Month: June 2012

Zechariah 1 (day 912) 30 June 2012              Zechariah is a mixture of historical narratives, prophetic oracles and apocalyptic visions. Scholars have long suspected that the book is a collection of writings from several authors, Jeremiah being one favorite nominee. We will not spend too much time trying to figure this out, but will simply… Continue reading Zechariah (day 912-925)

Haggai 1 (day 910) 28 June 2012              1-6: The date given in the first line has been worked out by scholars to be August 29, 520 B.C. Haggai is mentioned at Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 along with Zechariah, whose book follows this one, but little else is known about him. His book is a… Continue reading Haggai (day 910-911)

Zephaniah 1 (day 907) 25 June 2012              1: Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of Josiah (641-609 B.C.). He may have been related to Josiah, if the Hezekiah mentioned here was the king of Judah during the time of the prophet Isaiah. Not much more is known of Zephaniah aside from hints within the text… Continue reading Zephaniah (day 907-909)

Habakkuk 1 (day 904) 22 June 2012              1: Habakkuk is otherwise unidentified. We can place his writing to the years leading up to the Babylonian conquest of Judah, but no more definite time or place can be discerned. He introduces his book as an oracle, but we shall see that it reads more like… Continue reading Habakkuk (day 904-906)

Nahum 1 (day 901) 19 June 2012 1: Nahum is thought to be a Judean prophet whose oracle was given in the years preceding the fall of Nineveh in 612 B.C. The Assyrian empire had begun to collapse after the death of Ashurbanipal about 627 B.C., and the prophet gives a word from God during… Continue reading Nahum (day 901-903)

Micah 1 (day 894) 12 June 2012              1: This verse contains all we know about the prophet Micah. Moresheth was a small village southwest of Jerusalem. He claims to have been active during the reigns of three Judean kings; Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, which places him somewhere between 742 — 687 B.C. He is… Continue reading Micah (day 894-900)

Jonah 1 (day 890) 8 June 2012              1-3: There is a reference at 1 Kings 14:25 of a Jonah son of Amittai, a prophet who lived during the reign of King Jeroboam II of Israel. It is tempting to equate him with the main character in the book of Jonah, but scholars don’t generally… Continue reading Jonah (day 890-893)

Obadiah (day 889) 7 June 2012                  1-4: Welcome to the shortest book in the Old Testament. Not much is known about Obadiah, but the subject of his book would indicate that he was a prophet in Jerusalem during the time of the Babylonian invasion. The name means “worshiper of God” and some think it… Continue reading Obadiah (day 889)