The Twelve Prophets offer a panoramic view of Israel's religion during one of the most critical periods in the nation's history. From the false confidence at the time of the monarchy, to the despair during the Exile, and finally to the period of new hopes and aspirations after the Exile, these books provide an understanding of the transition from an old state religion to the birth pangs of a newly formed community of God's people. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, and Jonah are the figures considered in this first of Peter C. Craigie's two-volume work.

This series of commentaries on the Old Testament, to which Professor Craigie's second volume on the Twelve Prophets belongs, has been planned as a companion series to the much-acclaimed New Testament series of the late Professor William Barclay. As with that series, each volume is arranged in successive headed portions suitable for daily study.

The predominance of war in the Old Testament troubles many Christians. However it is an issue that must be faced, says Peter C. Craigie, because it has serious ramifications for contemporary Christian attitudes about war. Professor Craigie categorizes the problems into two kinds - personal and external. The personal problems arise from the Christian's attempt to grapple with the emphasis on war in a book fundamental to faith. Three areas are considered here: the representation of God as warrior; God's revelation of himself in a book which preserves an extensive amount of war literature; and...