corrective love that intervenes when a child strays too far off the path. Finally, it is a healing live helps bring a wayward child to wholeness.

(for personal reflection and discussion. The story of Israel is the story of each one of us)

XII.Hos 4,1-10: Hosea’s accusations against the Priests.

Introduction

In contrast to Hosea 1-3, which condemns the people and the land in general Hosea 4-11 singles out the  nation’s leaders for censure: priest (4,4.9; 5,1; 6,9; 10,5), prophets (4,5; 9,7), kings (5,1; 7,3; 8,4.10) and officials (7,3.5; 8,4; 9,15)

Chapter 4 is composed of four sections, each with a degree of unity and individuality, and all functioning under the general form of the prophetic lawsuit and one of its sub-categories, the court speech.  Vv 1-3 introduce the lawsuit in general terms.  The case is called in  the language of a “court speech”.  The accusation is made, the evidence (or, “complaint”) is provided , the judgment sentience is pronounced: the land, utterly corrupt, will dry up and its inhabitants – man, animal, even fish – will die.  This all-encompassing oracle of judgment serves as a prose introduction to the oracles, that follow. Yahweh is again (2,4-18) both prosecutor  (1a-2) and judge (v 3)

Vv 4-10 contain a specification of certain charges, evidence, and the judgment.  Here Israel’s priests are singled out for arrogance, profiteering, heterodoxy, and misleading the people.  Their judgment, in line with the general  pattern established in vv 1-3, will be famine and deprivation, standard covenant curse punishments.

a)The structure may be schematized as follows:

1. accusations against the land

1a        prophetic summons/”proclamation formula”

1b,c     accusation

2          evidence

3          judgment sentence (curse)

• Accusations against the priesthood
• accusation

5-10     judgment sentences (curses) alternated with

                                    citations of evidence.

b) Explanation

1)the situation.

General corruption. There is no loyalty ( emet); faithfulness ( hesed) and knowledge of the Lord ( da at YHWH) In the absence of the last one, the other two follows. Instead of that there is perjury/lying; murder/theft; adultery, violence and blood shed.

Emet:  decent, responsible behaviour

Gen 24,49:Laban and Bethuel to Eleazar

Gen 47,29: Jacob to Joseph

Exod 18,21: about the people who are appointed to an office

Josh 2,12: Rahab to the spies

Hesed: devotion, loyalty and covenant faithfulness

Exod 34,6: about God- it is God’s nature

Sam 15,20:Ittai to David

Ps 36,8; Jer 9,23

Da at elohim – knowledge of God; the essence of the covenant relationship between God and his people

Exod 20,1-17; Deut 5,6-21

2) the result

-the land is mourning;

-the citizens suffer

-wild animals, birds and fish perish

Because of man’s wickedness, all creatures suffer.  Zeph 1,3 (most probably a drought is spoken of); Amos 1,2; Jer 12,4; Jere 23,10

There is also the other idea in the old testament, that nature is used as an instrument of punishment. Gen 6,7.13, God speaks about the flood;Gen 3,17, the earth is cursed because of man’s sins

Is 11,6 the wolf shall dwell with the land (here the nature is part of the blessings of the messianic era

In the New Testament there is the idea that the nature is craving for liberation

Rom 8,20, creation was subjected to futility

3) The reason, vv 4-6

-The priests are held responsible for the overall corruption, because,

-They rejected knowledge,

-They have forgotten to teach

-They have entered into unholy alliance with false prophets

In this context, remember the duty of the priest

Deut 33,10,”They shall teach Jacob thy ordinances, and Israel thy Law; they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt offerings upon they altar” It is interesting to notice that the teaching function of the priesthood is spoken of first and then the cultic function.

Mal 2.7-8’, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. But you have turned aside from the ways; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, sys the Lord of hosts”.

4) the Punishment, vv 7-10

-Yahweh will put a stumbling block in the way of the priest in broad day light’

-His accomplice also will be punished,

-The community is punished,

-He is removed from the priestly office,

-The People themselves are forgotten

Conclusion

Qualis sacerdos, talis populus. It is pointed out how responsible  the priest’s duties are, an also what happens if he does not do his duty well.  The leadership function which the priest is called upon to carry out, in the old and new testaments carries with it the all important dimension of teaching. Teaching implies imparting the right knowledge.  Only if a priest is thorough with the ways of the Lord, he can teach the people. He acquires this skill by the study of the Word, reflection on it, and relating it to the concrete situations of his times.

(for personal reflection and discussion. What the prophet Hosea spoke about the priests of his time, is fully relevant in the case of those engaged in the priestly ministry; It is also a warning to those who are preparing for the same)

XIII.The Book of Micah, the Prophet of God’s Power(Glory)

General considerations

We know very little about the prophet Micah (whose name means “Who is like Yahweh?”) A superscription 1,1 associates him with the reigns of three Judean kings: Jotham (742-735), Ahaz (735-715), and Hezekiah (715-687).  Perhaps he was a younger contemporary of the prophet Isaiah.  Unlike  Jerusalem Isaiah, however, Micah was from Moresheth, a small village lying southwest of Judah’s capital city.  Though we do not have many biographical details about him his book gives us some profound insights into his personality. His identification with the poor and oppressed (2,9); the certainty  that he had been called to prophecy by Yahweh (3,8); and his anger at  the Judean leaders responsible for Jerusalem’s impending doom.   A century later, when the prophet Jeremiah predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, certain elders of the land quoted Micah’s oracle (Mic 3,12) about Jerusalem’s demise (Jer 26,18-19)

            Scholars have attempted to identify the period of Micah’s prophetic ministry more specifically.  The consensus is that his earliest prophecies  predated the destruction of the city of Samaria and the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 (1,6-7)some have suggested that he began to prophesy in the 730s, though not  earlier.  Most scholars have associated his threats to the city of Jerusalem with Sennacherib’s invasion in 701 BC

a)The socio political and religious situations.

            The latter half of the eighth century was a time of great transition.  In the first half of that century, both Judah and Israel prospered because the great powers of the ancient Near East, preoccupied with other matters, did not torment them.  That situation changed very rapidly after 746,  when Tiglath-pileser III came to power in Assyria.  A succession of short and unsuccessful kingships, foolhardy efforts at rebellion, and the resurgence of Assyrian power in the region led to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and its capital city, Samaria, in 722.  Judah avoided a similar fate but  paid a high price for its subservience to Assyria – huge tributes, loss of complete independence, and corruption of its traditions by the incorporation of religious practices of the dominant foreign power.  Into this time of great change, when the fortunes of God’s people had already declined and promised to get even worse, Micah stepped forward to provide a theological interpretation of crucial events facing the nation and its people.

            The situation of ordinary citizens was of great concern to Micah.  He felt compassion for the poor and dispossessed., and held the leaders responsible for their suffering.  We can learn something about the  people’s social and economic situation from Micah’s  condemnation  of their rulers, merchants, and prophets.  Similar words from Micah’s contemporary, Isaiah, add to our picture of a society where the rich and powerful used their influence to exploit the vulnerable and to create even greater inequalities of wealth and  influence (Is 5,8-10; 10,1-2) The economic situation of the poor was further aggravated by programs of armament and fortification in efforts to hold off the threat from foreign empires (2 Chronicles 32)  The tribute demanded by Assyria from its vassal states also added to the problem.  The wealth needed to buy off Assyria had to come from someone, and the poor surely paid more than their share.  Further Jerusalem grew in population at about this time, probably as a result of a large influx of refugees after the fall of Samaria. 2 Jdgs 16-19 provide further details about this time of historical upheaval from  the perspectives of the deuteronomistic historian.

            There is in Micah a reference to the role women played in the Israelite society, which is not usually highlighted. This can be seen, for example, in the prominent place Miriam had within the Moses group during the desert wanderings.  Micah mentions her in the same breath as Moses and Aaron, when God says to the people, ”I brought you up from  the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery I released you; and I sent before you Moses,Aaron and Miriam” (Mic 6,4; Exo15,20; Num 12)

            Micah is called Mi-ka-yahu, in Hebrew. literally it means who is like unto Yahweh? This name is appropriate for a book like this because Yahweh is exalted in it.  From the opening lines which announce Yahweh coming, to the closing assertions about God’s faithfulness to his covenant promise Yahweh is recognized as sovereign.  He is no local or national deity here, but God of the whole world and all nations.  He is a God of justice, judgment and grace.

            Micah raises his voice against the apostate life of his contemporaries..  The transgressions of the people involved two primary aspects. Perversion of the worship practices (1,7; 3,5-7.11; 5,11-13) and injustice toward others (2,1-2.8-9; e,2-3.9-11;7,2-6) The former iniquity is a common complaint of the prophets, who rebuked religious leaders for earning their wealth at the expense of pure religious practice.  Professional prophets and priest of local shrines behaved more like merchants than servants of God.  Furthermore, the widespread practice of worshipping domestic idols revealed blatant spiritual decay.  Nude goddesses with ornate hair designs have been found  in Palestine archaeological sites dating from 2000 to 700 B.C. This lends credence to Micah’s complaint about the proliferation of Canaanite worship practices.

            The sin of abusing one’s fellow man was a target of Micah’s rebuke as well. As Israel’s society shifted to a merchant economy and the use of money replaced barter as the basis for transactions, the separation between rich and poor broadened.  Unethical merchants were able to increase their profits by using a light weight to balance the amount of a product they sold and a heavy weight to balance the gold they charged for the product.  The laws of the jubilee year and the provisions for the helpless – the poor, the widow, the orphan, the sojourner – were all but forgotten.  Because no effective system of justice was enforced, the strong were able to oppress the weak.

b)Outline of the book  ( taken from R.L.Smith,Micah-Malachi (WBC 32) pp 11-12)

                  Superscription 1,1

1. Yahweh is coming 1,2-7
2. The prophet’s lament 1,8-16
3. Woe to the wealthy wicked 2,1-5
4. Micah and the land-grabbers 2,6-11
5. A remnant to be restored 2,12-13
6. Guilty rulers 3,1-4
7. Peace prophets and Micah 3,5-8
8. Corrupt leaders and Zion’s fall 3,9-12
9. Zion’s future exaltation 4,1-5
10. Restoration and the reign of Yahweh 4,6-8
11. From distress to deliverance 4,9-10
12. From siege to victory 4,13-13
13. From helpless judge to ideal king 4,14-5,3
14. Peace by the overthrow of Assyria  5,4-5
15. The remnant among the peoples 5,6-8
16. Purge of the military and false religions 5,9-14
17. God’s lawsuit 6,1-8
18. More charges and sentences 6,9-16
19. Lament over a decadent society 7,1-6
20. A prophetic liturgy 7,7-20

This outline gives us also an idea about the leading theological ideas of the book of Micah. Usually the immediate thoughts about the book of Micah is about some of his prophecies. For example, the promise of a time of peace when nations will “beat their swords into plowshares”(Mic 4,3), the prophecy about a new ruler to come from the town of Bethlehem (5,2), and the response to the question of what the Lord requires of them (the meaning of true religion).

(for personal reflection and discussion. What is the relevance in emphasizing the glory and majesty of God)

XIV.Mic 4,1-5. the Universal reign of Yahweh” Jerusalem as the center of Salvation

Introduction

            It is a salvation oracle., a prophecy with eschatological overtones. After the oracle of judgment it comes. The implication may be that Jerusalem and the temple may be destroyed but they will be restored in a grander style than before.  Rather than being the worship center for the tribes of Israel the renewed Jerusalem will be the worship center for all people.

            The oracle begins with an announcement that in the future, Jerusalem and the temple will be exalted (v1).  All nations will make pilgrimages to Zion to learn the law of Yahweh and to walk in his ways (v2).  Universal peace among nations will result.  Instruments of war will be turned into implements of peace and an ideal age will be ushered in (v4)  v 5 seems to be a liturgical response of commitment from the congregation to Yahweh.

a)A literary problem,

            There is almost a verbatim agreement between Mic 4,1-3 and Is 2,2-4. The question is asked. Is Micah dependent on Isaiah or vice versa? Or both depending on a common source? Is it possible that both the prophets uttered this independently? Or perhaps a final editor inserted it  in both the text? It is highly probable that the last one is the possibility.

b)Structure of the text

V 1a                description of the glory of the new Zion

V 1b-2             pilgrimage of the nations to Zion

Vv 3-4             the universal peace as  a result of the establishment of

                        Yahweh’s reign

V 5                  affirmation of faith in Yahweh with the ex clusion of idolatry.

This text has resemblance in content also  to Is 60 .  Hence some authors place it as an post exilic addition, to mitigate the harsh judgment in the first chapter.. The Davidic descendent is seen as a representative of Yahweh.

c)Analysis

1.The Glory of Zion

1. Mountains as a place of meeting with God

Gen22,2: Abraham sacrificing his son Isaac

Exod 19,16: Moses receiving  the torah

I Kgs 22,43: high places where the divinity is encountered. Jerusalem is situated on a hill

1. Sargon and Sennacherib, kings of Assyria came to Jerusalem to plunder and pillage. Now here it is a reversal of what happened at Babel, Gen 11
2. In the latter days. It has an eschatological connotation

Gen 49,1: What shall befall you in the days to come. .Jacob to his sons

Num 24,14:Balaam to Balak, what this people will do…

Deut 4,30: Moses to the people, when these things will fall on you

Dan 10,14: in a vision to Daniel.

1. full establishment of monotheistic faith.

2.the pilgrimage of the nations to Zion

the goim (nations) come to Jerusalem. the glory of Jerusalem is said also in:

Zech 14,8:living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem

Ezek 47,1: river flowing from Zion at the end of days.. water from the altar

The nations are coming  to learn the ways of the Lord, in view of walking in it. It is said that from Zion the law will go out and the word of Lord from Jerusalem

In Zech 8,20-23 we read, ”people taking hold of the robe  of  a Jew, we have heard that God is with you

Is 60,5-7: Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned  to you, a Multitude  of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar, and I will glorify my glorious house. But in Is 66,23, the emphasis is different.

“From new moon to new moon and from Sabbath to Sabbath

all flesh shall come to worship before me, says the Lord.”

The nations recognize that Israel’s God is the true God They come willingly to it and no coercion is needed. It  will be their own decision to come to Zion because they know it is the right and only place to go.

3.Universal peace as a result of Yahweh’s reign

The condition for the same is that the Torah be accepted as the norm of life of all, and there be a genuine desire in heart of all for the word of the Lord. Similar ideas are expressed also in Is 11,6-9, which speaks of the wolf dwelling with the lamb; the leopard with the kid etc…and other such imageries. Here in Micah, they are

They shall beat their swords into plowshares

And their spears into pruning hooks

They will set- each under his vine

And under his fig tree with nothing to fear.

Mic 4,1-5 is one of the best known pericopes in the OT.  It looks forward to the day when the enmity that separated the nations at Babel (Gen 11) will be put aside and all peoples of the world will worship the one true God.  They will be taught Yahweh’s law and not the ways of war.  A universal reign of peace will prevail and each individual will participate in it.

4.An assured promise.

In order to show that what has been  said is sure to come,  it is added, ”because the mouth of  Yahweh has spoken” It is a concluding formula. See for similar endings Is 1,20; 40,5; 58,14; Jer 9,11.

5.Affirmation of faith in Yahweh

This verse looks strange in the context of  the universal reign of Yahweh.  Probably it goes back to a time of Yahwistic monotheism, when Yahweh was seen as the God of Israel, and all other nations having their own gods. The imagery of walking must have found a similarity in the pilgrimage, and hence it must have been added. In Is 2,5 also there is such an idea. As we have pointed out, it could also be  a liturgical response..

Conclusion

Jerusalem becomes the spiritual center of the world. The temple of Yahweh becomes the rallying point for all peoples.  The Word of  God emanates from there.. the desire for peace becomes a reality only when every one accepts God’s Word. The pilgrimage of the peoples is to learn from Jerusalem. This beautiful text speaks of a time when  all the people of the world live in peace and harmony.

      What is the relationship between realistic, earthly, achievable hopes and those that stretch our imagination beyond what humans have ever been able to accomplish?  Is world peace possible?  Hostility and greed  seem to exist as long as human being live on the planet.  Those who work to bring peace and security into this world, whether at the level of families, neighborhoods or nations, have good reason to be discouraged and even to abandon their efforts.  Are we to conti8nue to work  for goals  that we know are not  possible through purely human effort? Is Mic 4,-1-5 a call to action, a reminder of our task  and responsibility?  Or is it something for which we can only

 wait patiently until God takes steps that are possible only for God? Or it in some way combination of both doing and waiting?

      These questions are not easily  resolved.  Throughout the history of the church, faithful  people have come to different conclusions about the extent of their involvement  in efforts to improve a world that is very resistant to change.  Some have given up on this world altogether and have read texts like this one purely as the hope for the end of the world and the new age, when all that is wrong will finally be made right.

(For personal reflection and discussion: Is Micah’s prophecy a mere wishful thinking? What is the role of the church and its ministers to make this a reality)

XV.Mic 6,1-8: God’s Lawsuit, The meaning of true religion

Introduction.

            This is one of the great passages of the OT.  It, like Amos 5,24 (“But let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like an ever flowing  stream”)  and Hos 6,6 (“For I desire steadfast  love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings”)epitomizes the message of the eighth-century prophets. The passage opens with  a beautiful example of a covenant lawsuit in which the prophet summons the  people to hear the charge Yahweh has against them.  The mountains and hills are the jury because they have been around a long time and have witnessed God’s dealings with Israel.

            God reminds them of the many wonderful things he has done for them. One can almost hear a note of hurt, wonderment, and pleading in God’s opening  question 0v3) Then the people ask Yahweh what they should do.(vv 6-7) Yahweh’s answer is found in v.8. How should one please God?  It is a question humanity has asked ever since they became aware of its transcendental dimension. The  religious traditions of the world have give very many answers, sometimes even conflicting ones. Human sacrifice; animal sacrifice; cereal offerings and finally in the  prophetical tradition of Israel, a contrite heart.

a)Structure

Vv 1-5:            a law suit

Vv 6-8:            a Torah liturgy, in question answer form

                       V 6a:                question           – universal

                        Vv 6b-7:          answer             -human traditions

                        V 8:                 answer             – from Yahweh

i) Question

man’s desire to please God. There is apparently an  aspect of sincere search here. In the tradition of Israel there are two approaches to this question;

(1) traditional Judaism (Yahwism)     -burnt offerings, Lev 1,9-17

                                                            -calves and rams, Lev 9,3; 22,27

                                                            -rivers of oil

                                                            -first  born

(2) the prophetic tradition                   – a contrite heart

                                                            – Ps 116,12.13.19

                                                            – Ps 50,8-9

                                                            -Amos 5,21

                                                            -Is 1,11

ii) The answer  which God gives.

            Thee things are spoken of. Do justice(mishpat); love kindness (hesed); walk humbly before the Lord (zana)

Mishpat:Gen 18,19: the very purpose of electing Abraham that he may teach his children to do mishpat, so that the promised blessings becomes a reality

Gen 18,25: mishpat is an attribute  of God.Abraham asks God, whether the judge of the whole world will not do mishpat. In the context of Sodom and Gomorrah

Exod 15,25: At Marah, the Lord made a mishpat (a statute they have to follow)

Is 1,17: Learn to do well, seek judgement (mishpat) in mutual dealings

Jer 7,5: If you execute mishpat ( in social behaviour_)

In short Mishpat is an attitude and mode of behaviour  which God expects from man, which has to be shown primarily in mutual relationships, with a preferential love for the poor and the oppressed. It is usually translated as justice, but it is more than justice.

Hesed.In Exod20,6; 34,6-7 hesed is God’s nature

Deut 5,10; Jer 9,24; both texts speak about showing mercy  unto generations.

Mercy and forgiveness go together.

Zana:  It is a unique word which has the basic meaning of being open to correction. Hence an attitude of humility.  Only a humble person can be taught some thing. In the last  analysis, before the creator, the creature  can have only an attitude of humble submission, and that is what the prophet speaks here.

Conclusion

            The question represents one of the two basic ideas about religion. How can a man approach God? One answer is: with sacrifice, things, good works.  The other answer is reflected in v.8. God requires is not some external gifts from his worshipper, but a humble communicant who loves to serve God and practice justice towards his fellowmen

.

            The questions about sacrifice are comprehensive.  Burnt offerings represented total dedication.  Calves a year old represented the most desirable kind of sacrificial animal.  Thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of oil represented lavish sacrifice.  One’s first-born represents one’s most valuable possession.

            The implied answer to all of these questions is that none of these things is required.  Then what about whole sacrificial system and cultic worship? Sacrifices were required in the Mosaic law (Lev 1-6).  Is there no need for sacrifice? Yes, there is.  What Micah was speaking about, and Isaiah (1,ii-17), and Amos (5,21-24), and the psalmist (4,6-8; 50,7-11; 51,16-17), was that sacrifice was not wrong, but in and of itself without a proper relationship to God and neighbor , sacrifice is useless.

            God has told man what he seeks from him.  He has told him what is good: “to practice justice”, “to love kindness”; and “to walk humbly with one’s God”. So when we come before God we must remember that it is not so much what is in our hands but what is in our hearts that finds expression in our conduct  that is important. To say that God requires ultimately nothing that men can bring does not mean that men ought not to worship Him.  Worship is necessary for man, because it is the outward expression of true humility before God, of that humble trust which is essential.  It is when worship ceases to be this that it is a hindrance and not a help; so long as is the outcome of  true  and humble conscious devotion to God, it can and does strengthen those bonds which bind God and man together through Christ.  Worship is also necessary because a man should be full of praise and thankfulness to God.

(for personal reflection and discussion: the prophet highlights the essence of any religion; evaluate our life as a community in the light of this teaching)

XVI.Mic 5,1-4: the Ruler (Saviour) from Bethlehem

Introduction

            It is a salvation oracle. There has been much debate about the starting and concluding points of this pericope as well as about the unity of the passage.  4,14(5,1) should be considered as the origin of the pericope.  It describes the present predicament of the people of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is being invaded  and the present ruler  is being insulted by slap on the face.  But a new ruler will be born in Bethlehem whose heritage goes back a long time – to the beginning of David’s line or perhaps much beyond.

                                                            –

            The present evil situation will continue  until the one about to give birth  brings forth her child.  Then the rest of  his brothers will return from exile.

            This is one of the most familiar pericopes in Micah for Christians.  Mathew quoted 5,1 in reference to Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem (Mt 2,6).Also Bethlehem is associated with the Messiah in John 7,42,”Has not the scripture said that Christ is descended from David, and comes from Bethlehem?”  However, the OT text is slightly altered in Mathew’s account.  Instead of saying, ”little  to be among the clans of Judah” Matthew says, ”by no means least among the rulers of Judah”  Also Mathew omits “Ephrata” and adds, ”my people” Judah.

            This passage has been widely referred  to as “messianic”, and as similar to Isaiah’s promise of the birth of a new king in 7,14. although some scholars have questioned assigning this pericope to Micah there is no compelling reason for not doing so.  Granting that all of these periocpes might have undergone some editing, it is possible to understand Micah saying essentially the same thing as Isaiah said, namely, that the present king is weak and embarrassing. The only solution to the problem is for a new king to be born not in Jerusalem (it was too corrupt for Micah) but in Bethlehem where the line of David began.  Micah sees a new beginning for the kingdom of God which would extend through the earth.  This last thought  was probably influenced by some of the royal psalms (Pss2; 17; 72 see more psalms given below)

a) Structure

5,1:                  the actual situation

5,2                   until a time which God alone knows

5,3                   he reigns till the end

5,4                   He brings salvation

b) Problem of translation

The language of 4,14 (5,1) is difficult.  The RSV, JB and NEB follow the LXX and read “you are walled about with a wall”  It reads the Hebrew text with the root  gdr (wall) for gdd (to slash). The KJV and TEV read “gather your forces” (Ps 94,21).But the first meaning  of the Hebrew root  gdd is “to slash” The hithpolel form used here and in 1 Kgs 18,28 means “to slash oneself with knives” either pas a part of pagan worship or as mourning for the dead (Deut 14,1; Jer 16,6).  The thought here seems to be that the people of Jerusalem  had been slashing themselves like Baal worshippers, thinking that would help save them.  Zion is now suffering  attack.  Her ruler (Judge) is being treated shamefully by his enemies So Mic 4,14 (5,1) could be translated as:

“Now you are slashing yourself, O daughter  under attack”

c)Implications

i) There are three characteristics said of the savior:

• endurance – his origin is from of old
  • goodness – establishes an untroubled security for Israel
  • power

ii) there is a shift from the place to a person cfr. 2 Sam 7

iii) the understanding of a king as God’s regent on earth; his instrument of justice and protection; and the source of blessings and peace is implied here. Faith in the messianic king was a form of devotion to the reign of God

iv) The royal psalms  like Pss 2; 18; 20; 21; 45; 72; 89; 101; 110; 132 may have influenced the prophet here.

d) The Deliverance promised

Deliverance will come from the least expected place.  Bethlehem Ephrathah was the smallest, most insignificant clan of Judah.   Out of Bethlehem would come a new ruler (moshal_) one who would rule in strength , whose origins were from “old times” (qedem) and from ancient (olam) days. The ancient days could be referring to the origin of the new ruler in terms of the first Adam in the garden of Eden. The messianic hope has deep roots which go further back than the institution of kingship, though the latter gave it its dominant orientation.  Since the return of the golden age formed part of  the most ancient patrimony of Israel it is quite natural to suppose that it also included the hope of the return of man as he existed at the beginning.  Whether or not the image of primitive man was in Micha’s mind, the idea of a new David certainly was.

            The deliverer has not yet come.  Until he did Yahweh would give the people of Judah into the hands of their enemy until one about to give birth brought forth a child. That child was to be Yahweh’s ruler (5,1/5,2).

Conclusion

            The text obviously speaks about a ruler, an earthly king. he implication was that after the return from exile, God will reestablish the monarchy  in a restored capital of Jerusalem.  Up o the present time, this has not happened.  Although the city and the Temple were rebuilt, never  again  a son of David ruled in Jerusalem.

            Can a biblical text that seems obviously to be addressed to specific people in ancient times somehow be freed from its earliest historical context so that it can continue to speak a word from Gd to a world that constantly faces new challenges?  This is a  hermeneutical question. Micah may contain words that are pertinent not only to hearers in Micah’s day, but also to those facing exile in Babylon and, still later, to the followers of Jesus who search the scriptures to find passages that help them interpret who Jesus is .  Micah also speaks to us who live in a time and place far distant from the great eighth-century  B.C, prophet.  Of course  Micah was not talking to us.  We are not his first audience, but our questions are not unlike those raised by his listeners. Our sins are similar.  Our need for a word of warning and a glimmer of hope beyond the present ordeal is great.  And so we stretch the meaning of the ancient  text so that it speaks directly to us.  At times we may see more than is actually there, no doubt, more than Micah meant to say.  We need to be attentive to our tendency to read what we want the text to mean and not what the text actually says.  But the text is not limited to the vision of Micah or his editors.  The Spirit continues to work in the reading of the scripture within communities of faithful people.  New understandings of God’s will for us in our time and place are possible.  Although we see things that the original speaker never imagined, we may, in fact, be in touch with a word from God.

(for personal reflection and discussion: Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of  the expectation of peoples. History was preparing for Him)

(- for the preparation of these notes, The New Interpreter’s Bible, VII, The Word Biblical Commentary,31 and 32 and The Old Testament – A Liberation Perspective by A.R.Ceresko have been liberally utilized. It is only a help to follow the lectures, which go beyond what is said here)

 N.B.An adequate preparation  and grasp of the material would require above all familiarity with the biblical texts; a thorough knowledge of the socio-economic and political situations of each prophet; and an awareness of the contemporary society in which we are living. Hence it would mean personal reflection.  That is why towards the end of each theme, certain points are raised for personal reflection and discussion.