232 - The Prophets Of Israel

The Prophets Of Israel
By Curt Kuhl
Translated by Rudolf J. Ehrlich and J. P. Smith
199 pp. Richmond, Va., John Knox Press, 1960. $3.50.

This short work on the Old Testament prophets sets them into the historical framework and keeps in mind a critical approach to the authorship of the various books. Dr. Kuhl admits that the origin of Hebrew prophecy remains veiled in obscurity, and he points out a manifold diversity of prophets: ecstatics, prophetic guilds, the prophets of the early monarchy, and the later literary prophets. It appears that it is still best to regard the nabi as a spokesman of God, one who proclaims the mes-

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sage he has in some mysterious manner received from God. The prophet was not so much a fore-teller as a forth-teller; in this respect the Greek rendering proph
t
s well illustrates the real meaning of the Hebrew word. In this connection the author aptly quotes Ex. 4:16; 7: 1. The writer furthermore cites examples of prophecy in the ancient Near East outside the Old Testament, but in spite of some resemblances the fact remains that under Yahweh Hebrew prophecy is something unique in the history of ancient religious thought. Even though Kuhl notes the difficulty of differentiating between a prophet and a seer, the passage in I Sam. 9: 9 must still be considered seriously. In this study it would also have been well to make reference to the prophetic spirit that took possession of Mohammed. For making further investigation of phenomena analogous to the experiences of the Old Testament prophets reference may be made to the book by Joh. Lindbloom, Profetismen i Israel, Stockholm, 1934, in which he has recorded a number of interesting examples from various times and lands. The author well observes that the prophets do not appear as the originators of their proclamations: "it is Yahweh in person who speaks."

It is perfectly correct to hold the view that prophecy will have to be understood in the light of the local and historical situation. In this connection Kuhl maintains that the prophets had an oral ministry and that their symbolic actions imply personal and visual contacts with their hearers. It may not be particularly important to regain the ipsissima verba of the prophets, but we may be reasonably certain that we have at any rate the heart of their discourses. Disciples may have later recorded their words, and in this case we should recall the tenacity of the Oriental memory. For example, there are pundits in India who know the entire Rig-Veda by heart and whose memorized text has the same authority as that of a written manuscript. After the death of Mohammed, as the Koran memorizers were becoming extinct, Abu-Bakr ordered the scattered sayings of the Arabian prophet to be collected. In other words, a theory that the prophets did not write their books in the form in which we now have them should not surprise us or disturb the exegete. It may be also assumed that the prophets were not always original and that they incorporated in their works some anonymous prophecies which were common property, as, for example, Is. 2: 2-4; Micah 4: 1-4.

It may furthermore be taken for granted that certain prophets exercised an influence upon their successors. By way of example Kuhl asserts that Hosea had an influence upon Jeremiah, but he does not tell us what it was. In this connection we shall have to consider the New Covenant of Jeremiah (31: 31-34); cf. H. S. Gehman, "An Insight and a Realization," Interpretation, IX (1955), 279-293. Kuhl maintains that

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in the New Covenant the individual is not envisaged at all. Yet we cannot exclude the personal element in verses 33-34; in those days the law will be written upon the human heart, and the reference to neighbor and brother clearly denotes the individuals composing Israel in the new age. In connection with the influence of Jeremiah upon Ezekiel we may compare Jer. 32:39-40 and Ezek. 11: 19-20. The author recognizes the difficulty of interpreting the Servant of the Lord in Deutero-Isaiah. After all the discussion, however, that this theme has received at various hands, it seems best to regard it as a floating conception, depending upon the context in which it occurs. Accordingly the Servant may be all of Israel, the pious portion of the nation, or an individual.

This compact book adds hardly anything to our knowledge of the prophets of the Old Testament. By reading a standard book on Introduction to the Old Testament with the Bible the student can gain by himself all that this book offers. More space should have been devoted to Biblical theology for the minister who wants to preach from the prophets and show their contemporaneity.

Henry S. Gehman
Princeton, New Jersey