WEBVTT 00:00.960 --> 00:03.010 Professor Christine Hayes: Let me just briefly 00:03.007 --> 00:04.937 recap as we are moving into the literary prophets, 00:04.936 --> 00:07.176 or the classical prophets, they are sometimes called. 00:07.180 --> 00:09.830 It is easiest to think of them as being associated with 00:09.830 --> 00:11.990 particular crises in the nation's history. 00:11.990 --> 00:15.050 We are not going to be looking at them all, and I have picked 00:15.052 --> 00:17.862 out some of the main ones that we will be looking at. 00:17.860 --> 00:20.000 Really, they are exemplary in a number of different ways. 00:20.000 --> 00:22.080 So you have prophets of the Assyrian crisis. 00:22.080 --> 00:23.860 This is when the two kingdoms still exist. 00:23.860 --> 00:27.240 In the north prophesying in Israel, you have Amos and Hosea. 00:27.240 --> 00:29.760 And in the south you have Isaiah and Micah. 00:29.760 --> 00:32.120 So think of those four books together. 00:32.119 --> 00:34.179 It will be easier to note the differences among them if you 00:34.179 --> 00:34.959 group them together. 00:34.960 --> 00:36.070 And we will be doing that. 00:36.070 --> 00:37.770 Then the prophets of the Babylonian crisis. 00:37.770 --> 00:39.790 By this time the northern kingdom has fallen. 00:39.790 --> 00:42.090 We are moving towards the end of the seventh century. 00:42.090 --> 00:44.710 The Assyrian Empire has fallen in 612. 00:44.710 --> 00:47.600 The prophet Nahum talks about the fall of Assyria. 00:47.600 --> 00:50.600 And we move then into the very end of the century and down to 00:50.600 --> 00:53.500 the beginning of the sixth century, with the destruction of 00:53.500 --> 00:55.890 Judah. So prophets associated with 00:55.893 --> 00:59.613 that time: particularly Jeremiah, and also Habakkuk. 00:59.610 --> 01:02.810 Then we have the prophet of the exile, who is Ezekiel. 01:02.810 --> 01:05.720 And then the post-exilic period, or the Restoration, 01:05.719 --> 01:09.199 when the Israelites are allowed to return to their land and we 01:09.198 --> 01:11.878 have several prophets at that time: Haggai, 01:11.879 --> 01:15.569 Zechariah, Joel and Malachi will be the prophets we'll be 01:15.574 --> 01:16.964 looking at briefly. 01:16.959 --> 01:20.449 There are three long prophetic works, and I have circled those 01:20.445 --> 01:23.985 : Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, one associated with each of the 01:23.988 --> 01:26.838 three crises. So again another mnemonic for 01:26.836 --> 01:30.516 you is to think of them each associated with each of those 01:30.524 --> 01:33.054 major crises. And the rest are all much 01:33.051 --> 01:35.381 shorter works, I think Obadiah being the 01:35.377 --> 01:38.297 shortest, really just a very, very short work. 01:38.300 --> 01:42.790 There has been a long debate over the degree to which these 01:42.791 --> 01:47.051 classical or literary prophets were harking back to long 01:47.050 --> 01:51.770 standing Israelite traditions or constructing norms that would 01:51.774 --> 01:57.044 later come to be viewed as long standing Israelite traditions. 01:57.040 --> 02:00.340 Kaufman describes these classical prophets as the 02:00.336 --> 02:02.736 standard bearers of the covenant. 02:02.740 --> 02:04.150 This is his term. 02:04.150 --> 02:07.970 And in his view they could be seen as conservatives, 02:07.966 --> 02:12.306 but by the same token he says the new prophecy conceived of 02:12.306 --> 02:16.416 ideas that Israelite thought of the earlier time had not 02:16.422 --> 02:18.612 conceived. And in this sense, 02:18.606 --> 02:20.686 Kaufman argues they are also radical. 02:20.689 --> 02:23.809 He describes them as radical conservatives or conservative 02:23.808 --> 02:25.778 radicals. As a result of the radical 02:25.778 --> 02:29.038 nature of some of their message, the prophets had to speak with 02:29.042 --> 02:30.202 great exaggeration. 02:30.199 --> 02:32.509 And you will notice this when you read their writing. 02:32.509 --> 02:35.419 Great exaggeration, a lot of dramatic imagery, 02:35.424 --> 02:36.724 dramatic features. 02:36.720 --> 02:37.860 They denounce the people. 02:37.860 --> 02:39.200 They chastise the people. 02:39.199 --> 02:43.439 And as a result they were often scoffed at or even persecuted in 02:43.435 --> 02:46.215 return. But eventually the nation would 02:46.216 --> 02:50.496 come to enshrine their words in its ancient sacred heritage, 02:50.500 --> 02:53.680 which is testimony to the fact that their message must have 02:53.679 --> 02:56.909 served a crucial role at some time in the changing political 02:56.914 --> 02:58.344 and religious reality. 02:58.340 --> 03:02.010 Now, we have already talked about the Deuteronomistic 03:02.009 --> 03:04.829 historiosophy, and how it developed as an 03:04.832 --> 03:09.422 interpretation of the historical catastrophes of 722 and 586, 03:09.419 --> 03:12.569 and this interpretation made it possible for Israelites to 03:12.565 --> 03:15.265 accept the reality of the defeat of the nation, 03:15.270 --> 03:18.810 the defeat of Israel, without at the same time losing 03:18.809 --> 03:21.229 faith in God. The defeat of Israel, 03:21.234 --> 03:24.914 the exile of the nation, was not to be taken as evidence 03:24.912 --> 03:28.392 that God was not the one supreme Lord of history, 03:28.389 --> 03:31.659 or that God was a faithless God, who would abandon his 03:31.657 --> 03:33.257 covenant and his people. 03:33.259 --> 03:36.989 The defeat and the exile were interpreted to affirm precisely 03:36.988 --> 03:39.868 the opposite. God, as the universal God, 03:39.867 --> 03:42.637 could use other nations as his tool. 03:42.639 --> 03:46.399 He could use these nations to execute judgment on his people, 03:46.396 --> 03:49.836 and he did this in an act of faithfulness ultimately, 03:49.840 --> 03:53.270 faithful to his covenant, which promised punishment and 03:53.272 --> 03:57.342 chastisement for the sins of the people, the sins of idolatry. 03:57.340 --> 04:00.080 The classical literary prophets, Isaiah, 04:00.083 --> 04:03.113 Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the 12 minor prophets, 04:03.108 --> 04:07.398 follow the basic thrust of this interpretation of events. 04:07.400 --> 04:11.470 They agree that the defeat and the exile are evidence rather 04:11.474 --> 04:14.724 than disproof of God's universal sovereignty, 04:14.719 --> 04:18.769 and they agree that they are God's just punishment for sin. 04:18.769 --> 04:21.969 But they are going to differ from the Deuteronomist in two 04:21.972 --> 04:23.042 significant ways. 04:23.040 --> 04:27.020 First they are going to differ in their identification of that 04:27.018 --> 04:28.348 sin. For the prophets, 04:28.353 --> 04:31.243 it is not just idolatry for which Israel is punished, 04:31.238 --> 04:33.178 although that is important, too. 04:33.180 --> 04:35.370 And second of all, they are going to differ in 04:35.369 --> 04:37.849 their emphasis on a future restoration and glory, 04:37.850 --> 04:41.010 a message that we do not find in the Deuteronomistic 04:41.007 --> 04:43.417 historian. The individual books of the 04:43.420 --> 04:46.880 prophets are really arranged according to two interacting 04:46.884 --> 04:49.054 principles: size and chronology. 04:49.050 --> 04:51.930 So you have the first three books, are the very large, 04:51.928 --> 04:53.338 prophetic books: Isaiah, 04:53.339 --> 04:57.029 Jeremiah, and Ezekiel in chronological order of the three 04:57.028 --> 04:59.068 crises we have outlined here. 04:59.069 --> 05:01.909 And then you have the minor prophets, and the minor 05:01.906 --> 05:04.226 prophets, again, are roughly chronological 05:04.232 --> 05:06.232 order, although book size also plays a 05:06.230 --> 05:08.260 bit of a role in arranging these materials. 05:08.259 --> 05:10.679 That was very common in the ancient world--for size to 05:10.678 --> 05:12.638 determine the order of books in a corpus. 05:12.639 --> 05:15.709 We are not going to be following the order of the 05:15.705 --> 05:19.085 canon, because it does jump around chronologically; 05:19.089 --> 05:21.939 first with the three large books and then going back and 05:21.944 --> 05:24.804 having some of the smaller books of earlier prophets. 05:24.800 --> 05:27.900 We are going to be looking at them in chronological order. 05:27.899 --> 05:30.429 We are going to be looking at them against the backdrop of the 05:30.434 --> 05:32.474 historical crisis to which they are responding. 05:32.470 --> 05:35.190 So we are going to begin with the first of the literary 05:35.189 --> 05:38.209 prophets, even though it is not the first in the order of the 05:38.210 --> 05:39.620 Bible, and that is Amos. 05:39.620 --> 05:42.630 Amos preached during a relatively stable period of 05:42.629 --> 05:43.979 time. This was in the northern 05:43.983 --> 05:46.133 kingdom. It was around 750 under the 05:46.133 --> 05:49.143 reign of Jeroboam the Second, not the first. 05:49.139 --> 05:53.249 And this is at a time before the Assyrian threat is becoming 05:53.254 --> 05:56.254 very apparent, and Assyria's empire building 05:56.254 --> 06:00.094 ambitions--before those are becoming very apparent. 06:00.089 --> 06:04.079 There are many passages that suggest that Amos was an 06:04.076 --> 06:05.606 ordinary shepherd. 06:05.610 --> 06:09.030 He came from a small town about 10 miles south of Jerusalem; 06:09.029 --> 06:11.669 so he came from the southern kingdom to prophesy in the 06:11.670 --> 06:12.600 northern kingdom. 06:12.600 --> 06:15.610 He was called to Bethel, which was one of the royal 06:15.608 --> 06:18.618 sanctuaries in the northern kingdom, to deliver his 06:18.617 --> 06:21.157 prophecies. But despite the suggestion that 06:21.164 --> 06:24.304 he was an ordinary shepherd it seems more likely that he was 06:24.295 --> 06:27.155 probably a fairly wealthy owner of land and flocks. 06:27.160 --> 06:30.520 He was probably educated and literate. 06:30.519 --> 06:34.259 The northerners are said to be very surprised by his eloquence 06:34.259 --> 06:35.669 and his intelligence. 06:35.670 --> 06:38.280 But they did not like his message, and ultimately he is 06:38.281 --> 06:40.991 going to be forced to go back to the southern kingdom. 06:40.990 --> 06:44.920 The Book of Amos can be divided structurally into four sections, 06:44.915 --> 06:47.715 which I have listed on the board over here. 06:47.720 --> 06:50.870 You first have a set of brief oracles of doom. 06:50.870 --> 06:53.270 These are in the first two chapters, Amos 1 and 2. 06:53.269 --> 06:56.229 And then you have a series of three short oracles, 06:56.233 --> 06:58.293 oracles to the women of Samaria, 06:58.290 --> 07:01.170 an oracle to the wealthy of Samaria and Jerusalem, 07:01.165 --> 07:03.625 and then an oracle to Israel as a whole. 07:03.630 --> 07:05.800 These are in chapters 3-6. 07:05.800 --> 07:10.450 This is followed then by five symbolic visions which receive 07:10.450 --> 07:14.170 interpretation. These are visions of judgment, 07:14.171 --> 07:16.241 first locusts, then a fire, 07:16.235 --> 07:20.835 then a plumb line that one uses in building a building, 07:20.839 --> 07:24.189 a basket of fruit, and then a vision of God 07:24.194 --> 07:26.914 standing by the altar at Bethel. 07:26.910 --> 07:33.410 This happens chapters 7-9, about verse 8 and 9 . 07:33.410 --> 07:35.970 This section, besides the five visions, 07:35.970 --> 07:39.950 also has a little narrative account of Amos' conflict with a 07:39.945 --> 07:44.065 priest at Bethel, the priest Amaziah who accuses 07:44.066 --> 07:47.496 Amos of treason. And then there is a concluding 07:47.504 --> 07:51.124 epilogue in the ninth chapter that runs for about seven or 07:51.123 --> 07:53.603 eight verses to the end of the book. 07:53.600 --> 07:56.840 The Book of Amos is a wonderful place to start for us because it 07:56.838 --> 07:59.918 contains many features that are going to be typical of all of 07:59.922 --> 08:02.962 the classical prophets, all of the literary prophets by 08:02.955 --> 08:05.275 and large. And also this book introduces 08:05.279 --> 08:06.599 certain major themes. 08:06.600 --> 08:09.520 These will become standard themes of prophecy with some 08:09.519 --> 08:10.979 variation here and there. 08:10.980 --> 08:13.670 So by setting them out in the Book of Amos then we can really 08:13.673 --> 08:16.283 go forward and just look at the variations on some of those 08:16.276 --> 08:18.876 themes that are sounded by some of the other prophets. 08:18.879 --> 08:21.469 So first some literary features, and then we will talk 08:21.466 --> 08:22.976 about the themes of the book. 08:22.980 --> 08:25.750 In terms of literary features, I have jotted down a few here. 08:25.750 --> 08:28.160 You see in the book what we would call editorial notes. 08:28.160 --> 08:30.930 That is to say, you have notes in the Book of 08:30.930 --> 08:33.260 Amos which are in the third person. 08:33.259 --> 08:35.769 These will very often occur at the beginning of a book. 08:35.769 --> 08:37.799 They sort of introduce or set the stage. 08:37.800 --> 08:39.140 So we have in Amos. 08:39.139 --> 08:41.779 "The words of Amos, a sheep breeder from Tekoa, 08:41.775 --> 08:44.865 who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of kings 08:44.869 --> 08:48.369 Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam, the son of Joash of Israel, 08:48.371 --> 08:50.401 two years before the earthquake." 08:50.399 --> 08:53.589 So almost all of the prophetic books are going to contain an 08:53.587 --> 08:55.097 introduction of this type. 08:55.100 --> 08:59.890 Some third-person phrase which will identify the place and the 08:59.885 --> 09:01.685 prophet and his time. 09:01.690 --> 09:05.660 There is another kind of writing in some of these works, 09:05.655 --> 09:08.535 as well, which is in the first person. 09:08.539 --> 09:11.929 It is not always in the third person, but you sometimes have 09:11.930 --> 09:15.380 first person passages in which the prophet himself will speak 09:15.378 --> 09:18.078 about and describe something about himself. 09:18.080 --> 09:21.450 It's a stepping aside from the oracular moment and speaking in 09:21.451 --> 09:24.161 some way about some experience that he has had. 09:24.159 --> 09:27.209 So we have these first person and these third person passages 09:27.205 --> 09:29.485 that give us information about the prophet. 09:29.490 --> 09:32.170 The third-person passages, we surmise, may have been 09:32.167 --> 09:35.387 written by the prophet, but they were probably written 09:35.389 --> 09:39.269 by disciples or others who were responsible for collecting the 09:39.273 --> 09:43.083 prophets' oracles, inditing the prophet's oracles. 09:43.080 --> 09:46.660 Amos 7 is an example of this. 09:46.659 --> 09:49.999 In Amos 7, we find an example of this kind of writing, 09:50.003 --> 09:53.283 again, where you have a description of Amos in debate 09:53.284 --> 09:55.584 with a priest, Priest Amaziah, 09:55.575 --> 09:57.495 at the Shrine of Bethel. 09:57.500 --> 10:00.820 So you have the oracular statements, but you also have 10:00.819 --> 10:04.329 these other identifying passages as well, and descriptive 10:04.325 --> 10:07.095 passages. This brings us then to a second 10:07.100 --> 10:09.950 point, which is that the prophetic books are a 10:09.946 --> 10:12.536 compilation of a variety of materials. 10:12.539 --> 10:15.089 They consist of varied materials that have been 10:15.093 --> 10:16.713 collected. They have been revised. 10:16.710 --> 10:18.560 They have been supplemented. 10:18.559 --> 10:21.579 The prophets' oracles, which were delivered in various 10:21.577 --> 10:23.567 situations over a period of time, 10:23.570 --> 10:27.620 were apparently saved and then compiled, again perhaps by the 10:27.623 --> 10:31.003 prophet himself, perhaps by his disciples. 10:31.000 --> 10:33.830 We know that prophetic oracles were written down and 10:33.826 --> 10:36.816 transmitted in other ancient Near Eastern societies. 10:36.820 --> 10:39.330 We know this about Assyria, for example. 10:39.330 --> 10:42.660 These were literary compositions and the literary 10:42.658 --> 10:46.818 nature of these compositions will account sometimes for their 10:46.818 --> 10:49.208 ordering. Sometimes it appears that there 10:49.210 --> 10:50.700 is not chronological ordering. 10:50.700 --> 10:53.030 This is one of the things that can make it so hard to read some 10:53.028 --> 10:55.758 of the prophetic writings, because the oracles are not 10:55.764 --> 10:58.014 necessarily in chronological order. 10:58.009 --> 11:01.489 They are literary works, and sometimes the prophet or 11:01.485 --> 11:05.825 the disciple or the editor would combine principles--I'm sorry, 11:05.830 --> 11:09.360 combine oracles or juxtapose oracles according to principles 11:09.364 --> 11:12.064 other than chronology--literary principles. 11:12.059 --> 11:14.459 So for example, you very often find the 11:14.458 --> 11:18.058 principle of a catch word: a prophecy or oracle that might 11:18.056 --> 11:21.966 end with a particular word in its last line or last verse, 11:21.970 --> 11:25.120 and so next to it will be a second prophecy or oracle which 11:25.115 --> 11:27.225 echoes that word in its opening line, 11:27.230 --> 11:29.690 and so the two have been brought together for literary 11:29.686 --> 11:31.186 reasons. So Amos 3:2, 11:31.193 --> 11:36.063 reads: "You alone have I known of all the families of the 11:36.060 --> 11:38.860 earth." And that is the concluding line 11:38.864 --> 11:42.114 of that particular oracle, and that verb "to know" is 11:42.109 --> 11:45.479 probably the catchword for the oracle that follows, 11:45.480 --> 11:47.980 because the next one opens, "Do two people walk together 11:47.980 --> 11:49.390 unless they know each other?" 11:49.389 --> 11:52.579 So that may have suggested the juxtaposition of those two. 11:52.580 --> 11:55.490 So we need to understand that the prophetic books are really 11:55.490 --> 11:57.710 little anthologies, anthologies of oracles. 11:57.710 --> 12:00.830 They can be connected for literary rather than substantive 12:00.831 --> 12:02.311 or chronological reasons. 12:02.309 --> 12:04.329 You can't assume chronological sequence. 12:04.330 --> 12:07.330 It is not like reading the historical books of Joshua 12:07.331 --> 12:10.511 through 2 Kings. It is very, very different. 12:10.509 --> 12:14.839 An interesting question concerns the degree to which the 12:14.839 --> 12:19.719 prophetic books preserve the actual oracles of the prophets. 12:19.720 --> 12:23.170 Certainly there is no doubt that there has been revision and 12:23.165 --> 12:25.555 supplementation of the prophetic books. 12:25.559 --> 12:28.959 Not everything in the Book of Amos is from Amos, 12:28.957 --> 12:31.097 himself. Additions have been made to 12:31.097 --> 12:32.617 most of the prophetic books. 12:32.620 --> 12:36.390 It was believed that the words of the prophets had enduring 12:36.386 --> 12:38.716 significance. Those who received these words 12:38.717 --> 12:40.797 believed that they had enduring significance. 12:40.799 --> 12:44.059 And so they were supplemented because of the conviction that 12:44.061 --> 12:46.601 they had enduring relevance, not despite of it, 12:46.604 --> 12:49.694 because of it. And some scholars believe that 12:49.691 --> 12:54.011 this accounts for the oracle in Amos 2 that prophesies the fall 12:54.013 --> 12:55.813 of Judah. Amos is living in 750, 12:55.810 --> 12:58.170 the latter half of the eighth century, not in the sixth 12:58.169 --> 12:59.939 century. He is living in the eighth 12:59.942 --> 13:02.062 century. But he prophesies the fall of 13:02.057 --> 13:05.447 Judah, and most people would assume that this is an addition 13:05.450 --> 13:08.670 which is made to the Book of Amos after Judah's fall. 13:08.669 --> 13:11.889 These supplementations and additions and revisions that we 13:11.894 --> 13:14.274 will see in some of the prophetic books, 13:14.269 --> 13:17.719 and some of them are quite obvious, were not completely 13:17.716 --> 13:20.116 promiscuous. I don't want to give you the 13:20.118 --> 13:22.378 idea that they were, because there are many 13:22.382 --> 13:25.402 instances in which a prophet's words are not updated, 13:25.399 --> 13:28.659 are not modified, even though the failure to do 13:28.655 --> 13:32.475 this leaves the prophecy woefully out of step with what 13:32.476 --> 13:34.596 actually came to be later. 13:34.600 --> 13:36.920 So those kinds of inconsistencies between a 13:36.917 --> 13:40.227 prophet's words and later fact would suggest that there was a 13:40.227 --> 13:43.977 strong tendency to preserve the words of the prophet faithfully. 13:43.980 --> 13:46.760 So we will see both tendencies within the literature, 13:46.759 --> 13:48.629 a tendency to leave words intact, 13:48.629 --> 13:51.459 and at the same place, a tendency to supplement or to 13:51.458 --> 13:54.878 add sections to the prophet, the prophetic writing. 13:54.879 --> 13:58.059 A third feature that we will see in many of the prophetic 13:58.055 --> 14:00.035 books is what we call "the call." 14:00.039 --> 14:02.559 And this is common to most of the prophets. 14:02.559 --> 14:07.009 It is the claim to authority as a result of having been called 14:07.006 --> 14:09.116 by God to deliver his word. 14:09.120 --> 14:10.960 We talked before about apostolic prophecy, 14:10.956 --> 14:13.636 this notion of the prophet as someone who is sent by God with 14:13.643 --> 14:16.093 a message, not someone who is consulted by 14:16.094 --> 14:18.334 a client to find out what God thinks. 14:18.330 --> 14:23.270 The irresistibility of the call is a feature of these passages, 14:23.272 --> 14:26.702 and we find it illustrated in Amos 3:7-8, 14:26.700 --> 14:30.310 after citing a series of proverbs that illustrate 14:30.312 --> 14:32.572 inexorable cause and effect. 14:32.570 --> 14:34.950 For example, he says, "Does a trap spring up 14:34.951 --> 14:37.721 from the ground/Unless it has caught something?" 14:37.720 --> 14:41.400 And then the oracle continues, "A lion has roared,/Who can but 14:41.395 --> 14:44.645 fear?/My Lord God has spoken,/Who can but prophesy?" 14:44.650 --> 14:47.690 There is this irresistible call. 14:47.690 --> 14:51.490 We find metaphors used liberally throughout the 14:51.486 --> 14:53.216 prophetic writings. 14:53.220 --> 14:57.210 And Amos describes his prophecy by means of two types of 14:57.207 --> 14:59.307 metaphors, word and vision. 14:59.309 --> 15:03.489 So many of the prophetic oracles will be introduced by 15:03.485 --> 15:07.735 the phrase "the word of Yahweh came unto prophet X." 15:07.740 --> 15:10.660 The word of Yahweh came--sort of an image of God speaking 15:10.659 --> 15:13.109 directly to these prophets in human language, 15:13.110 --> 15:16.690 which is then repeated or passed on to the audience, 15:16.687 --> 15:20.027 to the listener. This could be understood in a 15:20.032 --> 15:22.522 literal sense. We could take this as a 15:22.524 --> 15:23.994 metaphor. Behind it, however, 15:23.986 --> 15:26.656 is the simple idea that it is God who is communicating to the 15:26.658 --> 15:29.288 prophet and the prophet then communicates the message to the 15:29.285 --> 15:31.165 people. But in addition to hearing, 15:31.169 --> 15:33.469 Amos and many of the other prophets also see. 15:33.470 --> 15:36.520 So the word of the Lord comes, but in other moments the 15:36.524 --> 15:39.474 prophetic oracle will be introduced by verbs or words 15:39.466 --> 15:41.556 connected with seeing and vision. 15:41.559 --> 15:45.449 Hence the word "seer" as a designation for a prophet also. 15:45.450 --> 15:48.330 Amos is shown visions of various kinds, 15:48.329 --> 15:53.179 particularly those five visions clumped in chapters 7,8 and 9. 15:53.179 --> 15:56.279 And this is true of the prophets generally. 15:56.279 --> 15:59.099 These visions might be visions of God speaking, 15:59.096 --> 16:02.216 or visions of God performing some kind of action. 16:02.220 --> 16:06.480 They might also be visions of perfectly ordinary objects or 16:06.480 --> 16:10.520 events that carry some sort of symbolic significance. 16:10.519 --> 16:13.389 So we have five visions in Amos in chapters 7-9, 16:13.392 --> 16:16.512 and some of them are visions of ordinary objects, 16:16.509 --> 16:19.449 but those objects have some special coded meaning or 16:19.451 --> 16:21.471 symbolic significance for Israel. 16:21.470 --> 16:23.710 And then we have visions of extraordinary things, 16:23.712 --> 16:25.682 as well. So we have a locust plague. 16:25.679 --> 16:29.919 It is about to consume the crop right after the king has taken 16:29.924 --> 16:32.364 his share, his taxes of the crop. 16:32.360 --> 16:35.470 Not such an extraordinary vision, but then there is a 16:35.472 --> 16:38.762 vision of a fire that consumes the lower waters that are 16:38.764 --> 16:42.004 pressed down below the earth, and which threatens to consume 16:42.000 --> 16:43.470 even the soil of the earth itself. 16:43.470 --> 16:45.550 So it is an extraordinary vision. 16:45.549 --> 16:48.899 We have a vision of a plumb line-- the tool that is used by 16:48.895 --> 16:51.385 builders. There is a vision of God 16:51.390 --> 16:54.260 destroying worshipers in the temple. 16:54.259 --> 16:57.389 The vision in chapter 8 is an ordinary vision. 16:57.389 --> 17:00.449 It is a vision of a basket of summer fruit. 17:00.450 --> 17:04.630 The Hebrew word for summer or summer fruit is kayits 17:04.633 --> 17:08.893 and this is a pun because the word kets means end. 17:08.890 --> 17:12.430 So the vision of kayits is indicating or symbolizing the 17:12.433 --> 17:14.323 kets, the end of Israel. 17:14.319 --> 17:18.209 And these kinds of symbolic visions will very often 17:18.212 --> 17:21.172 typically include puns of this type. 17:21.170 --> 17:25.200 So another point to make about just the literary features of 17:25.200 --> 17:29.370 prophetic writings is that they do contain or employ a variety 17:29.367 --> 17:30.867 of literary forms. 17:30.869 --> 17:34.469 One commonplace form that you will see over and over again in 17:34.474 --> 17:37.364 these writings is a form that we call the oracle, 17:37.357 --> 17:39.397 an oracle against the nations. 17:39.400 --> 17:40.970 This is found in Amos. 17:40.970 --> 17:43.970 It's found also in the three large prophetic writings: 17:43.967 --> 17:45.717 Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 17:45.720 --> 17:49.650 Amos 1 and 2 contains seven of these oracles that inveigh 17:49.654 --> 17:51.204 against the nations. 17:51.200 --> 17:53.030 But Amos gives the form a new twist. 17:53.030 --> 17:54.940 And this is what's interesting. 17:54.940 --> 17:58.110 Six of the seven oracles are directed against surrounding 17:58.114 --> 18:01.694 nations, and they are excoriated for their inhumane treatment of 18:01.686 --> 18:04.696 others, Israelites and non-Israelites 18:04.704 --> 18:08.754 during wars and conflicts, as punishment for their 18:08.750 --> 18:10.980 terrible war atrocities. 18:10.980 --> 18:14.670 A divine fire is going to break out and destroy all of their 18:14.670 --> 18:16.610 palaces and fortified places. 18:16.609 --> 18:20.069 But then the twist comes, because after these six 18:20.066 --> 18:23.376 horrific oracles, which condemn the nations for 18:23.377 --> 18:26.327 these brutal acts of atrocity in war, 18:26.329 --> 18:29.399 Amos then turns to address his own people. 18:29.400 --> 18:32.850 And he says the same divine power will consume the people of 18:32.850 --> 18:36.240 Yahweh because of the atrocities and inhumanities that they 18:36.241 --> 18:38.231 commit even in times of peace! 18:38.230 --> 18:40.510 So the seventh, the climactic oracle, 18:40.509 --> 18:43.869 announces that God's wrath will be directed at Israel, 18:43.866 --> 18:47.346 and this is a very unwelcome, unexpected statement. 18:47.349 --> 18:50.809 And you can see how he perhaps would almost draw his audience 18:50.814 --> 18:53.074 in, you know, with these images of their 18:53.065 --> 18:55.255 enemies getting what they deserve, 18:55.259 --> 18:57.769 only to then turn it around (having drawn them in, 18:57.767 --> 19:00.787 seduced them if you will with his words)--to turn around and 19:00.786 --> 19:03.546 then charge them with something even worse. 19:03.549 --> 19:05.499 The term "Israel" that he uses is, of course, 19:05.498 --> 19:06.918 ambiguous. That is one of the problems 19:06.920 --> 19:08.140 with some of the prophetic writings. 19:08.140 --> 19:11.090 You are never completely sure whether they're prophesying 19:11.088 --> 19:14.378 against the northern kingdom, Israel, or the House of 19:14.380 --> 19:19.000 Israel--both kingdoms together, the whole tribal confederation. 19:19.000 --> 19:21.340 Some passages in Amos would suggest one. 19:21.340 --> 19:23.670 Some passages suggest the other. 19:23.670 --> 19:27.870 The other thing that we find in Amos is an oracle against Judah, 19:27.865 --> 19:29.925 against the southern kingdom. 19:29.930 --> 19:31.680 This is in chapter 2. 19:31.680 --> 19:33.880 It is just two lines, verses 4 and 5, 19:33.881 --> 19:35.411 and it is in chapter 2. 19:35.410 --> 19:39.960 And many people identify that as a later addition by an 19:39.961 --> 19:41.571 editor. First of all, 19:41.566 --> 19:45.016 it's written in very standard, sort of Deuteronomistic 19:45.018 --> 19:47.288 language. And also, if we leave it out, 19:47.293 --> 19:49.253 then we have a nice literary pattern. 19:49.250 --> 19:52.210 We have six oracles plus one. 19:52.210 --> 19:54.720 We have six oracles against foreign nations, 19:54.715 --> 19:56.925 and then we have one against Israel. 19:56.930 --> 19:59.680 And that pattern is a very standard, literary pattern, 19:59.677 --> 20:02.787 particularly in poetic sections of the Bible and the prophets 20:02.788 --> 20:05.068 are written in an elevated poetic style. 20:05.069 --> 20:07.739 We very often have a six plus one pattern. 20:07.740 --> 20:10.290 That's related to another pattern that we also see in 20:10.285 --> 20:12.435 Amos, which is the three plus one pattern. 20:12.440 --> 20:15.480 This is just a doubling of it, six plus one. 20:15.480 --> 20:17.830 The three plus one pattern you will recognize. 20:17.830 --> 20:19.790 It is quite explicit at times. 20:19.789 --> 20:22.249 Amos will say, "for three transgressions of 20:22.247 --> 20:24.877 Damascus, for four, I will not revoke it"--the 20:24.880 --> 20:26.460 decree, the punishment. 20:26.460 --> 20:30.100 A similar kind of language is used in verse 6 for Gaza, 20:30.102 --> 20:32.872 in verse 9 for Tyre, in verse 11 for Edom, 20:32.867 --> 20:35.967 and verse 13 for the Ammonites, and so on. 20:35.970 --> 20:37.640 So we often have this pattern. 20:37.640 --> 20:41.080 And so the suggestion by scholars is that without that 20:41.082 --> 20:43.682 prophecy concerning the fall of Judah, 20:43.680 --> 20:46.830 which post-dates Amos, you would have a nice complete 20:46.834 --> 20:48.234 six plus one pattern. 20:48.230 --> 20:51.240 And this might be the sign of a later editor updating Amos' 20:51.243 --> 20:53.743 prophecy, so that it would look as though he had, 20:53.737 --> 20:55.917 in fact, prophesied the fall of Judah. 20:55.920 --> 20:59.410 You have other sorts of literary patterns and forms used 20:59.405 --> 21:00.985 in the prophetic works. 21:00.990 --> 21:03.400 Some of the literary forms we see are hymns. 21:03.400 --> 21:06.290 We see songs. We see laments, 21:06.288 --> 21:09.678 particularly laments or mourning for Israel as if her 21:09.682 --> 21:12.882 destruction is already a fait accompli. 21:12.880 --> 21:14.420 You find proverbs. 21:14.420 --> 21:16.970 Very often when the prophets cite a proverb, 21:16.967 --> 21:19.927 they will turn its accepted meaning on its head. 21:19.930 --> 21:23.450 They'll take an old proverb and they'll apply it to some new 21:23.449 --> 21:26.789 situation and give it a radically new kind of meaning, 21:26.789 --> 21:29.519 to sort of shock and surprise their audience. 21:29.519 --> 21:33.939 And Amos 3-8 contains a lot of proverbs. 21:33.940 --> 21:36.670 Another literary form that we will see, and this is an 21:36.673 --> 21:38.743 important one, is a literary form that is 21:38.736 --> 21:40.486 called the riv, r-i -v. 21:40.490 --> 21:42.910 I have it up there: a riv, 21:42.907 --> 21:47.057 which basically means a lawsuit, specifically a covenant 21:47.063 --> 21:50.173 lawsuit. Many of the prophetic books 21:50.168 --> 21:54.648 feature passages in which God basically brings a lawsuit 21:54.648 --> 21:58.058 against the people, charging them with breach of 21:58.056 --> 22:00.536 covenant, breach of contract, if you will. 22:00.539 --> 22:03.459 And in these passages, you have legal metaphors being 22:03.464 --> 22:06.114 used throughout: people testifying or witnessing 22:06.108 --> 22:09.538 against Israel--can she speak in her defense?--and so on. 22:09.539 --> 22:11.559 So the riv, or the covenant lawsuit is a 22:11.564 --> 22:12.624 form we will see here. 22:12.619 --> 22:15.739 We will also see it again when we get to the Book of Job. 22:15.740 --> 22:19.560 So the prophetic corpus draws on the entire range of literary 22:19.555 --> 22:23.365 forms that were available in Israelite literary tradition, 22:23.369 --> 22:27.099 and very often gives them a rich--and that is what give the 22:27.101 --> 22:29.611 books a very rich and varied texture. 22:29.609 --> 22:33.459 So Amos is a model for us in terms of its literary features, 22:33.459 --> 22:37.439 but it's also a model for us in terms of some of the themes or 22:37.440 --> 22:41.360 the content of the book--because Amos will articulate certain 22:41.355 --> 22:44.485 themes that we will see resounding throughout the 22:44.487 --> 22:46.377 prophetic literature. 22:46.380 --> 22:48.780 There will be some variations on these themes, 22:48.779 --> 22:50.859 but some standard themes appear here. 22:50.860 --> 22:53.320 So we will review those now. 22:53.319 --> 22:55.999 Many scholars, Kaufman among them, 22:55.998 --> 23:00.708 have noted that the literature of the classical prophets is 23:00.705 --> 23:04.925 most clearly and strongly characterized by a vehement 23:04.925 --> 23:09.625 denunciation of the moral decay and social injustice of the 23:09.632 --> 23:13.082 period. It really does not matter what 23:13.076 --> 23:15.176 period. "Vehement denunciation" of 23:15.183 --> 23:17.923 moral decay and social injustice, is the way the 23:17.920 --> 23:19.260 Kaufman phrases it . 23:19.259 --> 23:22.209 Amos criticizes the sins of the nation. 23:22.210 --> 23:24.320 He is critical of everyone, the middle class, 23:24.317 --> 23:26.517 the government, the king, the establishment, 23:26.519 --> 23:30.919 the priesthood--they're all plagued by a superficial kind of 23:30.922 --> 23:33.052 piety. For Amos, as for all the 23:33.054 --> 23:37.024 prophets we will be looking at, the idea of covenant prescribes 23:37.018 --> 23:39.638 a particular relationship with Yahweh, 23:39.640 --> 23:42.720 but not only with Yahweh: also with one's fellow human 23:42.717 --> 23:44.737 beings. The two are interlinked. 23:44.740 --> 23:48.860 It is a sign of closeness to Yahweh that one is concerned for 23:48.856 --> 23:50.636 Israel's poor and needy. 23:50.640 --> 23:54.260 The two are completely intertwined and interlinked. 23:54.259 --> 23:56.259 And so Amos denounces the wealthy. 23:56.259 --> 23:59.219 He denounces the powerful and the way they treat the poor. 23:59.220 --> 24:02.020 I am going to be reading some passages from Amos to illustrate 24:02.015 --> 24:03.065 some of these themes. 24:03.069 --> 24:07.829 So Amos 4:1-3--and listen to the dramatic rhetoric that is 24:07.834 --> 24:11.344 used: "Hear this word, you cows of Bashan/On the hill 24:11.343 --> 24:14.153 of Samaria"--that is the capital of the northern kingdom, 24:14.148 --> 24:16.608 Israel: Who defraud the poor, 24:16.610 --> 24:19.220 Who rob the needy; Who say to your husbands, 24:19.220 --> 24:20.850 "Bring, and let's carouse!" 24:20.849 --> 24:23.309 My Lord God swears by His holiness: 24:23.310 --> 24:27.130 Behold, days are coming upon you When you will be carried off in 24:27.125 --> 24:29.145 baskets, And, to the last one, 24:29.153 --> 24:31.913 in fish baskets, And taken out [of the city]-- 24:31.910 --> 24:33.730 Each one through a breach straight ahead-- 24:33.730 --> 24:36.560 And flung on the refuse heap. 24:36.559 --> 24:39.489 It's a wonderful pun here, because the wealthy women of 24:39.491 --> 24:41.881 Samaria are referred to as cows of Bashan. 24:41.880 --> 24:46.130 Now Bashan is an area that is very rich pastureland in the 24:46.126 --> 24:48.916 transJordan. And also it is very common in 24:48.921 --> 24:51.641 Canaanite literature to refer to the nobility, 24:51.638 --> 24:54.478 and even to gods, with terms like bull or ram or 24:54.476 --> 24:56.736 cow. These were not insulting terms, 24:56.739 --> 24:58.569 as they might be in our culture. 24:58.569 --> 25:00.869 These were, in fact, terms that did not offend. 25:00.869 --> 25:02.949 These were very complimentary terms. 25:02.950 --> 25:05.930 So when he refers to the cows of Bashan (he speaks to the 25:05.929 --> 25:09.279 women of Samaria as the cows of Bashan) he is flattering them to 25:09.281 --> 25:12.041 begin with. But the pun is quite wonderful 25:12.038 --> 25:15.628 because these women are going to end up like fat cows, 25:15.630 --> 25:18.850 as slabs of meat in the butcher's basket or in the fish 25:18.849 --> 25:20.339 basket which, you know, 25:20.339 --> 25:23.189 is flung out on the refuse heap once it is spoiled. 25:23.190 --> 25:27.400 So he takes that term "cows of Bashan," and leads it to this 25:27.397 --> 25:33.227 horrendous end. Amos 6:1 and 4-7. 25:33.230 --> 25:37.600 This is another scathing attack on the idle life of the carefree 25:37.598 --> 25:41.758 rich who ignore the plight of the poor: woe to those "at ease 25:41.758 --> 25:43.898 in Zion." Of course, that is the capital 25:43.902 --> 25:46.182 of the southern kingdom, Jerusalem, and those "confident 25:46.179 --> 25:48.249 on the hill of Samaria," the northern kingdom: 25:48.250 --> 25:50.490 You notables of the leading nation 25:50.490 --> 25:52.550 On whom the House of Israel pin their hopes; 25:52.550 --> 25:55.550 […] They lie on ivory beds, 25:55.550 --> 25:58.500 Lolling on their couches, Feasting on lambs from the flock 25:58.500 --> 26:00.210 And on calves from the stalls. 26:00.210 --> 26:03.880 They hum snatches of song to the tune of the lute-- 26:03.880 --> 26:06.170 They account themselves musicians like David. 26:06.170 --> 26:08.310 They drink [straight] from the wine bowls 26:08.309 --> 26:11.029 And anoint themselves with the choicest oils-- 26:11.029 --> 26:13.519 But they are not concerned about the ruin of Joseph. 26:13.520 --> 26:16.820 Assuredly, right soon They shall head the column of 26:16.816 --> 26:18.896 exiles; They shall lull no more at 26:18.902 --> 26:21.122 festive meals. It is a great image of them 26:21.116 --> 26:22.466 lying about as the head of the nation. 26:22.470 --> 26:26.230 They will be at the head of the nation as it moves into exile! 26:26.230 --> 26:28.840 And on an archaeological note, I understand that in Samaria 26:28.836 --> 26:31.426 they have, in fact, uncovered all kinds of ivory 26:31.426 --> 26:34.896 furniture and ivory coverings that would then be attached to 26:34.895 --> 26:37.765 furniture. So the image of them lolling on 26:37.767 --> 26:41.707 ivory couches in Samaria apparently makes a lot of sense. 26:41.710 --> 26:45.060 So the moral decay, the greed, the indulgence of 26:45.056 --> 26:48.326 the upper classes, this is directly responsible 26:48.332 --> 26:52.182 for the social injustice that according to the prophets 26:52.177 --> 26:55.957 outrages God. Amos 8:4-6: 26:55.960 --> 26:58.220 Listen to this, you who devour the needy, 26:58.215 --> 26:59.975 annihilating the poor of the land, 26:59.980 --> 27:03.420 saying, "If only the new moon were over, so that we could sell 27:03.418 --> 27:04.488 grain; the sabbath, 27:04.493 --> 27:07.353 so that we could offer wheat for sale, using [a measure] 27:07.352 --> 27:09.332 that is too small and a shekel [weight] 27:09.328 --> 27:12.258 that is too big, tilting a dishonest scale, 27:12.257 --> 27:14.727 and selling grain refuse as grain! 27:14.730 --> 27:17.790 We will buy the poor for silver, the needy for a pair of 27:17.793 --> 27:20.023 sandals. The Lord swears by the pride of 27:20.017 --> 27:22.167 Jacob: I will never forget any of [their] 27:22.169 --> 27:23.729 doings. [See note 1] 27:23.730 --> 27:27.140 Again, notice that they are prone to extreme formulations 27:27.137 --> 27:30.267 and high-flown rhetoric, and sometimes when you strip 27:30.269 --> 27:32.819 away the rhetoric, you see that the crimes that 27:32.816 --> 27:34.916 are being denounced are not murder, 27:34.920 --> 27:39.470 and rape, or horrendous physical violence. 27:39.470 --> 27:43.490 These are obvious and grievous violations of social morality. 27:43.490 --> 27:46.860 Rather many scholars have pointed out, I think Kaufman 27:46.858 --> 27:49.458 chief among them, that the crimes that are 27:49.463 --> 27:53.343 denounced here are crimes that are prevalent in any society in 27:53.340 --> 27:55.600 any era. The crimes that are denounced 27:55.604 --> 27:58.404 as being utterly unacceptable to God, infuriating God to the 27:58.399 --> 28:00.199 point of destruction of the nation, 28:00.200 --> 28:03.250 are the kinds of crimes we see around us everyday, 28:03.247 --> 28:06.167 taking bribes, improper weights and balances, 28:06.170 --> 28:09.860 lack of charity to the poor, indifference to the plight of 28:09.858 --> 28:12.698 the debtor. A second theme that is pointed 28:12.700 --> 28:16.500 out again by many scholars, is what Kaufman calls the idea 28:16.500 --> 28:18.500 of the primacy of morality. 28:18.500 --> 28:22.240 That is to say the idea or the doctrine that morality is not 28:22.243 --> 28:25.673 just an obligation equal in importance to the cultic or 28:25.670 --> 28:29.740 religious obligations, but that morality is perhaps 28:29.744 --> 28:31.654 superior to the cult. 28:31.650 --> 28:36.160 What God requires of Israel is morality and not cultic service. 28:36.160 --> 28:38.880 Now, the prophets are all going to have--we are going to see 28:38.882 --> 28:41.792 many different attitudes towards the cult among the prophets. 28:41.789 --> 28:45.559 So allow that to become a more nuanced statement as we go 28:45.557 --> 28:47.417 through. Some are going to reject the 28:47.421 --> 28:48.571 cult of the entire nation. 28:48.570 --> 28:50.780 Others will not. So there is going to be some 28:50.777 --> 28:52.907 variation, but certainly morality is primary. 28:52.910 --> 28:55.760 And their words could, at times, be very harsh and 28:55.763 --> 28:56.873 very astonishing. 28:56.870 --> 29:01.090 Amos 5:21-24. "I loathe"--he is speaking now 29:01.093 --> 29:03.693 as God, right? So God is speaking--God says: 29:03.690 --> 29:06.220 "I loathe, I spurn your festivals, 29:06.220 --> 29:08.910 I am not appeased by your solemn assemblies. 29:08.910 --> 29:10.550 If you offer Me burnt [sacrifices] 29:10.548 --> 29:13.508 or your meal [sacrifices] I will not accept them; 29:13.510 --> 29:16.870 I will pay no heed To your gifts of fatlings. 29:16.869 --> 29:18.709 Spare me the sound of your hymns, 29:18.710 --> 29:21.170 And let Me not hear the music of your lutes. 29:21.170 --> 29:23.670 But let justice well up like water, 29:23.670 --> 29:26.280 Righteousness like an unfailing stream." [See note 2] 29:26.279 --> 29:29.779 This is an attack on empty piety, on the performance of 29:29.783 --> 29:32.863 rituals without any meaning, perhaps, behind that 29:32.859 --> 29:36.249 performance, or in accompaniment to social injustice--the two 29:36.246 --> 29:38.106 can't happen at the same time. 29:38.109 --> 29:40.759 And that's a theme that is sounded repeatedly throughout 29:40.761 --> 29:41.871 prophetic literature. 29:41.869 --> 29:44.839 So for Amos, and for all the prophets, 29:44.841 --> 29:46.851 injustice is sacrilege. 29:46.849 --> 29:50.409 The ideals of the covenant are of utmost importance. 29:50.410 --> 29:53.000 That is why they are called the standard bearers of the 29:52.998 --> 29:55.538 covenant, harking back to the covenant obligations. 29:55.539 --> 29:58.249 And without these, without the ideals of the 29:58.247 --> 30:02.017 covenant, the fulfillment of cultic and ritual obligations in 30:02.024 --> 30:03.854 and of itself is a farce. 30:03.849 --> 30:06.799 That is not to say that they would be rejected were Israel to 30:06.795 --> 30:08.165 be upholding the covenant. 30:08.170 --> 30:11.680 So this rejection of the cult depends, of course, 30:11.680 --> 30:15.410 on a caricature of cultic and ritual performance. 30:15.410 --> 30:17.920 The prophets caricature it as meaningless. 30:17.920 --> 30:21.190 They caricature it as unconcerned with ethics or with 30:21.194 --> 30:23.844 the ideals of justice and righteousness. 30:23.839 --> 30:27.109 But internal cultural conflicts often do involve the 30:27.113 --> 30:30.773 caricaturing or the ridiculing of an opponent's beliefs or 30:30.771 --> 30:33.301 practices. But for some of the prophets 30:33.301 --> 30:35.691 rejection of the cult was quite radical. 30:35.690 --> 30:39.060 That is an idea that is not yet really fully formed in Amos. 30:39.059 --> 30:41.019 We are going to see, again, that some of the 30:41.017 --> 30:43.927 prophets will reject the cult of the nation, not just the cult of 30:43.930 --> 30:45.250 the wicked, but everyone. 30:45.250 --> 30:48.410 Even if performed properly and by righteous persons, 30:48.412 --> 30:51.702 there will be one or two prophets who believe the cult 30:51.699 --> 30:55.109 has no inherent value or no absolute value for God. 30:55.109 --> 30:57.799 In some sense, this is a view that we have 30:57.799 --> 31:01.669 already encountered in sources devoted to the cult even in a 31:01.670 --> 31:04.360 source like P, the Priestly material. 31:04.359 --> 31:07.249 The Priestly material is already moving towards the idea, 31:07.247 --> 31:10.817 or establishing the idea, that the cult is an expression 31:10.816 --> 31:13.786 of divine favor rather than divine need. 31:13.789 --> 31:18.459 It doesn't really have an actual value necessarily for 31:18.461 --> 31:20.741 God. It doesn't really affect his 31:20.736 --> 31:23.096 vitality. It is given to humans as a 31:23.098 --> 31:25.638 ritual conduit, as a way to attract and 31:25.640 --> 31:28.850 maintain God's presence within the community, 31:28.849 --> 31:33.439 or to procure atonement for deeds or impurities that might 31:33.440 --> 31:36.340 temporarily separate one from God. 31:36.339 --> 31:38.869 So already in the Priestly source, we have a very 31:38.871 --> 31:41.821 complicated notion of the function of the for society and 31:41.824 --> 31:44.464 humanity. So the prophetic doctrine of 31:44.460 --> 31:48.570 the primacy of morality seems to be a reaction against other 31:48.569 --> 31:52.299 views of cultic practice; perhaps there were popular 31:52.301 --> 31:56.341 assumptions about the automatic efficacy of the cult and its 31:56.343 --> 31:59.233 rites. But Kaufman has been joined by 31:59.234 --> 32:03.254 many other scholars who argue that the prophets raised 32:03.253 --> 32:07.503 morality to the level of an absolute religious value, 32:07.500 --> 32:10.850 and they did so because they saw morality as essentially 32:10.850 --> 32:14.000 divine . The essence of God is his moral 32:14.003 --> 32:16.733 nature. Moral attributes are the 32:16.730 --> 32:18.800 essence of God himself. 32:18.799 --> 32:21.939 So Kaufman notes that he who requires justice and 32:21.941 --> 32:25.611 righteousness and compassion from human beings is himself 32:25.606 --> 32:28.286 just and righteous and compassionate. 32:28.290 --> 32:30.430 This is the prophetic view. 32:30.430 --> 32:34.460 The moral person can metaphorically be said to share 32:34.462 --> 32:37.382 in divinity. This is the kind of apotheosis 32:37.381 --> 32:40.161 that you find then in the prophetic writings, 32:40.160 --> 32:42.870 not the idea of a transformation into a divine 32:42.871 --> 32:45.041 being in life or even after death, 32:45.039 --> 32:50.539 but the idea that one strives to be god-like by imitating his 32:50.542 --> 32:54.092 moral actions, the idea again of imitatio 32:54.085 --> 32:56.565 dei. A third feature of the 32:56.572 --> 33:00.512 prophetic writings, this is again underscored by 33:00.508 --> 33:03.278 Kaufman, but also many other scholars, 33:03.279 --> 33:06.979 and that is the prophets' view of history, their particular 33:06.978 --> 33:10.718 view of history, their interpretation of the 33:10.722 --> 33:14.102 catastrophic events of 722 and 586. 33:14.099 --> 33:18.179 It is an interpretation that centers on their elevation of 33:18.179 --> 33:22.329 morality, because the prophets insisted that morality was a 33:22.329 --> 33:25.329 decisive, if not the decisive factor, 33:25.331 --> 33:27.251 in the nation's history. 33:27.250 --> 33:31.650 Israel's acceptance of God's covenant placed certain 33:31.648 --> 33:34.838 religious and moral demands on her. 33:34.839 --> 33:38.309 Now in the Deuteronomistic view that we have talked about, 33:38.308 --> 33:41.958 one sin is singled out as being historically decisive for the 33:41.960 --> 33:43.980 nation. Other sins are punished, 33:43.976 --> 33:46.136 absolutely. But only one is singled out as 33:46.135 --> 33:49.205 being historically decisive for the nation, and that is the sin 33:49.207 --> 33:51.387 of idolatry, particularly the idolatry of 33:51.393 --> 33:53.553 the royal house. So the Deuteronomistic 33:53.546 --> 33:56.966 historian presents the tragic history of the two kingdoms as 33:56.971 --> 33:59.991 essentially a sequence of idolatrous aberrations, 33:59.990 --> 34:01.580 which were followed by punishment. 34:01.579 --> 34:06.089 And this cycle continued until finally there had to be complete 34:06.091 --> 34:08.821 destruction. While it is certainly true that 34:08.822 --> 34:12.142 moral sins and other religious sins in Israel were punishable 34:12.137 --> 34:15.617 in the Deuteronomist's view, it is really only the worship 34:15.617 --> 34:18.597 of other gods that brings about national collapse, 34:18.603 --> 34:22.043 national exile. And that view is exemplified in 34:22.040 --> 34:24.910 2 Kings 17, which I have read to you. 34:24.909 --> 34:28.079 It does not mention moral sins as leading to the collapse of 34:28.084 --> 34:30.314 the state. It harps on idolatry. 34:30.309 --> 34:36.259 Idolatry was what provoked God to drive the nation into exile. 34:36.260 --> 34:38.990 The view of the classical prophets is a little different. 34:38.989 --> 34:42.449 Israel's history is determined by moral factors, 34:42.453 --> 34:44.593 not just religious factors. 34:44.590 --> 34:47.190 So the nation is punished not only for idolatry, 34:47.188 --> 34:48.568 but for moral failings. 34:48.570 --> 34:49.940 And, of course, the two are to a large degree 34:49.943 --> 34:52.303 intertwined. But the emphasis on the moral 34:52.295 --> 34:54.205 is striking in the prophets. 34:54.210 --> 34:58.120 And it may not be so startling to hear that God would doom a 34:58.123 --> 35:01.313 generation or doom a nation for grave moral sins, 35:01.306 --> 35:03.226 like murder and violence. 35:03.230 --> 35:06.210 This is something we have already seen in the generation 35:06.207 --> 35:08.627 of the flood. The cities of Sodom and 35:08.631 --> 35:12.491 Gomorrah--they were destroyed for grievous violations of 35:12.486 --> 35:15.286 morality: murder, violence and so on. 35:15.289 --> 35:17.939 The prophets, however, are claiming that the 35:17.935 --> 35:20.945 nation is doomed because of commonplace wrongs, 35:20.949 --> 35:24.059 because of bribe-taking, because of false scales and 35:24.062 --> 35:27.422 false weights that are being used in the marketplace. 35:27.420 --> 35:30.820 These are the crimes for which destruction of the nation and 35:30.817 --> 35:32.197 exile will take place. 35:32.200 --> 35:35.300 Amos 2:6 through 8: Thus said the Lord: 35:35.300 --> 35:37.160 For three transgressions of Israel, 35:37.159 --> 35:40.639 For four, I will not revoke it [the decree of destruction]: 35:40.639 --> 35:42.889 Because they have sold for silver 35:42.889 --> 35:45.949 Those whose cause was just [taking bribes in a courtroom 35:45.948 --> 35:48.098 setting], And the needy for a pair of 35:48.097 --> 35:50.197 sandals. You who trample the heads of 35:50.199 --> 35:52.059 the poor Into the dust of the ground, 35:52.059 --> 35:54.999 And make the humble walk a twisted course! 35:55.000 --> 35:58.100 So this is the first difference really between the 35:58.095 --> 36:01.755 Deuteronomistic interpretation of the nation's history--the 36:01.759 --> 36:05.549 destruction of Israel--and the prophetic interpretation. 36:05.550 --> 36:08.330 For the prophets, the national catastrophes are 36:08.331 --> 36:11.171 just punishment for sin, but not just the sin of 36:11.173 --> 36:13.423 idolatry, for all sins no matter how 36:13.416 --> 36:16.606 petty, now matter how venial, because all sins violate the 36:16.609 --> 36:19.859 terms of the covenant code, which is given specially to 36:19.863 --> 36:21.433 Israel. And the terms of the 36:21.432 --> 36:24.802 covenant--being vassals to the sovereign Yahweh means treating 36:24.795 --> 36:28.285 co-vassals in a particular way, and it is breach of covenant 36:28.292 --> 36:30.662 not to do that. And, again, how much the 36:30.659 --> 36:33.539 prophets were harking back to an older tradition, 36:33.539 --> 36:36.539 to ancient traditions about Israel and its covenant 36:36.539 --> 36:39.949 relationship, traditions according to which 36:39.952 --> 36:44.862 Israel's redemption and election entailed moral obligations; 36:44.860 --> 36:48.190 how much they were the ones to actually generate and argue for 36:48.192 --> 36:50.762 this idea again is hotly debated by scholars. 36:50.760 --> 36:53.900 It is not an issue that we need to decide. 36:53.900 --> 36:57.710 But I would note that the primacy of morality in Israelite 36:57.705 --> 37:01.505 religion certainly dates back at least to the times of the 37:01.511 --> 37:04.551 earliest prophets, Amos in the eighth century for 37:04.551 --> 37:06.961 example, and may indeed have had antecedents. 37:06.960 --> 37:11.060 It certainly didn't just arise in the exile as some scholars 37:11.061 --> 37:12.731 would have us believe. 37:12.730 --> 37:15.600 It certainly was not the invention of the Deuteronomistic 37:15.604 --> 37:18.144 historian. It's alive and well in some of 37:18.141 --> 37:19.871 these very early prophets. 37:19.869 --> 37:22.849 I am going to turn now to the second difference between the 37:22.846 --> 37:25.406 Deuteronomistic and the prophetic interpretation of 37:25.412 --> 37:26.492 Israel's history. 37:26.489 --> 37:29.719 And that is that the prophets coupled their message of tragedy 37:29.715 --> 37:32.355 and doom with a message of hope and consolation. 37:32.360 --> 37:35.380 And this is something that just simply doesn't come within the 37:35.377 --> 37:37.997 purview of the Deuteronomistic historian's writing. 37:38.000 --> 37:41.490 First let me say a little bit about the message of doom and 37:41.485 --> 37:44.065 then the message of hope and consolation. 37:44.070 --> 37:47.380 One of the things that's so interesting in the classical 37:47.377 --> 37:51.227 prophets is that they give a new content to older Israelite ideas 37:51.226 --> 37:54.906 about the end of days, or what we call eschatology. 37:54.909 --> 37:57.229 Eschatology = an account of the eschaton, 37:57.229 --> 37:58.689 eschaton meaning the end. 37:58.690 --> 38:02.010 So eschatology is an account of the end. 38:02.010 --> 38:05.010 The prophets warned that unless they changed, 38:05.006 --> 38:08.956 the people were going to suffer the punishment that was due 38:08.957 --> 38:10.327 them. And, in fact, 38:10.332 --> 38:13.912 the people were very foolish to be eagerly awaiting or eagerly 38:13.909 --> 38:17.369 expecting what was popularly known as the Day of Yahweh, 38:17.370 --> 38:18.340 or the Day of the Lord. 38:18.340 --> 38:23.050 38:23.050 --> 38:26.120 And so the prophets refer to the Day of Yahweh as if it were 38:26.123 --> 38:29.043 a popular conception out there in the general culture. 38:29.039 --> 38:32.329 It was a popular idea at the time that on some future 38:32.332 --> 38:36.192 occasion God would dramatically intervene in world affairs and 38:36.194 --> 38:38.604 he would do so on Israel's behalf. 38:38.599 --> 38:40.959 He would lead Israel in victory over her enemies. 38:40.960 --> 38:42.780 They would be punished. 38:42.780 --> 38:45.710 Israel would be restored to her full and former glory. 38:45.710 --> 38:48.380 And that day, the Day of the Lord or the Day 38:48.380 --> 38:51.870 of Yahweh, in the popular mind, was going to be a marvelous 38:51.873 --> 38:54.923 day, a day of victory for Israel, triumph for Israel and a 38:54.919 --> 38:56.789 day of vengeance on her enemies. 38:56.789 --> 39:01.269 Amos 5:18 and 29, talks about the people as 39:01.273 --> 39:04.693 desirous of the Day of Yahweh. 39:04.690 --> 39:07.350 They are very confident that this is going to be a day of 39:07.347 --> 39:09.337 light, a day of blessing, a day of victory, 39:09.340 --> 39:11.010 he says. But the prophets, 39:11.009 --> 39:13.659 Amos among them, tell a different story. 39:13.659 --> 39:16.559 According to them, if there is no change then this 39:16.556 --> 39:20.096 Day of Yahweh is not going to be some glorious thing that the 39:20.103 --> 39:22.353 people should be eagerly awaiting. 39:22.349 --> 39:24.209 It's not going to be a day of triumph for Israel. 39:24.210 --> 39:26.820 It will not be a day of vengeance on her enemies. 39:26.820 --> 39:29.310 It's going to be a dark day of destruction. 39:29.309 --> 39:33.049 It is going to be a day of doom when God will finally call his 39:33.048 --> 39:34.518 own people to account. 39:34.519 --> 39:38.229 So this is another instance of the way in which the prophets 39:38.226 --> 39:41.866 try to radically surprise their audience by taking an older 39:41.870 --> 39:45.640 concept and reversing its meaning, changing its meaning. 39:45.639 --> 39:48.869 And here they have transformed the popular image of the Day of 39:48.872 --> 39:51.682 Yahweh from one of national triumph to one of national 39:51.681 --> 39:55.031 judgment. Amos 5:18 through 20: 39:55.030 --> 39:57.460 Ah, you who wish For the day of the Lord! 39:57.460 --> 39:59.540 Why should you want The day of the Lord? 39:59.540 --> 40:01.150 It shall be darkness, not light! 40:01.150 --> 40:03.430 --As if a man should run from a lion 40:03.430 --> 40:05.340 And be attacked by a bear; Or if he got indoors, 40:05.340 --> 40:08.660 Should lean his hand on the wall And be bitten by a snake![there 40:08.663 --> 40:10.853 is going to be no place to hide, in other words} 40:10.849 --> 40:12.279 Surely the day of the Lord shall be 40:12.280 --> 40:14.970 Not light, but darkness, Blackest night without a 40:14.965 --> 40:18.715 glimmer. Or chapter 8:9 through 12: 40:18.719 --> 40:20.539 And in that day--declares my Lord God-- 40:20.540 --> 40:23.940 I will make the sun set at noon, I will darken the earth on a 40:23.937 --> 40:26.267 sunny day. I will turn your festivals into 40:26.266 --> 40:28.506 mourning And all your songs into dirges; 40:28.510 --> 40:30.420 I will put sackcloth on all loins 40:30.420 --> 40:31.820 And tonsures on every head. 40:31.819 --> 40:34.809 [mourning rites] I will make it mourn as for an 40:34.807 --> 40:37.577 only child, All of it as on a bitter 40:37.583 --> 40:40.003 day. So again at the heart of this 40:40.000 --> 40:43.220 idea that the Day of Yahweh is being transformed into this day 40:43.218 --> 40:45.418 of judgment, is the old idea that God is the 40:45.416 --> 40:46.456 God of history. Right? 40:46.460 --> 40:49.510 God can control the destiny of nations. 40:49.510 --> 40:51.520 He can control the actions of nations. 40:51.520 --> 40:52.780 That is not a new idea. 40:52.780 --> 40:55.510 But in the past, or not so much in the past, 40:55.511 --> 40:59.131 I suppose--it would have been present to the prophets--the 40:59.132 --> 41:03.012 prophets were reacting against a notion that God's involvement 41:03.007 --> 41:07.197 with other nations was always undertaken on Israel's behalf. 41:07.199 --> 41:09.649 This is the idea they seem to be battling. 41:09.650 --> 41:12.310 In other words, they are battling the idea or 41:12.305 --> 41:15.315 the assumption that God controlled other nations by 41:15.322 --> 41:18.942 exercising judgment on them and punishing them and subjecting 41:18.942 --> 41:21.582 them to Israel. And the prophets are 41:21.577 --> 41:23.147 challenging this idea. 41:23.150 --> 41:27.030 And they are making what would have been heard as a shocking 41:27.030 --> 41:28.740 and extraordinary claim. 41:28.739 --> 41:31.029 God is, of course, yes, a God of history, 41:31.027 --> 41:33.517 of all history. He is concerned with all 41:33.516 --> 41:35.156 nations, not only Israel. 41:35.159 --> 41:39.639 But his involvement with other nations doesn't extend merely to 41:39.636 --> 41:41.076 their subjugation. 41:41.079 --> 41:45.109 If need be, or rather if Israel deserves, then God will raise up 41:45.113 --> 41:46.973 another nation against her. 41:46.969 --> 41:49.959 So the final chapter in Amos begins by proclaiming this idea 41:49.955 --> 41:51.115 of utter destruction. 41:51.119 --> 41:54.109 I will slay them all, God says, and "not one of them 41:54.112 --> 41:55.922 shall survive." Wherever they hide, 41:55.919 --> 41:57.239 under the earth, in the heavens, 41:57.240 --> 41:59.540 at the bottom of the sea, God is going to haul them out 41:59.541 --> 42:00.991 and He is going to slay them. 42:00.990 --> 42:02.480 And what about the covenant? 42:02.480 --> 42:07.280 Isn't it a guarantee of privilege or safety? 42:07.280 --> 42:10.250 Again, for Amos, its primary function is to bind 42:10.253 --> 42:14.243 the nation in a code of conduct, and violations of that code are 42:14.239 --> 42:16.389 going to be severely punished. 42:16.389 --> 42:20.289 So in chapter 9 verses 7 to 8, Amos makes the startling claim 42:20.294 --> 42:23.944 that in God's eyes Israel is really no different from the 42:23.938 --> 42:25.498 rest of the nations. 42:25.500 --> 42:28.590 He elevated her. He can also lower her. 42:28.590 --> 42:29.770 To Me, O Israelites, 42:29.766 --> 42:31.896 you are Just like the Ethiopians 42:31.900 --> 42:35.300 True, I brought Israel up From the land of Egypt, 42:35.300 --> 42:37.010 But also the Philistines from Caphtor 42:37.010 --> 42:39.090 And the Aramaeans from Kir. 42:39.090 --> 42:43.180 Behold, the Lord God has His eye Upon the sinful kingdom: 42:43.180 --> 42:45.240 I will wipe it off The face of the earth! 42:45.240 --> 42:47.380 These are harsh, harsh words. 42:47.380 --> 42:50.340 And you also have to remember that Amos was living in a time 42:50.335 --> 42:52.635 of relative peace and prosperity, about 750. 42:52.639 --> 42:55.529 National confidence is riding high. 42:55.530 --> 42:57.880 The people of Israel were pretty convinced that God was 42:57.878 --> 42:59.918 with them. They weren't in any real 42:59.918 --> 43:01.688 imminent or obvious danger. 43:01.690 --> 43:05.670 And Amos was convinced that despite this external appearance 43:05.672 --> 43:08.172 of health, the nation was diseased. 43:08.170 --> 43:10.570 They were guilty of social crimes and unfaithfulness to 43:10.565 --> 43:11.935 their covenantal obligations. 43:11.940 --> 43:15.720 And so he says they are headed down this path of destruction. 43:15.719 --> 43:20.169 Perhaps because of the optimism of the time, Amos had to 43:20.173 --> 43:24.953 emphasize this message of doom, because his book is a pretty 43:24.950 --> 43:27.870 depressing book. Later prophets who were 43:27.866 --> 43:30.226 speaking in a different historical setting, 43:30.233 --> 43:32.603 in a more desperate historical setting, 43:32.599 --> 43:38.289 would often speak words of much more comfort and hope. 43:38.290 --> 43:40.030 But Amos doesn't do this. 43:40.030 --> 43:43.240 He does indicate that his purpose is the reformation or 43:43.239 --> 43:45.259 the reorientation of the nation. 43:45.260 --> 43:49.610 He wants to awaken Israel to the fact that change is needed. 43:49.610 --> 43:53.210 Amos 5:14 and 15, "Seek good and not evil,/That 43:53.212 --> 43:58.072 you may live,/And that the Lord, the God of Hosts,/May truly be 43:58.067 --> 44:00.257 with you,/As you think." 44:00.260 --> 44:01.660 Right now you think he is with you. 44:01.660 --> 44:03.440 He's not. Change, so that he will 44:03.442 --> 44:04.792 truly be with you. 44:04.789 --> 44:08.059 "Hate evil and love good,/And establish justice in the 44:08.060 --> 44:11.020 gate;/Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts,/Will be 44:11.023 --> 44:13.433 gracious to the remnant of Joseph." 44:13.429 --> 44:16.809 The "perhaps" is important, and it is very indicative of 44:16.806 --> 44:19.566 Amos' fatalism. This is very much a fatalistic 44:19.566 --> 44:21.996 book. The overriding theme of Amos' 44:21.997 --> 44:25.017 message is that punishment is inevitable. 44:25.020 --> 44:26.500 It is pretty much inevitable. 44:26.500 --> 44:29.770 And this is one of the reasons that most scholars believe that 44:29.768 --> 44:34.308 the final verses of the book, verses halfway through 8 down 44:34.305 --> 44:38.465 to 15, are a later addition by an editor. 44:38.469 --> 44:41.409 It is an epilogue, and it was likely added in 44:41.411 --> 44:45.421 order to relieve the gloom and the pessimism and the fatalism 44:45.421 --> 44:49.291 of the prophet's message, because in these verses, 44:49.294 --> 44:52.604 Amos does an almost complete about-face. 44:52.599 --> 44:58.949 We have just finished the first half of verse 8 in Chapter 9. 44:58.949 --> 45:02.379 So 9:8a--you have this oracle of complete and devastating 45:02.376 --> 45:04.926 judgment: "Behold, the Lord God has His eye/Upon 45:04.930 --> 45:07.820 the sinful kingdom:/I will wipe it off/The face of the earth." 45:07.820 --> 45:10.170 But then, the second half of the verse, and the beginning of 45:10.173 --> 45:11.613 this epilogue that has been added, 45:11.610 --> 45:14.610 immediately dilutes this: "But, I will not wholly wipe 45:14.613 --> 45:17.223 out/The House of Jacob --declares the Lord." 45:17.219 --> 45:21.679 It seems that an editor has qualified this last oracle of 45:21.679 --> 45:26.139 doom, has desired to qualify this last oracle of doom. 45:26.140 --> 45:29.270 And the editor continues, For I will give the order 45:29.270 --> 45:32.060 And shake the House of Israel-- Through all the nations-- 45:32.060 --> 45:35.590 As one shakes [sand] in a sieve, And not a pebble falls to the 45:35.592 --> 45:37.162 ground. All the sinners of My people 45:37.160 --> 45:39.060 Shall perish by the sword, Who boast, 45:39.060 --> 45:42.030 "Never shall the evil Overtake us or come near us." 45:42.030 --> 45:44.680 In that day, I will set up again the fallen 45:44.683 --> 45:47.093 booth of David; I will mend its breaches and 45:47.090 --> 45:48.340 set up its ruins anew. 45:48.340 --> 45:50.200 I will build it firm as in the days of old, 45:50.200 --> 45:52.360 [...] A time is coming--declares the 45:52.362 --> 45:52.902 Lord -- [...] 45:52.900 --> 45:55.160 When the mountains shall drip wine 45:55.159 --> 45:57.609 And all the hills shall wave [with grain]. 45:57.610 --> 45:59.280 I will restore my people Israel. 45:59.280 --> 46:01.380 They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them; 46:01.380 --> 46:03.350 [...] They shall till gardens and eat 46:03.351 --> 46:04.791 their fruits. And I will plant them upon 46:04.789 --> 46:06.629 their soil, Nevermore to be uprooted 46:06.630 --> 46:09.790 From the soil I have given them--said the Lord your 46:09.791 --> 46:11.241 God. In other words, 46:11.238 --> 46:13.668 according to this epilogue, God's punishment of Israel 46:13.672 --> 46:15.052 isn't the end of the story. 46:15.050 --> 46:17.680 It is one step in a process, and the affliction and the 46:17.678 --> 46:19.088 punishment serve a purpose. 46:19.090 --> 46:22.420 It is to purge the dross, to chasten Israel. 46:22.420 --> 46:24.120 They are going to be put through a sieve. 46:24.119 --> 46:25.849 Only the sinners will really perish. 46:25.849 --> 46:28.859 A remnant, presumably a righteous remnant, 46:28.858 --> 46:32.968 will be permitted to survive and in due time that remnant 46:32.968 --> 46:34.508 will be restored. 46:34.510 --> 46:37.430 To summarize Amos, and hopefully this will give us 46:37.427 --> 46:40.937 then some foothold as we move into other prophetic books, 46:40.940 --> 46:45.310 we need to understand that the Book of Amos is a set of oracles 46:45.307 --> 46:48.827 by a prophet addressing a concrete situation in the 46:48.830 --> 46:50.310 northern kingdom. 46:50.309 --> 46:54.329 It's been subject to some additions that reflect the 46:54.334 --> 46:56.864 perspective of a later editor. 46:56.860 --> 47:00.010 Amos' message was that sin would be punished by God and it 47:00.014 --> 47:03.504 would be punished on a national level--the nation would fall. 47:03.500 --> 47:06.870 When the northern kingdom fell, it was understood to be a 47:06.866 --> 47:08.606 fulfillment of Amos' words. 47:08.610 --> 47:10.900 The Assyrians were the instruments of God's just 47:10.897 --> 47:13.957 punishment. So his words were preserved in 47:13.962 --> 47:15.662 Judah. After Judah fell, 47:15.663 --> 47:19.663 presumably a later editor added a few key passages to reflect 47:19.663 --> 47:23.143 this later reality, most significantly the oracle 47:23.139 --> 47:27.159 against Judah in chapter 2, verses 4-5, and the epilogue in 47:27.159 --> 47:29.699 chapter 9, verse 8b through 15, 47:29.700 --> 47:34.380 which explicitly seem to refer to the fall of the southern 47:34.377 --> 47:36.847 kingdom. It refers to a future day when 47:36.850 --> 47:39.050 the fallen booth of David will be raised. 47:39.050 --> 47:41.640 That reflects a knowledge of the end of Judah, 47:41.641 --> 47:43.601 the end of the Davidic kingship. 47:43.599 --> 47:45.559 And the phrase "on that day" which is used, 47:45.558 --> 47:48.258 is a phrase that often signals what we feel is an editorial 47:48.264 --> 47:49.854 insertion in a prophetic book. 47:49.849 --> 47:53.109 It is pointing forward to some vague future time of 47:53.107 --> 47:54.657 restoration. Okay. 47:54.659 --> 47:58.999 On Monday, we are going to be moving on to Hosea and Isaiah.