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Home , Ecclesiastes, Prophetic books

I. a. The book reflects a of despair in which the promises of the covenant seem far distant i. Even in this time of despair, the poet discovers the rich found in other literature. ii. The problem of finiteness and no guarantees. iii. The only hope of enduring is ultimately to fear God and obey His commandments. b. Ecclesiastes comes from the Latin and Greek translations of the book. It translates the Hebrew Qohelet (a term that occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew except in this book). i. Refers to one who leads the assembly. ii. Preacher is probably not a good translation but Teacher may be acceptable. c. Authorship i. The Hebrew of the book is unlike any other in the Hebrew canon. ii. Aramaic influences? iii. Many scholars date the book to the third century B.C. (late) iv. Recent scholarship has shown that the grammar and syntax is more indicative of a pre-exilic date. v. The title is clearly meant to remind the reader of but the book nowhere claims that Solomon is the author. vi. There is some connection with Solomon but how much remains a question. Later editing? d. The purpose of the book: Abelness – Life without God at the center is meaningless – all else is temporary. Abel was cut down when he pleased God while Cain survived and prospered. Possible meaning for the word often translated as “vanity.” First postulated by French scholar Jacques Chopineau: “Une image de l’homme: sur Ecclesiaste 1/2". e. Overview i. The book contains a number of literary types and is a collection in the same way that Proverbs and are collections ii. It focuses on our preoccupation with material and temporal things and the fact that these things are meaningless. iii. When all of this is stripped away, the teacher says that all we have left is to fear God and enjoy life. f. Title and Theme (1:1-11) i. Vanity of vanities – superlative in Hebrew (king of kings and ) = everything is utterly meaningless. ii. The more humans themselves on their achievements, the more things stay the same. There is nothing new under the sun. g. Wisdom Reflections 1:12-4:16 i. Assuming the wealth of a great king as the example (Solomon?), the book illustrates how even the accomplishments of a great king were disappointing: 1. Wisdom (1:13-18; 2:12-16) 2. Pleasure (2:1-3) 3. Building projects and riches (2:4-11) 4. All are a “chasing after the wind” 5. The best a mortal can do is eat drink and be satisfied in our work. a. But even this is a gift of God and not our own (2:24- 25) ii. The catalog of (3:1-15) = time and seasons are set by God. We can do nothing to change these. 1. We should enjoy life and work (v. 13) 2. We need to understand the everything He has done is meant to lead us to Him (v. 14). iii. The prospect of death is undeniable – something we share with the animals (3:19-20) and our only consolation is the enjoyment of our labor. iv. Ultimately, the teacher considers all the oppression under the sun and despairs of hope. He considers those who have died already to be better off and those who have not been born better off still (4:2- 3). Everything is meaningless and chasing after the wind. Why? See h.,v. below. h. Admonitions and Observations (5:1-12:8) i. Religion and wealth fail to add meaning to life (5:1-17) ii. Thus, one should eat drink and be satisfied with the few days God has given. (5:18) This emerges solidly as the Teacher’s philosophy of life. iii. The future holds no guarantees and it is useless to hope for better. iv. The stillborn child is better off than one who lives a life of disappointment (6:3-6) v. The day of death is better than the day of birth! (7:1) Why? vi. Wisdom is useful for the one that has it but righteousness does not save (7:5-14) The Teacher has witnessed the opposite of the retribution principle (7:15). vii. Human power is arbitrary so those who serve in court must learn to live with abuses of power (8:2-8) viii. 8:9-9:10 – All share a common destiny whether they are righteous or not = death. ix. 9:11-12:8 – There is no certainty or fairness to life wisdom, strength, swiftness – there are no guarantees of victory. 1. The teacher calls the student to action though, despite the lack of guarantees 2. Questions may go unanswered but we are still told to “cast your bread upon the waters,” (Enjoy work and prepare as much as you can) 3. 12:1-8 is a poem on old age. Youth is wonderful but “trouble” will come. All of us must return to the dust from which we came (Gen. 3:19) i. Conclusion 12:9-14 i. The whole of humanity is dependent on God. ii. The conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep His commandments (12:13) iii. We are placed here to live in relationship with God regardless of our circumstances. If we miss this, we miss meaning. iv. Hebrew of 12:13 = “for this is the whole of human kind” = To obey God is what it means to be truly human and to fulfill what we were created to be. j. Theology i. Genuine faith in God is never afraid to bring rising doubt into the revelation of God. ii. Ecclesiastes is evidence that our faith welcomes closer scrutiny iii. It acknowledges that sometimes, the circumstances of life make faith difficult but that grappling with questions can lead to a deeper faith. iv. The book balances the wisdom view of life: there are certain principles of life that should be followed that will often lead to a life of abundant blessing. But when bad things happen to good people, do we abandon our faith? v. Qohelet teaches that life without faith in God is truly meaningless and the role we have to play is to enjoy what God has given and continue to trust in Him. Introduction to the Prophets

According to the terminology of the , the Former Prophets include four books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Although these books deal with the history of Israel, they were composed from a prophetic viewpoint and possibly even the authors themselves may have been prophets by profession. The traditional are classified in the Hebrew Bible as the Latter Prophets. These are subdivided into the Major Prophets (, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel), and the , whose writings could all be included in one large scroll.

Nature of Hebrew Prophecy

By way of general definition, a prophecy is an oral or written disclosure in words through a human being transmitting the revelation of God and setting forth His will to man. A great portion of the constitutes prophecy; but in the narrower sense the term is confined to the discourses of those specially chosen and anointed men who occupied the prophetic office.

Even among these men, however, there was a considerable number whose utterances were never preserved in written form, although their messages are indirectly alluded to in the various . Such was the case with men like Nathan and Gad of ’s generation, and

1 in the later period Shemaiah, Ahijah, , Micaiah, Elisha, Oded, and many others. These are known as the oral prophets, since their messages were transmitted only by word of mouth. In most cases their manifestos were addressed largely to contemporary crises in the life of Israel and did not have a permanent significance for coming generations. But where a revelation of God contained information relevant to the succeeding ages, the Holy Spirit inspired the authors to commit their messages to writing. These, then, are the documents which have been preserved to us as the Major and Minor Prophets.

Nature of the Prophetic Office

The responsibility of the Old Testament prophets was not principally to predict the future in the modern sense of the word prophesy, but rather to tell forth the will of God which He had communicated by revelation.

A term often applied to the earlier prophets particularly was the man of God (ʾɩ̂šš Elōh m˓Elōhɩ̂mɩ̂š ). This title implied that the prophet must be a man who belonged first and foremost to God, was wholly devoted to His cause, and enjoyed His personal fellowship. Therefore, he could be trusted to transmit God’s word, because he spoke only as God enlightened him and guided him to speak.

In the earliest period, the prophetic function was assigned to the Levitical priests, who were charged with the responsibility of teaching the implications of the Mosaic law for daily conduct in the practical

2 issues of life. But even the envisioned the possibility of a special class of prophets distinct from the priests and playing a role analogous to that of Moses (cf. Deut. 18—a passage which not only predicts the Messianic Prophet but also establishes the prophetic order as such). As the priesthood became increasingly a profession in attitude but lax in practice (as for example Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli), a new teaching order arose to maintain the integrity of the covenant relationship in the heart of Israel. Some of these prophets came from the priestly tribe of Levi, such as Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but the majority came from the other tribes.

Function of Hebrew Prophecy

Four principal elements may be defined in the ministry of the Old Testament prophets.

1. The prophet had the responsibility of encouraging God’s people to trust only in ’s mercy and redemptive power, rather than in their own merits or strength, or in the might of human allies. Just as Moses admonished the Israelites to trust God for the impossible at crisis times when they faced the menaces of the Egyptians or Canaanites, so the great eighth-century prophets exhorted their countrymen to put their whole dependence upon the delivering power of the Lord rather than upon the assistance of human allies such as Assyria or Egypt.

3 2. The prophet was responsible to remind his people that safety and blessedness were conditioned upon their faithful adherence to the covenant, and that this adherence involved not only doctrinal conviction, but also a sincere submission of their will to obey God with their whole heart and to lead a godly life. Apart from such submission, no amount of sacrifice or ritualistic worship could satisfy the Lord.

3. The prophet was to encourage Israel in respect to the future. All too often, the efforts at revival sponsored by godly kings or promoted by the prophets on their own initiative, succeeded in reaching only a small percentage of the population. The controlling majority of the nation would remain hardened in disobedience. Such intransigence could only mean an eventual incurring of divine wrath according to the warnings of Lev. 26 and Deut. 28, until the covenant nation would be finally expelled from the land of promise. The question naturally arose, would these divine judgments bring Israel to an end as a holy nation set apart to witness to the heathen of the one true God? God’s answer through His prophets was that after devastation and exile would come the restoration of the believing remnant of Israel to the land. The nation would yet fulfill its destiny as a testimony to the Gentiles under the leadership of the coming Messiah.

4. Hebrew prophecy was to seal the authoritativeness of God’s message by the objective verification of fulfilled prophecy. Thus in Deuteronomy 18 the test of a true prophet was stated to be the fulfillment of what he

4 predicted. Sometimes the fulfillment would come in a relatively short time. On other occasions the fulfillment was so far in the future as to be beyond the experience of the generation living at the time the prophecy was given. This knowledge was to come to observers after the predicted judgments actually befell the threatened offenders. It was recognized by all that such fulfillment of predictive prophecy would provide objective evidence incapable of any other explanation than that He who imparted the prediction was the same Lord of history who would bring its fulfillment to pass.

5 Prophecy: Both foretelling and forth-telling with the goal of bringing about change in the target audience. Can also serve as an explanatory text to help the people

understand why judgment has come.

Eschatology: Apocalyptic Any literature Literature: focusing on the end times. Symbolic, requir- ing divine inter- pretation. Pre-Exilic Pro ph et s Exilic Prophets Post -Exili c Prophets -

Prophet Obadiah Joel Amos Hosea Jonah Micah Isaiah Nahum Zei:1haniah Habakkuk Jeremiah Daniel Ezekiel Haggai Zechariah Date' Not sure Not sure 760 765-725 760 735-700 739-700 640-620 640-609 608-605 627-580 605 593 520 520-480 432-425

Recipient" Edomites Israel Israel Israel Assyrians Judah Judah Judah Judah Judah Judah Jewish exiles Jewish exiles Post exilic Post exllic Jews Post exilic in Babylon in Babylon Jews Jews

Southern / N/A Northern Northern Northern Nineveh Sou th ern Southern Southern Sout hern Southern Southern Exiles from Exiles from Jerusalem Jerusa lem Nort hern the Southern the Kingdom Kingdom Southern Kingdom

During the Not Not Zechariah, Shallum, Jeroboam Jotham, Amaziah, No specific Josiah Jo siah Josiah, Jehoiakim , Zedekiah Darius the Darius the Not reigns of " ment ioned mentioned Shallum, Menahem, II Hezekiah, King Jehoahaz, Jeho iachin, (King of Great Great (Persia) ment ioned Menahem Pekahiah , Jotham, mentioned Jehoiakim, Zedekiah Judah); (Persia) Pekah, Ahaz (kings . Possibly Jehoiachin, (Kings of Nebuchadne Zerubbabel Hoshea of Judah Manasseh Zedekiah Judah). zzar (governor) (Kings of Nebuchadnez (King of Joshua (high Judah zar and Babylon) priest) Belshazzar (Ki ngs of Babylon) Darius the Mede Cyrus (King of Persia) Purpose/ 's To warn an In eight Hosea was Jonah Repent or Messages Nahum Central theme The theme Declaration The theme of The fate of The theme Zechariah was M al achi ThemeI destruction; insensitive decrees of written to clearly judgment of criticism spoke of is that of of this of certain Daniel is Judah ' s Is the written to wrote to answer the V Israel's nation of judgment. show the reveals will come. and the coming judgment or prophecy judgment of God's enemies and completion encouragethe restoration. God's day Amos gives stead fast that the The theme consolatio ruin of the coming of flows out of God against sovereign the of the returned questions of Because of of words to or unfailing God of the of n. God's Nineveh, the Day of the Habakkuk's Judah. God power as the apocalyptic Temple and remnant to the priests their cruelty judgment. the of Hebrews judgment judgment which was Lord. confusion promisesto one true God, vision of encouraging complete their and people, toward Joel uses adjacent God for has is on the sins a comfort Zephaniah over the establish a who judges Judah ' s the work in to reveal and Judah. a recent countries Israel. The concern prominent of Judah to the divides into coming new and destroys future . The rebuilding of rebuilding the rebuke them drought before theme of for the in each of and the people of three sections: invasion of covenant the rebellious theme of the Temple. Temple. The for their sins, and locust landing on Hosea is a whole Micah's nearby Judah. retribution or the wicked with His world powers Ezek iel' s Haggai prophet also their plague that Israel. He strong world and three natio ns Nahum's judgment for Babylonians. people. Two and will prophecy is wrote to showed that backsliding, strikes lists the testimony is messages, and the theme is sin, a call for It concerns themes are faithfu lly that the fall encourage God was at and poor Judah sins of against the sovereign but he w orld, the fall of repenta nce, the prominen t; deliver His of Jerusalem t he returned work in the attitudes. But without Israel and Northern over also fol Nineveh as and a promise problems of warnings of covenant and the remnant to world restoring he also wrote warningas calls for Kingdom na ture and stressed lowed the of future his faith In God's people Babyloni an rebuild the Israel to the i r to encourage a lesson to repentance because it all human the truth bythe ret ribution redemption or the face of judgment according to captivity are Temple in spiritual them by of future ' Prophet Obadiah Joel Amos Hosea Jonah Micah Isaiah Nahum Zei;ihaniah Habakkuk Jeremiah Daniel Ezekiel Haggai Zechariah Malachi l warn of a . God will had been affairs. restoration salvation of God blessing. The two against sin their necessary Jerusalem. inheritance in ending on a future judge the unfait hful God's . Furt her, and against the coming Day of appare nt and the steadfast measures In the preparat ion for note of hope invasion of sins of to its salvation Micah restoration wicked the Lord is a diffi culti es; message of faith in Him. for the God process of t he coming through the Israel. Israel and covenant extends to referred to . Trust Assyrians time of Why did God hope and Daniel was of grace to this he Messiah. He coming of the Judah. agreement all who the God. The of awesome permit the restoration written to employ if taught God relates it to the Lord' s Amos with the repent and principle of basic Nineveh. judgment increasing if the nation encourage He is to blesses His coming messenger warned Lord. turn to the theme of This came followed by evil in Judah wou ld the exiled correct His people when Messiah in a who would that God Him. remnant in Isaiah's about one great blessing. to go on, genuinely Jew s by disobedient they put Him series of clear the way would each of his message is hundred Judah stood how could a repent. revealing people and first, that we visions and for Messiah. come to three that and fifty condemned, Holy God God's draw them should not messianic judge the messages. salvation is years after but God wil l use sinful sovereign back from grow weary prophecies. nations In spite of bestowed Jonah restore the nations like plan for complete in the that had divine only by preached futur e Babylon as Israel during and service of rebelled retribution grace, by in Nineveh. remnant. His source and after the permanent the Lord, against His against the the power of judgment. period of apostasy. and God' s authority. corruption of God, the Habakkuk domination But the day promises for Israel in of Israel Redeemer , praises the by the iscoming tomorrow particular and Judah. rat her than Lord after Gentiles. when become the would be God's by the gaining a Jehovah will foundaiton punished covenant strength of better restore a for hope and for her with them man or the perspective repentant confidence violations would be good on His remnant of for today. against fulfilled in works of power and His people. God' s the the flesh . purposes. covenant. M essiah 's The holy future God will kingdom. not permit unholiness in His covenant people. Key PhraseV Judgment Day of the Judgment God's Love Revival in Judgment Salvation Is Judgment Day of the live By Faith Judah's Last God's Future Reconstructi Prepare for the Appea l to of Edom Lord of Israel for Israel Nineveh and of the Lord of Nineveh Lord Hour Program for Restoration on of the Messiah Backsliders Restoratio Israel Temple n of Jud ah Key Brot her's Locusts Plumb line Harlot Great Fish Day In Groan- Flood Day of the Watchtower Rotten Sash Dreams Dry Bones Templ e Messiah Hearts of Word(s}" Keeper Court Glory Lord Stone I Prophet Obadiah Joel Amos Hosea Jonah Micah Isaiah Nahum Ze12haniah Habakkuk Jeremiah Dan ie l Ezekiel Haggai Zechariah Malachi

TheProphet Day of NearnessObadiah NearnessJoel JudAmosgment HoseaRestoratio Jonah MicahRestoratio IsaiahJudgment Nahum Ze12hNearness aniah of Habakkuk JeremiahJudgment of Daniel EzekieJud gmentl of Haggai ZechariahJudgment of RestoMalachrationi of the Lor•d " and and of the Day n of the n of the of the Day the Day of the the Day of the Day of the Day of the the Day of the as this was, could the people sentencing consuming prophet. He message on lying on his silence. Judgment of Judgme nt of the Day of the Day of the of the Lord Lord• 1:14; the Lord • the Lord· Lord -14:1 Lord• 4:5 it wi ll be present a of Judge. As fire. carried a the wall. side; not the Day of of the Day Lord; An Lord - Lord• 4.6- · 2:12; 1:7, 14 46:10 13:5; 30:3; nothing striking Nineveh. a Witness yoke around Refusal to being the Lord - of the Lord when invasionof pic2:18-23ture of aga8 inst His 13:6, 9 his neck to worship a allowed to 15; also compa• 1:15;red an army in the painin people. Restoratio show those pagan king. talk; speaks of to3 :the14; Dayalso the future God's n - 14:1 in Judah that Prophecies in climbing restorat ion ofspeaks the of during the heart they would this book are through a Lord.restoration "Day of the because of be also hole in a - 2:28-32 Lord." the submitting connected to wall; eating 5:18, 20 harlotries to the the end paper. The 15-21 2:28-32 9:1-10 committed11:1 2:10 5:2 52:13- 1:2-8 3:9-20 3:13, 18 Baby23:1-8lonians. times.2:34, 35, 44 17:22-24 2:23 3:1,2; 3:8, 3:1-5 M essiah" '' Sees the The Clearest byApplies people to Messiah Prophecies 53:12 Speak s of Although the When the The Messiah The M essiah Depicts the The 6:12, 13; 11:4- Predicts the of Israel. Messiah as Messiah hope of the likened about the Speaks of the d ivine M essiah is Messiah is clearly is the great M essiah as Messiah is 13; 12:10; 13:7 coming of the Sin' Hard Rebellion Social sins Spiritua l Cruelty; Pride Idolatry Brutal Idolatry, Wickedness, Idolatry Idolatry Social sins, Wrong Insignificant Priest ly laxity, the Judge of promised the M essiah in Himself to birthplace the saving attributes not specifically comes seen as the stone who a tender portrayed in The M essi ah messenger hearts against the that were unfaithfuln paganism oppression cruelty; people's indifference the sin of priorities, efforts; lack of neglect of the the nations, His Messiah. Egypt Jonah in of the work of are mentioned in again the coming will crush the twig who the person is shown in His who cleared toward covenant against the ess , bribery pride; evil hearts turned to the law, idolatry; discouragem faith tithes, and the Savior disciples He has when He the New Messiah the consistent this book, it is earth will be Shepherd kingdoms of will become of two arrivals as the way for their own with God. laws of among the away from injustice. desecrating ent, intermarriage of Israel that He authority wasa Testament. seven Messiah wi th the clear He fulfi filled with and the world. a Zerubbabel. Servant and the Messiah kin and God. judges, God. the Sabbath hypocriticaI with foreign and would to rule and child. For Jonah hundred Messiah's lls the great His Righteous The coming st ately He becomes King, Man and in His first unrelenting Social prophets, worship and women. Possessor send the judge, but Hosea's was three years work as prom ises. He knowledge Branch. Messiah who cedar. the center of God. He is coming. Also anger injustice, and lack of faith of the Holy Spirit He will redemption days and before His judge of will gather His and glory. will becutoff. Messiah Is the anticipated as jumps ahead materialis priests, Kingd om. after He also of his wife nights in birth. Also the nations people and theKing messianic the Angel of in time to m and and ascended restore Gomer, the belly of speaks of and His reign in who has the tine and Is the Lord; the predict immorality cheating, to the His peop represents the great the second victory. right to rule. like a signet righteous Chr pride, and Father. le. the fish; so righteous advent. And He is ring, sealing Branch, the ist's violence This was Messiah's was the reign of the true both King-Priest, the second Example of 28:38- 28:49- 28:38- 28:41- 28:52- fallen 28:49-68- 28:26- 28:15- Daily 28:25- 28:38 - spoken by 28:30- absolu te Son of Christ over Shepherd branches cornerston,e com a locusts will not distant locusts captivity fort resses distant carcasses - life fails defeat locus ts the love for us. Man, three the whole who will (1:6)together. The Good ing. Deuteronomy (1:4) have invaders (6:15) (5:13) (1:15-16) invaders (7:33) (9:11) (23:46) 28 Violat ion prophet God is days and earth. (1:6) 28:41- deliver and Shepherd . what you (8:1) Joel. faithfu l. three captivity feed His The built nights in (2:14) flock. comingJudge {5:11) . the earth. 28:21- and Righteou s pestlience King. Unique Edom's role Speaks Refers to The Jonah was God is God will This "The great day This book (24:Use10)d Includ es Use of Spoke to In speaking Rebuke of Applicationfeature of Wein the shouldir Godabout may a NoIsrael matter as Godcommand is in God'sswallowed plan Beinportrayed the Godnot allow keeps Ourprophecy work Godof the does Lord." not Manycontains times the Wemetaphors must Wemany should Desparablesire a and Ourpost focus exllic Salvationthrough can Wethe shouldpeople of the beattitu willing de to useswarm natural of what"ripe our pursuitfor a man of ofby a great rightas the Hissin to go iswas to carry likePortrays our s ian. itseeds is not of the obeyand and standmiraculous for closenesssymbolic shouldJews and be on beZechariah, obtained the by obeyIsrae thel for Prophet or helptoward others occurrenlocusts ce losummert in life, usof withGod Histo redefish. Godmpt relationshiprosecuting promscot-free.ises. thespoken to Sintime will of be obviousGospel ofas followsymbolism God, whatepisodes we with andbehavior for Godtold' thems to all.Lord identi fies commandstheir shallow of Prophecy "' inJacob' ti mes s of sthat to draswewpt Godfruit." can faithfulmarry a ioworked n is fora patt with orney God , Isaiah messageJudah of addretrouble ssed and toJesus what Ch Godrist. evento drive when it knowDaniel. is right. encounterhis priorities,focus on Himself as the Godworship, which need.offspring. usthrough closer to useIsrae you.l was love.prostitute. allmiracle to anthed do portrays God'sabout distress, is2:4 doing.. Whi chWe ishome difficult. his WeInc ludinshouldg withGod.proph ecies ; andtheir not our One who will pleapracticesseshim.. 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GodAfter always this not seek to needand ruined to God's Hosea, his life so required.the coming toGood those news gloominess, GodPau lIs quotes doing Jeremiah is God,the lion's even den if allowtablet God; acted willWho bless is God us knowprophecys what help them. havethe crops. trust Judgme nt. through his he could prosecution judgment whofor Judah. are trumpet and whatin Rom is bestans known as weand have reading to go doutirect his our for this. ourcame true But as bad own life, preach to and the as a alarm. 1:17 the weep ing God's messages; 400 Nahum Ze1:1haniah Jeremiah Daniel Ezekiel Haggai 2echariah Prophet Obadiah Joel Hosea Jonah Micah Isaiah Habakkuk Malachi l in God. surely for His thr ough lives. intentions doomed children. diffi cult are. unless they situations. turn to God in repentanc e and faith.

1 Gary Smith, An Introduct ion to the H ebrew Prophets. The Prop hets as Preachers , pp. 47-337. 11 Dr. Stephen J. Bramer, Class notes on Obadiah, Joel, Amos, Hosea, Jonah, Micah, Isaiah, Nahum, Zeph aniah. Habakkuk, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi , unpublished class notes for BE104 (Dallas Theological Seminary, Fall 2011). iii Gary Smith, An Introduction to the Hebr ew Prophets. The Prop hets as Preachers , pp. 47-337. tv Earl Radmacher, New Illu strated Bible Commentary pp 803- 1128. v Earl Radmacher, New Illustr ated Bible Comment ary , pp 803-1128. vi Bruce Wilkinson, Walk Through T he Old Testament , pp. 48-49. vii Jeff M iller , "The Day of the Lord," Bible.erg, http:// bible . o r g/ art i cle/ d ay-lord (accessed November 11, 2011). viii Paul David Dunn, The Poss ibility Thinker s Bib l e pp 772-11 06 1 ' Dr. Stephen J. Bramer, C l ass notes on Obadiah, Joel, Amos. Hosea, Jonah, Micah. Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk. Jer emiah, Daniel, Ezek i e l . H aggai, Zechariah and Malachi , unpublished class notes for BE104 (Dallas Theological Sem inary, Fall 2011). 'Dr. Stephen J. Bramer, Class notes on Obadiah, Joel, Amos. Hosea. Jonah, Micah. Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, Jer emia h, Daniel, Eze ki e l, Hagga i . Z e ch a riah and Ma l achi . unpublished class notes for BE104 (Dallas Theological Sem i nary, Fall 2011).