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Interpreting the Prophets: Reading, Understanding and Preaching from the Worlds of the Prophets
The prophetic books are some of the most captivating and fascinating texts of the Old Testament, but they are also some of the most misunderstood. Interpreting the Prophets equips the reader with the knowledge and skills they need to interpret the Prophets in a faithful and accurate fashion. Beginning with the nature of the prophetic role and prophetic books in Israel, Old Testament scholar Aaron Chalmers leads the reader through the various "worlds" of Israel's prophets―historical, social, theological and rhetorical― providing the basic contextual and background information needed both for sound and sensible exegesis, and for sensitive interpretation and application for today. He concludes with a helpful chapter giving guidelines for preaching from the Prophets―including advice on choosing the texts, making appropriate analogies, and the potential problems and common pitfalls to avoid.
187 pages, Paperback
First published March 13, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 8, 2025
Helpful paradigm for studying the prophets but not anything I haven’t heard before being a part of a solid Bible-preaching church. Probably more helpful for pastors trying to preach from the texts.
June 3, 2015
Chalmers voices the frustration that becomes the motivation for many authors: "My decision to write this text was motivated largely by my frustration at being unable to find a suitable textbook for my students" (p. xi). I'm glad he responded to that frustration. Interpreting the Prophets is a helpful tool for anyone preparing to preach from the prophetic literature.
Chalmers does an admirable job of staying the course between academic overkill and being too simplistic to be helpful. This is a very good basic text to set a preacher up for further study and consideration of the prophets. The final chapter would make an excellent guide for sermon preparation if a preacher would simply follow the general flow of his writing.
Somewhat less than a graduate text, it may still provide the kind of general guideline to be a baseline from which to build. With the "Further Reading" sections and bibliography as a guide, there is ample resource to move forward.
Chalmers does an admirable job of staying the course between academic overkill and being too simplistic to be helpful. This is a very good basic text to set a preacher up for further study and consideration of the prophets. The final chapter would make an excellent guide for sermon preparation if a preacher would simply follow the general flow of his writing.
Somewhat less than a graduate text, it may still provide the kind of general guideline to be a baseline from which to build. With the "Further Reading" sections and bibliography as a guide, there is ample resource to move forward.
September 24, 2017
Martin Luther once said “The prophets have an odd way of talking, like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next, so that you cannot make head or tail of them or see what they are getting at.” He should Have read Aaron Chalmers book.
A South Australian Native, Chalmers has written an excellent introduction to the Prophets, helping the reader understand the context, themes, and literary techniques used in these tricky books.
A South Australian Native, Chalmers has written an excellent introduction to the Prophets, helping the reader understand the context, themes, and literary techniques used in these tricky books.
November 11, 2022
This was required reading for my BIBL 313 Study of the Prophets class. Well, we were only required to read chapters 1-3. I found Dr. Chalmers book to be highly engaging and informative. As with most books of this type, sometimes the author can get a bit wordy with their explanations. However, this is a minor problem as Dr. Chalmers keeps the flow going as he explains his subject material. This book should be read by any student of interpretations, exegesis, and/or preaching.
May 6, 2023
A short introduction on how to read the minor prophets with a focus on literary genre, historical contexts, and etc. Nothing crazy groundbreaking, but if a larger work (ie: more widely useful) on old testament contexts seems daunting for you, this focused little book might be up your alley.
March 23, 2018
textbook style info, history and background.
June 5, 2024
A good textbook that does exactly what the title says. Very informative but perhaps a bit dry and dense.
March 19, 2015
There is no doubt that the Prophets of the Old Testament are the most difficult portion of Scripture to get a handle on. You can go astray in so many ways from an interpretive standpoint. Mr. Chalmers, teacher of the Old Testament and hermeneutics, writes to assist us in that quest in this volume published by IVP.
He specifically wants to deliver something different from what most of us have on our shelves. Other prophecy handbooks aim at content about the individual prophetic books and the prophets themselves. He feels that what is more needed is an ability to get in these books and sensibly interpret ourselves. Though I appreciate the content-driven volumes myself, I can see his point. The volume he has given us, accordingly, is about the complicated hermeneutics of the prophets rather than a traditional volume.
He has succeeded, in my view, on some levels. His threefold division of the historical world, the theological world, and the rhetorical worlds is logical. In the historical world section, he spends time well explaining what an Old Testament prophet is. I take issue with some assumptions he makes in regards to the writing process of the prophetical books. Though he is kind to conservatives, he seems to lean more toward a critical perspective of redaction taking place over centuries. There is no concrete evidence to cause me to believe that position, but admittedly a large part of the scholarly world agrees with him. It seems to me Mr. Chalmers’ theological position stands close to John Goldingay, who is, in fact, oft quoted in this volume.
The latter part of the historical section was interesting as was the theological one. The rhetorical section made distinctions that scholars wrestle with more than pastors or Bible students. The distinction between prophecy and apocalyptic sometimes, in my view, confounds more than it enlightens. Still, he will explain it as well as it can be.
This volume appears like a textbook at times, and would not make a profound difference if you were going, to say, preach a sermon on a text in Obadiah this Sunday; but you would gain insight in how to think about the prophets overall and that is the value you will find between the covers of this book.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
He specifically wants to deliver something different from what most of us have on our shelves. Other prophecy handbooks aim at content about the individual prophetic books and the prophets themselves. He feels that what is more needed is an ability to get in these books and sensibly interpret ourselves. Though I appreciate the content-driven volumes myself, I can see his point. The volume he has given us, accordingly, is about the complicated hermeneutics of the prophets rather than a traditional volume.
He has succeeded, in my view, on some levels. His threefold division of the historical world, the theological world, and the rhetorical worlds is logical. In the historical world section, he spends time well explaining what an Old Testament prophet is. I take issue with some assumptions he makes in regards to the writing process of the prophetical books. Though he is kind to conservatives, he seems to lean more toward a critical perspective of redaction taking place over centuries. There is no concrete evidence to cause me to believe that position, but admittedly a large part of the scholarly world agrees with him. It seems to me Mr. Chalmers’ theological position stands close to John Goldingay, who is, in fact, oft quoted in this volume.
The latter part of the historical section was interesting as was the theological one. The rhetorical section made distinctions that scholars wrestle with more than pastors or Bible students. The distinction between prophecy and apocalyptic sometimes, in my view, confounds more than it enlightens. Still, he will explain it as well as it can be.
This volume appears like a textbook at times, and would not make a profound difference if you were going, to say, preach a sermon on a text in Obadiah this Sunday; but you would gain insight in how to think about the prophets overall and that is the value you will find between the covers of this book.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews