The Prophets

Wow! This is the best book I have read in years! When I read books, I try to take notes, but books like that almost make me feel like I have copy large portions and portions of the book in my notebook for later reference. A while back I read F. B. Meyer on some of the characters of the Old Testament. I was turned off. Christian Fundamentalists don't help the situation either for me. They keep talking about judgement and anger and all these words that remind me of the god of Islam called Allah. B [...]

As much as I love Abraham Heschel's writing I probably wouldn't have picked this up if my Catholic women's book club hadn't selected it. We read book 1 (the first half) and it was simply superb. It is common to characterize the prophet as a messenger of God, thus to differentiate him from the tellers of fortune, givers of oracles, seers, and ecstatics. Such a characterization expresses only one aspect of his consciousness. The prophet claims to be far more than a messenger. He is a person who st [...]

At one point, the author summarizes:'We and the prophets have no language in common. To us the moral state of society, for all its stains and spots, seems fair and trim; to the prophet it is dreadful. So many deeds of charity are done, so much decency radiates day and night; yet to the prophet the satiety of conscience is prudery and flight from responsibility. Our standards are modest; our sense of injustice tolerable, timid; our moral indignation impermament; yet human violence is interminable [...]

My spiritual director, a Benedictine monk, recommended Abraham Heschl's The Prophets to me. I had brought to him some badly muddled thinking about the prophets, despite my knowledge of Israelite history and the Bible. Heschl's book profoundly altered my thinking. He called me to a clearer understanding of the God who called the Hebrews out of Egypt, named them as a people "peculiarly" his own, and demanded their unwavering fidelity. The prophets were those men who were called by God and given a [...]

Abraham Heschel's The Prophets offers a thorough and insightul analysis of the phenomenon of the prophet in the Hebrew Bible.The first part of the book begins, modestly enough, as something of a commentary on the texts of the prophets. This begins with a general discussion of the sort of man that the prophet was, before going into individual readings of the prophets and discussion of the historical contexts in which they operated.The book then moves into a theological and philosophical discussio [...]

A tome, indeed.I first became aware of Abraham Joshua Heschel by his presence—when he walked across the Pettus Bridge, linked arms with Martin Luther King. And that is certainly an important way to remember him, as a man who put his faith on the street. He was, of course, also a traditional scholar, carrying understanding of Torah and the other Hebrew Testaments from the past and translating them for new generations and new understandings.“Revelation is not a voice crying in the wilderness, [...]

Absolutely awesome. He had me in tears in the Introduction. That's pretty good. It is a study of the prophets from the standpoint of divine pathos. A tremendous reflection upon the emotional concern of God for man. There are some dangers I suppose if you took this too far, but if you or anyone needs a cure for a view of God - a dispassionate stoic - this is it. This one goes right up toward the top of my list!

I originally found Heschel's The Prophets in the references on the site for the prophet Jeremiah. I had been reading the book of Jeremiah for my scripture study, and hand found some of the particulars difficult to understand. I knew Jeremiah was a bit of a downer, but his constant calls of destruction, his apparent self-hatred were a bit confusing (at one point, he cries, "cursed be the day my mother bore me.") I didn't want a verse-by-verse explanation, but a little context was appreciated.I g [...]

Less a work of historical criticism than a philosophical tract (though certainly thoroughly researched and highly critical), Heschel holds up the prophets of the Tanakh as exemplars of not just divine revelation, but also of :"divine pathos" and "prophetic sympathy," men attuned to God's concern for humankind and brave enough to speak His word to those who've forgotten it. The key here is reciprocity between the divine and the human, a concept to which I fully subscribe.

I have read the vast majority of this book for a graduate level Prophets course. It's commentary is extraordinarily helpful in understanding both the major and minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. In particular I appreciated how Heschel embeds the word into his commentary. Through his work, Heschel helps develop what the prophet Hosea calls daath elohim - an intimate sensitivity for who God is and God hopes and desires for relationship with humanity and all creation.

Volume Two is more scholastic than Volume One and a slower more difficult read. As I read it, I had the sweet feeling of being in the presence of a master. What a beautiful mind! What a beautiful soul!

Is God involved in prophecy?The late Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972) was one of the great Orthodox Jewish scholars, theologians, and philosophers of his generation. His books made a striking impression on many people, including me. His many insights are eye opening. His book “The Prophets” is one of his classics.He tells us that he will not address the well-known question about prophets: Did God really speak to them? Did they actually communicate with God? Yet, I think it is clear that he [...]

I read this book after reading "The Prophetic Imagination" by Brueggemann who often mentions "The Prophets" as a major influence. After reading "The Prophetic Imagination," I concluded "The Prophets" was probably the most important work of scholarship of the Hebrew scriptures in the last 50 years. After reading, "The Prophets," I have concluded it is the most important work of scholarship of the Hebrew scriptures in the last 100 years. Wonderfully researched and clearly written, Heschel builds u [...]

"Heschel does a wonderful job in this classic text deconstructing Greek influences on our conception of God and the prophets. He brilliantly states that the job of the prophet is to empathize with the pathos of God. It's the same kind of thing we do. Heschel marched with King and is a radical thinker, right up our alley. I don't think he ever became a Christian. But in his polemic against other faiths, he seems to protect Jesus and Paul, in particular (never hurling a critique of them). But he d [...]

Great book, but start with God in Search of Man

Feb 2012: Recently completed Book II -- also excellent, a bit less of direct argument and more historical contextualising against other faiths. ****Oct 2011: This review is for Book I -- am taking a break before digging into Book II. I generally enjoyed Book I and really like how as a Jewish author he argues solely from the Old Testament and yet the message resonates very strongly with the message of the New Testament. The structure of the text is a reading of individual books, then a few themat [...]

A tremendous work of scholarship, and of inspiration.

Finally finished this big boy. The first half of the book - less dated and more readable - is an introduction to the Hebrew prophets and a number of their biblical books. The second half is more technical, and explores the theory and nature of Hebrew prophecy. Heschel's literary scholarship becomes a work of profound theology, as he centers his analysis on the prophets' unique contribution to our understanding of God and humanity. In his opinion, this is pathos, which at one point he defines as [...]

This book is an absolutely incredible argument that the literary prophets' main agenda is God's pathos as a call for justice in humanity. In Heschel's meditative yet highly persuasive tone, he shows why the literary prophets are so relevant and what we should do about it. And of course, Heschel enacted the social justice the prophets called for throughout his own life.However, I sometimes found his assumptions inconsistent with his arguments, and sometimes, inconsistent with the literary text. A [...]

This is an excellent, comprehensive treatment of the Biblical prophets. Heschel opens with brief summaries of a few notable prophetic books in Scripture, and then moves to an understanding of the person, office, convictions, and emotions associated with Biblical prophecy. Most interesting is the description of the prophet's intimate relationship with God. Heschel contrasts the Hebrew prophets with those of other cultures, and particularly within Greek philosophy. He discusses the emotions of God [...]

Longish, but a very interesting read overall. The first part is quite good, giving a clear description of the prophets, their message and the political/theological rationale behind their rhetoric. When Heschel delves into the concept of Pathos as his hermeneutic horizon for understanding the unique approach of the prophets, he is thorough and rigorous. The concept of Pathos is interesting and useful to describe the distinctive character of Jewish Monotheism. However, the final hundred or so page [...]

This is a phenomenal book. Other theologians should take note: Heschel has proven that it is possible to express profound ideas in understandable, even eloquent language. Obscurity is not a measure of the greatness of a book. In addition, Heschel writes unapologetically, but intelligently, from a faith perspective, and avoids the modern error of trying to understand religious faith from a non-faith stance. The big contribution he makes is his understanding of God's pathos, or, more popularly put [...]

Where's the option for "Loved what I read, but lost interest halfway through when the focus changed?"Heschel's portraits of the individual prophets were very helpful, and different from other things I've read. I liked their depth and nuance quite a lot, and will certainly be referring back to those chapters in the future!When he turns to the prophetic genre more broadly, that's where he lost me, perhaps because that's not what I wanted from this book; I wanted the bits about the specific prophet [...]

Can't deny this is a magnificent work on the Prophets which elucidates and scrutinizes many aspects of that literature, keeping at the same time a focal point. It can be tough at some times. But it's a great read for someone that has interest to approach the prophetic mind. It really shows us how revolutionary ideas like world peace and ever-lasting justice appeared in history. I wouldn't recommend it to someone that has no prior reading in theme or just curiosity. But again, there's a greatness [...]

It took me a long time to finish this book, that's because it is a book that needs to be studied rather than being only read. The book is profound and somehow academic, it needs some elementary knowledge of philosophy, history and the bible.However it solves many riddles about the God of the Old testament that can't be solved in rationalistic apologetic books. I highly recommend this book.The author is Jewish and I am a christian but the book was more enlightening to me than many Christian books [...]

Deeply spiritual, insightful, and historically cognizant. Heschel's mystical, scholarly spirituality oozes into his reflections on the Old Testament prophets. His ability to get into the psychological depths of agony, ecstasy, and emotions of the prophets and their call to their respective situations makes way for many pauses and selahs. Wonderful resource for devotional, contemplative spirituality.

This was the first work of Abraham Heschel I read, and I fell in love. The teachings, the lives, the struggles, the dreams and the hopes of the prophets all became so real and alive. Complexities became understandable, and the bizarre was made relevant.I refer to this book as a reference book, again and again however, it is also a good read. I love just to pick it up and enjoy.

This is a powerful book bringing light to the Old Testament in a way I have not heard it. It stands as an invitation to enter into the pathos of God and to see the world and ourselves from His perspective. I've had this book for a long time, but finally got around to reading it. I will be pondering it for some time to come.

Heschel approaches the biblical witness of the prophets by diving in (as best he can) to the content of their experience--what is it like being a prophet, seeing the world as they see it? Heschel certainly can write, and his treatment of prophecy as a "genre" unto itself offers tremendous insight to any student of the Ketub'im.

Heschel's serious take on the prophets is well worth the read. He provides an Old Testament, Rabbinical look at the prophets by book as well as overarching themes including history and justice. It is most commonly read in the academic setting, but I would encourage every minister (lay and ordained) to have a copy on hand.