The formation of the Book of the Twelve is one of the most vigorously debated subjects in Old Testament studies today. This volume assembles twenty-four essays by the world’s leading experts, providing an overview of the present state of scholarship in the field. The book’s contributors focus on questions of method, history, as well as redactional and textual history.

In the last two decades, research on the Book of the Twelve 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 thus part of a larger whole in which they can be interpreted in a fruitful manner. The volume The Book of the Twelve: Composition, Reception, and Interpretation features 30 articles, written by renowned scholars, that explore different aspects regarding the formation, interpretation, and reception of the Book of the Twelve as a literary unity.

Past decades have witnessed an increasing interest in the Book of the Twelve. James Nogalski and Paul House had been at the forefront of research in this regard in presenting approaches that account for the book as a whole. Meanwhile others like Ehud Ben Zvi have some reservations. This collection of essays discusses the hermeneutical, exegetical and theological significance of these opposing perspectives and explores venues for future research. The impact on reading and reflecting on individual books is of particular interest to the various essays. Die Entstehung des Dodekapropheton wird seit einigen Jahren engagiert diskutiert. Alternativen stehen sich teilweise unversöhnlich gegenüber. Einerseits werden die einzelnen Prophetenbücher klar voneinander abgegrenzt, andererseits liegen verbindende Elemente vor. Auch die Auslegungsgeschichte geht immer wieder von einem Buch aus. Die Beiträge dieses Bandes lenken die Aufmerksamkeit auf die Frage, welchen Unterschied die verschiedenen Entstehungsszenarien für die Auslegung der einzelnen Bücher und des gesamten Korpus haben. Diese Fragestellung, die bisher wenig Beachtung fand, wird aus hermeneutischer, exegetischer und theologischer Perspektive diskutiert.

In The Non-Israelite Nations in the Book of the Twelve Daniel Timmer offers the first comprehensive survey of the ‘nations’ in the Minor Prophets. The study approaches this important but highly diverse theme through the lens of conceptual coherence and demonstrates the interrelation of synchronic/holistic and diachronic/compositional approaches. After exploring the theme in each of the individual books of the Twelve and noting the varying degrees of coherence evident in each case, Timmer brings his findings to bear on contemporary understandings of the Twelve as a collection, arguing for the theme’s coherence across the collection on the basis of each book’s unique treatment of the nations.

A challenge to preachers to proclaim the Scriptures with authority and power in a post-Christian world.

In Exodus 34 Moses asks to see God's glory, and God reveals himself as a God who is merciful and just. James Hamilton Jr. contends that from this passage comes a biblical theology that unites the meta-narrative of Scripture under one central theme: God's glory in salvation through judgment. Hamilton begins in the Old Testament by showing that Israel was saved through God's judgment on the Egyptians and the Caananites. God was glorified through both his judgment and mercy, accorded in salvation to Israel. The New Testament unfolds the ultimate display of God's glory in justice and mercy, as it was God's righteous judgment shown on the cross that brought us salvation. God's glory in salvation through judgment will be shown at the end of time, when Christ returns to judge his enemies and save all who have called on his name. Hamilton moves through the Bible book by book, showing that there is one theological center to the whole Bible. The volume's systematic method and scope make it a unique resource for pastors, professors, and students.