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2 2 . PROPHECY IN THE MOSAIC TRADITION Web ClVe Seen previously (chapter 16) that the Priestly view of history, with which the Abrahamic covenant of Genesis 17 is associated, provides the basic per­ spective of the Priestly prophet Ezekiel. Now we shall see that the Mosaic covenant is the platform of the great northern prophet, Hosea, as it is also of the great southern prophet, Jeremiah. Indeed, there are striking affinities between Hosea and Jeremiah. Hosea, who preceded Jeremiah by at least a century, was active in the Northern Kingdom of Ephraim (Israel), a few years before its fall in 722 B.C. under the impact of Assyrian invasion,- and Jeremiah was active in the Southern Kingdom, just before its collapse under the massive might of Babylonian invasion in and around the year 587 B.C. It was the task of these prophets, in their respective times, to interpret the meaning of these tragic events. They did so in terms of the Mosaic covenant made at Sinai as portrayed classically in the book of Exodus. Eighth-Century Prophets Some have argued that the symbol of Israel's covenant with Yahweh was a "theo­ logical innovation" of eighth-century prophets, who used it in their preaching to counter the notion that God is on the side of Israel and that therefore no evil could befall the Israelite state.1 Eighth-century prophets certainly emphasized the covenant relationship, as we shall see, but they were dependent on a received tra­ dition of the Mosaic covenant at Sinai. A century earlier, about the middle of the ninth century, the great prophet Elijah appeared, seen through the mists of legend. In a dramatic ceremony on Mount Carmel, he called on the people to pledge their exclusive loyalty to Yahweh, rather than compromising theologically with the Canaanite god of storm and fertility, Baal (1 Kings 18). Returning to "the mountain of God" (Sinai, Horeb), where he experienced a theophany in a cave comparable to one granted to Moses (cf. Exodus 33), Elijah protested that the Israelites had "forsaken [Yahweh's] covenant" (1 Kgs. 19:10) and had left him virtually alone as a devotee of the Mosaic faith.2 Moreover, at the beginning of the monarchy, according to narratives found in the books of Samuel, there appeared a prophet in the Mosaic tradition, Samuel, who warned of the dangers of monarchy and called for allegiance to Yahweh as king (1 Samuel 8, 12). Before the founding of the monarchy, a great covenant cer­ emony was held at Shechem, when Joshua challenged the people to serve Yahweh, 1. The view, reminiscent of that of Julius Wellhausen in the nineteenth century, has been espoused by E. W. Nicholson, God and His People (Oxford: Clarendon, 1986), chap. 10. 2. See above, chapter 5. 181 1 8 2 Contours of Old Testament Theology their liberating God, with wholehearted and sincere loyalty: "Choose whom you will serve!" (Josh. 24:15). You Only Have I Known! In the eighth century, then, the theme of the covenant was not new,- the innova­ tion was how the prophets gave a new twist to the Mosaic covenant as they inter­ preted the historical experiences of Israel at a time when Assyrian imperialism was sweeping over the ancient world.3 Amos, the first of the eighth-century prophets, does not explicitly refer to the Sinai covenant, but it is apparently presupposed in an oracle directed "against" the people of Israel. Hear this word that the Lord [Yahweh] has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that 1 brought up out of the land of Egypt: You only have 1 known of all thefamilies oj the earth, therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. —Amos 3:1-2 The verb "know" is a covenant verb, as we have found earlier,- it refers to the per­ sonal knowing that involves relationship and commitment.4 Here the surprising twist is that God's knowing Israel (in covenant relationship) does not mean support and approval, but on the contrary, judgment and punishment. Amos does not go so far as to say that Yahweh has completely rejected Israel. To be sure, in a play on words (4ayi'ts="summer fruit'7(Jets="end"), he portrays Yahweh announcing omi­ nously that "the end has come on my people Israel" (8.2), that is, the calamitous end of Israel as a kingdom (cf. 5:1-3; 9:8). But in Amos's view, the punishment for...

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