The Prophets of Israel: Walking the Ancient Paths by James K. Hoffmeier

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Prophets of Israel: Walking the Ancient Paths by James K. Hoffmeier John A. Beck james k. hoffmeier, The Prophets of Israel: Walking the Ancient Paths (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2021). Pp. 398. $49.99. James K. Hoffmeier's experiences as a field archaeologist couple with forty years of teaching Hebrew exegesis and the prophets to deliver this masterly treatment of prophecy and prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible. Hoffmeier sees the prophets of the Hebrew Bible as divinely sent guides who superintend the spiritual health of the Lord's people by measuring conformity with the directions found in the Sinai covenant. The goal of this publication is to lay the foundation for a sound understanding of biblical prophets and a sound reading of the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible. Such competent reading requires an understanding of the various contexts of the communication event. Consequently, the author links the prophets and prophetic texts with the geopolitical realities that reside behind the texts, offers cultural insights derived from literary and archaeological sources, and attends to the role that geography plays in making the texts of the prophets meaningful. This includes sensitivity to the connotations that become linked to places—the way people think and feel about a place given what happened there before. Hoffmeier develops his discussion of the prophets and their literature over eight chapters, most averaging sixty pages in length. Chapter 1 animates the study with a general introduction to the idea of prophecy and prophets as conceived in the ancient Near East and evidenced in the language of the OT. For readers of the Bible, the prophet was a "proclaimer of divine revelations" (p. 23). Many were "personal chaplains to the rulers" putting them in "an ideal position to record the acts of the kings and comment on their fidelity to God's law" (p. 21). They were intercessors whose task was "to bring people back to a right relationship with God vis-à-vis the covenant" (p. 43). In chap. 2, H. offers a wonderful overview of the prophets of the OT who are not depicted as writing or whose writings have not survived. These are the so-called nonliterary prophets. We find such prophets active in most OT eras. They include Deborah, Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Shemaiah, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Zechariah son of Jehoiada, and a host of male and female prophets whose names are not preserved in the texts. With the idea of prophets and prophecy firmly placed before the reader, H. moves chronologically and geographically, treating the writing prophets who share a given era and context. Chapter 3 treats the eighth-century prophets of Israel; chap. 4, the eighth-century prophets of Judah; chap. 5, the seventh- and sixth-century prophets of Judah; chap. 6, the prophets of the Babylonian exile; chap. 7, the postexilic prophets; and chap. 8, the prophets [End Page 339] of the NT. In each of these chapters, H. identifies the key issue or issues that need attention, provides copious quotations of the prophetic texts to illustrate how such issues are raised and addressed by the language of the book itself, illustrates the organization of the book and its movement of thought, all the while addressing the various types of historical, cultural, and geographical background that sharpen understanding of the messaging. Each chapter includes sidebars that offer insight on topics like the use of the bow and arrow as symbol, NT citations from Isaiah, Jeremiah's travels to Egypt, and apocalyptic literature. Finally, each chapter closes with a set of discussion questions that invite the reader to recall key elements of the chapter's presentation and solicits thought beyond the bounds of what the author said. This publication stands apart from others in a variety of ways. Given H.'s scholarly credentials, this book could have been written with a depth that made it inaccessible to the nonspecialist. That is not the case. The book has a narrative-like quality, written in clear prose that flows logically throughout. Page-spreads are beautifully composed with photographs, maps, and illustrations that further illustrate the insights the author is delivering. In short, this is a highly accessible book. I can see...