The Seventh-Century Prophets in Twenty-first Century Research

Abstract

This article surveys major issues addressed in scholarship on Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah since 2000. Researchers have continued attempts to locate these books more precisely within the historical context of the late seventh century bce. Efforts to trace the literary growth of the books have increased following a decrease in diachronic approaches in the 1990s. Redactional analyses have sought new methodological strategies to supplement the limited historical evidence available for tracking literary growth. Several redactional studies overlap with efforts to describe the editorial history of the Book of the Twelve, although resistance to reading the prophets in this context has also emerged in recent studies. Studies employing literary theory and ideological criticism have sought to balance historically oriented interpretation with attention to more existential concerns. A growing pluralism of methods, aims, and results characterizes the study of the seventh-century prophets in the early twenty-first century.