Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah
in Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries
Pages
352 pages
Publisher
Abingdon Press
Published
4/15/2005
ISBN-13
9780687342440
The prophetic books gathered together in the book of the Twelve are sometimes called the "minor" prophets because of their relatively small size when compared with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. They are often neglected, at least partly because their words of judgment make the reader uncomfortable. Yet they have considerable theological and ethical value--for their call for social justice (especially Amos and Micah), their insights about the passionate love of God (in Hosea), God's grace and forgiveness (Jonah, Hosea, and elsewhere), and the finality of hope, even in the face of terrible catastrophes.
Reviews
Daniel Simundson's AOTC includes Joel-Micah. This brief exposition from a more mainline series has 108 pages on Hosea. Simundson engages in literary analysis alongside his exegesis, theological reflections, and application to contemporary settings. Simundson is sensitive to feminist considerations without thinking the idea of divine jealousy is in itself problematic, as the trend in feminist interpretation has tended to go. He has a theodical excursus that sorts through some of the problems related to God's participation in the kind of angry judgment that many today would consider immoral.
[Full Review]
Nashville: Abingdon, 2005. Pp. ix + 350. Paper. $39.00. ISBN 0687342449. Joseph Cathey Dallas Baptist University Dallas, TX 76044 The present work is one of the latest commentaries in the new series of commentaries by Abingdon. The publishers should be praised both for the caliber of scholars (e.g., Steven McKenzie, Walter Brueggemann, Donald Gowan) whom they have selected as well as the decision to bring the books out in paperback. Decisions such as these will ensure that excellent information will be readily available and accessible to clergy, students, and laity for the foreseeable future. Simundson is well suited to produce a commentary of this scope and magnitude. He is currently professor emeritus of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. His Ph.D., The Language and Structure of the Court Narrative, was taken at Harvard. The author has written extensively in the field of lament in the Hebrew Bible, authoring works such as The Message of Job, Where Is God in My Praying? and Where Is God in My Suffering? This series is geared for either the professional clergy or upper-level college or university student. Introductory issues are dealt with first: Key Issues; Literary Genre, Structure, and Character of the Writing; Occasion and Situational Context; and Theological and Ethical Significance. The individual commentary on the different books follows the critical introductions.
[Full Review]