This is an excellent overview to the book of Zephaniah. House includes an introduction of genre criticism and genre theory and then applies them both to the text of Zephaniah. He examines the structure, plot, point of view, and characterization of this Old Testament book. House concludes by pointing out the drama inherent within the text, and translates and summarizes the plot points. Included are a detailed table of contents, bibliography and indexes to guide the reader through the text.

The author begins this guide with an introduction and explains that he presents these three prophetic books in what he believes to be their chronological sequence rather than canonical order. Part One examines the book of Zephaniah by describing the contents, portraying Zephaniah the person, explaining the historical background and criticisms, and illustrating the message of Zephaniah. Part Two is devoted to the book of Habakkuk, listing the contents, explaining the history of criticism of the book, illuminating the details of the prophet and his times, and analyzing the theology and function of the book. Part Three is a treatment of the book of Joel. Mason here presents the contents of the book of Joel, then discusses the various possible meanings of the plague of locusts which is such a prominent feature of Joel. He then looks at the questions of the unity and the dating of the book, and its parallels with other Old Testament materials.

How can God, who is holy and just, use evil men to fulfil his purposes in the world? This question is the main topic of the prophecy of Habakkuk. The book is therefore unusual in that it deals with the prophet’s challenge to God rather than God’s challenge to his people. The challenge to understand the heart of the original Scriptures, in order to put the original text into a new language, was the impetus for the United Bible Societies to create handbooks for Bible translators working on this very thing. The United Bible Societies' Handbook Series is a comprehensive verse-by-verse guide to understanding exactly what is being communicated by the author in the original Scriptures.

The Book of the Twelve Prophets is a multifaceted literary composition that functions simultaneously in all Jewish and Christian versions of the Bible as a single prophetic book and as a collection of twelve individual prophetic books. Each of the twelve individual books—Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi—begins with its own narrative introduction that identifies the prophet and provides details concerning the historical setting and literary characteristics. In this manner each book is clearly distinguished from the others within the overall framework of the Twelve.

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.