In the Old Testament, the term “prophets” can refer to people or to books.  When it refers to people, it is used for those individuals who have a sensitive understanding of the feelings, will, and expectations of God and who are driven to act as God’s messengers to their audiences.  Used in the sense of books “prophets” refers to two major sets of books called the “Former Prophets” (Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings) and the “Latter Prophets” (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).  Christians, unlike the Jews, add to this the book of Daniel. This course is a study of the books of the Latter Prophets.  Each of these books will be examined in terms of what is known about the prophet whose words are found in the book bearing his name; the message that the prophet delivered to his audience; the historical context in which the prophet delivered his message; the method in which the message was presented; the manner in which the original message of the prophet was recorded, edited, and passed along in writing; the ways in which the message of the prophet was reinterpreted by editors of the book; what the message means within the context of the whole Bible; and finally, what the message might mean for today.