ABSTRACT Reconsidering the Book of the Four: The Shaping of Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah as an Early Prophetic Collection Nicholas R. Werse, Ph.D. Mentor: James D. Nogalski, Ph.D. The hypothesis that redactors collected and edited Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah into an exilic “Book of the Four” has gained significant momentum in redaction-critical scholarship over the last twenty years. Since its initial proposal, various reformulations of the Book of the Four hypothesis built upon the identification of Deuteronomistic editing across these four prophetic texts. The concurrent scholarly reaction against “pan-Deuteronomism” challenges the methods and criteria by which redaction critics identify Deuteronomistic editing. The precision of language emerging from the concerns over pan-Deuteronomism affects how scholars identify and label Deuteronomistic editing. This new criteria and precision of language threatens to undercut the foundation of the Book of the Four hypothesis. The following dissertation reexamines the evidence for common editorial activity spanning Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah, arguing that the evidence fails to support a case for widespread Deuteronomistic editing across these four texts. The case that these four texts circulated as an early collection rather depends upon a series of editorially constructed intertextual echoes between these texts. The following study argues that this Book of the Four editorial activity takes place in two redactional layers. The first redactional layer includes Hos 1:1; 4:15a βb; 8:14a βb; Amos 1:1b; 2:10-12; 3:1b-2; 5:13; 6:8; 7:9-17; Mic 1:1, 5b-7, 9; 2:3; 6:9a α,b, 10-16; Zeph 1:1 1:6, 13b; 2:3. These supplements across the Book of the Four link these four prophetic voices to the larger collection and employ a similar intratextual scribal program of literary integration into their current literary contexts. This study locates this first editorial layer near the beginning of the exile, primarily responding to the trauma of the destruction of Jerusalem. The intratextual scribal program of literary integration indicates that exilic scribes read these texts through a lens that theologizes the messages in light of one another. This study further finds that Mic 2:12; Zeph 2:7, 9b; 3:11-13 reflect a second editorial layer that supplies salvific hope to this collection for life after the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian deportation. Reconsidering the Book of the Four: The Shaping of Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah as an Early Prophetic Collection by Nicholas R. Werse, B.A., M.Div. A Dissertation Approved by the Department of Religion W. H. Bellinger, Jr., Ph.D. Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Approved by the Dissertation Committee James D. Nogalski, Ph.D., Chairperson Joel S. Burnett, Ph.D. W. Dennis Tucker, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School May 2018 J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2018 by Nicholas R. Werse All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF CHARTS AND FIGURES ................................................................................. ix ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................... xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................... xiii DEDICATION .................................................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................. 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 The Rise of the Book of the Four: Hypothesis or Hypotheses ............................... 6 Four Models for the Book of the Four ........................................................ 6 Inconsistencies Among the Models of the Book of the Four.................... 17 Objections to the Book of the Four Hypotheses ................................................... 21 The Book of the Four and Pan-Deuteronomism ....................................... 24 Intertextuality and the Book of the Four ................................................... 30 The Agenda and Method of the Present Study ..................................................... 32 Criteria for Identifying Deuteronomistic Editing ..................................... 33 Criteria for Identifying Intentionally Constructed Intertextual Links....... 37 The Text of the Book of the Four ............................................................. 39 Thesis and Outline of the Following Study .............................................. 40 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 43 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 43 Deuteronomism in Hosea ...................................................................................... 47 Introduction to the Quest for Deuteronomism in Hosea ........................... 47 The Superscription and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 1:1....... 53 Cultic Infidelities and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 3:1-5; 4:15; 13:2-3 ............................................................................................ 59 Covenant, Torah, and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 4:1-3; 8:1-6 ....................................................................................................... 78 Binary Curses and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 4:10 ............ 88 Parallels with Jeremiah and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 11:5 ....................................................................................................... 89 v Parallels with Second Kings and the Question of Deuteronomism: Hosea 14:1[13:16] .................................................................................... 95 Deuteronomism in Hosea: Conclusions .................................................... 99 The Book of the Four Literary Horizon in Hosea ............................................... 102 Introduction to Hosea and the Literary Parallels with the Four .............. 102 The Literary Horizon of Hosea 1:1 ......................................................... 105 The Literary Horizon of Hosea 4:15a βb ................................................. 108 The Literary Horizon of Hosea 8:14a βb ................................................. 113 Limitation of the Book of the Four Literary Horizon ............................. 116 Hosea and the Book of the Four Literary Horizon: Conclusions............ 132 Conclusions: Book of the Four Editorial Activity in Hosea ............................... 135 CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................ 138 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 138 Deuteronomism in Amos .................................................................................... 141 Introduction to the Quest for Deuteronomism in Amos ......................... 141 The Superscription and the Question of Deuteronomism: Amos 1:1 ..... 146 Law, Covenant, and the Question of Deuteronomism in the Oracles Against the Nations: Amos 1:9-12; 2:4-5 ................................... 149 The Rejection of the Prophet and the Question of Deuteronomism: Amos 2:11-12; 3:7; 7:9-17; 8:10-11 ...................................................... 155 The Exodus Theme and the Question of Deuteronomism: Amos 2:10-12; 3:1b-2; 5:25-26; 9:7-10 ............................................................... 162 Curses, Judgments, and the Question of Deuteronomism: Amos 4:6-11; 5:11 ............................................................................................. 170 Deuteronomism in Amos: Conclusion .................................................... 174 The Book of the Four Literary Horizon in Amos ............................................... 176 Introduction to Amos and the Literary Parallels with the Four .............. 177 The Literary Horizon of Amos 1:1b α ..................................................... 179 The Literary Horizon of Amos 2:4-5 ...................................................... 181 The Literary Horizon of Amos 2:10-12 and 3:1b-2 ................................ 184 The Literary Horizon of Amos 5:13 ....................................................... 187 The Literary Horizon of Amos 6:8 ......................................................... 189 The Literary Horizon of Amos 7:9-17 .................................................... 192 The Limits of Book of the Four Literary Horizon: Amos 2:8; 3:13-14; 5:25-26; 8:4-7.............................................................................. 196 vi Amos and the Book of the Four Literary Horizon: Conclusions ............ 202 Conclusion: Book of the Four Editorial Activity in Amos ................................. 204 CHAPTER FOUR ........................................................................................................... 207 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 207 Deuteronomism in Micah ..................................................................................