Ãâó: http://archive.catholic.com/thisrock/1994/9402otg.asp
O l d T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
MINOR PROPHETS
By ANTONIO FUENTES
THE twelve shorter prophetic books in the Old Testament are
attributed to "minor prophets," a title which refers to the shortness
of the books, which of course were written under the same divine inspiration and
contain teaching which is on a par with that in the preceding books.
The New Vulgate--like the Vulgate before it--gives these books in the same order
as the Hebrew Bible, a chronological order based on the traditional opinion as
to when they were written; they come from a period extending over some five
hundred years. Here we will discuss them in an historical order and comment on
what we consider to be the more important features of each book, with a view to
elucidating the biblical message as a whole.
Before the fall of the kingdom of Israel (eighth century B.C.)
Amos
Amos was the earliest of the writer prophets. He was born in Tekoa, near
Bethlehem, probably around the beginning of the eighth century. While he was
shepherding his flock he was called by God to prophesy in the northern kingdom.
Amos makes it quite clear in his book that God's choice of him was quite
unmerited, because he was neither "a prophet nor the son of a
prophet." He ministered in the reign of Jeroboam II (783-743), using as his
base the schismatic shrine at Bethel. Therefore, he was a contemporary of Hosea.
At that time the northern kingdom, thanks to its conquests, was enjoying a
period of great prosperity, but there were sharp contrasts between rich and poor
and many instances of inequity and injustice; the spirit of true religion was
difficult to find. Amos, a deeply religious man, zealous for God's glory,
condemns dissolute city life, social injustice and insincerity of religious
worship (5:21-22). He exposes those who exploit the poor (8:6) and upbraids
judges for their venality (5:10-15).
The book is a hymn to God's omnipotence and to the permanence of the Covenant.
It is full of rich imagery and vivid parables based on the pastoral and rural
life with which Amos was so familiar. Through this he passes on God's message;
if the people do not change their ways they will soon be punished by Yahweh: The
kingdom will collapse and its inhabitants will be sent into exile.
This is the last chance God will give them to avoid this outcome. In spite of
all the criticism the prophet levels at his people, there is still, as always, a
shaft of hope; in the context of the repentance to which he calls them, he
speaks of future salvation for the "remnant of Joseph" (5:15) who with
the "remnant" of Judah will experience the grace of messianic
restoration.
Hosea
Hosea (= "salvation") was a citizen of the northern kingdom whose
prophetic mission began in the reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel (783-743)
and probably continued until just before the fall of Samaria in 721. In this
book the prophet describes his own life, surrounded as he was by moral
corruption, in the form of a personal drama which represents the dramatic story
of Yahweh and Israel his spouse.
To God's generous and even passionate love, Israel's response is ingratitude and
indifference. This religious infidelity, which takes the form of worshiping
false Gods, thereby breaking the Covenant, is described by him in terms of
adultery, prostitution and fornication.
The entire eighth chapter of the book is a denunciation of Israel, which Hosea
charges with breaking the Covenant; with having kings who are illegitimate
because they contravene God's will; with adoring the golden calf; and with
making foreign alliances rather than relying on God's aid--all of which will
lead to enslavement in a foreign land (Deut. 26:68).
Yahweh, who had contracted marriage with Israel, has discovered her to be
unfaithful and feels the natural jealousy of a wounded spouse. Despite her
unfaithfulness he still loves his wife. Even though he does at times punish her,
his only purpose in doing so is to attract her back to himself: He is merciful
and desires that she mend her ways and experience once more the delight of their
first love.
The teaching is clear: Yahweh is a jealous God and he wants his love to be
reciprocated. Love is the very foundation of man's relationship with God, the
only thing which guarantees the sincerity of his spiritual life: "For I
desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt
offerings" (Hos. 6:6).
This teaching will be echoed by later prophets who, like Hosea, exhort people to
a more personal and more interior relationship with God, based on love of him:
genuine faith in God leads to moral uprightness. The use of marriage as a
comparison to describe God's relations with Israel will acquire its fullest
meaning in the pages of the New Testament: Jesus' intimacy with his Church is
very appropriately described in these terms (cf. Eph. 23-32).
Micah
The prophet Micah (= "Who is like Yahweh?") was a native of Moresheth,
a village near Israel's border with the territory of the Philistines, about 45
kilometres from Jerusalem. He ministered as a prophet in the reigns of Jotham,
Ahaz, and Hezekiah. He was a contemporary of Hosea in his youth, and also of
Amos and Isaiah. His rural background reminds us of Amos--witness the vivid,
expressive language, rich in imagery, which he uses to illustrate his teaching.
We do not know anything about Micah's life. The inspired text does show him to
be a true prophet, chosen by God to perform this mission. Micah does nothing to
ingratiate himself with the people, yet they listen to him nevertheless. His
main message has to do with the sentence God is going to pass on the Israelites
and the punishment they will experience if they do not repent.
In a dialogue alternating with threats and promises, this book, like Amos and
Hosea, warns them that "the day of Yahweh" is near at hand. Contrary
to what many people think, it will be a day of darkness, not of light. However,
he tells them, after a period of purification, a new light of hope will shine
out.
As regards this purification, what God wants of man, is not so much material
offerings as acts of the virtues of humility, justice and charity: for that
proves a person's faithfulness. Any worship and any purification which stem from
this deep humility will have the effect of rendering material offerings pleasing
to God (Hos. 6:6, Amos 5:24-25).
God's promises to Abraham (7:20) will come true in that "remnant" of
the people which will be purified (4-5). From this remnant will be born, in
Bethlehem Ephrathah, him whose origin is from ancient days, from eternity (5:1).
The birth of the Messiah of a woman (5:2) implies that Micah is aware of the
prophecy of Isaiah: "The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall
call his name Immanuel" (Isa. 7:14). The New Testament sees in this passage
a reference to the virginal birth of Jesus, the Son of God, from a particular
woman, Mary, in Bethlehem (Matt. 2:6, John 7:42).
From the fall of the kingdom of Israel (721 B.C.) to that of the kingdom of Judah (587 B.C.).
ZephaniahAfter the return from Babylonian captivity (537 B.C.)
HaggaiÀÌ Ã¥ÀÇ ÀúÀÚ´Â °ú°Å¿¡, ¾Æ¹ÌŸÀÌ(Amittai)ÀÇ ¾Æµé(1,1)ÀÎ,
µ¿ÀÏÇÑ À̸§ÀÇ ¿¹¾ðÀڷμ ½Äº°µÇ¾î ¿Ô´Âµ¥, ±×´Â. ¿¹·Îº¸¾Ï
2¼¼ (±â¿øÀü 783-743³â) ½Ã´ë¿¡ À̽º¶ó¿¤ÀÇ ¿¾ ¿µ¿ª(frontiers)ÀÇ
Àç ¼³Á¤À» ¿¹¾ðÇÏ¿´½À´Ï´Ù(2¿¿Õ 14,25). ÇÐÀÚµéÀÌ ÀÌ Ã¥ÀÇ
Àú¼ú ¿¬´ë¿¡ °üÇÏ¿© ÀÏÄ¡ÇÏ´Â »óÅ¿¡ ÀÖÁö ¾ÊÀ¸³ª, ±×·¯³ª
±â¿øÈÄ 5¼¼±âÀÇ ³¡ ºÎºÐÀÎ °ÍÀ¸·Î »ý°¢µË´Ï´Ù.
The book starts with Yahweh's command to Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach
penance. Jonah makes excuses and in fact disobeys. He flees on board ship but is
thrown into the sea during a storm. A huge fish swallows him (chap. 1), and he
spends three days and three nights in the fish's belly. Then the fish vomits him
out and he finds himself safe and sound on the coast of Palestine (chap. 2).
ÀÌ Ã¥Àº, ¿ä³ª(Jonah)¿¡°Ô ´Ï³×º£(Nineveh)·Î °¡¼ Âüȸ(penance)¸¦
¼³±³Ç϶ó´Â ¾ßÈÑ(Yahweh)ÀÇ ¸í·É°ú ÇÔ²² ½ÃÀÛÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ¿ä³ª´Â
º¯¸íÀ» ÇÏ¸ç ±×¸®ÇÏ¿© »ç½ÇÀº ºÒ¼øÁ¾ÇÕ´Ï´Ù(disobeys). ±×´Â
¹è¸¦ Ÿ°í µµ¸ÁÄ¡³ª ±×·¯³ª Æødz¿ì µ¿¾È¿¡ ¹Ù´Ù ¾ÈÂÊÀ¸·Î
³»´øÁ®Áý´Ï´Ù. ÇÑ ¸¶¸®ÀÇ Ä¿´Ù¶õ ¹°°í±â°¡ ±×¸¦ »ïÅ°¸ç (Á¦1Àå),
±×¸®°í ±×´Â ÀÌ ¹°°í±âÀÇ ¹è ¼Ó¿¡¼ »çÈê ³¯µé°ú »çÈê
¹ãµéÀ» º¸³À´Ï´Ù. ±×·¯°í³ª¼ ÀÌ ¹°°í±â´Â ±×¸¦ ÅäÇØ ³»¸ç
±×¸®°í ±×´Â Çʸ®½ºÆ¼¾ÆÀÇ Çغ¯¿¡¼ ÀÚ½ÅÀÌ ¾ÈÀüÇÏ°í(safe)
±×¸®°í »óÇÏÁö ¾Ê¾ÒÀ½(sound)À» ¹ß°ßÇÕ´Ï´Ù (Á¦2Àå).
Yahweh repeats his command and this time Jonah obeys. When he reaches Nineveh he
tells the people that the city is now to be destroyed in forty days time (3:4).
But the Ninevites do penance, and God in his mercy forgives them (chap. 3).
¾ßÈѲ²¼´Â ´ç½ÅÀÇ ¸í·ÉÀ» ¹Ýº¹ÇÏ½Ã¸ç ±×¸®°í À̹ø¿¡´Â
¿ä³ª°¡ ¼øÁ¾ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ±×°¡ ´Ï³×º£¿¡ µµ´ÞÇÑ ÈÄ¿¡ ±×´Â ±×°÷ÀÇ
¹é¼º¿¡°Ô, ÀÌ ¼ºÀ¾ÀÌ ÀÌÁ¦ »ç½Ê ÀÏ ¾È¿¡ Æı«µÉ °ÍÀÓÀ»,
¸»ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ±×·¯³ª ´Ï³×º£ÀεéÀº ÂüȸÇϸç(do penance),
±×¸®ÇÏ¿© ÇÏ´À´Ô²²¼ ´ç½ÅÀÇ ÀÚºñ(mercy) ¶§¹®¿¡(in) ±×µéÀ»
¿ë¼ÇϽʴϴ٠(Á¦3Àå).
Basically what the book says is that God's plan for salvation embraces everyone,
Gentiles as well as Jews. All have need of God. That is why the prophet is sent
to a "foreign" city--to show that God is no respecter of persons but
loves everyone, without exception. He takes pity on Jonah (2:7) and on the
people of Nineveh--but only when they do penance.
±âº»ÀûÀ¸·Î ÀÌ Ã¥ÀÌ ¸»ÇÏ´Â ¹Ù´Â ±¸¿ø(salvation)À» À§ÇÑ
ÇÏ´À´ÔÀÇ °èȹÀº, À¯´ÙÀεé»Ó¸¸ÀÌ ¾Æ´Ï¶ó À̹æÀεé±îÁö,
¸ðµç À̸¦ Æ÷¿ËÇÑ´Ù(embrace)´Â °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù. ¸ðµç ÀÌ´Â ÇÏ´À´ÔÀ»
ÇÊ¿ä·Î ÇÕ´Ï´Ù. ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ°ÍÀÌ ÀÌ ¿¹¾ðÀÚ°¡ ÇÑ °³ÀÇ "À̹æÀÇ(foreign)"
¼ºÀ¾ ÂÊÀ¸·Î ÆÄ°ßµÈ ÀÌÀ¯Àε¥, ÇÏ´À´ÔÀº, ¾Æ¹«·± ¿¹¿Ü ¾øÀÌ,
ÀΰÝ(persons)µéÀ» Â÷º°ÇÏ´Â ºÐÀÌ ¾Æ´Ï½Ã°í ¿À·ÎÁö ¸ðµç À̸¦
»ç¶ûÇÏ´Â ºÐÀ̽ÉÀ» º¸¿©ÁÖ±â À§ÇÏ¿©¼¿´½À´Ï´Ù. ´ç½Å²²¼´Â,
¿ä³ª¸¦(2,7) ±×¸®°í ´Ï³×º£ÀÇ ¹é¼ºÀ», ºÒ½ÖÇÏ°Ô ¿©±â½Ã´Âµ¥(take
pity on), ±×·¯³ª ÀÌ°ÍÀº ¿À·ÎÁö ±×µéÀÌ ÂüȸÇÒ ¶§¸¸
±×·¯ÇϽʴϴÙ.
His love even extends to infants--people "who do not know their right hand
from their left" (4:11). This book prepares the way for a more exalted and
definitive revelation--whereby Jesus explains the essence of God's inner life by
telling us that God is love (1 John 4:8).
´ç½ÅÀÇ »ç¶û(love)Àº ½ÉÁö¾î À¯¾Æ(infants)µé¿¡°Ô±îÁö, Áï, "ÀڽŵéÀÇ ¿Þ¼ÕÀ¸·ÎºÎÅÍ ÀڽŵéÀÇ ¿À¸¥¼ÕÀ» ±¸ºÐÇÏÁö ¸øÇÏ´Â" »ç¶÷µé(4,11)(*) ¿¡°Ô±îÁö, ¹ÌĨ´Ï´Ù(extends to). ÀÌ Ã¥Àº ¾î¶² ´õ °í±ÍÇÑ(exalted) ±×¸®°í ´õ °áÁ¤ÀûÀÎ °è½Ã(revelation)¸¦ À§ÇÑ ±æ(the way)À» ÁغñÇϴµ¥, ¹Ù·Î ±×°Í¿¡ ÀÇÇÏ¿©(whereby) ¿¹¼ö´Ô²²¼´Â, ¿ì¸®¿¡°Ô ÇÏ´À´ÔÀº »ç¶û(God is love)À̽ÉÀ» ¸»¾¸ÇϽÉÀ¸·Î½á(1¿äÇÑ 4,8), ÇÏ´À´ÔÀÇ ³»¸é »ý¸í(inner life)ÀÇ º»ÁúÀ» ¼³¸íÇϽʴϴÙ.
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(*) ¹ø¿ªÀÚ ÁÖ: ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ Ç¥ÇöÀÇ
¿µ¼ºÀû Àǹ̿¡ ´ëÇÏ¿©¼´Â, ´ÙÀ½ÀÇ ÁÖ¼Ò¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ±ÛÀ» ²À
Àеµ·Ï Ç϶ó:
http://ch.catholic.or.kr/pundang/4/1688.htm
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Antonio Fuentes teaches Scripture at the University of Navarre in Spain.
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