Prophet Redux

Northern prophets  Hosea 8th C  and Amos 8th C coming fall of northern kingdom variously called Israel, Ephraim, Samaria

Early prophets 8th C  Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and Micah

Pre-exilic prophets who prophesied before and during the fall of Jerusalem   Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Nahum,  Habbakuk and Zephaniah

Exilic prophets Daniel,  Jeremiah though he didn't go to Babylon, Deutero-Isaiah

Post exilic prophets   Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, Trito-Isaiah  Re-read Ezra and Nehemiah as additional context for these prophets and re-read 2 Kings for a refresher on Elijah

Prophets who prophesied about the fall of Assyria (Nineveh) in 612 B.C.    Jonah

Obadiah might be considered post-exilic and Joel lacks sufficient information to be placed


Assyrian power  800s B.C.
Fall of Samaria at hands of the Assyrians  722 B.C.
Assyria falls, Nineveh  612 B.C.
Babylonions  700s B.C.
Rise of Babylonians 600s B.C.
Fall of Jerusalem 597 B.C.
Final Sacking of Jerusalem 587 B.C.

Micah

Book Written:  ?

Time Period/Setting:  The reigns of three kings of Judah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, roughly the years 742 BC to 687 BC.  At this time, Assyria was the enemy of the southern kingdom.

Author: Micah means 'who is like the Lord.'  One of the four 8th century BC prophets along with Isaiah, Amos and Hosea.  Micah is a contemporary of Isaiah.

Amos

Book Written: Both Baker and HC say that Amos is the oldest of the books of the prophets though they give no exact dates.  Baker adds that Amos is the first prophet to have a book named after him.

Time Period/Setting:  The reign of Jeroboam II, 786 BC - 746 BC, the northern kingdom at Bethel.  Amos and Hosea are contemporaries.

Author:  Amos is a shepherd, not prophet by trade.  He hails from the southern kingdom but prophesies in the northern.  Along with Isaiah, Hosea and Micah, Amos is one of the four 8th century BC prophets.

Amos is the social justice prophet, speaking as much from his own experience as a laborer as opposed to any formal training in the matter of prophesy.  Per Baker, Amos is the first to introduce the "day of the Lord" although the notion more the theme of Joel than Amos

Hosea

Book Written: 

Time Period/Setting:  The northern Kingdom of Israel, called Ephraim in this book, during the reign of Jeroboam II, 786 BC-746 BC.  Hosea was active toward the end of Jeroboam's reign and, according to HC, continued to prophesy until the reign of King Hoshea right before the fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria in 722 BC.

Title:  The prophet's name, a shortened form of Hoshaiah meaning 'Yahweh has saved' in Hebrew.  Hosea is one of the four 8th century BC prophets along with Isaiah, Amos and Micah.

Hosea marries (is told by the Lord to marry) Gomer who turns out to be an adulteress or a "whoring bride."  He rejects her, but then takes her back.  Baker sees the marriage motif as key to understanding this book.  He explains it this way:  .." under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he [Hosea] sees that his experience with Gomer is a symbol or replica of the relationship between Israel (Gomer) and the Lord God (Hosea)."   Using marriage to explain Israel's/bride's relation to the Lord/bridegroom is introduced by Hosea and then employed by other prophets (Ezekiel) and also by St. Paul in the NT.

During Hosea's time, Israel has two main sinful flaws.  One is turning to foreign powers for help in fending off the ravages of Assyria and the other is worshipping foreign gods, Baal most notably.

Hosea and Amos are contemporaries, both prophets of doom. 

Isaiah

Isaiah contains oracles or prophecies given over a span of time and by different authors.  There are three sections to the book.  The book was perhaps not completed until 200 BC.  Isaiah is one of the four 8th century BC prophets along with Amos, Hosea and Micah.

Chapters 1-39 correspond to the reigns in Judah of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah so roughly 780s B.C. to 680s B.C.  I like the way HC further breaks this up:  the Syro-Ephraimite war when Syria and Israel attached Judah (735-732 BC), anti-Assyrian activity against Sargon II (720-710 BC and Hezekiah's revolt against Sennacherib (705-701 BC).   I'm a bit fuzzy about authorship here.  Is it Isaiah of Jerusalem who wrote these chapters as Baker says.  Or, is it just a rehashing from 2 Kings along with the writings of some others as HC says?  Or, as Baker says later, Isaiah didn't write any of it, but it was his disciples who collected his prophecies and wrote them down.  In these chapters, Isaiah emphasizes the power of God, the holiness of God and the importance of reliance upon God rather than worldly help. 

Chapters 40-55 correspond to the Babylonian exile and so the 500s BC.  Here authorship is ascribed to a Deutero-Isaiah who harkens back to what the first Isaiah said (God is the holy of holies, Lord of hosts, the Holy One of Israel), but this prophet is offering reassurance to the Hebrews that their exile will end and they will return to an even more glorious Jerusalem. In this section there's considerable condemnation of idols as well as the comparison of the weakness of idols to the power of the Lord and also a satire of idols (Ch 44).  In Ch 46, idols are burdens to be carried while in contrast the Lord carries us. 

Chapters 56-66 correspond to the return from Babylon.  Here, perhaps yet a third Isaiah, talks about the difficulties the Hebrews encounter once they are back in the homeland and he prophesizes about the punishment of those who are enemies of the Hebrews and the defeat they will suffer at God's hands.

Many familiar passages of course come from Isaiah:  beating swords into plowshare, the Sanctus, the call of Isaiah, the phrases repeated in Handel's Messiah (Chapters 9,10), the Lord's threat to Sennacherib (Ch 37), a voice crying out (Ch 40), running without wearying (Ch 40), the remnant and many others. 

And Isaiah is the Old Testament book most frequently-quoted in the New Testament after Psalms.

There's much more here but I must move on to the prophet Jeremiah.  Perhaps the one prophet will provide further insights to the other.