The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets: Imagining the Minor Prophets' World

by John Goldingay

Understand the Prophets Like Never Before with Amazing Insights from One of Today's Foremost Old Testament Scholars For many Christians reading the Old Testament, trying to understand Israel's prophets is like listening to just one side of a phone conversation--you only get half the idea of it. You hear the answer, but how do you know what question the prophet is answering? In The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets , John Goldingay uncovers the questions behind the prophets' answers that make their meaning and relevance intelligible to us. Written as a series of imaginary letters to the twelve Minor Prophets, The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets asks the kinds of questions that Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, and others were answering. The letters make clear the issues these prophets of Israel were dealing with or deliver the news they were responding to in their Old Testament writings. For example, These and other questions help readers peer behind the veil of Minor Prophets' utterances and unlock their significance for today's Christians. Each The Lost Letters to the Twelve Prophets offers an imaginative, fun, and engaging way for students, pastors, and all serious Bible readers get a better grip on what is happening in these often misunderstood biblical books and get more out of their Bible reading and study.

Genres: Biblical Studies, Theology, Old Testament

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2022

Reviews

[Michael Hinnen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I did. I’m grateful for Goldingay’s imaginative exegesis and his expertise on bringing the prophets’ world to life in his “background and foreground” sections. But the end result was choppy, difficult to follow along with, and his translation didn’t help anything. I think his work would have benefited using a paraphrase more like the Message than his overly wooden translation, especially considering the prophets’ genre.

Overall, I’m glad I read it. But I’m glad I’m done with it.

[Nathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clever approach and I enjoyed it, but it has its drawbacks.

Weaknesses:
1. For the book to work, Goldingay has to assume his own interpretations of the text, so the reader is left largely unaware of other perspectives on certain critical or interpretive difficulties.
2. Some of the prophetic texts do not lend themselves to this kind of treatment (Jonah).
3. Sometimes the imagined letters replace what is actually provided in the text (Habakkuk's questions to God).
4. The book is selective rather than comprehensive in its coverage of the Biblical text.
5. The imagined letters are composed in plain English, which at times causes the form of the prophets' writings to seem more strange rather than less.

[Brett Brewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in some senses undermines its goal in its execution, but is a worthwhile read for those interested in learning about the cultures into which the minor prophets spoke.

Each chapter is a series of imagined letters between real or imagined people and the minor prophet in question. This is a clever way to bring the culture into the text of the prophets, but in some cases feels forced or disconnected for the Biblical text. What this led to, for me at least, were times of some confusion as I tried to grapple with how the context-providing letter was actually being addressed by the Old Testament text. It was almost as though Goldingay struggled with providing context in some of the prophets. This comment is almost certainly true, but it feels that way from time to time.

Having said that, this book is very careful to not make itself out to be a commentary. It ought not be depended on for deep exegetical insights, and it doesn't pretend or imply that it should be. What it does, I think it largely does well, in the same way that the Bible Project videos do. It provides a bigger picture, a context, into which you can read the minor prophets' writings. I'm happy to have read it and would recommend it for anyone undergoing a study of the minor prophets.

[Sam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was helpful to read. The letters are from historical background and from Goldingay's particular interpretation. Some prophetic books are more interesting than others. I liked the background sections, his translations were more woodenly literal. Great premise, actual read was a bit less engaging than I desired.

[Jonathan Caldwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an "ok" book. Sometimes, in an effort to keep his translation fresh, Goldingay's translation is a bit distracting. The treatments of each prophet is a little uneven. But it would be a better introduction for the novice than a bunch of commentaries.

[Chris Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Quincy Wheeler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some cool background but I feel like a lot more creative effort could have gone into the framing device as the letters seem so off-tone and unrelated in culture.

[Mark Loughridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

Not overly taken with it.

[Daryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and insightful way into the Minor Prophets!