Die prophetische Mahnrede: Form- und traditionsgeschichtliche Studien zum prophetischen Umkehrruf (review)

Hebrew Studies 32 (1991) 173 Reviews it is difficult to believe the more specific details that Rosenbaum claims to know (e.g., the government office which he assigns to Amos). Rosenbaum's use of historiographic material from the Bible to reconstruct the political setting behind Amos' message is also suspect. For example, if, as various scholars have concluded, the events behind 1 Kgs 20 and 22 were originally set in the Jehu dynasty and not in the Omri dynasty, the animosity between Israel and Judah in the eighth century may not have been as consistently strong as Rosenbaum suggests. Rosenbaum's reconstruction is further compromised by his reliance on 2 Chr 26 for his portrait of Uzziah's reign. This chapter clearly reflects the Chronicler's tendency to bifurcate reigns of kings into an early period of obedience rewarded by success which abruptly ends when the king sins and is immediately punished. Rosenbaum's arguments regarding the unity and authenticity of the book of Amos are circular. While his emphasis on the inner coherence of the book is laudable and certainly in vogue, his stated assumptions about the authorship of the book presuppose his conclusions and exclude the plurality of redactions that many scholars find in Amos. His method (only verses with more than three words foreign to Amos are possibly secondary) is also prejudicial and ignores important canons of literary (source) analysis. His attempt to interpret 9:11-15 in the context of Amaziah's defeat is particularly forced. Despite these problems, Rosenbaum's innovative treatment of Amos makes for stimulating reading. Steven L. McKenzie Rhodes College Memphis. TN 38112 DIE PROPHETISCHE MAHNREDE: FORM- UNO TRADITIONSGESCHICHTLICHE STUDIEN ZUM PROPHETISCHEN UMKEHRRUF. By K. Arvid TAngberg. FRLANT 143. Pp. 215. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1987. Cloth, DM 56. This helpful monograph, initiated in Oslo under Professor Mange Sae~ and continued in large part in Munich especially in consultation with Professor Jorg Jeremias, carefully examines an important and specific genre of prophetic discourse. The point of departure is the author's uneasy realization that, whereas biblical scholars have widely claimed that Hebrew Studies 32 (1991) 174 Reviews prophetic oracles of judgement or salvation should be perceived as independent literary genres. they have been reluctant to make a similar claim for prophetic words of exhortation and warning. On the basis of his inspection of all available texts in the prophetic canon that might be classified as Mahnreden. Tlngberg finds himself in a good position to put a somewhat neglected fonn-critical category into significantly sharper focus and to establish the configurations of prophetic Mahnrede as an independent Gattung. The author's first three chapters serve as needful prolegomena. In chap. 1 he briefly introduces Mahnrede as a vehicle of prophetic proclamation that bears on both the immediate and more distant future of a people who might be induced to repent. As Tlngberg surveys the history of interpretation (from Wellhausen [1897] to A. Vanlier Hunter [1982]) in chap. 2. and thereby takes account of the contributions of roughly two dozen twentieth-century scholars. he calls special attention to the insights of 1. Skinner. G. Hylm6, H. W. Wolff, T. Raitt, W. Richter, C. Westennann, and W. H. Schmidt. In chap. 3 the author seeks to establish tenninological clarification. He rightly admits that unless it is more specifically defined (e.g., as "parental" or "wisdom"), Mahnung remains a pallid noun. He recognizes that different types of discourse may draw upon Mahnrede fonnulations. He distinguishes between indirect and direct Mahnungen and identifies prominent grammatical and lexical elements that surface in biblical admonition. It is regrettable, however, that he barely fulfills his announced intention of differentiating between Mahnung zur Umkehr and Mahnrede anderer Art. And whereas the author makes the methodologically justifiable claim that a study of prophetic Mahnreden must take account of prophetic Umkehrrufe (the subtitle of this monograph suggests as much), he assumes a closer identity between Mahnrede and Umkehrruf than the evidence warrants. Surely some admonitions to be mined out of prophetic texts in the Hebrew Bible fail to function as invitations for repentance. Thus one has reason to feel apprehensive when a strategically positioned summary (p. 140) commences with the phrase, "Die prophetische Umkehnnahnung...