The Minor Prophets

E. RAY CLENDENEN

The "Minor" Prophets are so named not because of their lesser importance but because of their size. The longest, Hosea, occupies about fourteen pages in an average English Bible, whereas the "Major" Prophets range in size from twenty-four (Daniel) to ninety-seven pages (Jeremiah). Altogether the Minor Prophets are about the size of Ezekiel. In spite of having been written at different times as separate books, sometime in the development of the Hebrew canon these twelve books were all bound together on the same scroll, and in an order that has generally remained unchanged. Consequently, they came to be known in Jewish tradition perhaps more appropriately as "the Twelve." Some have argued that they exhibit an overall plot or structure. Paul House has observed that the first six books, Hosea to Micah, emphasize sin, Nahum to Zephaniah stress punishment, and Haggai to Malachi stress restoration.

As prophetic books they exhibit all the characteristics of the Major Prophets. First, they employ an elevated rhetorical style that often takes the form of poetry (Jonah is the exception, being narrative). Second, they present their messages as received directly from God. Third, they use an inventory of literary forms such as lawsuit, woe, and promise. And fourth, because of the function of the prophets as "enforcers" of God's covenant, these books call for behavioral changes on the part of the disobedient covenant people. As explained in 2 Kings 17:13 (see also Neh. 9:26,30), "The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: 'Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.'"

This focus on behavioral change explains the prophets' use of messages of indictment, instruction, judgment, and hope or salvation. Indictment messages identified Israel's sins and God's attitude toward them. Instruction told them what they must do about it; and judgment and hope messages motivated the listeners to obey by explaining the consequences of disobedience (judgment) or of repentance and faith (hope). Messages of judgment involve specific applications of the covenant curses found in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 (see, for example, Joel 1:4-20; Amos 4:6-11; Zeph. 1:13; Hag. 1:10-11). They serve, then, as reminders that sin has its consequences.

At least in some cases where judgment is announced with no explicit expression of hope, the possibility of avoiding punishment through repentance may be assumed (e.g., Jonah 3:4; Jer. 18:1-12). But even when judgment is decreed as inevitable due to Israel's continued obstinacy, the function is to motivate repentance on the part of those who survive the judgment (see Jer. 23:20). In these cases the judgment and salvation oracles combine in a special way to motivate right behavior in a "purified" remnant. Our historical perspective allows us to recognize that in some cases announcements of future judgment or salvation concerned the distant future, beyond the lifetime of the prophet's immediate audience (e.g., Joel 3:14-21; Mal. 3:1). But like the assurance of Christ's return for the Christian, this was to have a motivating effect regardless of the time it would occur (e.g., 1 Thess. 4:18; 5:6-11).

The prophets did not always motivate in terms of the future. Incentives to obedience (positive motivation) could be given in terms of (1) past blessings (e.g., Hos. 2:8; 7:15; 11:1-4; 12:10; 13:4-5; Amos 2:9-11), (2) present realities (e.g., Hos. 3:1; 14:8-9; Mal. 1:2; 2:10a), or (3) future blessings (e.g., Hos. 1:7,10-11; 2:14-23; 3:5; 6:1-3,11; 11:10-11; 13:14; 14:4-7; Joel 2:18-3:21; Amos 9:11-15; Zeph. 3:14-20; Hag. 2:6-9). Deterrents to disobedience (negative motivation) likewise could be in terms of (1) past judgment (e.g., Amos 4:6-11; Zech. 1:6), (2) present circumstances (e.g., Hos. 1:9; 4:3; 5:11-12; 6:5; 7:9; 8:7-8; 9:7; Joel 1:2-12; Hag. 1:6,9-11), or (3) future punishment (e.g., Hos. 1:4-6; 2:3-4,6,9-13; 3:4; 4:5-7; 5:2,6-7,9-10,14-15; Amos 2:13-16; 3:11-15; 5:16-23; 6:7-11; 8:7-14).

Recognizing the vital relationship between words of indictment, instruction, judgment, and hope in the prophets is an important step toward understanding their message. For many the word "prophecy" has only one associa-tion—"fulfillment." Students of the prophets often concentrate on the "good news" of prophetic fulfillment to the neglect of the rest of the prophet's message. Or in some cases the preference is for social critique. By all means fulfilled and yet-to-be fulfilled prophecy is an important and fruitful subject for study, as is also the divine displeasure with certain social and religious practices. But recognizing the nature of the prophetic books as behavioral exhortation has important implications. In such discourses the most prominent element is the behavioral change being advocated. All the other elements in the discourse must relate to it. Therefore it is a misuse of Scripture to listen to only one of the supplementary elements, such as predictive prophecy, without relating it to the central message of the book.

As written in Sirach 49:10—"May the bones of the Twelve Prophets send forth new life from where they lie, for they comforted the people of Jacob and delivered them with confident hope" (NRSV). Yet the Twelve do more than comfort God's people. Their primary goal is to make us uncomfortable with lives lived outside the will of God.

Sources for Additional Study

Chisholm, R. B., Jr. Interpreting the Minor Prophets. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.

Craigie, P. Twelve Prophets. The Daily Bible Study Series. 2 vols. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1984-85

Feinberg, C. L. The Minor Prophets. Chicago: Moody, 1980.

House, P. The University of the Twelve. Sheffield: Academic Press, 1990.

Laetsch, T. The Minor Prophets. St. Louis: Concordia, 1956.

McComiskey, T. E., ed. The Minor Prophets: An Exegetical and Expository Commentary. 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992-98.

Smith, G. V. The Prophets as Preachers: An Introduction to the Hebrew Prophets. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1994.

Smith, Ralph L. Micah-Malachi. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word, 1984.

Stuart, D. Hosea-Jonah. Word Biblical Commentary. Waco: Word, 1987.