The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation ed. by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer and Jakob Wöhrle

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation ed. by Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer and Jakob Wöhrle Jason T. LeCureux lena-sofia tiemeyer and jakob wöhrle (eds.), The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation (VTSup 184; Leiden: Brill, 2021). Pp. xx + 632. €132/$159. The purpose of this compilation is best summarized by the opening sentences of the preface, "In the last two decades, research on the Book of the Twelve (= BT) has shown that this corpus is not just a collection of Twelve prophetic books. It is rather a coherent work with a common history of formation and, based upon this, with an overall message and intention. The individual books of the Book of the Twelve are part of a larger whole in which they can be interpreted in a fruitful manner" (p. viii). To accomplish this goal, the book is organized in four main sections: General topics (four articles); Issues in Interpretation (twelve articles covering every book in the Book of the Twelve); Textual Transmission [End Page 528] and Reception History (eight articles); and Theology of the Book of the Twelve (six articles). Overall, this collection of essays offers a thorough reflection on the foundational issues involved in the scholarship of the Book of the Twelve. Its topics are focused but vary within sections, covering subjects from redactional and compositional issues, to thematic elements, and manuscript and textual transmission. The intention of the work is to act as a type of summary of the last twenty years of research on the Book of the Twelve, and in this it succeeds. Besides its various topics of discussion, the collection's strength lies in the breadth of the scholarship presented, from both Europe and North America. In fact, most of the scholars who have made significant contributions to the study of the Twelve over the last twenty years are represented here. Additionally, while the contributors are from across the globe, all the articles in this collection have been written in English. The first section ("General Topics") is the most important of the book, as the four articles there provide the overview of the redactional arguments for the formation and growth of the Book of the Twelve: Wöhrle, "The Book of the Four"; Tiemeyer, "The Haggai–Zechariah 1–8 Corpus"; James D. Nogalski, "The Completion of the Book of the Twelve"; and Tchavdar S. Hadjiev, "A Prophetic Anthology Rather than a Book of the Twelve." Wöhrle's article in particular, which opens the book, clearly lays out what has become a foundational argument for a unified Book of the Twelve, the so-called Book of the Four (Hosea, Amos, Micah, and the core of Zephaniah). Around this core were added Haggai/Zechariah 1–8, and the rest of the prophetic books, depending on various scholarly reconstructions, at various times. Both Tiemeyer's and Nogalski's subsequent articles further illustrate this argument. Special consideration, however, should be given to Hadjiev's article, the fourth in the section, which echoes the skeptical voice of Ehud Ben Zvi and other scholars who have argued that the Book of the Twelve is not an intentionally composed book, but rather something more akin to an "anthology" or collection of independent works. The article is thorough and convincing, offering a serious challenge to the main arguments (such as thematic connections and catchwords) around which this collection of essays is built, and the editors deserve credit for including it in the book. Hadjiev concludes, "The claim that the individual prophetic books cannot be properly understood on their own, and need always to be read in the light of the larger whole (i.e. the Twelve), must therefore be rejected. There is, of course, nothing to prevent a modern reader from interpreting the anthology as a unit and generating new meanings by placing the various prophetic scripts alongside each other in creative ways" (p. 103). Though Hadjiev's article represents a minority voice, this is a challenging piece that should be given more attention by future scholars of the Twelve. The next section deals with the individual prophets that compose the Twelve, and generally discusses redactional issues relating to the various...