Page 78 - Old Testament Survey Student Textbook

When Did the Prophets Write?

In very general terms we may speak of three sets of historical circumstances that occupied the center
stage of the prophets' ministries:

(1) Assyrian Judgment: During the eighth century Assyria became the dominant empire in the ancient
Near East and thus a great concern to the prophets. In response to prolonged, flagrant sin, God
determined to use the armies of Assyria to bring judgment against his people. This aggression took place
in three major stages. First, in c. 734 B.C., the Northern Kingdom of Israel joined forces with Syria to
resist Assyrian dominance, but this coalition led to Syria's defeat and Israel's harsh subjugation to
Assyria (2 Kings 15:20-29). Second, in 722 B.C. the Assyrians reacted to further rebellion by destroying
Samaria, the capital of northern Israel, and exiling many citizens of the nation. Third, in 701 B.C. the
Assyrian king Sennacherib waged a successful war against Judah and even laid siege to Jerusalem, but
the Lord turned him back at the last moment (2 Kings 17-19). The prophets who ministered in this
period spoke frequently about these and related events.

(2) Babylonian Judgment: In 612 B.C. the Babylonians conquered Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, and
became the dominant empire in the region. With the northern kingdom of Israel already defeated and
exiled by the Assyrians, God used the Babylonians to bring judgment against the Southern Kingdom of
Judah through major incursions and deportations in 605 B.C., 597 B.C., and 586 B.C. The first incursion
resulted in subjugation and the deportation of some of Judah's elite such as Daniel and his friends (Dan.
1:3-6). The second incursion brought more hardship and the deportation of more Judahites, such as
Ezekiel (Ezek. 33:21; 2 Kings 24:14). The third incursion resulted in the destruction of Jerusalem and full-
scale exile (2 Kings 25:1-21). Many prophets predicted these events, interpreted them as they happened
and reflected on them once they had occurred.

(3) Restoration: In 539-538 B.C. the Persian emperor Cyrus defeated Babylon and released the Jews to
return to Jerusalem. A small number of Jews returned to the land under the leadership of Zerubbabel, a
descendant of David, and Joshua the high priest. After a delay of some time, the temple was rebuilt in
520-515 B.C. Despite this relatively positive beginning for the restored community, by the time of Ezra
and Nehemiah and the decades that followed them (c. 450-400 B.C.), false religion had so taken root
among the returnees that all hope for the Kingdom of God to reach its glorious end was cast into the
distant future which we now know as the New Testament period. Many prophets concerned themselves
15
with these events as well.
The sixteen prophets who wrote the Major and Minor Prophets lived from 750 BC to 400 BC. The
prophets lived in Israel or Judah, and some were deported to Babylon or Assyria.

The chart on the next page includes only the major prophetic figures of the Old Testament period. The
period following 750 BC, beginning with Hosea and Amos, is often referred to as the classical period of
prophecy and those prophets as writing prophets. Both names are somewhat inaccurate. There is not
nearly as radical a break between prophets before the beginning of the "classical" period and those after
as the name might imply. Also, not all of the prophets were necessarily writers. In some cases the books
are a combination of the prophet's words along with later stories about the prophet as well as much
later application of the prophetic message to new historical contexts. Amos is a good example of such a
composite book. On the other hand, some prophetic books, such as Ezekiel, are relatively coherent
indicating a great deal of unity of composition. Yet in other cases, such as the Book of Jonah, the

15 ttp://reformedanswers.org/answer.asp/file/40899
77