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

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,

To Hosea: Why did you marry someone you knew might be unfaithful?To Zephaniah: What do you mean by "the day of the Lord"?To Haggai: When is God going to fulfill his promises about rebuilding the temple?

These and other questions help readers peer behind the veil of Minor Prophets' utterances and unlock their significance for today's Christians. Each chapter:

begins with a brief paragraph of background about the prophetrecounts questions or reports that have been addressed to the prophet in the form of a lettersums up message of the prophet responding to that questionoffers a brief comment or explanation after each passage

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.