Knowra Twelve Minor Prophets Twelve Minor Prophets The Twelve Minor Prophets are the biblical books from Hosea through Malachi, collected as one work in Jewish tradition. “Minor” describes their shorter length, not lesser importance.
Book of the Twelve : The Jewish scriptural collection of twelve prophetic books, treated as a unified work. This is the collection’s Jewish name and emphasizes its unity as one book.
Hosea : A prophetic book portraying Israel’s unfaithfulness through the troubled marriage of Hosea and Gomer. It opens the Twelve and introduces themes of covenant, judgment, and restoration.
Jeroboam II : A king of Israel whose reign in the eighth century BCE was marked by territorial expansion and prosperity. Amos and Hosea address conditions in the northern kingdom during his era.
Haftarah : A passage from the Prophets read publicly in Jewish worship after the Torah reading. Selections from the Twelve appear in the synagogue’s cycle of prophetic readings.
Twelve Prophets : The Jewish designation for the twelve prophetic books collected together as one scriptural work. This title contrasts with the Christian label “Minor Prophets,” avoiding the implication of lesser status.
Major Prophets : A traditional grouping of longer prophetic books, including Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The contrast explains “minor” as a distinction of book length, not authority.
Joel : A prophetic book depicting a devastating locust plague and the coming day of the Lord. Its placement after Hosea links the collection’s opening books through judgment and restoration.
Assyrian captivity : The deportation of populations from Israel by the Assyrian Empire, especially after Samaria fell in 722 BCE. The fall of the northern kingdom forms a historical horizon for several early prophetic books.
Book of Jonah : The biblical narrative of Jonah, traditionally read in Jewish worship on Yom Kippur. Its liturgical use gives one book of the collection a distinct role in the Jewish calendar.
Christian Old Testament : The collection of scriptural books Christians identify as preceding the New Testament. Christian Bibles generally present the Twelve as separate books rather than one scroll.
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