The prophetic books of the Bible contain some of the most difficult passages in the entire Old Testament and can prove especially confusing for those new to this corpus. Handbook on the Prophets offers a thorough and insightful introduction for the beginning student of the Old Testament prophetic literature. Robert Chisholm guides students through the important and often complex writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the Minor Prophets.

Mason here provides a valuable basic orientation to the modern reading of these short and often difficult minor prophets. By carefully surveying and evaluating the historical-critical options that have been proposed during the last century, he outlines the message of these books within a post-exilic, canonical context. Although scholars hold diverging assumptions about the authorship of Micah, Mason asserts that the book must be read as a coherent whole. Mason views the work as a post-exilic tract which re-interprets the prophet’s message in the light of the situation after the exile. For Nahum and Obadiah, whose apparent theology of hate for foreigners has limited their interpretive appeal, the argument that the books were designed to function as part the Book of the Twelve—the singular book of prophets from Amos through Jonah referred to as the “Twelve Prophets” in the Wisdom of Ben Sirach—must be taken seriously.

Prophetic symbolism is one of the key topics of this volume. On Isaiah, John F.A. Sawyer finds radical images of Yahweh, Kenneth T. Aitken looks at the metamorphosis of the key motif of hearing, seeing and understanding, Michael L. Barre examines lions and birds in 31:4—5, and Marvin A. Sweeney re-examines vmes(tm)s in 8:6. The imagery of Ezekiel is explored by Leslie C. Allen (the "Death Valley" vision) and M. G. Swanepoel (Ezekiel 16 and female images of Israel), and Alan Cooper and Athalya Brenner write on the book of Jonah. Two essays of more general scope deal with the search for unity in Isaiah (David Carr) and the redactional shape of Nahum 1 (James Nogalski). An attractive and stimulating volume which reflects the liveliness of current research on the prophetic literature.

This volume focuses on the book of Nahum, examining not only the issues and context but also the narrative voice and how it differs from the other prophet books in the Old Testament. Lanner studies the book as a whole, looking at the setting, cultural issues, and purpose of the text. In the latter half of the book, she presents her findings on identity and gender. "Who Will Lament Her?" The Feminine and the Fantastic in the Book of Nahum is an important study on this particular minor prophet. Product Details Title: "Who Will Lament Her?" The Feminine and the Fantastic in the Book of Nahum Author: Laurel Lanner Series: Studies on the Prophets Publisher: T&T Clark International Publication Date: 2006 Pages: 281 About Laurel Lanner Laurel Lanner teaches theology at the University of Botswana.

In this volume Floyd presents a complete form-critical analysis of the last six books in the Minor Prophets: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. By looking carefully at the literary genre and internal structure of each book, Floyd uncovers the literary conventions that help shape the composition of these prophetic books in their final form. His approach yields fresh views of how the parts of each book fit together to make up the whole — particularly with respect to Nahum, Haggai, and Malachi — and provides a basis for reconsidering how each book is historically related to the time of the prophet for whom it is named. This work will be useful to scholars because it advances the discussion regarding the holistic reading of prophetic books, and useful to pastors and students because it shows how analysis of literary form can lead to a more profound understanding of the messages of the Minor Prophets.