Old Testament World

The Book of Zephaniah (sometimes Latinized as Sophonias) is the ninth of the Twelve Minor Prophets, preceded by the Book of Habakkuk and followed by...

The Song of Songs, also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is an erotic poem that is one of the megillot (scrolls) found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim (or "Writings"). It is unique within the Hebrew Bible: it shows no interest in Law or Covenant or the God of Israel, nor does it teach or explore wisdom like Proverbs or Ecclesiastes (although it does have some affinities to wisdom literature, as the ascription to the 10th century BCE King of Israel Solomon indicates); instead, it celebrates sexual love.

The Book of Malachi is the last book of the Neviim contained in the Tanakh, canonically the last of the Twelve Minor Prophets. In the Christian ordering...

The Book of Micah is the sixth of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Ostensibly, it records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th-century BCE prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah.

Jonah or Jonas, son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th century BCE. Jonah is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, which details his reluctance in delivering God's judgement on the city of Nineveh, and then his subsequent, albeit begrudged, return to the divine mission after he is swallowed by a large sea creature.

The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot (or "Five Scrolls") alongside the Song of Songs, Book of Ruth, Ecclesiastes and the Book of Esther although there is no set order. In the Christian Old Testament it follows the Book of Jeremiah, as the prophet Jeremiah is its traditional author.

The Book of Joel is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament.

Hosea, son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose collective writings were aggregated and organized into a single book in the Jewish Tanakh by the Second Temple period, forming the last book of the Nevi'im; but which writings are distinguished as individual books in Christianity. Hosea is often seen as a "prophet of doom", but underneath his message of destruction is a promise of restoration.

The Book of Haggai is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and is the third-to-last of the Minor Prophets. It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BC before the Temple had been rebuilt.

The Book of Esther, also known in Hebrew as "the Scroll" ("the Megillah"), is a book in the third section of the Jewish Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible). It is one of the five Scrolls (Megillot) in the Hebrew Bible and later became part of the Christian Old Testament. The book relates the story of a Hebrew woman in Persia, born as Hadassah but known as Esther, who becomes queen of Persia and thwarts a genocide of her people. The story forms the core of the Jewish festival of Purim, during which it is read aloud twice: once in the evening and again the following morning.

Amos was one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. An older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, Amos was active c. 760-755 BCE during the rule of kings Jeroboam II of Israel and Uzziah of Judah. He was from the southern Kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern Kingdom of Israel. Amos wrote at a time of relative peace and prosperity but also of neglect of God's laws. He spoke against an increased disparity between the very wealthy and the very poor. His major themes of justice, God's omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. The Book of Amos is attributed to him.