Prophetic Oracles of Salvation in the Old Testament

Prophetic Oracles of Salvation in the Old Testament
Author: Claus Westermann
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 1991-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664252397

Prophetic Oracles of Salvation in the Old Testament is a comprehensive and innovative assessment of these often ignored or misunderstood canonical texts. Claus Westermann shows that these oracles occur in distinct forms and make up a coherent tradition. He goes on to demonstrate that these texts, often percieved only as a message of judgement and doom, in fact proclaim hope and deliverance as well.

Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech

Basic Forms of Prophetic Speech
Author: Claus Westermann
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 1991-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664252441

The prophetic message awakens the people of God and calls them back from their perverse ways. But the history of the investigation of prophecy shows that the understanding of these messages has changed profoundly over time. Claus Westermann provides indications of the astonishing differences in the conceptions of prophecy in the history of its interpretation.

Representing Zion

Representing Zion
Author: Frederik Poulsen
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 325
Release: 2015-05-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317591445

The prophetic books of the Old Testament offer a fascinating collection of oracles, poetic images, and theological ideas. Among the most prominent themes are those of judgment and salvation, especially concerning the fate of Zion. This place, where the people of God dwell, is alternately presented as either the object of divine wrath or the image of a salvific ideal. Representing Zion provides a thorough and critical study of the images of Zion in the entire prophetic literature of the Old Testament. The book challenges traditional interpretations of Zion and offers a fresh exploration of the literary and theological nature of the biblical writings. Zion has largely been treated by scholars as an image of the inviolable city consistently and unambiguously used by Old Testament authors. Representing Zion reveals the Zion motif to be contested, complex and profoundly theological—a reflection of the ambiguous role of YHWH as judge and saviour.

Old Testament Prophecy

Old Testament Prophecy
Author: Ronald Ernest Clements
Publisher:
Total Pages: 296
Release: 1996
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Ronald Clements covers many aspect of research on the forms, structure, and theological message of the prophetic writings of the Old Testament. This book is for all who are interested in reading some of the most complelling Old Testament.

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets

Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets
Author: G MCCONVILLE
Publisher: Inter-Varsity Press
Total Pages: 1542
Release: 2020-05-21
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 178974038X

The writings of the prophets make up over a quarter of the Old Testament. But perhaps no other portion of the Old Testament is more misunderstood by readers today. For some, prophecy conjures up knotted enigmas, opaque oracles and terrifying visions of the future. For others it raises expectations of a plotted-out future to be reconstructed from disparate texts. And yet the prophets have imprinted the language of faith and imagination with some of its most sublime visions of the future - nations streaming to Zion, a lion lying with a lamb, and endlessly fruiting trees on the banks of a flowing river. We might view the prophets as stage directors for Israel's unfolding drama of redemption. Drawing inspiration from past acts in that drama and invoking fresh words from its divine author, these prophets speak a language of sinewed poetry, their words and images arresting the ear and detonating in the mind. For when Yahweh roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem, the pastures of the shepherds dry up, the crest of Carmel withers, and the prophetic word buffets those selling the needy for a pair of sandals. The Dictionary of the Old Testament: Prophets is the only reference book of its kind. Not only does it focus exclusively on the prophetic books; it also plumbs their imagery of mountains and wilderness, flora and fauna, temple and Zion. It maps and guides us through topics such as covenant and law, exile and deliverance, forgiveness and repentance, and the Day of the Lord. Here the nature of prophecy is searched out in its social, historical, literary and psychological dimensions as well as its synchronic spread of textual links and associations. And the formation of the prophetic books into their canonical collection, including the Book of the Twelve, is explored and weighed for its significance. Then too, contemporary approaches such as canonical criticism, conversation analysis, editorial/redaction criticism, feminist interpretation, literary approaches and rhetorical criticism are summed up and assayed. Even the afterlife of these great texts is explored in articles on the history of interpretation as well as on their impact in the New Testament.

Interpreting the Prophetic Word

Interpreting the Prophetic Word
Author: Willem A. VanGemeren
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2010-06-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310872782

The diversity of prophetic voices in the Bible provides a message that is rich and variegated. But the variety of the testimony can be lost by limiting one's interpretations or application of the prophetic word. Interpreting the Prophetic Word helps readers understand the harmony of the voices that reveal God's purposes in redemptive history. Dr. Willem VanGemeren explains clearly and fully the background of the prophetic tradition. He then interprets the message of the major and minor prophets, using historical context and literary form and structure as tools in his analysis. He concludes with an explanation of the relevance of the prophetic word today. Dr. VanGemeren's extensive research and scholarship is presented in a readable way to unlock the door of prophecy for readers. He helps them to interpret prophecy and invites them to listen to the prophets and to lives the prophetic word.

Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions in the Book of Revelation

Isaiah and Prophetic Traditions in the Book of Revelation
Author: Jan Fekkes
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 338
Release: 1994-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 185075456X

This work is concerned with the influence of biblical and prophetic traditions on the author of the book of Revelation, and in particular his use of the prophecies of Isaiah. First, John's own prophetic consciousness and expression is compared with previous Israelite-Jewish and early Christian prophetic conventions. This is followed by an evaluation of John's use of the OT in general, including a discussion of methodology for isolating allusions, the question of the validity of the terms quotation and allusion in Revelation, and the presence of thematic patterns in the author's choice of Scripture. All this is foundational to the main portion of the work (Ch. III), where a detailed analysis is undertaken to determine the validity of all proposed allusions to Isaiah in the book of Revelation. Of the 72 suggested allusions treated, 40 were judged as certain or virtually certain, 24 were considered as unlikely or doubtful, and 8 were appraised as probable or possible. Those allusions which were accepted received further evaluation to see how and why they were used by John, with special attention given to the tradition-history of the passage used, and the possible interpretative techniques employed. A variety of exegetical and literary devices were uncovered, including the use of catchwords, inclusio, repetition of texts, exploitation of Hebrew parallelism, and the collection of texts around a central theme. Furthermore, John's use of Isaiah is concentrated in basic areas, with clusters of Isaiah texts appearing in specific sections of Revelation. The principal Isaian themes with which he is interested are holy war and the Day of the Lord, oracles against the nations, and salvation prophecies relating to the community of faith and the restored and glorified Jerusalem. It was concluded that on the whole, John's use of Isaiah is not random, and he does not use the OT texts merely as a visionary resource for language, phrases, structural patterns etc. But he consciously carries on the prophecies of his biblical predecessors and invokes their authority. The remnants and results of John's interpretation of Isaiah presuppose exegetical activity and application prior to the vision experience and it is likely that at least some of his intended readers were familiar not only with his theological concerns, but also with his methodological approach.

Oracles of God

Oracles of God
Author: John Barton
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2023
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9780197740323

'Oracles of God' is a study of ideas about ancient prophecy current in Judaism and Christianity from the Exile to the end of the New Testament period. It examines the prophetic section of the Old Testament canon in both Hebrew and Greek traditions, the various pictures of prophets, their role and message, and looks at the various ways in which prophetic scripture were read in the period. Source material discussed includes much apocryphal and pseudepigraphical writing, documents from Qumran, the works of Philo and Josephus, the New Testament and some rabbinic literature. The book is essential reading for all students of Old and New Testament ideas about prophecy.