The Prophets Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah

The minor prophets, so called because the books with their names are relatively short, were active across the centuries of Israel and Judah’s history. The twelve books of the minor prophets were generally written together on a single scroll, hence their grouping together. The five included here were active during the period between the fall of the Northern Kingdom and the early Babylonian exile.

Obadiah

This short book (it has only one chapter), from after the fall of Jerusalem, prophesies the destruction of Edom for its betrayal of Judah when Jerusalem was destroyed. Edom, another name for Jacob’s brother Esau (reliving the antagonism between Jacob and Esau) and also a country bordering Israel, is the central character and the emblem of the enemy destroyer. Edom is the paradigm for the nations that God will destroy; in contrast, Israel will prosper.

Micah

Micah, a prophet from Judah during the eighth–seventh century BCE, warns about the destruction of both Jerusalem and the Northern Kingdom for their idolatry, social crimes, and corrupt royal and religious leadership. Like his contemporary Isaiah, Micah provides a picture of a utopian future when Israel would live securely under a king descended from David and all peoples would recognize the God of Israel and live in peace. The book concludes with the message that God forgives sins and will maintain his covenant with Israel.

Nahum

Nahum, a prophet of unknown date, makes a pronouncement about the destruction of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire that was destroyed in the late seventh century BCE. Earlier, in 722–720 BCE, Assyria had conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The destruction of Assyria, therefore, was good news for the people of Judah who, it was thought, would never again be invaded by criminal nations.

Habakkuk

This book was written some time after the rise of Babylonian power in 612 BCE. The first two chapters contain a dialogue between the prophet and God. The prophet complains that God allows evildoers to harm the righteous, and God responds by announcing that he will bring the Chaldeans (the Babylonians) to ravage the earth but will then destroy them. The third chapter of Habakkuk is a prayer about God’s power in delivering his people from the oppressor. It is found in Habakkuk’s Prayer for God to Manifest His Power.

Zephaniah

The superscription (1:1) attributes the book to Zephaniah son of Cushi, whose ancestry is traced back four generations to Hezekiah, possibly, but not necessarily, King Hezekiah of Judah (reigned 727–698 BCE). Zephaniah’s prophecies are set during the reign of King Josiah (640–609 BCE), a period of turmoil when the Assyrian Empire was declining and the Babylonian Empire was positioning itself to replace it. The small country of Judah was caught in the international political power plays of the larger nations. The prophet warns of the destruction of Jerusalem, viewing the destruction, as was typical among the biblical prophets, as a punishment for Judah’s unfaithfulness to God, that is, the people’s adoption of foreign religious practices that they superimposed on Israelite practices. The book ends on a positive note, with punishment for Israel’s enemies, a gathering of the remnants of Judah, and universal worship of Israel’s God.