Description
While there are many textbooks about the prophetic literature, most have taken either a historical or literary approach to studying the prophets. A Chorus of Prophetic Voices, by contrast, draws on both historical and literary approaches by paying careful attention to the prophets as narrative characters. It considers each unique prophetic voice in the canon, in its fully developed literary form, while also listening to what these voices say together about a particular experience in Israels story. It presents these four scrolls—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve—as works produced in the aftermath of destruction, works that employ prophetic characters, and as the words uttered during the crises. The prophetic literature became for Israel, living in a context of dispersion and imperial domination, a portable and adaptable resource at once both challenging and comforting. This book provides the fullest picture available for introducing students to the prophetic literature by valuing the role of the original prophetic characters, the finished state of the books that bear their names, the separate historical crises in the life of Israel they address, and the "chorus of prophetic voices" one hears when reading them as part of a coherent literary corpus.
Reviews
"Congratulations to Mark McEntire! A Chorus of Prophetic Voices provides new insights into the entire prophetic corpus using several contemporary approaches. McEntire graciously bows to historical-critical work of the past but moves the discussion in other illuminating directions. He uses trauma and post colonial theories, canonical and literary studies. He imagines individual prophetic voices and a symphony of intertextual conversation. With its charts and discussion boxes, the book will make an excellent choice for classrooms, churches, and anyone in search of updating regarding the prophets."
— Kathleen M. O'Connor, William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament, Emerita, Columbia Theological Seminary
"In this ambitious and important work, Mark McEntire skillfully leads us through prophetic literature in ways that illuminate its depth and complexity. Informed by a wide range of scholarship, McEntire charts an approach that enhances our ability to understand the nature and significance of these powerful texts. Best of all, A Chorus of Prophetic Voices makes you want to read the prophets all over again, more carefully and more appreciatively. A very rich resource indeed!"
— Eric A. Seibert, Professor of Old Testament, Messiah College