Chronological List of the
Old Testament Prophets
This is a list of all the Old Testament prophets as they were called by The God of the Hebrews, YHWH, their timelines and what they were known for. The exploits listed here are not exhaustive.
Samuel (1050-1010 BC)
Context:
The son of Hannah, a second wife of Elkanah, an Ephramaite from Ramathaim Zophim. Hannah had made a vow to God to dedicate her son to Him, if He did, indeed give her a child. Samuel was the last judge of Israel during the transition from tribal confederacy to monarchy, and operated amid Philistine threats and internal disunity.When the people rejected leadership by God in favour of a monarchy, Samuel warned them what a king would do to them; that the king would enslave them and their children and take what they held dear for his own, but they did not heed his warning.He anointed Saul as Israel's first king and later David, emphasizing God's sovereignty over human leaders and his era marked the shift from theocracy to monarchy, with themes of obedience and rejection of foreign idols.He is also attributed with the chronicling of King David's reign and works.The author or authors of 1 and 2 Samuel are not known. These books recount the stories of Samuel, Saul, and David and the prophet Nathan, as well. Saul's reign began between 1050-1030 BC and ended in 1010 BC. David then reigned until 971 BC. The books were probably written soon after the end of his reign.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Samuel's Dedication
1 Samuel 1:5-7,11 - 5But to Hannah, Elkanah would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, although the Lord had closed her womb. 6And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7So it was, year by year,...that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat... 11Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”Samuel's Calling
1 Samuel 2:1,10 - 1Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation... 10Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”Samuel Judges Israel
1 Samuel 7:3-4,13-15 - 3Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only... 13So the Philistines were subdued,... And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel...and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines... 15And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life.Israel Demands a King
1 Samuel 8:6 - 6But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” So Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7And the Lord said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.”Saul Chosen to Be King
1 Samuel 9:15-16 - 15Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, 16“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines.”Saul Annointed and Proclaimed King
1 Samuel 10:1,23-24 - 1Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him and said: “Is it not because the Lord has anointed you commander over His inheritance?”... 23So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”Chronicling the works of King David
1 Chronicles 29:29 - Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer...
Nathan (1010-950 BC)
Context:
Serving as court prophet and as a trusted advisor, divine messenger, and counsellor to King David in the united kingdom of Israel's golden age, Nathan also confronted David's adultery with Bathsheba.His close relationship with David allowed him to boldly convey God's messages, sometimes affirming the king's plans, other times confronting sin, and he played a pivotal role in ensuring the succession of Solomon to the throne.His ministry emphasized accountability, covenant promises, and faithfulness, making him a model of prophetic integrity in the Hebrew Bible. He prophesied the establishment of David's eternal throne. His ministry highlighted royal accountability to God, set against David's military expansions and temple planning.Nathan is also attributed to chronicling the reign and works of King David and his son, Solomon.
Hezekiah referenced Nathan's commandments in establishing Levitical worship practices (2 Chronicles 29:25).
Relevant Biblical Verses:
David's Desire to Build a Temple for God leads to The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 7:2-5, 12-16 - "2...the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.” 3Then Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” 4But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, 5“Go and tell My servant David, “Thus says the Lord: 'Would you build a house for Me to dwell in?'”' ... 12“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15But My mercy shall not depart from him,... 16And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”David Sin with Bathsheba, Nathan's Parable and David's Confession
2 Samuel 12-1-14 - 1Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him: “There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor. 2The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds. 3But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb...; and it grew up together with him and with his children...and it was like a daughter to him. 4And a traveler came to the rich man, ...took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5So David’s anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!”...
7Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!”...13So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”Adonijah Presumes to Be King; Nathan protects the throne for Solomon
1 Kings 1:5,8,11-14 - 5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, “I will be king”; ... 8But Zadok the priest, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and the mighty men who belonged to David were not with Adonijah... 11So Nathan spoke to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, saying, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king, and David our lord does not know it? 12Come, please, let me now give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. 13Go immediately to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Assuredly your son Solomon shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’ 14Then, while you are still talking there with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”Chronicling the works of King David and Solomon
1 Chronicles 29:29 - 29Now the acts of King David, first and last, indeed they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, in the book of Nathan the prophet...Reference to Nathan's commandments by the Lord for the Levites' worship
2 Chronicles 29:25 - 25And he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, with stringed instruments, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, of Gad the king’s seer, and of Nathan the prophet; for thus was the commandment of the Lord by His prophets.
Ahijah (930-910 BC)
Context:
Ahijah the Shilonite was a Levite prophet from Shiloh, active during the late reign of King Solomon and the early divided monarchy (approximately 930–910 BC).He is primarily known for his role in foretelling the division of the united kingdom of Israel into the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah), as well as delivering judgments against the house of Jeroboam I, the first king of the north.As a prophet from Shiloh, a city central to early Israelite worship and home to the tabernacle, Ahijah represented God's sovereignty amid political upheaval, idolatry, and covenant unfaithfulness.His ministry emphasized divine judgment on Solomon's apostasy and the consequences of rejecting God's ways, while offering conditional promises of blessing for obedience.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Prophecy of the Kingdom's Division to Jeroboam
1 Kings 11:29-33 - 29Now it happened at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. 30Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces. 31And he said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you 32(but he shall have one tribe for the sake of My servant David, and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel), 33because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon...’ ”
This event fulfilled God's earlier word against Solomon's idolatry (1 Kings 11:1-13).Prophecy of Kingdom's division and Samuel's prophecy against monarchy fulfilled
1 Kings 12:13-15 - 13Then the king answered the people roughly, and rejected the advice which the elders had given him; 14and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!” 15So the king did not listen to the people; for the turn of events was from the Lord, that He might fulfill His word, which the Lord had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.Prophecy of Judgment on Jeroboam's House
1 Kings 14:2,5-12,17 - 2And Jeroboam said to his wife, “Please arise, and disguise yourself, that they may not recognize you as the wife of Jeroboam, and go to Shiloh. Indeed, Ahijah the prophet is there, who told me that I would be king over this people.” 5Now the Lord had said to Ahijah, “Here is the wife of Jeroboam, coming to ask you something about her son, for he is sick. Thus and thus you shall say to her; for it will be, when she comes in, that she will pretend to be another woman.”
6And so it was, when Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, “Come in, wife of Jeroboam. Why do you pretend to be another person? For I have been sent to you with bad news.
7Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Because I exalted you from among the people, and made you ruler over My people Israel, 8and tore the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it to you; ... 9but you have done more evil than all who were before you, ... 10therefore behold! I will bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male in Israel, bond and free... 11The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Jeroboam and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field; for the Lord has spoken!” ’ 12Arise therefore, go to your own house. When your feet enter the city, the child shall die.” 17Then Jeroboam’s wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah. When she came to the threshold of the house, the child died.
Elijah the Tishbite (875–850 BC)
Context:
Elijah (meaning "My God is Yahweh") was a fiery 9th-century BCE prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab of Samaria, the northern kingdom of Israel and Queen Jezebel (c. 874–853 BC) and Ahab's son, Ahaziah.Emerging suddenly in the Biblical narrative as "Elijah the Tishbite" from Gilead, he served as God's bold confrontational voice against rampant idolatry, particularly the worship of Baal and Asherah promoted by Queen Jezebel (her name, best understood as meaning, "Where is the Lord?" -a ritual cry in pagan worship ceremonies-, is synonymous with idolatry and Baal worship).His ministry, spanning about 25 years, was marked by dramatic miracles, divine encounters, and personal struggles with doubt and isolation, making him a symbol of unwavering zeal for Yahweh amid apostasy. His context was religious syncretism and Assyrian threats, with themes of God's exclusive power and zeal for pure worship.Elijah marked the beginning of the end of Baal worship in Israel, challenging the syncretism that threatened Yahweh's exclusive claim and restoring monotheistic fervor through public demonstrations of God's power.
As a representative of the prophetic tradition, Elijah embodies restoration and confrontation with evil, paralleling Moses as a lawgiver but focusing on prophetic renewal, seen in his appearance at Jesus' Transfiguration alongside Moses (Matthew 17:3), where he symbolizes the prophets fulfilling the promise of all things.Malachi 4:5 prophesies Elijah's return, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.", positioning him as a harbinger of the Messiah and eschatological judgment.Elijah is only one of three people to never have died and went up bodily into Heaven (the other two were Enoch and Jesus).
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Announcement of Drought and Miraculous Provision
1 Kings 17:1 - 1And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”Elijah and the Widow and the never-ending bin of flour and jar of oil
1 Kings 17:13-16 - 13And Elijah said to her, “...make me a small cake from it first, and...make some for yourself and your son. 14For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”
15So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son
1 Kings 17:17-22 - 17Now it happened...that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. 18So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
19And he said to her, “Give me your son.” ... 20Then he cried out to the Lord and said, _“O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21... “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.Confrontation on Mount Carmel
1 Kings 18:22-24,26-28,30,33-36,38 - 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull...and I will prepare the other bull... 24Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”
26So they took the bull...and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon... 27Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating... busy... on a journey, or...sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them...
30Then Elijah...repaired the altar...33And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. 36...Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word...” 38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench.End of the Drought
1 Kings 18:41.45 - 41Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 45Now it happened...that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain.Elijah Ascends to Heaven; Chariot of Fire
2 Kings 2:1,9-11 - 1And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. ... 9And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”
Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
10So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you...” 11Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
Elisha the son of Shaphat (850-800 BC)
Context:
Elisha's name means "God is Salvation". As Elijah's successor in the northern kingdom, active around 850-800 BC, Elisha advised kings like Jehoram, Jehu, and Joash during revolts against Baal and performed numerous miracles (e.g., raising the Shunammmite woman's son from the dead and healing Naaman, 2 Kings 4-5).Amid ongoing Aramean wars and political instability, his ministry focused on God's provision and judgment through prophetic signs.A farmer from Abel-meholah called while plowing (1 Kings 19:19-21), Elisha requested and received a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit, leading to a ministry renowned for abundant miracles, maybe twice as many as Elijah's, focusing on divine provision, healing, and judgment.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Calling as Elijah's Successor and First Miracles
2 Kings 2:1-24 - Elisha insists on following Elijah to the Jordan, requesting a double portion of his spirit. Witnessing Elijah's ascension in a fiery chariot, Elisha takes the fallen mantle, parts the Jordan river, heals Jericho's bad water with salt, and curses mocking youths who are mauled by bears, affirming his prophetic authority.Miracle of the Widow's Oil
2 Kings 4:1-7 - A prophet's widow faces debt and enslavement of her sons; Elisha instructs her to borrow vessels and pour her small jar of oil, which multiplies until all are full, allowing her to sell it and live debt-free, highlighting God's provision for the vulnerable.Raising the Shunammite Woman's Son
2 Kings 4:8-37 - A wealthy Shunammite woman provides Elisha hospitality and in gratitude, he prophesies she will bear a son. This comes to pass and the son grows up but dies suddenly as a youth (possibly an anneurism). Elisha stretches over the boy, prays, and revives him thus demonstrating God's power over death.Healing of Naaman the Syrian
2 Kings 5:1-27 - "1Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper."
Elisha instructs him to wash seven times in the Jordan, restoring his skin. Naaman's pride is initially hurt, but he listens to the counsel of those with him and obeys Elisha's command and his skin is restored. He immediately converts, but the greedy servant Gehazi is cursed with leprosy for taking bribes.The Floating Axe Head and Blinding the Arameans
2 Kings 6:1-23
Elisha makes a lost borrowed axe head float; later, he reveals the Aramean plans to Israel's king and blinds an invading army, leading them to Samaria for a feast instead of slaughter thereby promoting peace.Prophecy to Hazael
2 Kings 8:7-15 - In Damascus, Elisha weeps while foretelling Syrian king Ben-Hadad's death and Hazael's brutal reign over Israel; Hazael, his servant, murders the king and usurps the throne. Years earlier God had told Elijah, “You are to anoint Hazael king over Aram.” (1 Kings 19:15) The mantle of that assignment passes to Elisha, who prophetically recognizes Hazael’s future kingship and the havoc he will wreak (2 Kings 8:10–12). The scene in 8:14 is the hinge where that prophecy begins to unfold.Elisha's Death and Posthumous Miracle
2 Kings 13:14-21 - On his deathbed, Elisha prophesies victory to King Joash via arrows; after burial, a dead man's body touching Elisha's bones revives him marking this Elisha's posthumous, final miracle.
Jonah son of Amittai (780 BC)
Context:
The son of Amittai and hailing from Gath-hepher in the northern kingdom of Israel, Jonah was active during the prosperous but idolatrous reign of King Jeroboam II (c. 793–753 BC).Sent to the Assyrian capital Nineveh during a brief period of Assyrian mercy toward Israel, Jonah's reluctant mission highlighted God's compassion for Gentiles.Unlike most prophetic books, the Book of Jonah is a narrative rather than oracles, focusing on his reluctant mission to the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, at the time a hated enemy city symbolizing Gentile wickedness.Called to preach repentance, Jonah tries to flee from God and faces divine intervention via a violent storm. He asks the crew of the boat he's on to cast him overboard as he believes he's cursed, and by divine intervention is swallowed by a great fish.He obeys the second time around, and witnesses Nineveh's turnaround, only to be upset and question God's mercy.The book uses satire and irony to explore Jonah's flawed character, making it a unique theological parable.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Jonah’s Disobedience
Jonah 1:1-3 - 1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare...4But the Lord sent out a great wind on the sea,...so that the ship was about to be broken up.Jonah Thrown into the Sea and is swallowed by a great fish
Jonah 1:12,17 - 12And he said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea;... For I know that this great tempest is because of me.” 17Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.Jonah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
Jonah 2:1-2,17 - 1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the fish’s belly. 2And he said: “I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, And He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, And You heard my voice.” ... 10So the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.Jonah Preaches at Nineveh and The People of Nineveh Believe
Jonah 3:1-3,5,10 - 1Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2“Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” 3So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. 5So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth...10Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.
Amos the Shepherd (760-750 BC)
Context:
A "sheepbreeder and tender of sycamore fruit" (Amos 7:14) from Tekoa in Judah, Amos prophesied in the prosperous but corrupt northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam II, circa, 760-750 BC.
Amos was an outsider when he was sent to Bethel's royal sanctuary to deliver a scathing indictment against Israel's moral decay amid economic boom.His book, the third in the Twelve Minor Prophets, consists of oracles against nations, sermons on Israel's sins, and five visions of judgment tempered by a promise of restoration.Amos' message was raw and urgent, focusing on God's intolerance for empty ritual without ethics and decried social injustice and exploitation of the poor. Amos was the first prophet to systematically critique economic exploitation, corruption, and hypocritical worship, challenging the "prosperity gospel" of his day where wealth masked injustice.His era of economic boom and military security masked ethical rot, leading to warnings of impending doom from God.The theme of Amos is the universal justice of God. The Israelites clearly expected a "day of the Lord" when all their enemies would be judged. What they were not prepared for was that they too would be judged. In fact, they would be held more accountable than their neighbors.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Amos' call to Prophethood
(Amos 7:14-15) - 14...“I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. 15Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’”Judgements on the Nations of Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom and and the People of AmmonAmos 1:3 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.”Amos 1:6 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they took captive the whole captivity to deliver them up to Edom.”Amos 1:9 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.”Amos 1:11 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; His anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.”Amos 1:13 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of the people of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead, that they might enlarge their territory.”Judgment on Israel
Amos 2:1 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.”Judgment on Judah
Amos 2:4 - Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have despised the law of the Lord, And have not kept His commandments. Their lies lead them astray, lies which their fathers followed.”Judgment on Israel
Amos 2:6-8 - 6Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. 7They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name. 8They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.”Amos' Visions
Amos recounts five visions: locusts, fire, plumb line, basket of summer fruit, and God at the altar, with the first three in chapter 7; each symbolizing Israel's impending doom. Interludes include Amaziah's confrontation and a plea for mercy rejected.Vision of the Locusts
Amos 7:1-3 - 1Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, He formed locust swarms at the beginning of the late crop; indeed it was the late crop after the king’s mowings. 2And so it was, when they had finished eating the grass of the land, that I said: “O Lord God, forgive, I pray! Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!” 3So the Lord relented concerning this. “It shall not be.” said the Lord.Vision of the Fire
Amos 7:4-6 - 4Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, the Lord God called for conflict by fire, and it consumed the great deep and devoured the territory. 5Then I said: “O Lord God, cease, I pray!
Oh, that Jacob may stand, for he is small!” 6So the Lord relented concerning this. “This also shall not be.” said the Lord God.Vision of the Plumb Line
Amos 7:7-9 - 7Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. 8And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said: “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. 9The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”Vision of the Summer Fruit
Amos 8:1-3 - 1Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2And He said, “Amos, what do you see?” So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me: “The end has come upon My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. 3And the songs of the temple shall be wailing in that day,” Says the Lord God—“Many dead bodies everywhere, they shall be thrown out in silence.”Vision of the Lord declaring The Destruction of Israel
Amos 9:1-10 (only v1 shown here) - I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said: “Strike the doorposts, that the thresholds may shake, and break them on the heads of them all. I will slay the last of them with the sword. He who flees from them shall not get away, and he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.”Locusts symbolize devastating divine judgment as a natural disaster, akin to the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 10), while the all consuming fire symbolizes a purifying or destructive judgment (like Sodom in Genesis 19), symbolizing God's holy wrath against idolatry and moral decay.
The basket of summer fruit (Heb:qayits), symbolises Israel's ripeness for harvest; i.e., readiness for judgment. This vision was realized in the Assyrian siege and fall of Samaria in 722 BCE, when Israel's "end" came through starvation, invasion, and spiritual desolation.
The vision of the Lord and His declaration on the destruction of Israel aspect was fulfilled in 722 BC with Assyria's total subjugation of Israel, destroying sanctuaries like Bethel and exiling survivors.Of importance is Amos' intercessions which prompt God to relent, illustrating the prophet's mediatory role and God's initial mercy. However, the vision of the plumb line shows that God will not relent forever, but will execute holy judgement eventually. This is very reminiscent of 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. And this is seen in later chapters of Amos.Promise of Restoration
Amos 9:11,13-15 - 11“On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old;...” 13“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. 14I will bring back the captives of My people Israel; They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them. 15I will plant them in their land, and no longer shall they be pulled up from the land I have given them,” Says the Lord your God.
Hosea son of Beeri (755-725 BC)
Context:
The son of Beeri, Hosea was an 8th-century BCE prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel during its final decline (circa 755–725 BC), under kings like Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah, and Jeroboam II and subsequent rulers in Israel.In the declining northern kingdom amid Assyrian encroachment and idolatrous kings (e.g., Pekah), Hosea married an unfaithful wife as a living parable of Israel's spiritual adultery. His are themes of covenant love and restoration dominating and reflecting God's persistent pursuit of Israel despite betrayal.Here, the Hebrew word, hesed (חֶסֶד), related to words such as mercy, compassion, love, grace, and faithfulness, describes a sense of love and loyalty that inspires merciful and compassionate behavior toward another person.His book, the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, is a vivid autobiographical and poetic drama that spans 14 chapters, and blends personal narrative, accusations, and tender appeals, using marital imagery to depict and powerfully illustrates God's unwavering, sacrificial, covenant love, or hesed, despite betrayal; a theme echoed in New Testament depictions of Christ's love for the church (Ephesians 5:25-32).
It exposes the futility of ritual without heart-change, condemning social injustice and foreign dependencies while promising restoration through repentance.As a "prophet of love", Hosea humanizes divine emotion, blending judgment's severity with mercy's depth, influencing later prophets and Christian theology on grace amid judgment..
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Arguably, the best known and regarded excerpt;
Hosea 6:6 - “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”The Book of Hosea is divided into three main sections:
Hosea's Marriage and Symbolism
Hosea 1–3 - God instructs Hosea to marry Gomer, whose infidelity and children symbolize Israel's unfaithfulness and God's judgments (using names like Jezreel, Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi). Yet, Hosea redeems her, mirroring God's promise to restore Israel.Accusations and Judgments
Hosea 4–10 - God charges Israel with moral corruption, idolatry, and covenant-breaking, promising exile and calamity through metaphors like sowing wind to reap whirlwind, while interspersing calls to return.God's Love and Restoration
Hosea 11–14 - God's fatherly compassion for rebellious Israel shines through laments and promises of healing, urging a full return to experience forgiveness and blessing.
See the Neo-Assyrian family tree here
Isaiah son of Amoz (740-686 BC)
Synopsis and Context:
The son of Amoz, Isaiah was a major 8th-century BC prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah, active from approximately 740–686 BC during the reigns of kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.As a court prophet with possible noble ties, he ministered amid threats of Neo-Assyrian invasion of Israel (the northern kingdom) and Judah (the southern kingdom) by Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC), Shalmaneser V (727–722 BC), Sargon II (722–705 BC), and Sennacherib (705–681 BC).Isaiah was current during a period of internal corruption, and religious hypocrisy, and is one of the best known and most quoted prophets, whose visions addressed Judah's rebellion and prophecied a messianic king who would suffer and die on behalf of His people.Isaiah is one of the longest books of the Bible, and comes in at second-place with 66 chapters (and 32,036 words) after Psalms which boasts 150 chapters. However, when considering word count, it comes in at fifth-place, after Psalms (42,704 words), Jeremiah (42,654), Ezekiel (39,401) and Genesis (38,262).
Hence, it would be impossible to do the book justice through a summarized contextualization, as I aim to do here.It is worth mentioning that the Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll is the best preserved manuscript ever discovered. The Isaiah Scroll, designated 1QIsaa and also known as the Great Isaiah Scroll, is one of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls that were first discovered by Bedouin shepherds in 1947 from Qumran Cave 1.The scroll is written in Hebrew and contains the entire Book of Isaiah from beginning to end, apart from a few small damaged portions. It is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah (dating circa 124 BC), being approximately 1000 years older than the previous oldest Hebrew manuscripts known before the scrolls' discovery. 1QIsaa is also notable as being the only scroll from the Qumran Caves to be preserved almost in its entirety.It is currently housed in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and can be >>viewed here.<<The Book of Isaiah contains numerous profound prophecies, many of which are messianic and eschatological and have been provably fulfilled.Around 740 or 739 BC, King Uzziah (also called Azariah), a long-reigning king known for military successes and temple expansions, died of leprosy after usurping priestly duties, an act of pride that symbolized Judah's spiritual complacency and decline. This "year of King Uzziah's death" marked Isaiah's inaugural prophetic call in a majestic vision of God's throne room (Isaiah 6), amid national mourning and uncertainty as Assyrian invasion and domination loomed.The Isaianic literature is built around three Messianic portraits; the King (chapters 1-37), the Servant (chapters 38-55) and The Anointed Conqueror (chapters 56-66). From afar, it is evident to see that each of the portraits have identical features, indicative of the fact that they are facets of the one Messianic person.Thus Isaiah 1 opens, with the words "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz..."
Note dear reader, his vision was singular, and formed the basis of his whole ministry. Therefore, his whole message is a singular message.The King (chapters 1-37)
Israel had been a divided nation for almost 200 years by the time Isaiah was called.
A single theme binds the first 37 chapters of Isaiah; the king who reigns in Zion. It is a complex theme, full of tensions. Sometimes the king is the Lord himself (6:1,5), sometimes he is the current king of the house of David (7:1-2) and sometimes he is the king who is yet to come (9:6-7).Chapter 1: Indictment of Rebellion
Isaiah opens with a divine lawsuit against Judah for covenant breach, likening the people to rebellious children who have forsaken God (Isaiah 1:2-4). The theme of kingship emerges in critiques of corrupt leadership:
They have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel (v.4) and Jerusalem, once faithful, righteous and full of justice, has become a harlot, with princes as roaring lions oppressing the poor. God calls for purification, promising that survivors, a remnant, will be called holy, purging dross like a refiner's fire (Isaiah 1:21-27). This sets up the need for a just King to restore order.Chapters 2-4: The Future House of God, Judgement on Judah and Jerusalem and The Renewal of ZionThese next few chapters envision the "latter days" when the Lord's house will be exalted above nations, and many people will stream to Zion for instruction under God's rule, "for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem" (Isaiah 2:2-4, see also Micah 2:3-4, 4:1-7, Joel 3:10-17).Before this, though, shall come "the day of the Lord" when judgment will first humble the proud and lofty, including haughty judges and prophets, diviners and elders and warriors and 'the Lord alone shall be exalted but the idols He shall totally abolish...When He arises to shake the earth mightily."Hope glimmers, however, in a cleansed remnant, protected by God's presence as "a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night", also promising a future royal canopy of glory; reminiscent of the days of the Exodus (Isaiah 4:5-6, Exodus 13:21-22).Chapter 5: God's Disappointing VineyardThe parable of the "vineyard" indicts Israel's fruitlessness, with woes on greedy landowners and revelers who pervert justice, echoing failed earthly stewardship. God declares judgement on the excesses of the "vineyard", "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!" (Isaiah 5:7)
Many woes are decried "to those who call evil good and good evil; put darkness for light and light for darkness; ... those who are wise in their own eyes...to men mighty at drinking wine and valiant for mixing intoxicating drink...justify the wicked for a bribe, and take justice from the righteous man!" (Isaiah 5:20-23)Chapter 6: Isaiah's Calling to ProphecyOne of the most prominent themes in Isaiah is the supreme holiness and sovereignty of God. Here, at his calling, the prophet records, “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up” in the temple, surrounded by seraphim who proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.” (Isaiah 6:1-3) This vision not only showcases God’s purity but also the magnitude of His authority and power.Isaiah is not only overwhelmed, but is filled with a sense of dread that only comes with the realisation of sin before a Holy God. Next is a sign of God's infinite mercy; in the midst of his grief and fear, one of the seraphim takes a red hot coal from the altar, flies to Isaiah and presses it again his unclean lips declaring, “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged.” And when God asks whom He shall send to give the message to the people, Isaiah responds, "Here I am! Send me."
The message is one of hope ultimately revealing that a remnant will remain, like an oak stump, from which a holy seed, a messianic shoot, will sprout, symbolizing hope amid desolation (Isaiah 6:13).Chapters 7-12: The Prophecy of Immanuel and Messianic KingshipThis section, amid the Syrian-Ephraimite War (734-732 BC), confronts King Ahaz's faithlessness.
King Ahaz (c. 735–720 BC) was one of the most wicked kings of Judah, worshipping other gods and even sacrificing his son/s to Molech (2 Kings 16:1-4, II Chronicles 28), as well as being responsible for introducing Assysrian god worship in the temple at Jerusalem. In fact, the only good thing Ahaz seemed to have done was to father Hezekiah, who became a good king of Judah.The events in Isaiah 7 are paralleled in account in 2 Kings 16 and II Chronicles 28. However, Isaiah 7 offers a prophetic, theological lens, focusing on divine sovereignty and the choice between faith and folly while the other two provide a historical chronicle of Ahaz's fear-driven decisions and their devastating fallout.This contrast highlights the theme of kingship: Ahaz as a paradigm of failed, idolatrous rule versus the promised Davidic King who embodies trust and deliverance, underscoring Isaiah's broader motif of earthly thrones yielding to God's eternal reign.Facing invasion by Syria and Israel, Ahaz refuses to request a sign from God, delivered by Isaiah and instead, allies with Assyria. Yet, God promises a sign: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14), a child whose birth signals deliverance from immediate threats but ultimate hope in God's presence; Immanuel, "God with us".Judgment follows Ahaz's unbelief: Assyria will "shave" Judah like a razor (Isaiah 7:20), but light dawns in the north (former Assyrian territory) with a greater Child: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." (Isaiah 9:6) This Davidic King will shatter oppressors and establish endless justice on David's throne (Isaiah 9:7), contrasting Ahaz's weakness.Isaiah 10 warns Assyria as God's rod of anger against hypocritical Israel, but the Assyrian king himself will be judged for pride (Isaiah 10:5-19). Hope centers on the "stem of Jesse," a Branch from David's line endowed with the Spirit: "Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist." (Isaiah 11:5) This King judges the poor equitably, slays the wicked with His word, and ushers in paradisiacal peace where "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb" (Isaiah 11:6); filling the earth with God's knowledge (Isaiah 11:9), He stands as a banner for nations, gathering exiles (Isaiah 11:10-12) and celebrated in songs of salvation. (Isaiah 12:1-6) Ahaz's era exemplifies earthly kings' folly, yielding to the Messiah's eternal reign.Chapters 13-23: Oracles Against the Nations
These judgments on foreign powers underscore no earthly king rivals God's sovereignty. Babylon's fall (Isaiah 13:1-22) and Assyria's doom (Isaiah 14:24-27) portray tyrants as humbled tools in divine hands. Moab's princes (Isaiah 15-16) and Damascus's rulers (Isaiah 17) face ruin for pride, but a "shadow" of refuge hints at messianic shelter (Isaiah 16:4-5). Egypt's pharaohs and Tyre's merchants symbolize fleeting power (Isaiah 19; 23), contrasting the coming King's just dominion.Chapters 24-27: The Little Apocalypse
A universal cataclysm engulfs the earth, imprisoning its "host" (rulers and powers) in judgment (Isaiah 24:1-23). Yet, the "King of glory" triumphs, hosting a feast for all peoples, swallowing death, and wiping tears (Isaiah 25:6-8). The "city of confusion" falls, but resurrection hope arises: "Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise" (Isaiah 26:19). God as Leviathan-slayer (Isaiah 27:1) and vintner restores Israel, tying cosmic kingship to redemption.Chapters 28-35: Woes, Alliances, and Hezekiah's Faith
This section recalls chapters 6-12 in its blend of current politics and visionary pictures and is presented as a series of solemn denunciations (Isaiah 28:1; 29:1,15; 30:1; 31:1;33:1); woes target Samaria's (capital of northern Israel) drunkards and Jerusalem's (capital of Judah) scoffers for rejecting God's covenant and deserting the way of faith in favour of political expediency (Isaiah 28:1-29). However, notwithstanding their failure, a "precious cornerstone" in Zion, a messianic foundation, stands firm for believers (Isaiah 28:16). Ahaz's Egyptian alliances are futile; God mocks them as broken reeds (Isaiah 30:1-7), urging return: "In returning and rest you shall be saved" (Isaiah 30:15). In so doing, their "eyes will see the King in His beauty" (Isaiah 33:17), their "eyes will see Jerusalem" (Isaiah 33:20) the true Zion, and "the inhabitant will not say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity." (Isaiah 33:24).
A scathing judgement is proclaimed against all the nations, "For the indignation of the Lord is against all nations, And His fury against all their armies; He has utterly destroyed them, He has given them over to the slaughter." (Isaiah 34).Chapters 32-35 envision the Spirit-poured King reigning in righteousness, with complacent women who are at ease lamenting. (Isaiah 32:9-20) A highway of holiness leads the ransomed to Zion in joy (Isaiah 35:8-10), healing the afflicted."Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them." (Isaiah 36:1). This took place in 701 BC and Hezekiah prays to God, emerging as a faithful foil to Ahaz, and God responds, Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22this is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him:'...‘He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. 34By the way that he came, by the same shall he return;
And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the Lord." (Isaiah 37:21-22) and goes on to promise: " ‘For I will defend this city, to save it for My own sake and for My servant David's sake.’ " (Isaiah 37:33-35). An angel then decimates Assyria (Isaiah 37:36), affirming David's line.
The Servant (chapters 38-55)
Hezekiah's illness tests him (Isaiah 38), but recovery yields a song of trust (Isaiah 38:9-20). Envoys from Babylon prompt a warning of future exile (Isaiah 39), yet hope in the King's endurance persists.
Work ongoing...The Anointed Conqueror (chapters 56-66)
Work ongoing...
Notable Events during Isaiah's prophethood:
Syrian-Ephraimite War and Coalition Against Judah (734–732 BC) - Fearing Assyrian conquest, King Rezin of Aram (Syria) and King Pekah of Israel formed an anti-Assyrian alliance, invading Judah to install a puppet king (Isaiah 7:1-6). King Ahaz of Judah (c. 732-716 BC) sought Assyrian aid instead, leading to Assyrian intervention. This war devastated northern territories and foreshadowed greater Assyrian dominance.Fall of Damascus to Assyria (732 BC) - Tiglath-Pileser III (744-727 BC) of Assyria captured and razed Damascus, annexing Aram and deporting its people, fulfilling Isaiah's earlier warnings. This victory weakened Israel's coalition and brought Assyrian armies to Judah's borders.Fall of Samaria and End of the Northern Kingdom (722/721 BCE) - After Pekah's assassination, Israel's instability led to Shalmaneser V's (726-722) siege of Samaria, completed by Sargon II (721-705). The city fell after three years, with mass deportations to Assyria, scattering the "lost tribes" and ending the northern kingdom.Hezekiah's Religious Reforms (c. 715–686 BC) - Upon ascending to the throne, Hezekiah purged idols, reopened the temple, and centralized Passover worship, reversing Ahaz's pro-Assyrian policies and apostasy aligning with Isaiah's calls for purity.Sennacherib's Invasion and Siege of Jerusalem (701 BCE) - Enraged by Hezekiah's rebellion (withholding tribute and allying with Egypt), Sennacherib of Assyria (704-681 BC) invaded Judah, conquering 46 cities and besieging Jerusalem. Rabshakeh's taunts mocked Judah's God, but an angel struck the Assyrian camp, forcing a retreat and a miraculous deliverance.
A Few Relevant Biblical Verses:
Isaiah Called to Be a Prophet
Isaiah 6:1-6 1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The Lord of hosts.”The Immanuel Prophecy
Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. (ff:Matthew 1:22-23)The Government of the Promised Son
Isaiah 9:6-7 - 6For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring
Isaiah 11 - 1There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. (ff:Mattew 1:6-16)God’s People Are Comforted
Isaiah 40:3 - The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (ff:Matthew 3:3)The Sin-Bearing Messiah
Isaiah 53:4-6 - 4Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (ff:Acts 8:32-35; 1 Peter 2:24)The Glorious New Creation
Isaiah 65:17-25 - 17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. 18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; For behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, And her people a joy. 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem, And joy in My people; The voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, Nor the voice of crying.” (Echoed in Revelation 21:1)
Micah (735-700 BC)
Context:
Micah, from Moresheth (a rural town southwest of Jerusalem), was an 8th-century BC prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah, active during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah (c. 735–700 BC), was contemporary with and overlapped with Isaiah.His seven-chapter book addresses the corruption of Samaria (northern Israel) and Jerusalem (Judah), blending vivid laments of judgment with visions of restoration, using poetic oracles, courtroom scenes, and messianic promises.Micah echoed calls for social justice against the oppressed but with a rural, populist voice, emphasized justice, mercy, and humility, famously summarizing ethics in Micah 6:8. He condemned urban elites' exploitation and prophesied against Samaria's fall and Jerusalem's corruption during Assyrian threats under Ahaz and Hezekiah.Micah's prophecies emphasize God's demand for ethical living over ritual, famously summarized in Micah 6:8 as a blueprint for faithfulness.His prophecy that the coming Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, and especially Bethlehem Ephrathah (Micah 5:2) is a key prophetic and messianic text, fulfilled in Jesus' birth (Referred to as Bethlehem of Judah in Matthew 2:5-6) and it should be noted that there are two Bethlehems.Bethlehem Ephrathah (Bethlehem of Judah) was the birthplace of Jesus Christ and is also the renowned City of David. It was here that the prophet Samuel anointed Jesse the Bethlehemite's son to be king over Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13). It is more than 93 miles (150 km) from Nazareth.The other Bethlehem, also known as Bethlehem of Galilee (or of Zebulun) is a town 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Nazareth and many who don't believe in the inerrancy of Scripture would run to point out that this is the Bethlehem that makes sense for Jesus to have been born in. This is not so!
This disctinction is important!Now, while visions of peace (swords to plowshares in Micah 4:3) inspire global disarmament hopes, during this time of divided kingdoms and imperial overburden, Micah warned of exile as punishment for breach of God's covenant but offered remnant hope, influencing reforms under Hezekiah (Jeremiah 26:18-19) and underscoring God's mercy amid judgment.Micah's book is divided into three parts; Judgment (chapters 1–3), Hope (chapters 4–5), and Renewal and Restoration (chapters 6–7).
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Message of Judgment on Israel and Judah
Micah 1:1 - 1The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.MIcah 1:3,5-6 - 3For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down And tread on the high places of the earth... 5All this is for the transgression of Jacob and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what are the high places of Judah? Are they not Jerusalem?
6“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of ruins in the field, places for planting a vineyard; I will pour down her stones into the valley, and I will uncover her foundations.Message of Hope: The Lord’s Reign in Zion
MIcah 4:1-3 - 1Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it. 2Many nations shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
3He shall judge between many peoples, and rebuke strong nations afar off; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.Path to Renewal and the Promise of Restoration
Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk circumspectly with your God?Micah 7:18-20 - 18Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage?
He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. 19He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which You have sworn to our fathers from days of old.
Nahum the Elkoshite (c. 650 BC)
Context:
Nahum the Elkoshite was a 7th-century BCE minor prophet, active around 650 BCE during the reign of Judah's King Manasseh, one of the most idolatrous kings in Judah's history, amid the waning power of the Assyrian Empire under Ashurbanipal (669-631 BC), the last great king of Assyria. Nahum announced Nineveh's destruction as vengeance for its brutality (e.g., against Israel). His joyful tone contrasted typical prophetic lament, celebrating God's justice in the twilight of Assyrian dominance.His three-chapter book is a poetic oracle of judgment against Nineveh, Assyria's brutal capital, celebrating its impending fall as divine vengeance for oppressing Israel and Judah. Unlike Jonah's earlier call for Nineveh's repentance (c. 760 BCE), Nahum delivers unmitigated doom, using vivid imagery of war and destruction against the oppresor.Nahum's prophecy reassures the oppressed that God is a "jealous and avenging God" who upholds justice, transforming terror into triumph for the faithful (Nahum 1:2,7). In a time when Assyria's atrocities (e.g., deportations and flayings) symbolized unchecked evil, Nahum affirms God's sovereignty over empires, echoing the Exodus themes of liberation while foreshadowing Babylon's later role.
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Interesting fact: The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal is a collection of more than 30,000 clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds from the 7th century BC (most tablets can now be found in the British Museum). Among its holdings was the famous Epic of Gilgamesh and the Enûma Eliš creation story.
Also of great significance; a great deal of ancient Biblical timeline data is derived from the 763 BC solar eclipse in Ninevah described in the ‘List of Assyrian Eponymes’ housed in the British Museum and discovered in 1850 by English explorer Austen Henry Layard and later by his Iraqi assistant, Hormuzd Rassam in 1852 (Royal Library of Ashurbanipal). Ancient Biblical dates are calculated by taking events described in 1 Kings 6:1 and adding or subtracting 480 years.
(A Library Fit For a King)
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Relevant Biblical Verses:
God’s Mercy and Wrath on His Enemies
Nahum 1:1-3 - 1The burden against Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserves wrath for His enemies; 3The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.The Destruction of Nineveh
Nahum 2:13 - “Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts, “I will burn your chariots in smoke, and the sword shall devour your young lions; I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers shall be heard no more.”The Woe of Nineveh
Nahum 3:1,5-7 - 1Woe to the bloody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. Its victim never departs... 5“Behold, I am against you,” says the Lord of hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame. 6I will cast abominable filth upon you, make you vile, and make you a spectacle. 7It shall come to pass that all who look upon you will flee from you, and say, ‘Nineveh is laid waste!’
Zephaniah (640-629 BC)
Context:
The great-great-grandson of King Hezekiah, Zephaniah, whose name means "the watchman of the Lord", ministered early in Josiah's reign in Judah (640-620 BC), his three-chapter book warns of universal judgment on the Day of the Lord amid idolatry and syncretism.His context included Babylonian rise, urging reform but predating Josiah's later discoveries of the law and his reform in 621 BC and his motif echoes Amos and Joel, portraying it as a double-edged sword: terror for the wicked but salvation for the faithful, emphasizing God's jealousy for pure worship and justice for the oppressed. In Josiah's era of creeping reform, it critiques superficial piety, urging humility (Zephaniah 2:3) as the path to refuge.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
The Great Day of the Lord
Zephaniah 1 - 2“I will utterly consume everything from the face of the land,” Says the Lord; 3“I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, and the stumbling blocks along with the wicked. I will cut off man from the face of the land,” Says the Lord.A Call to Repentance
Zephaniah 2:1-3 1Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, 2Before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! 3Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.Judgment on Nations
Zephaniah 2:4-15 - A mirror to the judgements declared by God to the nations in Amos 1:3-13. However, not only Jerusalem and the others, but the entire world is subject to judgment, including the Philistines (vv.4-7), Moabites and Ammonites (vv.8-11), Ethiopians (v.12), Assyrians and Ninevites (vv.13-15).A Faithful Remnant and Joy in God’s Faithfulness
Zephaniah 3:8,15-16 - 8“Therefore wait for Me,” says the Lord, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations to My assembly of kingdoms, to pour on them My indignation, all My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy”... 15The Lord has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more. 16In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear; Zion, let not your hands be weak. 17The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save”
Habakkuk (620-605 BC)
Context:
A late 7th-century BC prophet in the southern kingdom of Judah, active around 620–605 BC during the reigns of kings like Jehoiakim, amid rising Babylonian (Chaldean) power and Judah's moral decay, Habakkuk dialogued with God over apparent injustice (Chaldean invasions).His three-chapter book is unique as a dialogue of complaints (laments) and divine responses ('complaint psalms') and grappling with theodicy ('vindication of God', where all power and all goodness are attributed to God simultaneously), finally evolving to triumphant faith in God's sovereignty, set against the final pre-exilic decline.Unlike oracles against nations, Habakkuk's personal struggles mirror a psalm-like prayer, set against impending exile.His 'complaint psalms' are a model of honest questioning of divine justice, eventually transcending and transforming doubt into resolute trust ("...the just shall live by faith..." in Habakkuk 2:4, quoted in Romans 1:17 and Hebrews 10:38 as a Reformation cornerstone). In an era of Chaldean aggression and Judean corruption, it is a reassurance that God's sovereignty unfolds mysteriously but righteously, balancing wrath with mercy. Eschatologically, it envisions global knowledge of God's glory (Habakkuk 2:14), influencing apocalyptic hope and personal devotion amid suffering.The Book of Habakkuk unfolds as two polemics, two responses, and a prayer.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
The Prophet’s First Question
Habakkuk 1:2-4 - 2O Lord, how long shall I cry, and You will not hear? Even cry out to You, “Violence!” And You will not save. 3Why do You show me iniquity, and cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. 4Therefore the law is powerless, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.The Lord’s Reply
Habakkuk 1:5-11 - 5“Look among the nations and watch - Be utterly astounded! For I will work a work in your days which you would not believe, though it were told you. 6For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation which marches through the breadth of the earth, to possess dwelling places that are not theirs...”The Prophet’s Second Question
Habakkuk 1:12-17 - 12Are You not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. 13You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, and hold Your tongue when the wicked devours a person more righteous than he? 14Why do You make men like fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? 17Shall they therefore empty their net, and continue to slay nations without pity?The Lord's reply; The Just Shall Live by Faith
Habakkuk 2:2-4 - 2Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. 3For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. 4“Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.The Prophet’s Prayer
Habakkuk 3 - 1A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet... 2O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy.
Jeremiah son of Hilkiah (627–586 BC)
Context:
The son of Hilkiah, Jeremiah was a priest from Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. He was born in c. 650 BC and died in Egypt in c. 570 BC.Hilkiah was a significant figure in the Old Testament. A priest whose heritage was rooted in the Levitical priesthood, which was responsible for the religious and spiritual leadership of Israel, teaching the Law, performing sacrifices, and maintaining the sanctity of worship practices, the Bible identifies him as a member of the priestly family residing in Anathoth, and this connection to the priestly line is significant, as it underscores the religious environment in which Jeremiah was raised.Hilkiah, the father of Jeremiah, is distinct from Hilkiah the high priest who discovered the Book of the Law during the reign of King Josiah.Long before Jeremiah was born, Israel had fallen into shameless idolatry. King Ahaz set up a system of child sacrifice to the god Molech just outside Jerusalem. His son, Hezekiah, tried to end the practice (Isaiah 36:7), but when Hezekiah’s son, Ahaz’s grandson, Manasseh, came into power, child sacrifice was reimplemented (Jeremiah, 7:31; 19:5; 32:35).This was the state Israel was in when called by God in his youth during the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC. Jeremiah's ministry lasted almost 50 years and spanned the reigns of Judah's last kings, beginning in the 13th year of Josiah (c. 627 BCE) and continuing through Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah, whose descendant was eventually Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father), and Zedekiah (640-586 BC), until the fall of Jerusalem and the Babylonian exile in 586 BC. These were the last five kings who reigned in Judah on the throne of David, and no one has reigned there since.Known as the "weeping prophet" and "the doom and gloom prophet", Jeremiah's 52-chapter book records his prophecies, laments, and symbolic acts (e.g., buying a field in hope amid doom), addressing Judah's idolatry, social injustice, and false prophets, while foretelling Babylonian invasion and a new covenant of heart transformation.While Jeremiah was prophesying the coming destruction, he denounced a number of other false prophets operating in the region who were prophesying peace. The final destruction of Jerusalem happened in 586 BC.According to the book of Jeremiah, during the reign of King Zedekiah, the Lord instructed Jeremiah to make a yoke with the message that the nation would be subject to the king of Babylon. The false prophet Hananiah took the yoke off Jeremiah's neck and broke it, prophesying that within two years the Lord would break the yoke of the king of Babylon, but Jeremiah prophesied in return: "You have broken the yoke of wood, but you have made instead a yoke of iron."The Book of Jeremiah is the second longest book in the Bible, by word count, with 42,654 words coming in a very close second after Psalms which has 42,704 words.It starts with God's appointment of Jeremiah as a prophet to nations; letting him know that God knew, sanctified and chose him before he was even "formed in the womb", equipping him despite protests, with a dual mission of destruction and rebuilding.Jeremiah famously issues a prophetic warning to the nation of Israel during the same generation that Israel was taken into captivity, revealing that the Babylonian captivity is due to the nation not following the commandments of God. In chapter 25, Jeremiah predicts that "this whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
The specific prophecies recorded in Daniel 9 are a direct result of Daniel’s recognition and response to this earlier prophecy. (See Daniel below)Jeremiah repeatedly warned Israel to repent and avoid God’s righteous judgment. He repeatedly prophesied Jerusalem’s siege by the Babylonians (Jeremiah 26) and he preached, prophecied and continued with his message of "doom and gloom" all his life. As a result, he was not always well liked.Twice he was imprisoned: once on the assumption he was defecting to the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 37:15), and once for encouraging people to defect to the Chaldeans in order to diminish Jerusalem’s destruction. The people also sought his death for prophesying, but the Babylonian governor of Judah used his influence to protect Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26).Even through all this, Jeremiah never relented in his mission to warn the people according to the Word of God and he even brought them messages of hope (sometimes) and even prophecied the coming Messiah from the line of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6, 29:11, 32:37-44).During the Babylonian siege, while Jeremiah was in King Zedekiah’s prison, he redeems his cousin’s land, upon God’s instruction. The incarcerated prophet thus symbolically enacts the future restoration for the people who will soon be exiled from their land. (Jeremiah 32:6-11)The Book of Lamentations, believed to have been written after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, and The Book of the Kings, are also traditionally attributed to the Jeremiah.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Jeremiah Called to Be a Priest
Jeremiah 1:1-10 - 1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
4Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
6Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
7But the Lord said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
9Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”The Potter and the Clay
In the potter's house vision, God illustrates His sovereign reshaping of Israel like clay, calling for repentance.
Jeremiah 18:5-8 - 5Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it.”God’s Warning Rejected
Unfortunately, the "men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem" reject this warning, bringing judgement upon themselves.
Jeremiah 18:12 - And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.”
13Therefore thus says the Lord:
15“Because My people have forgotten Me, they have burned incense to worthless idols. ...17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back and not the face in the day of their calamity.”
(Jerusalem finally fell and the captives were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC.)Jeremiah Persecuted
Jeremiah 18:18 - Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”The Branch of Righteousness
Jeremiah 23:5-6 - 5“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”Jeremiah Saved from Death
Jeremiah 26:11-24 - And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, “This man deserves to die!” ... 24Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.Jeremiah’s Letter of Hope to the Captives
Jeremiah 29 - 1Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive... 4Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ... 5Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6Take wives and beget sons and daughters; ...that you may be increased there, and not diminished. ...10For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 11For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.A New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - 31“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers ... My covenant which they broke... says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”God’s Assurance of the People’s Return
Jeremiah 32:37-44 - 37'Behold, I will gather them out of all countries where I have driven them in My anger, in My fury, and in great wrath; I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely. 38They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. 41Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land, with all My heart and with all My soul.’ ...
Daniel the Prophet (605-538+ BC)
Context and Synopsis:
Daniel, whose name, "Dani El" means "God is my judge", was a young Jewish noble from the tribe of Judah, likely born in 621 BC and of royal descent (fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy in Isaiah 39:7, 2 Kings 20:18). As a teen, among 30,000 other captives, and other elite young me of Judah, he is exiled to Babylon in 605 BC during Nebuchadnezzar's first siege of Jerusalem in August of that year, just prior to his ascension as king, and under Jehoiakim (609-558 BC; 2 Kings 24:1; Daniel 1:1-2) until 536 BC, in the third year of King Cyrus (Daniel 10:1). Daniel himself, however, outlived the Babylonian Empire, which fell to the Persians in 538 BC.His story unfolds against this backdrop of Babylonian exile, a pivotal crisis in Jewish history when the Neo-Babylonian Empire, under Nebuchadnezzar II, dismantled the kingdom of Judah.Nebuchadnezzar's victory over Egypt at Carchemish positioned Babylon as the dominant power in the ancient Near East. Jerusalem fell progressively and when the temple was plundered in 605 BC, elites like Daniel were exiled and taken into captivity. Another military campaign, known as the Siege of Jerusalem was again carried out on March 16th 597 BC which saw the exiling of King Jehoiachin of Judah (aka Jeconiah) and Ezekiel, the treasures of the Temple, the treasures from the king's palace, the government elite, the royal family, dignitaries, priests and craftsmen. Only the "common people" remained in Jerusalem.The final and most devastating siege and total destruction finally came in 586 BC when, in 2 Kings 25, we read of the killing of Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, he is then blinded and forcibly exiled, the house of the Lord, Jerusalem and its walls are destroyed and most of the remaining population forcibly exiled.The book of Daniel is made up of two halves, each with its own literary style.
The first half (Daniel 1-6) contains stories, written in the thrid person, from the lives of Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah during the reigns of Kings Nebuchadnezzar II, Belshazzar, Darius I, and Cyrus II and shows how God's people should live in a world that is not their home while surrounded by pagan and evil influences.The second half of the book (Daniel 7-12), written in the first person, contains Daniel's three apocalyptic visions and breathtaking eschatological prophecies and a dream, all of which are designed to reassure God's people that, in spite of their present persecution and suffering, God is in control and will ultimately be victorious.Included in the recovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls were eight copies of Daniel and other writings that related to the traditions of Daniel all written in Aramaic, the language of the Babylonians. According to researchers and linguists, the text of Daniel is "the same as the Aramaic of the sixth-fifth centuries as we know it from contemporary evidence" and the Aramaic texts reported to contain translations from "classical Biblical Hebrew [that] flourished during the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century BC" and was no longer used in the 5th century BC.From chapter 2 v.4 - chapter 7 v.28, the book is written in Aramaic instead of Hebrew. One possible reason for this switch is that Aramaic was the primary international language of the period. Since chapters 2 to 7 are meant to demonstrate God’s sovereignty over the nations, this part of the book needed to be readable to the whole empire, not just the Jews. In contrast, the apocalypses of chapters 8-12, written in Hebrew, were intended primarily for a Jewish audience.Daniel's narrative reflects real events corroborated by Babylonian chronicles, like Nebuchadnezzar's campaigns and the "writing on the wall" at Belshazzar's feast (Daniel 5), linked to Nabonidus's regency.Part 1 of the Book of Daniel - Chapters 1-6Chapter 1: Daniel and His Friends Obey God
Daniel records that "some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles" captured were to be sequestered in the king's court and trained for a period of three years in the Babylonian language, literature, and customs in order to serve in the royal palace as servants to the king.After being assigned to the master of the eunuchs of the court of the king, Daniel and his three friends are given Babylonian names; to Daniel the name Belteshazzar (meaning 'May Bel protect the king'); to Hananiah, Shadrack; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.Daniel purposes in his heart not to defile himself with the king's delicacies and wine and insists on a diet of vegetables and water. After much protestation from the steward set over them, it is agreed, and after 10 days their appearance is found to be ruddier than the other young men in the court, showing their favour from God.Even given the fact that it would have been the best of food and delicacies, having been prepared for the king, Daniel refused to accept it, knowing that it would have been sacrificed to idols before it arrived at the table and eating such food would be an insult to God.As a result of honouring God, He further gave them "knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom and to Daniel, understanding of all visions and dreams" and when tested by the king after the period of study, they are found to be 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers in the king's realm, so they are chosen to serve before the king (Daniel 1). They are probably aged around 20 or 21 at this point.This act underscores their fear of God and their integrity and as a result, God shows the immense favour He has bestowed on Daniel by giving him the ability to interpret dreams and visions, which were critical for the kings to understand divine messages and future events and often guided may decisions and policies of the kings.Chapter 2: Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream / Daniel And His Friends Are Promoted
The first record of Daniel's impressive abilities comes in the second chapter, where he interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a multi-metal statue, a mighty, many-spleandoured man, as a foretelling of successive empires after his own, finally crushed by a divine stone, formed not buy human hands, God's eternal kingdom.
The king had refused to reveal the dream, knowing that they were just going to lie to him, and had instead insisted that all the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers and the Chaldeans reveal the dream he had dreamt and its meaning, at pain of death to 'all the wise men of Babylon' if they did not, or were not able to.Daniel's reverence for God is evidenced here, as he goes into his friends and asks them to 'seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret' so that they too might not perish and when God reveals the secret to him, he 'blessed the God of heaven' and saves the wise men by revealing it to the king and letting him know that 'there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days'.This dream, long since fulfilled fortells of the coming of later, lesser empires after his own, and the last one to come, greatest of all, that will have no end;
The head of gold: Babylon (625-536 BC); Established by Nebuchadnezzar
Breast/Arms of Silver: Medo-Persian (536-330 BC); Darius the Mede and Cyrus of Persia
Belly/Thighs of Bronze: Macedonian/Greek (330-168 BC); Alexander the Great, then his 4 generals in 323 BC
Legs of Iron, Feet of Iron/Clay: Roman (30 BC - 330 AD); Octavius Caesar
A stone cut out without hands: The Kingdom of God never to be destroyed (33 AD-Eternity); Jesus Christ the MessaiahAfter this divine interpretation, King Nebuchadnezzar comes to understand that Daniel's God is truly “...the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets...” and sets him up as “...ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon” and at Daniel's petition, “...he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” (Daniel 2:47-49)This, once again, underscores the great favour God has heaped upon Daniel and his friends as a result of their faithfulness and Godly integrity.Chapter 3: Nebuchadnezzar's Image of Gold and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego disobey the king
At some point during his reign in Babylon (c. 6th century BC), the king erects a massive golden statue (90 feet tall) in the plain of Dura, commanding "the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up" (Daniel 3:2) under penalty of death in a blazing furnace.The point being that all the officials were to lead all the people of all nations by example, but when all others bowed down to worship the image, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego refused, their answer to the now enraged king giving us an insight into what kind of Godly men these were; 16“O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18)Enraged, Nebuchadnezzar heats the furnace seven times hotter and has them cast in, bound and fettered. The furnace is so hot that it immediately kills the men casting them in, however, miraculously, he sees “four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” (Daniel 3:25). The king, astonished, praises their God and decrees protection for God's worshipers, and promotes the trio.This is a mighty show of unwavering faith under persecution and shows that, by faith, God can perform miracles that cause even unbelievers to believe. It is also a lesson in obedience to God which trumps human threats with "But if not" (v. 18) being a model of trust regardless of outcome. A poignant message to modern Christians on how to deal with the gods of this world and the images of gold that seek to turn us away from our one true King. Nevertheless, believers should not assume that God will always rescue them from harm, it is important to remember that God humbles the proud and raises up the humble and even the hearts of the greatest kings are under his control.Chapter 4: Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream and His Humiliation
Previously, the king had issued a decree glorifying God after witnessing a miracle, having tried to get all the people to worship an image of gold.This chapter is narrated from Nebuchadnezzar's perspective and shows the image of a man who has seen God's mighty power, yet continues to wallow in his own unbelief, pride, idolatry and pagan worship.He dreams of a vast, fruitful tree that shelters all creatures, visible worldwide, but a "watcher" (an angelic holy one) decrees it felled; chopped at the stump, bound with iron and bronze, left to dew and grass, until -and here the narrative turns from a tree to a man- his mind becomes like a beast's, and seven times (years) have passed over him. However, the stump is to be left in the ground.Disturbed, Nebuchadnezzar summons Daniel (whom he named Belteshazzar, "according to the name of my god", v.7), who, initially astonished, interprets the dream and lets Nebuchadnezzar know that the decree is from the Most High God.
The tree is the king. God's holy watchers (his angels) shall drive him from men and he shall live like a beast in the fields and eat grass like oxen. The watchers shall wet him with dew from heaven and thus he will be for seven years until he comes to realise that "the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses" but he also tells Nebuchadnezzar that his kingdom will be assured to him once he comes to know that Heaven rules. (Daniel 4:24)Daniel urges the king, ...“break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps there may be a lengthening of your prosperity.” (Daniel 4:27), but a year passes, and while Nebuchadnezzar is walking about his palace, praising and honouring himself, having seemingly totally forgotten the dream and that the Most High God rules, a voice from heaven declares the judgement and everything that Daniel had foreseen comes to pass."That very hour", Nebuchadnezzar goes mad and he is "driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws." (Daniel 4:33)At the end of the decreed time, Nebuchadnezzar comes to his senses, is restored and finally praises and extols the Most High God as he comes to understand that God is over all and will resist and humble the proud. (Daniel 4:36-37)Time and again, God shows that He will not share His glory with another. In Isaiah 42:8, He says, “I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images.”
Nebuchadnezzar learned this lesson the hard way, however, he did learn and as far as is known, he continued in this vein until the end of his days.Chapter 5: Belshazzar’s Feast and The Writing on The Wall
At the start of this chapter, Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar, is in power and it seems he did not learn from his father's mistakes.His introduction shows him partying with a thousand of his lords, his wives and concubines and commands that the gold and silver vessels taken by his father from the temple in Jerusalem be brought so that they might drink from them and he falls further into depravity when they start praising the gods of gold and silver. His contempt for God is self-evident. (Daniel 1:1-4)At that moment, the fingers of a man's hand appear and write a message on the wall:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN
This event so alarms the king that his countenance changes and he promises riches to anyone who can tell him its meaning. All his wise men are unable to, but the words of the king reach the queen, who, it should be noted, was not with him at his feast, and she recalls a certain man, during the time of his father "in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him." (Daniel 5:10-12)Daniel is brought before the king and his disdain for the king is obvious, for, when offered the position of third ruler in the kingdom if he interpreted the message, his response is dripping with disgust (in my mind's eye). “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another...” (v.17)He then proceeds to recount to Belshazzar, without the fear that he had when interpreting Nebuchadezzar's dream, the story of Nebuchadnezzar, and then the damning indictment of what is about to transpire to Belshazzar.Because he did not humble his heart, "although you knew all this. And you have exalted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified", Daniel tells him the meaning;
“MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it;” (Literally, 'a mina', or 50 shekels, from the verb, 'to number')
“TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting;”_ (Lit. 'a shekel' from the verb 'to weigh')
“PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”_ (Lit. 'and half-shekels' from the Aramaic of the verb 'to divide'; plural of Peres)Daniel is then promoted to third in command of all the kingdom.
"That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old." (Daniel 5:30)And thus ends the Babylonian empire (the Head of Gold), which lasted 90 years, and marks the start of the Median and Persian empires (the Breast and Arms of Silver).This second part of Daniel's prophecy will last over 200 years.Chapter 6: The Medes and the Persians
In 539 BC, King Cyrus of Persia overtook Babylon and installed "Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans." (Daniel 9:1)Daniel and the Den of Lions
"1It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps; 2and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one... 3Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel... but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful..." (Daniel 6:1-4)Satraps were governors of a province in the Persian Empire, which was organized into twenty provinces called satrapies.Possibly, due to a lack of foresight, but definitely due to hubris and pride, Darius is convinced by the governors and satraps to sign an edict, under punishment of death by mauling by lions, forcing everyone in the kingdom to bow down to him as god, instead of their own dieties.Now, Daniel knew what they were plotting and unfazed, he set about his daily prayer ritual, as he done since early in his life. Three times a day, in his upper room, windows open and facing Jerusalem, Daniel would kneel and offer supplicaiton to God and, as was their plan, the governors and satraps inform the king of Daniel's disobedience, and of the king's decree, which even Darius himself could not reverse. "When he heard these words, he was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him" (v.14). However, having laboured till dusk, but to no avail, and trapped by his own command, he is forced to throw Daniel, his most trusted advisor, into a den of lions.Heartbroken and now seemingly having learned his lesson, Darius says a parting word to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” (v.16) He proceeds to have a very restless night and early in the morning, rushes to the den to inquire about his friend.In His sovereignty, God spares Daniel’s life, and Darius learns a very important lesson about honouring God. He restores Daniel to his position and Daniel’s enemies, including their wives and children, meet their demise at the mouths of the lions. He further issues a decree stating, “I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end ... So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” (v.16)Part 2 of the Book of Daniel - Chapters 7-12Chapters 7–12 of Daniel shift from the historical narratives of chapters 1–6 to a series of increasingly apocalyptic visions, received by Daniel in the latter years of his exile (circa 553–536 BC).
These revelations, often in symbolic dreams and angelic interpretations, outline God's sovereignty over successive world empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome), culminating in end-times judgment, resurrection, and the establishment of an eternal divine kingdom.
They encouraged persecuted Jews under foreign rule, affirming that human kingdoms are temporary and God's reign endures.The visions grow more detailed and cosmic, blending history with eschatology, and heavily influence New Testament apocalyptic literature (e.g., Revelation).
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Daniel 9:24-26; 24“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in
everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.26And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”
Ezekiel (593-571 BC)
Context and Synopsis:
A priest exiled in Babylon after 597 BCE, Ezekiel's dramatic visions (e.g., dry bones and Armaggedon) addressed fellow exiles on God's mobile glory and future restoration. His priestly context focused on defilement and renewal during the temple's fall in 586 BC....to be continued...
Ezekiel’s reference to Daniel (Ezekiel 14:14, 20; 28:3)
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Ezekiel 37:4-6: 4Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
Obadiah (c. 585 BC)
Context:
Likely post-586 BC fall of Jerusalem, Obadiah's brief oracle and vision, contained in a single chapter, targeted Edom's betrayal and gloating over Judah. In the immediate exilic shock, it affirmed God's justice against opportunistic neighbors, drawing on earlier Edomite conflicts.
...to be continued...
Relevant Biblical Verses:
The Coming Judgment on Edom
Obadiah 1:2,4,15-16 2“Behold, I will make you small among the nations; You shall be greatly despised...4Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says the Lord...
15For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
16For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been.”Israel’s Final Triumph
Obadiah 1:17-20 17“But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. 18The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame...But the house of Esau shall be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau.” For the Lord has spoken.
19The South shall possess the mountains of Esau, and the Lowland shall possess Philistia. They shall possess the fields of Ephraim and the fields of Samaria. Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 And the captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath.
Haggai (c. 520 BC)
Context:
Post-exilic in Persian-ruled Yehud, Haggai urged Zerubbabel and Joshua to prioritize temple rebuilding after delays. Amid economic hardship and apathy, his short ministry sparked renewed zeal for worship as a sign of God's favor.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
Haggai 1:1-7; 1In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, 2“Thus speaks the Lord of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built.” ’ ” 4Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?”
5Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 6“You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough;...”
7Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Consider your ways! 8Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified.” says the Lord.
Zechariah (520-480 BC)
Context:
Contemporary with Haggai, Zechariah's night visions encouraged the returned exiles under Darius I, blending temple restoration with messianic prophecies. His later oracles addressed moral lapses in the fragile post-exilic community.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
The Coming King
Zechariah 9:9 - “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
Malachi (430-400 BC)
Context:
In the late Persian period after Nehemiah's reforms, Malachi confronted priestly corruption, intermarriage, and tithing neglect. As the last prophet, he promised Elijah's return and a day of refining judgment, before bridging into the 400 year intertestamental period where there was a prophetic silence.
Relevant Biblical Verses:
The Coming Messenger
Malachi 3:1-3; 1“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the Lord of hosts.
2“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like launderers’ soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver...”