Taken together, the Twelve Prophets offer a panoramic view of Israel's religion during one of the most critical periods in the Israelites' history. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah are the figures considered in this first of Peter C. Craigie's two-volume work. Although differing in substance as well as style, these prophetic books are united in their common purpose: the declaration of the word of God to the people of God. Carrying forward brilliantly the pattern established by Barclay's New Testament series, the Daily Study Bible has been extended to cover the entire Old Testament as well. Invaluable for individual devotional study, for group discussion, and for classroom use, the Daily Study Bible provides a useful, reliable, and eminently readable way to discover what the Scriptures were saying then and what God is saying today.

Although they are often neglected, at least partly because their words of judgement make readers uncomfortable, these prophetic books have considerable theological and ethical value.

The Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries provide compact, critical commentaries on the books of the Old Testament for the use of theological students and pastors. The commentaries are also useful for upper-level college or university students and for those responsible for teaching in congregational settings. In addition to providing basic information and insights into the Old Testament writings, these commentaries exemplify the tasks and procedures of careful interpretation to assist students of the Old Testament in coming to an informed and critical engagement with the biblical texts themselves. The prophetic books gathered together in the book of the Twelve are sometimes called the "minor" prophets because of their relatively small size when compared with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. They are often neglected, at least partly because their words of judgment make the reader uncomfortable. Yet they have considerable theological and ethical value--for their call for social justice (especially Amos and Micah), their insights about the passionate love of God (in Hosea), God's grace and forgiveness (Jonah, Hosea, and elsewhere), and the finality of hope, even in the face of terrible catastrophes.

No other reference gets to the heart of the Old Testament as efficiently as The Holman Old Testament Commentary. When you've got the time, this series offers a detailed interpretation based on the popular NIV text. When time is short, this series delivers an essential understanding of the Old Testament with unsurpassed clarity and convenience. Pastors, lay Bible teachers and others who find their subject material rich and challenging - but their preparation time running out - will be informed and inspired by this approach to Old Testament scholarship which includes: The main idea - a brief yet accurate statement about the purpose, meaning, and importance of the Bible book under discussion, Quick quotes - comments from noted writers and theologians suitable for citing in your own presentation, Succinct summaries - each main theme or lesson summarized clearly and accurately, Details - illustrations, historical facts, grammatical notations, discussion points, teaching plans, and more. Make every minute of prep time more meaningful with The Holman Old Testament Commentary. Book jacket.

In the language of the Bible, "prophecy" has quite a broad meaning, but refers, primarily, to the idea of "speaking in the name of God". The entire Old Testament could be said to be prophetic, but some books carry the names of twelve "minor" prophets - a distinction based on their length. Not all of them easy to date, the authors and editors of these books in the "roll of the twelve prophets" lived at times between the eighth century and second century BC.