Stephen Barkley
First, some context: I’m a practical theologian with a focus on prophecy. Specifically, I’m fascinated by the way the experience of people who prophesy today coheres with the experience of the Old Testament prophets. I wrote a book named Pentecostal Prophets about this very topic. I also teach a course on the prophets for undergraduate and graduate students. While this is my world, I freely admit that I’m not a biblical studies specialist. That said, here are my thoughts on Eric J. Tully’s introductory survey of the Old Testament prophetic books.
There is a lot to love in this book, and it rests on Tully’s attention to context. He devotes about one third of the book to background that will help readers understand who the prophets were and what made them tick. His theological summary of the prophet’s message is clear and to the point:
God’s people have broken his covenant and been unfaithful in every way. After a long period of patience, God pours out his wrath and carries out the consequences that were entailed by the covenant—the climax of which is removal from the land and exile in foreign lands. However, he will show mercy if the people repent. He will bring them back from exile and restore their fortunes so that their abundance is even greater than before; he will given them a new heart so that their relationship with him will not longer be threatened, set a righteous and permanent Davidic king over them, and usher in a n eternal reign of peace and prosperity. (108)
Within this broad theological framework, Tully situates Israel’s prophets in three clusters within Israel’s history—the Assyrian conquest of Israel, the Babylonian conquest of Judah, and the return from exile. Viewing them this way helps to clarify their messages, highlighting the uniqueness of the post-exilic prophets.
A common question students ask about the prophets is, “How did the word of the Lord travel from the moment of prophetic inspiration to words on a scroll?” Tully leans in here, devoting a chapter to the process. While his seven step description of the process may be a little excessive, it highlights the role of the Spirit in not only inspiring but crafting God’s word for future generations.
My main critique of this book is twofold: Tully’s view of scriptural inspiration , and the false-certainty surrounding the prophetic timeline. First, Tully’s understanding of inspiration doesn’t allow him to accept any post-hoc redaction. For example, Isaiah must have written the entire book that bears his name or the “conviction that God’s Word is true” is undermined (154). The same is true for the dating of Daniel. This pushes readers into two camps: either you believe Tully’s interpretation of the authorship and dating of the prophets or you undermine the truth of God’s word. This is simply untrue. Many faithful followers of Jesus with a high view of scripture are satisfied reading Isaiah 40, for example as a later exilic composition in the Isaianic prophetic tradition. While it’s legitimate to point out various views, insisting on this narrow interpretation alienates many potential readers. Furthermore, as an explicitly literary, canonical, and theological introduction, why does Tully feel the need to engage so strongly with this type of historical criticism?
Second, while Tully does an admirable job simplifying the complex world of the prophets, he sometimes oversimplifies. This is true with his five phases of prophecy, summarizing the message of each prophet.
- Past: Broken covenant
- Near Future: Judgment
- Near Future: Restoration
- Eschatological Future: Restoration
- Eschatological Future: Judgment
Although this approach may be justified by the idea of reading the prophets in hindsight as Christian Scripture, it places an anachronistic straight-jacket on some of the prophet’s more ambiguous messages. Uncertainty is a feature of some of the prophet’s messages. It’s intentionally unclear whether some of the messages of restoration, for example, are near or eschatological. Jeremiah’s announcement of a 70-year exile would have felt like eschatological restoration to the people who died and were buried on foreign soil.
The praise Tully’s work receives along as part of Baker Academic’s entire “Reading Christian Scripture” series is well deserved. He makes a notoriously challenging genre of scripture comprehensible and inspirational to any believer with a desire to learn from the prophets. The abundance of charts and timelines bring clarity and context. Depending on your theological perspective and religious context, this book will either be pure gold or slightly alloyed.
Tully, Eric J. Reading the Prophets as Christian Scripture: A Literary, Canonical, and Theological Introduction. Baker Academic, 2022. Reading Christian Scripture.
