DISKURSUS.
Volume 19.
Nomor 1.
April 2023: 149-153 Indra Sanjaya.
AuA dan Firman Tuhan Datang kepadakuAy :
Telaah atas Tradisi Kenabian Perjanjian Lama .
ranslated: AuAand the Word of God Came to MeAy: Study of the Old Testament Prophetic Traditio.
Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2022, 244 hlm.
With many years of experience in teaching Prophetical Literature at the Theological Faculty of Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta.
Dr.
Indra Sanjaya took up the challenge to yll a vacuum in the Indonesian library about IsraelAos prophetic tradition.
There are many Indonesian publications on the books of certain prophets but it is difycult to ynd a book that Aucan provide basic and comprehensive information about the prophetic phenomenon of Israel in Indonesian languageAy .
Using extensive literature which is almost entirely in English and which reyects the development of prophetic research over the last half century, the Author discusses the most important topics which he hopes will help readers to understand the prophetic books more accurately.
In his AuPreliminary NotesAy, the Author discusses a worldwide phenomenon of all ages where humans want to know the secrets of their future life, try to ynd them with the help of diviners, and also expect recommendations from them to adjust their lives.
This raises the question to what extent the same is found among the prophets of Israel and to what extent in different ways.
To start looking for answers, readers are invited to read the book of Jonah, guided by a number of questions about what a AoprophetAo is, what he did, the reason of his mission, his addressees, the function of his prophecy, in order to discover how prophecy should be The following chapters are going to delve into this in more The yrst topic discussed is AuThe Place of the Prophets in the BibleAy (Chapter I).
Looking at the sixteen titles of the prophetic books in the table of contents of our Bible is helpful but not the whole answer.
When the New Testament speaks of Authe Law of Moses and the ProphetsAy (Luke Tinjauan Buku 24:27,.
, these Prophets also include the books of Joshua to Kings which Judaism calls Authe former prophetsAy.
and we do not ynd the Book of Daniel included in Authe later prophetsAy which in Jewish counts are only four books: Isaiah.
Jeremiah.
Ezekiel and The Twelve.
Such a division of the Torah and the Prophets Ae the Author explains from some texts Ae has a purpose and reyects a vision on stages of revelation: the Torah as GodAos yrst face-to-face revelation directly to Moses is followed by a second stage of its incorporation into the life of GodAos people with the help of the prophets, from Joshua to Malachi.
Then the Author explains how this conyguration of the Hebrew Bible (Tanak.
has been changed in the Greek Septuagint which shows four sections: Law.
History (Joshua-Maccabee.
Poets (Psalms-Sirac.
, and Prophets .
ow including Danie.
Here our sixteen books of the Prophets are separated from the earlier Prophets by the AuOther BooksAy .
Sirach.
Prolo.
, and thus they became the ynal part of the Greek Bible.
This end position of the Prophetical Books with their orientation to future fulylment made it easier for the Christian community to add their New Testament writings perceived as fulyllment of prophecy.
So it is not surprising that from the beginning until now the Christian Old Testament in regard to the order of its books has followed the Greek Bible.
Chapter II, entitled AuThe Terminology of AoProphetAo and the Phenomenon of ProphethoodAy, explores the meaning of various terms used for prophets in biblical texts, such as AoseerAo.
After noting the temptation to make prophethood a profession for proyt, the Author conducts an etymological study of the Hebrew word nabi and the Greek word prophytys, and explains in what way IsraelAos prophetic phenomenon was part and variant of the wider prophetic phenomenon in the ancient Middle East.
In chapter i Ae continuing his reyection on prophethood which in the AuPreliminary NotesAy had departed from the reading of the book of Jonah Ae the Author discusses AuThe Prophet and His Person.
Ay Because the ygure of a prophet is understood as a person who conveys GodAos message, everything starts from a special communication between with the Divine DISKURSUS.
Volume 19.
Nomor 1.
April 2023: 149-153 and the Prophet.
However.
Biblical accounts usually pay more attention to the content of the prophetAos message than to the modes by which he received it from God.
Both in the way of receiving the message and in conveying it to the people, the prophets of Israel Ae the Author explains Ae do not appear as microphones but as individuals who perceive, interpret, and formulate the message each in a unique way, as can be shown from the experience of Amos.
and other prophets.
In this context the Author explains Abraham HeschelAos famous view of prophets as human beings who participate in what God feels.
GodAos pathos .
The mission of a prophet is to convey what God feels with regard to the actual state of the nation, whether it be their transgressions against GodAos law or the state of suffering as a result of their So, the prophetsAo mission as it appears from the books usually has two sides: warning the people of their transgressions which without repentance will lead them to destruction, and on the other hand also bringing comfort and new hope to the people when suffering has befallen them.
Especially the yrst part, the rebuke, tends to be rejected by those addressed, but there will be people who may have been victims of their unrighteousness and feel strengthened by the prophetAos criticism.
From these people did emerge the prophetAos disciples who treasured his prophecies and made it possible that his message has been preserved for us in written form.
The long process from oral proclamation by the prophet to its being written down and becoming a book, is discussed in chapter IV.
AuThe Prophet and His PropheciesAy.
Without denying that a prophet who delivered his message orally could also have written down some prophecies, the Author shows from facts in the books that the writings presuppose besides the role of the disciples also the hands of a third-party editor who developed the prophetAos proclamation.
In this way prophecies were made meaningful beyond their original situation, could become more inynite and receive more fulyllments.
After explaining the language and literary form of prophecy, the Author reminds us with a number of examples of Tinjauan Buku how a prophet conveyed his message not only by words but also by prophetic actions.
From chapter V on, attention is directed to more speciyc topics, yrst, the difference between AuTrue Prophets and False Prophets.
Ay We are informed about extensive but still indeterminate discussions about the various criteria for distinguishing the two, from the point of view of both the prophet as a person and the prophetAos message.
In Chapter VI, attention is directed to the historical background, circumstances and events in the 8 th century, 7th century, the exile, and the post-exilic era, which are important for understanding the activities of each group of prophets active in these alternating times.
Chapter VII deals with a topic that is important to Christians but complex, namely the relationship AuBetween the Old and New TestamentAy, between prophecy and its fulyllment, and the maxim Authe new is hidden in the old, the old is revealed in the newAy (Augustin.
With the help of two Church documents, namely The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church .
and The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible .
and an example (Isa.
7:14 // Matt.
, the Author explains how the relation between prophecy and fulyllment can be understood without falling in some extreme alternatives, either by claiming direct fulyllments or by completely rejecting the idea of any fulyllment.
Fulyllment in the NT can be understood as a fulyllment that shows aspects of continuity, discontinuity, and progress/transcendence, keeping in mind that a prophecy can have more than one meaning: apart from its original meaning in its original context, it also can receive new meanings when read in new contexts.
This book on the Old Testament Prophetic Tradition does not only give Indonesian readers access to a myriad of up-to-date research results on the prophethood of Israel, but does so while at the same time expounding many key texts.
The author presents his topics in the form of interesting discourses inviting readers to continue following his reasoning from page to page.
I cannot but recommend this book to everyone DISKURSUS.
Volume 19.
Nomor 1.
April 2023: 149-153 who wants to study and interpret any of IsraelAos prophets.
These in-depth discussions of IsraelAos prophetic phenomenon, especially chapters i & IV, will be very helpful to become alert to the many characteristics in the oracles of the prophets and their books, helping to understand them more Here the authorAos goal is achieved.
I wish to thank Dr.
Indra Sanjaya for his thoughtful efforts to yll this vacuum in the Indonesian biblical library.
(Martin Harun.
OFM.
Guru besar emeritus Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara.
Jakart.