The Tav Blog

If you are visiting this page for my summary class on the minor prophets, please know that I also have posted my class notes for Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Here are my lists of the timeline, themes, and literary devices used in the minor prophets as a whole.

Timeline

• Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah – Prior to the destruction of the Northern Kingdom (Isaiah)
• Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk – Prior to the destruction of the Southern Kingdom (Jeremiah)
• Obadiah – Near the beginning of the exile to Babylon (Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel)
• Haggai, Zechariah – early after the initial return from exile.  Ezra and Nehemiah come later.
• Malachi – last words of the Old Covenant, after Ezra, and probably after Nehemiah and Esther

Themes

1. Day of the LORD – Joel 1:15, 2:1, 11, 31, 3:14, Amos 5:18-20, Obadiah 15, Zephaniah 1:8, 14, 18, 2:2-3, Zechariah 14:1, Malachi 4:5
2. Repentance
   1. Wealthy people who don’t care – Amos 4:1-5, 6:1-8, Zephaniah 1:8-13, Haggai 1:2-6, Mal 1:5-14
   2. Oppression of the poor – Amos 2:6-7, 5:11-13, 8:4-6, Micah 2:1-2, 3:1-5, 6:11-16, Zechariah 7:9-10
   3. Idolatry – Hosea 2:13, Hosea 8, Hosea 13, Amos 2:8, Micah 1:7, Zephaniah 1:3-6,
   4. Utter Corruption – Hosea 4-5, Micah 2:6-11, 3:9-12, 7:1-6, Habakkuk 1:2-4, Zephaniah 3:1-7, Malachi 1:6-2:9,
   5. The righteous will repent, and blessing will come – Hosea 14, Joel 2:18-27, Micah 7:7-20, Haggai 1:12-13, 2:19, Zechariah 8, Malachi 3:16-18
3. Exile into Assyria – Hosea 9:7-10:6, Amos 5:27, 6:8, 9:4
4. Exile into Babylon – Micah 3:11-12, Habakkuk  1 (implied), Zephaniah 1 (implied)
5. Destruction of Assyria – Jonah (suspended), Micah 5:5-6, Nahum, Zephaniah 2:13-15,
6. Destruction of Edom – Amos 1:11-15, Obadiah 1-16, Malachi 1:2-5
7. Judgment on the Nations – Joel 3, Amos 1-2, Habakkuk, Zephaniah 2, Haggai 2:22, Zechariah 9:1-7, 14:16-19
8. The Nature of the Prophetic Office – temporary, often anonymous, few mentioned in the histories (Micah, Haggai, Zechariah)
9. Coming of the Messiah – Hosea 6:1-3, Joel 2:28-32, Amos 9:11-15, Obadiah 17-21, Micah 2:12-13, 4:1-5:4, Haggai 2:6-9, Zechariah 6:9-15, 8:20-23, 9:9, 11-13, Mal 4:2-6
10. Life post-exile

Devices

• Hosea’s life as an example of Israel’s relationship with God
• Homely Analogies: Hosea 7 – Baker, Hosea 11 – Israel as a son
• Using current providence as a warning – Joel (famine), Amos 4 (famine), Haggai (famine)
• Hebraisms – for three and for four (Amos), Eight repeats of “You should not have…” (Obadiah)
• Visions – Amos 7:1-9:10, Zechariah 1-6
• The Prophet as a Counterexample – Jonah
• Psalm-like passages: Jonah 2, Habakkuk 3,
• Asking questions: Jonah 4, Habakkuk 1-2, Haggai, Malachi
• Alliteration – Micah 1:10-16
• Recalling the Exodus, the Patriarchs