Minor Prophets Quiz: Obadiah and the Remaining Minor Voices

1. What is the subject of the book of Obadiah, and why is it significant?

1. Obadiah is addressed to Babylon — it predicts the fall of Babylon to Persia before Cyrus is named
2. Obadiah is addressed to Israel — it is a call to national repentance before the Assyrian invasion
3. Obadiah is entirely an oracle against Edom — Esau's descendants who took advantage of Jerusalem's fall, stood at the crossroads to cut off survivors, and delivered refugees to Babylon. God declares they will be destroyed while Israel is restored
4. Obadiah prophesies the restoration of the northern ten tribes — it is addressed to the exiles in Assyria promising their return

2. What famous principle does Obadiah articulate in verse 15 about the nations?

1. 'As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head' — the principle of reciprocal justice applies to all nations, not just Israel
2. 'The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath'
3. 'The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished'
4. 'Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him'

3. What is the 'Book of the Twelve,' and why do scholars treat the Minor Prophets as a unified collection?

1. The Book of the Twelve is a Christian designation — Jewish tradition did not recognise these as a unified collection until the Council of Jamnia
2. The Book of the Twelve refers to twelve anonymous prophetic texts — their authors are unknown and the number twelve corresponds to the twelve tribes of Israel
3. The Hebrew canon treats the twelve Minor Prophets (Hosea through Malachi) as a single scroll — the 'Book of the Twelve.' Scholars note thematic links, shared vocabulary, and intentional canonical ordering that creates a coherent narrative from Hosea's unfaithful wife to Malachi's Elijah promise
4. The twelve Minor Prophets were collected by Ezra — he gathered their oracles and arranged them in alphabetical order of each prophet's name

4. What is the theological message of the Minor Prophets taken as a whole?

1. The Minor Prophets are primarily concerned with temple worship — their central concern is the proper maintenance of the sacrificial system
2. The Minor Prophets collectively teach: God's covenant love (hesed) for Israel is persistent despite their unfaithfulness; sin has consequences that God does not overlook; the Day of the LORD brings both judgment and salvation; all nations are accountable to divine justice; and beyond judgment lies restoration centred on the Davidic king and the outpouring of the Spirit
3. The Minor Prophets teach a progressive evolution of Israel's theology — from primitive tribal religion (Amos) through ethical monotheism (Micah) to proto-Christianity (Malachi)
4. The Minor Prophets teach that Israel's election was permanent — no matter what they did, God's covenant with the nation guaranteed their ultimate survival and dominance

5. What does the Minor Prophet Obadiah say the house of Jacob will be, and what is the vision of 'the house of Esau'?

1. 'The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble, and they will set it on fire and consume it. There will be no survivors from the house of Esau'
2. 'The house of Jacob will be scattered among the nations until the Day of the LORD; the house of Esau will be preserved to witness Israel's final restoration'
3. 'The house of Jacob will receive the nations as servants; the house of Esau will be the last to submit but will eventually bow before the God of Israel'
4. 'The house of Jacob will return from exile as a mighty river; the house of Esau will join them as tributaries to form one great stream flowing to Jerusalem'

6. How do the Minor Prophets' messages about social justice relate to NT ethics?

1. Amos's 'let justice roll like a river,' Micah's 'act justly, love mercy, walk humbly,' Hosea's 'I desire mercy not sacrifice,' and Zechariah's 'administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another' form the prophetic ethical tradition that Jesus directly quotes ('I desire mercy, not sacrifice' — Matthew 9:13; 12:7) and the NT epistles continue (James 2:14-17)
2. The Minor Prophets' justice concerns were only for Israel — they have no application to Gentile Christian communities under the new covenant
3. The Minor Prophets' social justice concerns were entirely replaced by the NT's focus on individual salvation — social ethics became secondary under the new covenant
4. The NT corrects the Minor Prophets' social justice emphasis by shifting focus from structural/systemic issues to individual heart transformation — the prophets were transitional figures pointing to this more spiritual understanding

7. What is the connection between Jonah and the Minor Prophets' teaching about the nations?

1. Jonah is the Minor Prophet most focused on God's mercy extending to the nations — God sent his prophet to Nineveh (the enemy empire), the Ninevites repented, and God relented. Jonah's anger at God's mercy to Nineveh reveals the danger of ethnic religious exclusivism
2. Jonah is unique in being entirely negative about the nations — unlike the other Minor Prophets who offer the nations eventual inclusion, Jonah teaches that non-Israelites cannot repent
3. Jonah is unique in having nothing to say about Israel — it is entirely focused on the internal politics of the Assyrian empire and has no application to Israelite theology
4. Jonah's significance in the Minor Prophets is primarily nautical — it establishes the Phoenician sailing routes that Israel would use during the restoration period

8. What does the Minor Prophet Zechariah say about the 'Branch' (Zemach) — and how does this term connect to other prophets?

1. 'I am going to bring my servant, the Branch... and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day' — the Branch is a title for the messianic figure also used by Jeremiah ('a righteous Branch... a king who will reign wisely') and Isaiah, all pointing to the coming Davidic ruler
2. The Branch is a title for Zerubbabel personally — Zechariah identifies the post-exilic governor as the Messiah who would rule forever
3. The Branch is an agricultural term — Zechariah predicts that the exiles will become successful farmers after returning to the land
4. The Branch refers to the restored Davidic dynasty collectively — all future kings who would sit on David's throne are collectively described as 'the Branch'