The Prophets [Hardcover]

Abraham Joshua Heschel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007

Abraham Heschel is a seminal name in religious studies and the author of Man Is Not Alone and God in Search of Man. When The Prophets was first published in 1962, it was immediately recognized as a masterpiece of biblical scholarship.

The Prophets provides a unique opportunity for readers of the Old Testament, both Christian and Jewish, to gain fresh and deep knowledge of Israel's prophetic movement. The author's profound understanding of the prophets also opens the door to new insight into the philosophy of religion.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

According to the popular definition, a prophet is one who accurately predicts the future. But in the Jewish tradition, as Abraham Joshua Heschel explains in The Prophets, these figures earn their title by witnessing the world around them with outstanding passion. Prophets are those whose "life and soul are at stake" in what they say about "the mystery of [God's] relation to man." They are "some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived," and yet they are also "the men whose image is our refuge in distress, and whose voice and vision sustain our faith." Heschel's book, one of the classic texts on the subject, contains sophisticated, straightforward discussions of each of the Hebrew prophets, the primary themes of their preaching, and comparisons of Israel's prophets to those of other religions'. Throughout, Heschel avoids the two great temptations in any discussion of prophesy: overstating the supernatural quality of a prophet's epiphany ("A prophet is a person, not a microphone"), and reducing prophesy to a merely human phenomenon. Instead, Heschel describes the prophet's peculiar status as God's spokesman in a way that does justice to its complexity: "He speaks from the perspective of God as perceived from the perspective of his own situation." --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Abraham J. Heschel (1907-1972), born in Poland, moved to the United States in 1940. A professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Heschel became an active and well-known participant in the Civil Rights movement and the protests against the Vietnam War.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 522 pages
• Publisher: Hendrickson Pub (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598561812
• ISBN-13: 978-1598561814
• Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 5.7 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #91,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > Sacred Writings > Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)

More About the Author

Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-72), one of the foremost Jewish savants of our time, was internationally known as scholar, author, activist, and theologian.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 101 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hearing Voices... May 23, 2003

By FrKurt Messick HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Rabbi Abraham Heschel is an intellectual and prophetic hero of mine. Any one who would stand up to the pope and say 'I'd rather die than convert' (when trying to get the Roman Catholic Church to drop 'conversion of the Jews' as an official aim of the church) has the sort of integrity of belief and identity that I aspire to and most likely will never attain.

Heschel's book `The Prophets' became an almost instant classic. Simply reading through the chapter titles and subtitles (a partial list of titles appears at the bottom of this review) will give a sense of the breadth and depth of this work.

Heschel sees an urgent need for prophets and prophecy in today's world. 'The things that horrified the prophets are even now daily occurrences all over the world.' In examining the prophecies of Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Nathan, &c, he discerns the common strands of the word of God in all that they said and did, and teaches the reader how to discern similar prophetic aspects in today's world.

`The prophet is human, yet he employs note one octave too high for our ears.'

The Bible says, let him who has ears to hear, listen. Alas, ordinarily we do not have the hearing range to be able to give adequate attention and comprehension to today's prophetic voices. Most often the voice of the prophet is one we do not want to hear (look at how the Israelites reacted to their prophets!). Prophets were often seen as doom-sayers and problematic people.

Indeed, every prediction of disaster is in itself an exhortation to repentance. The prophet is sent not only to upbraid, but to 'strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.'

Every prophetic utterance, according to Heschel, has to have within its core a message of hope.... Without hope, without a promise to greater community and participation in the love of God, there is no true prophecy. The road may be hard and long, involving pain and even death, but in the end, the prophet's goal is greater life for all.

`To be a prophet is both a distinction and an affliction.'

Being a prophet has never been a chosen profession. Indeed, like Jonah, we'll often go to extraordinary lengths to avoid even the smallest call to prophecy. Prophetic voices are inconvenient, not least of which to the person charged to be the speaker of that voice. Yet the prophet is much more than a mouthpiece.

`The prophet claims to be far more than a messenger. He is a person who stands in the presence of God.'

The prophet becomes one with God in many ways, yet remains a human being. This creates a tension in the prophet, as Heschel writes about Isaiah:

`Indeed, two sympathies dwell in a prophet's soul: sympathy for God and sympathy for the people. Speaking to the people, he is emotionally at one with God; in the presence of God, beholding a vision, he is emotionally at one with the people.'

Yet prophecy has its limits.

`A prophet can give man a new word, but not a new heart.... Prophecy is not God's only instrument. What prophecy fails to bring about, the new covenant will accomplish: the complete transformation of every individual.'

It was the prophet who, long before ideas of political unity and divers peoples living together in community, first conceived of the idea of a unity that binds all human beings together.

Read and prepare to be enlightened, inspired, irritated, and educated.

Chapters include:
- What manner of man is the prophet?
- History
- Chastisement
- Justice
- The Theology of Pathos
- The Philosophy of Pathos
- Anthropopathy
- The Meaning and Mystery of Wrath
- Religion of Sympathy
- Prophecy and Ecstasy
- Prophecy and Poetic Inspiration
- Prophecy and Psychosis (there is a fine line between prophecy and madness, after all!)

`This, then, is the ultimate category of prophetic theology: involvement, attentiveness, concern. Prophetic religion may be defined, not as what man does with his ultimate concern, but rather what man does with God's concern.' Read more ›

92 of 98 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine Jewish perspective on the biblical prophets July 23, 2000

By Rabbi Yonassan Gershom VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This two-volume work is one of the best I know of for explaining how Jews relate to the Prophets. While non-Jews tend to think of "prophets" as psychics who foretell the future, the Jewish concept of a prophet is someone who is inspired by God to advance the cause of social justice by confronting the people and their rulers. "Feed the widow, the orphan, the stranger!" shouts the prophet in the marketplace. "Forsake your dead idols -- return to the Lord!" he tells the king. Yes, the prophet may foretell future events, but he also preaches another option: return to the ways of God, and the terrible things foretold in a prophecy may not have to happen. A prophecy is a warning, a call to repentence -- not a prognistication written in stone.

Heschel's scholarship in this work is excellent and very, very readable, even if you are not a seminarian. Like his shorter books, such as "The Sabbath" and "The Earth is the Lord's," this work is written in dynamic, inspiring prose that reaches the level of fine literature. In the first volume, he discusses specific biblical prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. (Christians may be surprised to learn that, in classical Jewish sources, the "suffering servant" refers Jacob who, in turn, is used by Isaiah as a metaphor for the entire Jewish people collectively. In other words, the Jews are the "suffering servant" of God, not Jesus.) Volume II discusses more general concepts about prophets and prophecy.

As an historical note, I would add that Rabbi Heschel not only wrote about prophets and social responsibility, he also walked the walk -- quite literally. He was active in the Civil Rights movement in the USA, and walked with Dr.... Martin Luther King in the second Selma march in Alabama (look for a white-haired man in a black skullcap near King, next time you view footage of that event.) Rabbi Heschel said of that march that he "felt as if his feet were praying." His book, "The Prophets," will let you enter the mind and soul that went with those feet. Read more ›

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Sociological Approach June 30, 2004

By A. J. Valasek

Format:Paperback

If you're looking to find some reading that will stretch you limitations, this book will do nicely. First of all, this is not a commentary about the books of the prophets so don't buy it if that's what you're looking for. This book is largely a look at the sociological and psychological aspects of being a prophet.

This book challenges you to look at the world from a probable perspective of the man and not necessarily the mission, although these subjects are covered at an aggregate level.

The author transports the vivid reader into the mind of a prophet and helps one understand the frustrations, depression, and sense of injustice that the propet may have felt. The prophet is not dehumanized to demigod status like most other readings on the subject. The prophet is viewed as sympathetic to God and in tune with the message. These men feel the emotion.

What I find most appealing is that the author allows God to have emotions which I find refreshing in light of the influence that Maimonides (whom I enjoy abundantly) has had on Judaic thought.

The only negative, if any, is that this is not the most easy read, but what philosphy student likes light reading!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Increased my understanding and appreciation of God's love November 20, 2005

By Rudy Neufeld

Format:Paperback

Heschel's treatise on Old Testament prophets and prophecy greatly increased, even changed, my appreciation and understanding of God. God is a loving Father whose judgment and punishment are intended to turn men back to their Creator and Savior. He is patient, quick to forgive and even quicker to relent--sparing those who turn to Him--from the judgment He proclaimed.

The 2 volumes are not "easy reading" even for those who are familiar with the Scriptures. I had to read it through twice in order to feel I grasped Heschel's insights and commentary. But the time and effort are amply rewarded when we can say, in awe, "My God, How Great Thou Art."