In this introduction to interpreting the Prophets, Aaron Chalmers helpfully majors on showing the way, rather than merely describing content. In exploring several prophetic 'worlds', the historical, the theological and the rhetorical, he negotiates with clarity some of the issues that students new to the prophets find perplexing. Always alive to pitfalls, he provides resources for a solid grounding in understanding and using this section of the Bible, culminating in intelligent guidance for preachers. An excellent resource for students and preachers alike.
-Gordon McConville,
professor of Old Testament theology, University of Gloucestershire
Chalmers orients Christian readers to Old Testament prophecy, providing insights into the role of prophets and the books that arose from their ministry, as well as strategies for reading and preaching the prophetic collection. While engaging the best in recent scholarship, this book is accessible to the uninitiated. Interpreting the Prophets is a helpful resource for those who want to hear the breadth and depth of the message of the prophets.
-Mark J. Boda,
professor of Old Testament, McMaster Divinity College; professor, faculty of theology, McMaster University
I'm very excited about the potential of this book to help people understand the Old Testament Prophets. The explanation of prophecy's distinctive genre, historical setting, rhetoric, theology and significance is engaging, informed and insightful. If the Prophets seem confusing and irrelevant to certain readers, or primarily about contemporary events in the Middle East to others - and if the church wants a user-friendly corrective to the misunderstanding - this is it. Every pastor and teacher seeking to nourish the church through messages from the prophets needs to drink deeply from Chalmers's well. And every professor hoping students will learn to interpret the Prophets correctly ought to assign this book. (Further, if scholars want a model for writing interpretive guides for other biblical genres - this is it.) Misinterpretations of prophecy have been a stumbling block to Christian maturity and to unity in the body of Christ. I hope and pray that this book will result in the trees of the field clapping their hands.
-D. Brent Sandy,
author of Plowshares and Pruning Hooks: Rethinking the Language of Biblical Prophecy and Apocalyptic
Happy are the students who take Aaron Chalmers's classes! He has assimilated a vast and complex range of materials from the Old Testament and its world, and from the scholarly world, and out of them has formulated a coherent and intelligible account of the Prophets for his readers. And it all serves a passion to help people read the Prophets for themselves.
-John Goldingay,
David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament School of Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary
