Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah in the Book of the Twelve est defensible literary unit within which to study Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah nor the largest within which we need to study these writings. If the individual writings originated largely independent of a larger literary context,44 the context of the Book of the Twelve may be best discussed when offering further reflections than in the actual exegesis.
IV. NAHUM, HABAKKUK, AND ZEPHANIAH IN THE BOOK OF THE TWELVE The question of the place of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah within the Book of the Twelve relates to the issue of the redaction and literary unity of the Book of the Twelve (see above). The three books are usually seen as belonging closely together; they are in the same sequence in all manuscripts. In his two-volume work on the origin of the Book of the Twelve, Nogalski proposed that (an earlier form of ) Zephaniah originally formed a “Deuteronomistic corpus” with versions of Hosea, Amos, and Micah.45 But he argues that in the formation of a “Book of the Nine,” a predecessor to the Book of the Twelve, three sub-groupings were formed, the middle one comprising Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. What do these three books have in common that marks them as a group? If we consider literary style, subject matter, and manner of narration, there is nothing to distinguish these three as a group from other prophetic books in the Twelve and beyond. In House’s view, Micah summarizes the first half of the Book of the Twelve before Nahum announces the “crisis,” which is brought to a climax and turning point in Habakkuk. Zephaniah embodies both the climax and the “falling action” prior to the resolution offered in the last three prophetic writings.46 He suggests that Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah focus on the punishment, while the previous six prophetic volumes focused on sin and the final three will focus on restoration. House recognizes that most prophetic collections 44. I believe this to be the case for Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Joel and Malachi—and maybe Obadiah and Jonah—are the most likely candidates for having been composed with the larger collection in mind. 45. James D. Nogalski, Literary Precursors to the Book of the Twelve, BZAW 217 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1993); Redactional Processes in the Book of the Twelve, BZAW 218 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1993). Nogalski was followed by Aaron Schart, “Redactional Models: Comparisons, Contrasts, Agreements, Disagreements,” in SBL Seminar Papers 1998, Part Two (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1998), 893–908. Nogalski’s PhD student Nicholas R. Werse recently offered a careful modification in Reconsidering the Book of the Four: The Shaping of Hosea, Amos, Micah, and Zephaniah as an Early Prophetic Collection, BZAW 517 (Berlin: de Gruyter, 2019). 46. House, Unity, 139–51.
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