{"id":164,"date":"2022-03-23T23:38:30","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T23:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=164"},"modified":"2022-08-16T15:59:03","modified_gmt":"2022-08-16T15:59:03","slug":"15-prophetic-genres","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/chapter\/15-prophetic-genres\/","title":{"raw":"15. Prophetic Genres","rendered":"15. Prophetic Genres"},"content":{"raw":"<h1><a id=\"15.1\"><\/a>15.1. The Prophets as Bearers of God\u2019s Word<\/h1>\r\nAs Robert Lowth recognized in the mid-1700s, the prophets who left us books were poets, and their poems fall into two main categories:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>oracles, which communicate the direct speech of God<\/li>\r\n \t<li>prophetic speeches, in which the prophet speaks as himself for God.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nSince both address an audience, they belong to the genre of dramatic monologue rather than pure lyric.\r\n\r\nThe narratives about their lives are generally in prose, perhaps with oracles or prophetic speeches in poetry. Some prophets have a call narrative recounting their commission as a messenger of God\u2019s word.\r\n\r\nUnlike the psalmist, defined by one psalm, these prophets give us many poems, which create a character for us.\u00a0 Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, offer us complex characters that defy easy characterization. Their poetry adds a psychological depth that gives the reader the sense of a real human being engaged with a passionate God. They are definitely a round characters. The author of Isaiah 40-55, called Second Isaiah, tells us little about himself and functions much like an omniscient third person narrator. Some of the minor prophets also come to life as complex individuals.\r\n\r\nThe Hebrew word for prophet, <em>nabi\u2019<\/em>, comes from a verb meaning \u201cto be in a prophetic ecstasy,\u201d suggesting that the prophets were originally \u201cecstatics.\u201d From these experiences, they could see into the world of the divine, and so there were also called \u201cseers.\u201d Both words emphasize their ability to transcend this world and to have immediate contact with the divine. The English word \u201cprophet\u201d comes from Greek and means \u201cone who speaks for.\u201d The prophets then were human beings believed to possess a transcendent connection to God and so were able to speak for God. Mainly this speaking comes to us in poetry.\r\n\r\nNot all prophets wrote books. We have stories about Elijah and Elisha, but no writings. 1 Kgs 22:14 also names the prophetess Huldah and gives her prophetic words in prose. In addition to the \u201ctrue\u201d prophets, there were the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) and false prophets (cf., 1 Kings 22; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 13).\r\n\r\nDeuteronomy 18 lays out three criteria to identify a false prophet:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>one who speaks in the name of another deity,<\/li>\r\n \t<li>one who presumes to speak something not said by the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> while claiming that it is from God,<\/li>\r\n \t<li>one who predicts something that does not come true.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe last emphasizes predicting the future, which has come to dominate our understanding of prophecy, but this misses the central idea of one who brings God\u2019s word.\r\n\r\nSince these prophets bring the word of God like ancient messengers, they use the messenger formula of the ancient Near East, discussed below. The oracles from God fall into two main categories: judgment oracles and salvation oracles. Claus Westermann published classic works on these genres. Some oracles and prophetic speeches do not end in judgment or salvation; instead, they bring a warning or a call to repentance. Still, the prophet is mainly one who brings God's word.\r\n<h1><a id=\"15.2\"><\/a>15.2 The Call Narrative<\/h1>\r\nMore than fifty years ago, Norman Habel recognized the importance of the call narrative as a genre, and he wrote a classic article on his understanding of the pattern. His pattern contained six elements, and, applying them strictly, he finds only six instances of the form: the call of Moses (Exodus 3:1\u201310), Gideon (Judges 6), Isaiah (Isa 6), Jeremiah (Jer 1:4\u201310), Ezekiel (Ezek 1\u20133), and Second Isaiah (Isa 40:1\u201311) (Habel: 297\u2013323). While his precision creates clear criteria, it fails to recognize the similarity of these passages to many others. Later scholars expand the list, and Booker identifies the call narrative as a ubiquitous subplot (17, 48, 65, 70\u201371). In my article on subplots, I show that the call narrative appears throughout the Bible (Hagan, <em>Basic Plots, 201-202)<\/em>.\r\n\r\nAt its most basic, the leader calls and commissions the hero, who then accepts. Since this provides little dramatic interest, the storyteller may complicate the pattern by having the hero raise a question or objection, which the leader answers. The primary variation has the hero asking for the commission, with the leader granting it perhaps after raising a question or an objection (cf. 1 Sam 17:31-37).\r\n\r\nWe can outline this for the prophets as follows:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">God calls and commissions the prophet.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><em>possible complication:<\/em>\r\nThe prophet raises an objection or question.\r\nGod answers this.<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">The prophet accepts.<\/p>\r\nCall narratives for prophets appear in the following passages:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">for Elijah in 1 Kgs 19:1-18\r\nfor Elisha in 1 Kgs 19:19-21; 2 Kgs 2:9-14\r\nfor Hosea in Hos 1:2-8; 3:1-5\r\nfor Amos in Amos 7:10-17\r\nfor Isaiah in Isaiah 6\r\nfor Jeremiah\u00a0 in Jer 1:4\u201310 and 1:11-19\r\nfor Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1\u20133\r\nfor various people in Isa 40:1\u20131\r\nfor Jonah in Jon 1:1-3; 3:1-3a.<\/p>\r\nHabel identifies Jeremiah\u2019s call in 1:4-10 as a classic example, and God's words come to us in poetry:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>4<\/sup> Now the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> came to me saying,\r\n<sup>5<\/sup> \u201cBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you,\r\nand before you were born I consecrated you;\r\nI appointed you a prophet to the nations.\u201d<\/p>\r\nJeremiah famously objects:\r\n<blockquote><sup>6<\/sup> Then I said, \u201cAh, Lord G<span class=\"lowercaps\">OD<\/span>! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.\u201d<\/blockquote>\r\nGod answers the objection with\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>7<\/sup> But the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> said to me,\r\n\u201cDo not say, \u2018I am only a boy\u2019;\r\nfor you shall go to all to whom I send you,\r\nand you shall speak whatever I command you.<\/p>\r\nGod adds the typical motifs of encouragement (\u201cDo not fear!\u201d and the like) and the assurance of divine presence (\u201cI am with you! ). I discuss this at more length in my book, <em>Mighty in Battle<\/em> (ch. 2.4.3).\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>8<\/sup> Do not be afraid of them,\r\nfor I am with you to deliver you,<\/p>\r\nJeremiah does not voice his acceptance of the commission, and later he says in 20:7, \u201cO L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>, you have enticed me, || and I was enticed.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn the battle narrative, the arming of the hero follows the call and commission, and here God \u201carms\u201d Jeremiah while making clear the commission is not just to Judah but to the whole world:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>9<\/sup> Then the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> put out his hand and touched my mouth, and the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> said to me,<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">\u201cNow I have put my words in your mouth.\r\n<sup>10<\/sup> See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,\r\nto pluck up and to pull down,\r\nto destroy and to overthrow,\r\nto build and to plant.\u201d<\/p>\r\nIn the call of Isaiah, the objection comes before the call. Isaiah has a vision of God\u2019s glory, which causes him to say:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And I said: \u201cWoe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> of hosts!\u201d (Isa 6:5)<\/p>\r\nThe metonymy of the mouth is key because it will be the instrument for fulfilling his commission. A seraph comes with a burning coal held by tongs to touch Isaiah\u2019s mouth and take away his sin. He then hears a general call from God, and he eagerly volunteers for the commission following.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Then I heard the voice of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> saying,\r\n\u201cWhom shall I send, and who will go for us?\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And I said, \u201cHere am I; send me!\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And he said, \u201cGo and say to this people:\r\n\u2018Keep listening, but do not comprehend ... (6:8-9).<\/p>\r\nIsaiah asks a question (6:11a) but does not object. He is an eager prophet.\r\n\r\nJonah, of course, is not eager and must be called twice, and even then, he is not at peace (Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-2). Amos reports his call to Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, who has been objecting to his prophecy in Israel (Amos 7:10-17). God calls Hosea and commissions him to take Gomer as his wife, and their marriage becomes a prophecy.\r\n\r\nThe story of Elijah begins with him bringing the oracle of drought to Ahab, followed by God's call for him to flee, and eventually to the woman of Zarephath (1 Kings 17). Then God calls him to return and confront the prophets of Baal (18:1). Though this ends in a bloody triumph, Jezebel promises to take his life. A dark mood descends on the prophet and makes him wish for death (19:4), but God sends an angel twice to strengthen him for the journey to Mount Horeb. There he encounters God and receives a new commission, which revives him. This commission includes the call of Elisha, which Elijah makes by throwing his robe over this farmer. Elisha then destroys his means of livelihood and follows. Finally, in 2 Kgs 2:9-14, Elisha asks Elijah for \u201ca double share of your spirit \u201cand receives it as his master ascends in the fiery chariot.\r\n\r\nEzekiel 1 tells of a fabulous vision that causes the prophet to fall on his face. A spirit then sets him on his feet for the commission. Always passive, Ezekiel neither accepts nor objects. God tells him what he is to do and gives him the scroll to eat \u201cThen I ate it, and in my mouth, it was as sweet as honey\u201d (3:3). After another commission, the spirit lifts him up and carries him back to the exiles by the river Chebar. After seven days, he receives the commission as sentinel, and then God makes him unable to speak and reprove the house of Israel (3:22-27). The juxtaposition of these commissions creates its own complexity for this special prophet.\r\n<h1><a id=\"15.3\"><\/a>15.3. The Messenger Formula<\/h1>\r\nIn the ancient Near East, someone wishing to send a message to another would send a messenger to speak for them in the first person as if the messenger were the sender. The pattern is clear in the opening letter of the Royal Archives of Mari, in which Abi-Samar commissions a messenger to deliver the following words to Iahdulim.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">To Iahdulim say:\r\nThus (says) Abi-Samar:\r\n<em>\u201c<\/em>Show (me) the peace of friendship. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\r\nThe messenger then goes to Iahdulim and reads the words above in the name of the sender, Abi-Samar\r\n\r\nWe see another clear example in Genesis 32:3-5 where <span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau.<\/span>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Thus you shall say to my lord Esau:\r\nThus says your servant Jacob,\r\n\u201cI have lived with Laban as an alien, ... .\u201d<\/p>\r\nFor the prophets, the formula, \u201cThus says X,\u201d becomes \u201cThus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD.<\/span>\u201d They announce themselves as the messengers of God\u2014especially in major prophets. We often find a similar phrase, \u201csays the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d at the end of a passage. The role of the prophet as messenger is also clear in the command: \u201cHear the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d and in the formula, \u201cThe word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> came to X\u2026,\u201d which appears often in the historical books.\r\n\r\nI am including here the many references to these formulae to show how pervasive they are.\r\n\r\nThe formula, \u201cHear the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u2026,\u201d appears in the following verses:\r\n<blockquote>1 Kgs 22:19; 1 Ki. 22:19; 2 Ki. 7:1; 20:16; 2 Chr. 18:18; Isa. 1:10; 28:14; 39:5; 66:5; Jer. 2:4; 7:2; 17:20; 19:3; 21:11; 22:2, 29; 29:20; 31:10; 34:4; 42:15; 44:24, 26; Ezek. 6:3; 13:2; 16:35; 20:47; 25:3; 34:7, 9; 36:1, 4; 37:4; Hos. 4:1; Amos 7:16; Acts 13:44<\/blockquote>\r\nThe formula, \u201cThus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d which literally translates the Hebrew: <em>koh \u02c0\u0101mar YHWH, <\/em>appears in these texts:\r\n<blockquote>Exod. 4:22; 5:1; 7:17, 26; 8:16; 9:1, 13; 10:3; 11:4; 32:27; Jos. 7:13; 24:2; Jdg. 6:8; 1 Sam. 2:27; 10:18; 15:2; 2 Sam. 7:5, 8; 12:7, 11; 24:12; 1 Ki. 11:31; 12:24; 13:2, 21; 14:7; 17:14; 20:13-14, 28, 42; 21:19; 22:11; 2 Ki. 1:4, 6, 16; 2:21; 3:16-17; 4:43; 7:1; 9:3, 6, 12; 19:6, 20, 32; 20:1, 5; 21:12; 22:15-16, 18; 1 Chr. 17:4, 7; 21:10-11; 2 Chr. 11:4; 12:5; 18:10; 20:15; 21:12; 34:23-24, 26; Isa. 8:11; 18:4; 29:22; 31:4; 37:6, 21, 33; 38:1, 5; 43:1, 14, 16; 44:2, 6, 24; 45:1, 11, 14, 18; 48:17; 49:7-8, 25; 50:1; 52:3; 56:1, 4; 65:8; 66:1, 12; Jer. 2:2, 5; 4:3, 27; 5:14; 6:6, 9, 16, 21-22; 7:3, 21; 8:4; 9:6, 14, 16, 22; 10:2, 18; 11:3, 11, 21-22; 12:14; 13:1, 9, 12-13; 14:10, 15; 15:2, 19; 16:3, 5, 9; 17:5, 19, 21; 18:11, 13; 19:1, 3, 11, 15; 20:4; 21:4, 8, 12; 22:1, 3, 6, 11, 18, 30; 23:2, 15-16, 38; 24:5, 8; 25:8, 15, 27-28, 32; 26:2, 4, 18; 27:2, 4, 16, 19, 21; 28:2, 11, 13-14, 16; 29:4, 8, 10, 16-17, 21, 25, 31-32; 30:2, 5, 12, 18; 31:2, 7, 15-16, 23, 35, 37; 32:3, 14-15, 28, 36, 42; 33:2, 4, 10, 12, 17, 20, 25; 34:2, 4, 13, 17; 35:13, 17-19; 36:29-30; 37:7, 9; 38:2-3, 17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25, 30; 45:2, 4; 47:2; 48:1, 40; 49:1, 7, 12, 28, 35; 50:18, 33; 51:1, 33, 36, 58; Ezek. 11:5; 21:8; 30:6; Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6; 3:12; 5:4, 16; 7:17; Mic. 2:3; 3:5; Nah. 1:12; Hag. 1:2, 5, 7; 2:6, 11; Zech. 1:3-4, 14, 16-17; 2:12; 3:7; 6:12; 7:9; 8:2-4, 6-7, 9, 14, 19-20, 23; 11:4; Mal. 1:4<\/blockquote>\r\nThe formula, \u201csays the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d or \u201coracle of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d which translates the Hebrew words: <em>n\u0115\u02c0um YHWH, <\/em>appears in the following verses:\r\n<blockquote>Gen. 22:16; Num. 14:28; 1 Sam. 2:30; 2 Ki. 9:26; 19:33; 22:19; 2 Chr. 34:27; Ps. 110:1; Isa. 14:22-23; 17:3, 6; 22:25; 30:1; 31:9; 37:34; 41:14; 43:10, 12; 49:18; 52:5; 54:17; 55:8; 59:20; 66:2, 17, 22; Jer. 1:8, 15, 19; 2:3, 9, 12, 29; 3:1, 10, 12-14, 16, 20; 4:1, 9, 17; 5:9, 11, 15, 18, 22, 29; 6:12; 7:11, 13, 19, 32; 8:1, 3, 13, 17; 9:2, 5, 8, 21, 23-24; 12:17; 13:11, 14, 25; 15:3, 6, 9, 20; 16:5, 11, 14, 16; 17:24; 18:6; 19:6, 12; 21:7, 10, 13-14; 22:5, 16, 24; 23:1-2, 4-5, 7, 11-12, 23-24, 28-33; 25:7, 9, 12, 29, 31; 27:8, 11, 15, 22; 28:4; 29:9, 11, 14, 19, 23, 32; 30:3, 8, 10-11, 17, 21; 31:1, 14, 16-17, 20, 27-28, 31-34, 36-38; 32:5, 30, 44; 33:14; 34:5, 17, 22; 35:13; 39:17-18; 42:11; 44:29; 45:5; 46:5, 23, 26, 28; 48:12, 25, 30, 35, 38, 43-44, 47; 49:2, 6, 13, 16, 26, 30-32, 37-39; 50:4, 10, 20-21, 30, 35, 40; 51:24-26, 39, 48, 52-53; Ezek. 13:6-7; 16:58; 37:14; Hos. 2:15, 18, 23; 11:11; Joel 2:12; Amos 2:11, 16; 3:10, 15; 4:3, 6, 8-11; 6:8, 14; 9:7-8, 12-13; Obad. 1:4, 8; Mic. 4:6; 5:9; Nah. 2:14; 3:5; Zeph. 1:2-3, 10; 2:9; 3:8; Hag. 1:9, 13; 2:4, 8-9, 14, 17, 23; Zech. 1:3-4, 16; 2:9-10, 14; 3:9-10; 5:4; 8:6, 11, 17; 10:12; 11:6; 12:1, 4; 13:2, 7-8; Mal. 1:2<\/blockquote>\r\nThese phrases underline the fundamental metaphor: the prophets are like the messengers of the ancient Near East. They do not claim to bring their own understanding of the situation; rather, they present themselves as messengers of God\u2019s own words.\r\n<h1><a id=\"15.4\"><\/a>15.4. Oracles and Prophetic Speeches<\/h1>\r\nOracles are messages from God brought by human beings to others. Typically, God speaks in the first person, and so the oracles often begin with a messenger formula: \"Thus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>.\u201d\r\n\r\n<span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Prophetic speeches refer to the words of the prophet himself. References to <\/span><span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">God appear in the third person and not in the first. Still, the prophets are the messengers of God, and their words are somehow God\u2019s words. <\/span>\r\n\r\nFinally, it is not always easy to know where to divide the text in the books of the prophets. Different translations divide the text differently. As in other situations, whatever divisions support an understanding of the whole is viable.\u00a0 <span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h2><a id=\"15.4a\"><\/a>a. judgment oracles and prophetic speeches<\/h2>\r\nEspecially before the fall of Jerusalem in 586, prophets announced judgment against Israel or Judah or the nations. The two key elements are the accusation and the sentence. Often these oracles begin with a call either to the accused or to witnesses. The accusations enumerate the sins of the accused. The judgment, often introduced by \u201ctherefore,\u201d announces that punishment. Often there follows the reason, introduced by \u201cbecause\u201d or \u201cfor.\u201d The reasons are the same as the accusations.\r\n\r\nThe famous judgment oracle in Mic 2:9-12 offers a helpful example.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>call:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>9<\/sup> Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob\r\nand chiefs of the house of Israel,<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>accusations:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">who abhor justice\r\nand pervert all equity,\r\n<sup>10<\/sup> who build Zion with blood\r\nand Jerusalem with wrong!\r\n<sup>11<\/sup> Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,\r\nits priests teach for a price,\r\nits prophets give oracles for money;\r\nyet they lean upon the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> and say,\r\n\u201cSurely the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> is with us!\r\nNo harm shall come upon us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>judgment:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>12<\/sup> Therefore because of you\r\nZion shall be plowed as a field;\r\nJerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,\r\nand the mountain of the house a wooded height.<\/p>\r\nThe word pairs and parallelism of Hebrew poetry are readily evident here.\r\n\r\nThese judgment oracles may also introduce the accused with \u201cwoe\u201d or \u201calas\u201d or \u201cah,\u201d as in Amos 6:1-7; Hosea 4:1-3; Micah 2:1-3; 3:5-6; Jeremiah 14:10, etc.\r\n\r\nWhile these judgments are mainly oracles, Isaiah 28:1-13 lets us hear the prophet in his own voice before the oracle. The distance of the third person allows the prophet to achieve an understatement that belies the strong emotion just below the surface of this text.\r\n\r\nJudgment with its accusation and sentence appears in many human contexts, such as parent and child, employer and employee, coach, and player, etc. The most formal context is the trial, where the accused comes before the court to hear the accusations and the formal judgment. The prophets, not surprisingly, adopt the formal vocabulary and roles of the lawsuit which translates the Hebrew word <em>r\u00eeb<\/em> (pronounced \u2018reeve\u2019).\r\n\r\nIn the prophetic literature, the lawsuit or <em>r\u00eeb <\/em>may have the following elements:\r\n<ol>\r\n \t<li>the call of the accused party or the call of witnesses to observe the trial<\/li>\r\n \t<li>the accusations by the plaintiff against the defendant<\/li>\r\n \t<li>occasionally a statement about the innocence of the plaintiff<\/li>\r\n \t<li>\u201cTherefore\u201d or \u201cnow, therefore\u201d followed by the sentence<\/li>\r\n \t<li>\u201cBecause\/for\u201d followed reasons for the sentence, which are the same as the accusations.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nThe defense by the defendant does not appear in these texts. Their guilt is certain. God takes the role of plaintiff and judge, and the judgment is clear.\r\n\r\nJeremiah 2:1-37 represents one of the most elaborate developments of the lawsuit, but perhaps, the most famous example is found in Hosea 2, where God\u2019s role as husband is added to plaintiff and judge. There the speaker\u2019s shifting emotions make it one of the masterpieces of biblical literature. Like much in prophetic literature, these poets constantly transform everything they use. An analysis should not concentrate on how it fits the model but on how the prophet has defamiliarized and transformed the genre.\r\n\r\nThe judgment oracle has a formal similarity to the lawsuit, and we need not see them as distinct categories. The lawsuit offers the prophet a way to elaborate the judgment oracles.\r\n\r\nBoth the judgment oracle and the judgment of the lawsuit are performative language, a concept discussed above in \u00a711.2b. The language does not describe but rather puts into effect what is said. A judge in pronouncing the judgment of guilt with a sentence is creating a legal reality. These judgments are not a wish for justice but rather the execution of justice.\r\n<h2><a id=\"15.4b\"><\/a>b. salvation oracles<\/h2>\r\nThe salvation oracles are the counterpart to the judgment oracles. According to Claus Westermann, they mainly \u201carose anonymously [in the period exilic and post-exilic period] between Deutero-Isaiah (a few probably earlier) and the conclusion of the prophetic canon\u201d (<em>Prophetic Oracles<\/em>, 13). Surely, the people in exile had heard enough of judgment and were in need of salvation. The whole of Isaiah 40-55 can be considered an elaborate salvation oracle. Still, the books of the pre-exilic prophets, as they stand, also contain salvation oracle as if to remind us that prophecy is not just a matter of being angry. The announcement of judgment and salvation are two pieces of a whole. If the Bible confronts us with our sin, it also announces a saving word.\r\n\r\nThe salvation oracle is the statement or promise by God to save people, and in Micah 4:6-7, we hear:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">In that day, says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\r\nI will assemble the lame\r\nand gather those who have been driven away,\r\nand those whom I have afflicted.\r\nThe lame I will make the remnant,\r\nand those who were cast off, a strong nation;\r\nand the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> will reign over them in Mount Zion\r\nnow and forevermore.<\/p>\r\nIn the judgment oracles, \u201cthat day\u201d or \u201cthe day of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d is the day of punishment and retribution, but in the salvation oracles, \u201cthat day\u201d becomes the day of fulfillment (Amos 9:11).\r\n\r\nThe salvation oracles then are promises, and as such, they too are performative language. When the prophet proclaims a salvation oracle, God is promising to fulfill the oracle. The salvation oracles are not descriptions of what the future might be; they are a promise by God of what the future will be or what is already taking place in the present. By announcing these oracles, God is guaranteeing their fulfillment.\r\n<h2><a id=\"15.4c\"><\/a>c. the warning and the call to repentance<\/h2>\r\nThough sin may bring judgment, the prophets sometimes bring only a warning. Imperatives to repent and do good create these warnings, perhaps with reasons added to motivate people.\r\n\r\nIsaiah opens his book with this variation on the judgment oracle. It begins with the standard call and accusation (1:2-3).\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>call:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;\r\nfor the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> has spoken:<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>accusation:<\/em><\/strong>\r\nI reared children and brought them up,\r\nbut they have rebelled against me.<\/p>\r\nInstead of adding the judgment with its sentence, he accuses Israel\u2019s children of being dumber than the ox and the donkey. It is as if a parent shakes their head and says:\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">The ox knows its owner,\r\nand the donkey its master\u2019s crib;\r\nbut Israel does not know,\r\nmy people do not understand.<\/p>\r\nIsaiah hopes the irony will bring people to their senses. The ox and donkey, because of their good sense, have found a place at the Christmas manger.\r\n\r\nThough Jeremiah is famous for judgment oracles, we find several calls to repentance in his work; see Jer 3:11-13; 3:21-22; 10:1-5; 21:11-14 (with a threat of future punishment). . Hosea continually highlights the call to return as we see in 14:1-3.\r\n\r\nBoth the warning and the call to repentance become variations on the oracles of judgment and salvation. These prophet poets are continually taking traditional forms and turning them upside down.\r\n<h1><a id=\"15.5\"><\/a>15.5. Conclusion<\/h1>\r\nThe prophets take other genres and use them for their purposes, such as the dirge (Jer. 9:19-20), the riddle (Ezek. 17), and the hymn (Isa. 49:13). However, the dramatic monologue, whether a divine oracle or the prophet\u2019s speech, dominates the prophetic literature. As in the laments, we must pay close attention how the prophet creates the implied story and the characters. Unlike the laments, in which each psalm is a unity, the prophetic literature gives us recurring characters and contexts. Even so, their words are larger than the moment. They can transcend their context and create possibilities for inter-textual readings.\r\n<h1><a id=\"15.6\"><\/a>15.6. Exercises for Chapter 15<\/h1>\r\n<h4>Vocabulary<\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>call narrative, prophetic: the story of the call of the prophet which is one of the basic subplots. \u00a715.2<\/li>\r\n \t<li>judgment oracle: a speech by God, often with a call to the defendant or to witnesses, followed by accusations and then the judgment, often introduced by \u201ctherefore,\u201d with its punishment and reasons. \u00a715.4a<\/li>\r\n \t<li>lawsuit: <em>r\u00eeb<\/em> in Hebrew, an expanded form of the judgment oracle based on the process of a law court in which witnesses are called; the defendant is accused, the plaintiff is defended, and the judgment is given with its punishment and reason. In the biblical lawsuit, the Lord is the plaintiff, prosecutor, and judge. \u00a715.4a<\/li>\r\n \t<li>oracle: a message from God brought by a human being to others, with God speaking in the first person. \u00a715.4<\/li>\r\n \t<li>salvation oracle: a message by God announcing coming salvation. \u00a715.4b<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h4>Questions<\/h4>\r\n1. The following passages are judgment oracles. If they contain the messenger formula, identify that. Then identify the elements of the judgment oracles contained in the text. Every passage does not contain all of the elements, and the prophet sometimes adds other elements.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>call to the accused or to witnesses<\/li>\r\n \t<li>accusations<\/li>\r\n \t<li>defense of the accuser (rare)<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Therefore\/Now therefore<\/li>\r\n \t<li>judgment and punishment<\/li>\r\n \t<li>reasons introduced by for\/because (= accusations).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Amos 3:9-11; 3:13-15; 4:1-3;\r\nMicah 1:2-7; 3:1-4; 3:5-8; 3:9-12; 6:9-16<\/p>\r\n2. Make a close reading of Amos 3:9-11 or another from the list above.\r\n\r\n3. How does Isaiah reshape the judgment oracle: Isa 1:2-3; 1:10-17; 28:14-22\r\n\r\n4. Choose one of the following salvation oracles and analyze how it creates a promise of salvation.\r\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Amos 9:13-15;\r\nMicah 2:12-13; 4:1-5 (= Isa 2:2-4);\r\nMicah 4:6-7 - Should It be part of the previous verses?<\/p>\r\n\r\n<ol start=\"5\">\r\n \t<li>Write your own judgment oracle and salvation oracle.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>","rendered":"<h1><a id=\"15.1\"><\/a>15.1. The Prophets as Bearers of God\u2019s Word<\/h1>\n<p>As Robert Lowth recognized in the mid-1700s, the prophets who left us books were poets, and their poems fall into two main categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>oracles, which communicate the direct speech of God<\/li>\n<li>prophetic speeches, in which the prophet speaks as himself for God.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Since both address an audience, they belong to the genre of dramatic monologue rather than pure lyric.<\/p>\n<p>The narratives about their lives are generally in prose, perhaps with oracles or prophetic speeches in poetry. Some prophets have a call narrative recounting their commission as a messenger of God\u2019s word.<\/p>\n<p>Unlike the psalmist, defined by one psalm, these prophets give us many poems, which create a character for us.\u00a0 Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, offer us complex characters that defy easy characterization. Their poetry adds a psychological depth that gives the reader the sense of a real human being engaged with a passionate God. They are definitely a round characters. The author of Isaiah 40-55, called Second Isaiah, tells us little about himself and functions much like an omniscient third person narrator. Some of the minor prophets also come to life as complex individuals.<\/p>\n<p>The Hebrew word for prophet, <em>nabi\u2019<\/em>, comes from a verb meaning \u201cto be in a prophetic ecstasy,\u201d suggesting that the prophets were originally \u201cecstatics.\u201d From these experiences, they could see into the world of the divine, and so there were also called \u201cseers.\u201d Both words emphasize their ability to transcend this world and to have immediate contact with the divine. The English word \u201cprophet\u201d comes from Greek and means \u201cone who speaks for.\u201d The prophets then were human beings believed to possess a transcendent connection to God and so were able to speak for God. Mainly this speaking comes to us in poetry.<\/p>\n<p>Not all prophets wrote books. We have stories about Elijah and Elisha, but no writings. 1 Kgs 22:14 also names the prophetess Huldah and gives her prophetic words in prose. In addition to the \u201ctrue\u201d prophets, there were the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18) and false prophets (cf., 1 Kings 22; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 13).<\/p>\n<p>Deuteronomy 18 lays out three criteria to identify a false prophet:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>one who speaks in the name of another deity,<\/li>\n<li>one who presumes to speak something not said by the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> while claiming that it is from God,<\/li>\n<li>one who predicts something that does not come true.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The last emphasizes predicting the future, which has come to dominate our understanding of prophecy, but this misses the central idea of one who brings God\u2019s word.<\/p>\n<p>Since these prophets bring the word of God like ancient messengers, they use the messenger formula of the ancient Near East, discussed below. The oracles from God fall into two main categories: judgment oracles and salvation oracles. Claus Westermann published classic works on these genres. Some oracles and prophetic speeches do not end in judgment or salvation; instead, they bring a warning or a call to repentance. Still, the prophet is mainly one who brings God&#8217;s word.<\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"15.2\"><\/a>15.2 The Call Narrative<\/h1>\n<p>More than fifty years ago, Norman Habel recognized the importance of the call narrative as a genre, and he wrote a classic article on his understanding of the pattern. His pattern contained six elements, and, applying them strictly, he finds only six instances of the form: the call of Moses (Exodus 3:1\u201310), Gideon (Judges 6), Isaiah (Isa 6), Jeremiah (Jer 1:4\u201310), Ezekiel (Ezek 1\u20133), and Second Isaiah (Isa 40:1\u201311) (Habel: 297\u2013323). While his precision creates clear criteria, it fails to recognize the similarity of these passages to many others. Later scholars expand the list, and Booker identifies the call narrative as a ubiquitous subplot (17, 48, 65, 70\u201371). In my article on subplots, I show that the call narrative appears throughout the Bible (Hagan, <em>Basic Plots, 201-202)<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>At its most basic, the leader calls and commissions the hero, who then accepts. Since this provides little dramatic interest, the storyteller may complicate the pattern by having the hero raise a question or objection, which the leader answers. The primary variation has the hero asking for the commission, with the leader granting it perhaps after raising a question or an objection (cf. 1 Sam 17:31-37).<\/p>\n<p>We can outline this for the prophets as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">God calls and commissions the prophet.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 80px\"><em>possible complication:<\/em><br \/>\nThe prophet raises an objection or question.<br \/>\nGod answers this.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">The prophet accepts.<\/p>\n<p>Call narratives for prophets appear in the following passages:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">for Elijah in 1 Kgs 19:1-18<br \/>\nfor Elisha in 1 Kgs 19:19-21; 2 Kgs 2:9-14<br \/>\nfor Hosea in Hos 1:2-8; 3:1-5<br \/>\nfor Amos in Amos 7:10-17<br \/>\nfor Isaiah in Isaiah 6<br \/>\nfor Jeremiah\u00a0 in Jer 1:4\u201310 and 1:11-19<br \/>\nfor Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1\u20133<br \/>\nfor various people in Isa 40:1\u20131<br \/>\nfor Jonah in Jon 1:1-3; 3:1-3a.<\/p>\n<p>Habel identifies Jeremiah\u2019s call in 1:4-10 as a classic example, and God&#8217;s words come to us in poetry:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>4<\/sup> Now the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> came to me saying,<br \/>\n<sup>5<\/sup> \u201cBefore I formed you in the womb I knew you,<br \/>\nand before you were born I consecrated you;<br \/>\nI appointed you a prophet to the nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah famously objects:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><sup>6<\/sup> Then I said, \u201cAh, Lord G<span class=\"lowercaps\">OD<\/span>! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>God answers the objection with<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>7<\/sup> But the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> said to me,<br \/>\n\u201cDo not say, \u2018I am only a boy\u2019;<br \/>\nfor you shall go to all to whom I send you,<br \/>\nand you shall speak whatever I command you.<\/p>\n<p>God adds the typical motifs of encouragement (\u201cDo not fear!\u201d and the like) and the assurance of divine presence (\u201cI am with you! ). I discuss this at more length in my book, <em>Mighty in Battle<\/em> (ch. 2.4.3).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>8<\/sup> Do not be afraid of them,<br \/>\nfor I am with you to deliver you,<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah does not voice his acceptance of the commission, and later he says in 20:7, \u201cO L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>, you have enticed me, || and I was enticed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the battle narrative, the arming of the hero follows the call and commission, and here God \u201carms\u201d Jeremiah while making clear the commission is not just to Judah but to the whole world:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>9<\/sup> Then the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> put out his hand and touched my mouth, and the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> said to me,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">\u201cNow I have put my words in your mouth.<br \/>\n<sup>10<\/sup> See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms,<br \/>\nto pluck up and to pull down,<br \/>\nto destroy and to overthrow,<br \/>\nto build and to plant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the call of Isaiah, the objection comes before the call. Isaiah has a vision of God\u2019s glory, which causes him to say:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And I said: \u201cWoe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> of hosts!\u201d (Isa 6:5)<\/p>\n<p>The metonymy of the mouth is key because it will be the instrument for fulfilling his commission. A seraph comes with a burning coal held by tongs to touch Isaiah\u2019s mouth and take away his sin. He then hears a general call from God, and he eagerly volunteers for the commission following.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Then I heard the voice of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> saying,<br \/>\n\u201cWhom shall I send, and who will go for us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And I said, \u201cHere am I; send me!\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">And he said, \u201cGo and say to this people:<br \/>\n\u2018Keep listening, but do not comprehend &#8230; (6:8-9).<\/p>\n<p>Isaiah asks a question (6:11a) but does not object. He is an eager prophet.<\/p>\n<p>Jonah, of course, is not eager and must be called twice, and even then, he is not at peace (Jonah 1:1-3; 3:1-2). Amos reports his call to Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, who has been objecting to his prophecy in Israel (Amos 7:10-17). God calls Hosea and commissions him to take Gomer as his wife, and their marriage becomes a prophecy.<\/p>\n<p>The story of Elijah begins with him bringing the oracle of drought to Ahab, followed by God&#8217;s call for him to flee, and eventually to the woman of Zarephath (1 Kings 17). Then God calls him to return and confront the prophets of Baal (18:1). Though this ends in a bloody triumph, Jezebel promises to take his life. A dark mood descends on the prophet and makes him wish for death (19:4), but God sends an angel twice to strengthen him for the journey to Mount Horeb. There he encounters God and receives a new commission, which revives him. This commission includes the call of Elisha, which Elijah makes by throwing his robe over this farmer. Elisha then destroys his means of livelihood and follows. Finally, in 2 Kgs 2:9-14, Elisha asks Elijah for \u201ca double share of your spirit \u201cand receives it as his master ascends in the fiery chariot.<\/p>\n<p>Ezekiel 1 tells of a fabulous vision that causes the prophet to fall on his face. A spirit then sets him on his feet for the commission. Always passive, Ezekiel neither accepts nor objects. God tells him what he is to do and gives him the scroll to eat \u201cThen I ate it, and in my mouth, it was as sweet as honey\u201d (3:3). After another commission, the spirit lifts him up and carries him back to the exiles by the river Chebar. After seven days, he receives the commission as sentinel, and then God makes him unable to speak and reprove the house of Israel (3:22-27). The juxtaposition of these commissions creates its own complexity for this special prophet.<\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"15.3\"><\/a>15.3. The Messenger Formula<\/h1>\n<p>In the ancient Near East, someone wishing to send a message to another would send a messenger to speak for them in the first person as if the messenger were the sender. The pattern is clear in the opening letter of the Royal Archives of Mari, in which Abi-Samar commissions a messenger to deliver the following words to Iahdulim.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">To Iahdulim say:<br \/>\nThus (says) Abi-Samar:<br \/>\n<em>\u201c<\/em>Show (me) the peace of friendship. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The messenger then goes to Iahdulim and reads the words above in the name of the sender, Abi-Samar<\/p>\n<p>We see another clear example in Genesis 32:3-5 where <span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Jacob sent messengers before him to his brother Esau.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Thus you shall say to my lord Esau:<br \/>\nThus says your servant Jacob,<br \/>\n\u201cI have lived with Laban as an alien, &#8230; .\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the prophets, the formula, \u201cThus says X,\u201d becomes \u201cThus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD.<\/span>\u201d They announce themselves as the messengers of God\u2014especially in major prophets. We often find a similar phrase, \u201csays the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d at the end of a passage. The role of the prophet as messenger is also clear in the command: \u201cHear the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d and in the formula, \u201cThe word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> came to X\u2026,\u201d which appears often in the historical books.<\/p>\n<p>I am including here the many references to these formulae to show how pervasive they are.<\/p>\n<p>The formula, \u201cHear the word of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u2026,\u201d appears in the following verses:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>1 Kgs 22:19; 1 Ki. 22:19; 2 Ki. 7:1; 20:16; 2 Chr. 18:18; Isa. 1:10; 28:14; 39:5; 66:5; Jer. 2:4; 7:2; 17:20; 19:3; 21:11; 22:2, 29; 29:20; 31:10; 34:4; 42:15; 44:24, 26; Ezek. 6:3; 13:2; 16:35; 20:47; 25:3; 34:7, 9; 36:1, 4; 37:4; Hos. 4:1; Amos 7:16; Acts 13:44<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The formula, \u201cThus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d which literally translates the Hebrew: <em>koh \u02c0\u0101mar YHWH, <\/em>appears in these texts:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Exod. 4:22; 5:1; 7:17, 26; 8:16; 9:1, 13; 10:3; 11:4; 32:27; Jos. 7:13; 24:2; Jdg. 6:8; 1 Sam. 2:27; 10:18; 15:2; 2 Sam. 7:5, 8; 12:7, 11; 24:12; 1 Ki. 11:31; 12:24; 13:2, 21; 14:7; 17:14; 20:13-14, 28, 42; 21:19; 22:11; 2 Ki. 1:4, 6, 16; 2:21; 3:16-17; 4:43; 7:1; 9:3, 6, 12; 19:6, 20, 32; 20:1, 5; 21:12; 22:15-16, 18; 1 Chr. 17:4, 7; 21:10-11; 2 Chr. 11:4; 12:5; 18:10; 20:15; 21:12; 34:23-24, 26; Isa. 8:11; 18:4; 29:22; 31:4; 37:6, 21, 33; 38:1, 5; 43:1, 14, 16; 44:2, 6, 24; 45:1, 11, 14, 18; 48:17; 49:7-8, 25; 50:1; 52:3; 56:1, 4; 65:8; 66:1, 12; Jer. 2:2, 5; 4:3, 27; 5:14; 6:6, 9, 16, 21-22; 7:3, 21; 8:4; 9:6, 14, 16, 22; 10:2, 18; 11:3, 11, 21-22; 12:14; 13:1, 9, 12-13; 14:10, 15; 15:2, 19; 16:3, 5, 9; 17:5, 19, 21; 18:11, 13; 19:1, 3, 11, 15; 20:4; 21:4, 8, 12; 22:1, 3, 6, 11, 18, 30; 23:2, 15-16, 38; 24:5, 8; 25:8, 15, 27-28, 32; 26:2, 4, 18; 27:2, 4, 16, 19, 21; 28:2, 11, 13-14, 16; 29:4, 8, 10, 16-17, 21, 25, 31-32; 30:2, 5, 12, 18; 31:2, 7, 15-16, 23, 35, 37; 32:3, 14-15, 28, 36, 42; 33:2, 4, 10, 12, 17, 20, 25; 34:2, 4, 13, 17; 35:13, 17-19; 36:29-30; 37:7, 9; 38:2-3, 17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25, 30; 45:2, 4; 47:2; 48:1, 40; 49:1, 7, 12, 28, 35; 50:18, 33; 51:1, 33, 36, 58; Ezek. 11:5; 21:8; 30:6; Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6; 3:12; 5:4, 16; 7:17; Mic. 2:3; 3:5; Nah. 1:12; Hag. 1:2, 5, 7; 2:6, 11; Zech. 1:3-4, 14, 16-17; 2:12; 3:7; 6:12; 7:9; 8:2-4, 6-7, 9, 14, 19-20, 23; 11:4; Mal. 1:4<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The formula, \u201csays the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d or \u201coracle of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,\u201d which translates the Hebrew words: <em>n\u0115\u02c0um YHWH, <\/em>appears in the following verses:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Gen. 22:16; Num. 14:28; 1 Sam. 2:30; 2 Ki. 9:26; 19:33; 22:19; 2 Chr. 34:27; Ps. 110:1; Isa. 14:22-23; 17:3, 6; 22:25; 30:1; 31:9; 37:34; 41:14; 43:10, 12; 49:18; 52:5; 54:17; 55:8; 59:20; 66:2, 17, 22; Jer. 1:8, 15, 19; 2:3, 9, 12, 29; 3:1, 10, 12-14, 16, 20; 4:1, 9, 17; 5:9, 11, 15, 18, 22, 29; 6:12; 7:11, 13, 19, 32; 8:1, 3, 13, 17; 9:2, 5, 8, 21, 23-24; 12:17; 13:11, 14, 25; 15:3, 6, 9, 20; 16:5, 11, 14, 16; 17:24; 18:6; 19:6, 12; 21:7, 10, 13-14; 22:5, 16, 24; 23:1-2, 4-5, 7, 11-12, 23-24, 28-33; 25:7, 9, 12, 29, 31; 27:8, 11, 15, 22; 28:4; 29:9, 11, 14, 19, 23, 32; 30:3, 8, 10-11, 17, 21; 31:1, 14, 16-17, 20, 27-28, 31-34, 36-38; 32:5, 30, 44; 33:14; 34:5, 17, 22; 35:13; 39:17-18; 42:11; 44:29; 45:5; 46:5, 23, 26, 28; 48:12, 25, 30, 35, 38, 43-44, 47; 49:2, 6, 13, 16, 26, 30-32, 37-39; 50:4, 10, 20-21, 30, 35, 40; 51:24-26, 39, 48, 52-53; Ezek. 13:6-7; 16:58; 37:14; Hos. 2:15, 18, 23; 11:11; Joel 2:12; Amos 2:11, 16; 3:10, 15; 4:3, 6, 8-11; 6:8, 14; 9:7-8, 12-13; Obad. 1:4, 8; Mic. 4:6; 5:9; Nah. 2:14; 3:5; Zeph. 1:2-3, 10; 2:9; 3:8; Hag. 1:9, 13; 2:4, 8-9, 14, 17, 23; Zech. 1:3-4, 16; 2:9-10, 14; 3:9-10; 5:4; 8:6, 11, 17; 10:12; 11:6; 12:1, 4; 13:2, 7-8; Mal. 1:2<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>These phrases underline the fundamental metaphor: the prophets are like the messengers of the ancient Near East. They do not claim to bring their own understanding of the situation; rather, they present themselves as messengers of God\u2019s own words.<\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"15.4\"><\/a>15.4. Oracles and Prophetic Speeches<\/h1>\n<p>Oracles are messages from God brought by human beings to others. Typically, God speaks in the first person, and so the oracles often begin with a messenger formula: &#8220;Thus says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">Prophetic speeches refer to the words of the prophet himself. References to <\/span><span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">God appear in the third person and not in the first. Still, the prophets are the messengers of God, and their words are somehow God\u2019s words. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Finally, it is not always easy to know where to divide the text in the books of the prophets. Different translations divide the text differently. As in other situations, whatever divisions support an understanding of the whole is viable.\u00a0 <span style=\"text-align: initial;font-size: 1em\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"15.4a\"><\/a>a. judgment oracles and prophetic speeches<\/h2>\n<p>Especially before the fall of Jerusalem in 586, prophets announced judgment against Israel or Judah or the nations. The two key elements are the accusation and the sentence. Often these oracles begin with a call either to the accused or to witnesses. The accusations enumerate the sins of the accused. The judgment, often introduced by \u201ctherefore,\u201d announces that punishment. Often there follows the reason, introduced by \u201cbecause\u201d or \u201cfor.\u201d The reasons are the same as the accusations.<\/p>\n<p>The famous judgment oracle in Mic 2:9-12 offers a helpful example.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>call:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>9<\/sup> Hear this, you rulers of the house of Jacob<br \/>\nand chiefs of the house of Israel,<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>accusations:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">who abhor justice<br \/>\nand pervert all equity,<br \/>\n<sup>10<\/sup> who build Zion with blood<br \/>\nand Jerusalem with wrong!<br \/>\n<sup>11<\/sup> Its rulers give judgment for a bribe,<br \/>\nits priests teach for a price,<br \/>\nits prophets give oracles for money;<br \/>\nyet they lean upon the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> and say,<br \/>\n\u201cSurely the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> is with us!<br \/>\nNo harm shall come upon us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>judgment:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><sup>12<\/sup> Therefore because of you<br \/>\nZion shall be plowed as a field;<br \/>\nJerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,<br \/>\nand the mountain of the house a wooded height.<\/p>\n<p>The word pairs and parallelism of Hebrew poetry are readily evident here.<\/p>\n<p>These judgment oracles may also introduce the accused with \u201cwoe\u201d or \u201calas\u201d or \u201cah,\u201d as in Amos 6:1-7; Hosea 4:1-3; Micah 2:1-3; 3:5-6; Jeremiah 14:10, etc.<\/p>\n<p>While these judgments are mainly oracles, Isaiah 28:1-13 lets us hear the prophet in his own voice before the oracle. The distance of the third person allows the prophet to achieve an understatement that belies the strong emotion just below the surface of this text.<\/p>\n<p>Judgment with its accusation and sentence appears in many human contexts, such as parent and child, employer and employee, coach, and player, etc. The most formal context is the trial, where the accused comes before the court to hear the accusations and the formal judgment. The prophets, not surprisingly, adopt the formal vocabulary and roles of the lawsuit which translates the Hebrew word <em>r\u00eeb<\/em> (pronounced \u2018reeve\u2019).<\/p>\n<p>In the prophetic literature, the lawsuit or <em>r\u00eeb <\/em>may have the following elements:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>the call of the accused party or the call of witnesses to observe the trial<\/li>\n<li>the accusations by the plaintiff against the defendant<\/li>\n<li>occasionally a statement about the innocence of the plaintiff<\/li>\n<li>\u201cTherefore\u201d or \u201cnow, therefore\u201d followed by the sentence<\/li>\n<li>\u201cBecause\/for\u201d followed reasons for the sentence, which are the same as the accusations.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The defense by the defendant does not appear in these texts. Their guilt is certain. God takes the role of plaintiff and judge, and the judgment is clear.<\/p>\n<p>Jeremiah 2:1-37 represents one of the most elaborate developments of the lawsuit, but perhaps, the most famous example is found in Hosea 2, where God\u2019s role as husband is added to plaintiff and judge. There the speaker\u2019s shifting emotions make it one of the masterpieces of biblical literature. Like much in prophetic literature, these poets constantly transform everything they use. An analysis should not concentrate on how it fits the model but on how the prophet has defamiliarized and transformed the genre.<\/p>\n<p>The judgment oracle has a formal similarity to the lawsuit, and we need not see them as distinct categories. The lawsuit offers the prophet a way to elaborate the judgment oracles.<\/p>\n<p>Both the judgment oracle and the judgment of the lawsuit are performative language, a concept discussed above in \u00a711.2b. The language does not describe but rather puts into effect what is said. A judge in pronouncing the judgment of guilt with a sentence is creating a legal reality. These judgments are not a wish for justice but rather the execution of justice.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"15.4b\"><\/a>b. salvation oracles<\/h2>\n<p>The salvation oracles are the counterpart to the judgment oracles. According to Claus Westermann, they mainly \u201carose anonymously [in the period exilic and post-exilic period] between Deutero-Isaiah (a few probably earlier) and the conclusion of the prophetic canon\u201d (<em>Prophetic Oracles<\/em>, 13). Surely, the people in exile had heard enough of judgment and were in need of salvation. The whole of Isaiah 40-55 can be considered an elaborate salvation oracle. Still, the books of the pre-exilic prophets, as they stand, also contain salvation oracle as if to remind us that prophecy is not just a matter of being angry. The announcement of judgment and salvation are two pieces of a whole. If the Bible confronts us with our sin, it also announces a saving word.<\/p>\n<p>The salvation oracle is the statement or promise by God to save people, and in Micah 4:6-7, we hear:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">In that day, says the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>,<br \/>\nI will assemble the lame<br \/>\nand gather those who have been driven away,<br \/>\nand those whom I have afflicted.<br \/>\nThe lame I will make the remnant,<br \/>\nand those who were cast off, a strong nation;<br \/>\nand the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> will reign over them in Mount Zion<br \/>\nnow and forevermore.<\/p>\n<p>In the judgment oracles, \u201cthat day\u201d or \u201cthe day of the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span>\u201d is the day of punishment and retribution, but in the salvation oracles, \u201cthat day\u201d becomes the day of fulfillment (Amos 9:11).<\/p>\n<p>The salvation oracles then are promises, and as such, they too are performative language. When the prophet proclaims a salvation oracle, God is promising to fulfill the oracle. The salvation oracles are not descriptions of what the future might be; they are a promise by God of what the future will be or what is already taking place in the present. By announcing these oracles, God is guaranteeing their fulfillment.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"15.4c\"><\/a>c. the warning and the call to repentance<\/h2>\n<p>Though sin may bring judgment, the prophets sometimes bring only a warning. Imperatives to repent and do good create these warnings, perhaps with reasons added to motivate people.<\/p>\n<p>Isaiah opens his book with this variation on the judgment oracle. It begins with the standard call and accusation (1:2-3).<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>call:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;<br \/>\nfor the L<span class=\"lowercaps\">ORD<\/span> has spoken:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\"><strong><em>accusation:<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nI reared children and brought them up,<br \/>\nbut they have rebelled against me.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of adding the judgment with its sentence, he accuses Israel\u2019s children of being dumber than the ox and the donkey. It is as if a parent shakes their head and says:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">The ox knows its owner,<br \/>\nand the donkey its master\u2019s crib;<br \/>\nbut Israel does not know,<br \/>\nmy people do not understand.<\/p>\n<p>Isaiah hopes the irony will bring people to their senses. The ox and donkey, because of their good sense, have found a place at the Christmas manger.<\/p>\n<p>Though Jeremiah is famous for judgment oracles, we find several calls to repentance in his work; see Jer 3:11-13; 3:21-22; 10:1-5; 21:11-14 (with a threat of future punishment). . Hosea continually highlights the call to return as we see in 14:1-3.<\/p>\n<p>Both the warning and the call to repentance become variations on the oracles of judgment and salvation. These prophet poets are continually taking traditional forms and turning them upside down.<\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"15.5\"><\/a>15.5. Conclusion<\/h1>\n<p>The prophets take other genres and use them for their purposes, such as the dirge (Jer. 9:19-20), the riddle (Ezek. 17), and the hymn (Isa. 49:13). However, the dramatic monologue, whether a divine oracle or the prophet\u2019s speech, dominates the prophetic literature. As in the laments, we must pay close attention how the prophet creates the implied story and the characters. Unlike the laments, in which each psalm is a unity, the prophetic literature gives us recurring characters and contexts. Even so, their words are larger than the moment. They can transcend their context and create possibilities for inter-textual readings.<\/p>\n<h1><a id=\"15.6\"><\/a>15.6. Exercises for Chapter 15<\/h1>\n<h4>Vocabulary<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>call narrative, prophetic: the story of the call of the prophet which is one of the basic subplots. \u00a715.2<\/li>\n<li>judgment oracle: a speech by God, often with a call to the defendant or to witnesses, followed by accusations and then the judgment, often introduced by \u201ctherefore,\u201d with its punishment and reasons. \u00a715.4a<\/li>\n<li>lawsuit: <em>r\u00eeb<\/em> in Hebrew, an expanded form of the judgment oracle based on the process of a law court in which witnesses are called; the defendant is accused, the plaintiff is defended, and the judgment is given with its punishment and reason. In the biblical lawsuit, the Lord is the plaintiff, prosecutor, and judge. \u00a715.4a<\/li>\n<li>oracle: a message from God brought by a human being to others, with God speaking in the first person. \u00a715.4<\/li>\n<li>salvation oracle: a message by God announcing coming salvation. \u00a715.4b<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Questions<\/h4>\n<p>1. The following passages are judgment oracles. If they contain the messenger formula, identify that. Then identify the elements of the judgment oracles contained in the text. Every passage does not contain all of the elements, and the prophet sometimes adds other elements.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>call to the accused or to witnesses<\/li>\n<li>accusations<\/li>\n<li>defense of the accuser (rare)<\/li>\n<li>Therefore\/Now therefore<\/li>\n<li>judgment and punishment<\/li>\n<li>reasons introduced by for\/because (= accusations).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Amos 3:9-11; 3:13-15; 4:1-3;<br \/>\nMicah 1:2-7; 3:1-4; 3:5-8; 3:9-12; 6:9-16<\/p>\n<p>2. Make a close reading of Amos 3:9-11 or another from the list above.<\/p>\n<p>3. How does Isaiah reshape the judgment oracle: Isa 1:2-3; 1:10-17; 28:14-22<\/p>\n<p>4. Choose one of the following salvation oracles and analyze how it creates a promise of salvation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px\">Amos 9:13-15;<br \/>\nMicah 2:12-13; 4:1-5 (= Isa 2:2-4);<br \/>\nMicah 4:6-7 &#8211; Should It be part of the previous verses?<\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li>Write your own judgment oracle and salvation oracle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"menu_order":6,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[49],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":95,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":815,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/164\/revisions\/815"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/95"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/164\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=164"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=164"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.palni.org\/elementsofbiblicalpoetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}