The Literary Coherence of the Book of Micah


Book Description

The Literary Coherence of the Book of Micah puts forth a framework to understand the nature of literary coherence. This enables an analysis of the sources and dimensions of the coherence found in the book of Micah by the primary scholarly proposals for understanding the structure and connectedness of the whole book. Each of these proposals ultimately fails to account for all the features found in the text. The author then explains a new reading of the final form of the text of Micah, based on the placement of the references concerning the remnant. A brief exposition of the text as a canonical whole indicates the flow and development in the final form of the book. The framework formulated earlier provides a basis to evaluate the coherence that this understanding of the book of Micah uncovers and to show that this means of reading the canonical book best accounts for the greatest number of features in the text.







The Literary Coherence of the Book of Micah


Book Description

The Literary Coherence of the Book of Micah puts forth a framework to understand the nature of literary coherence. This enables an analysis of the sources and dimensions of the coherence found in the book of Micah by the primary scholarly proposals for understanding the structure and connectedness of the whole book. Each of these proposals ultimately fails to account for all the features found in the text. The author then explains a new reading of the final form of the text of Micah, based on the placement of the references concerning the remnant. A brief exposition of the text as a canonica.













Micah


Book Description

This new addition to the FOTL commentary series presents a complete form-critical analysis of the book of Micah. Ehud Ben Zvi looks at how Micah was read by its ancient audience and explores the social setting that stands behind it. His various lines of investigation lead to a deeper understanding of Micah and its enduring message. Ben Zvi explores the prophetic book of Micah as a written document that presents itself as YHWH's word. The commentary deals extensively not only with the message of Micah, but also with the social setting of its authorship and primary readership and with the social function of this and other prophetic books in ancient Israel. - Publisher.







The Concept of Divine Sovereignty in Micah


Book Description

We live in a world gone awry. Social injustice pervades our societies, the poor are disdained, despotic leaders and nations seem to control world events, and racism and hatred abound. Yet, while it might appear that evil reigns, the sovereign God is in control. Such is the message of the book of Micah, a text that underscores God’s presence in the world, righting wrongs, delivering the marginalized, and restoring the intended order of creation. In this careful explication of the minor prophet, Dr Semwayo challenges those who would question the text’s unity, revealing Micah as a powerful theological reflection on the reestablishment of Yahweh’s sovereignty on earth. Connecting the Zion/Davidic traditions to the Abrahamic covenant, Semwayo articulates a vision of hope that is as relevant for us in the twenty-first century as it was for Micah’s original audience.




A Transverse Dreamer


Book Description

The final text of the Book of Micah provokes a series of questions: - Can the Book be read as a coherent composition or is it the result of a complex redaction history? - Was Micah a prophet of doom whose literary heritage was later softened by the inclusion of oracles of salvation? The essays in this book center around these questions. Some of them are of a more general character, while others analyze specific passages. Some articles discuss the Book of Micah by looking at specific themes (prophecy; religious polemics; metaphors). The others are concerned with the proclamation of a peaceful future (Micah 4:1-5); the famous moral incentive in Micah 6:8 and the question of prophetic and divine gender in Micah 7:8-13. They have two features in common: - A thorough reading of the Hebrew text informed by grammar and syntax. - A comparative approach: the Book of Micah is seen as part of the ancient Near Eastern culture. All in all, the author defends the view that the Book of Micah contains three independent literary elements: Micah 1: a prophecy of doom; Micah 2-5 a two-sided futurology, and 6-8 a later appropriation of Micah’s message.