In our chapter reading from Fee and Stuart, "The Prophets: Enforcing the Covenant in Israel," the authors discussed the nature and key characteristics of the prophetic genre. As we can see, many of the problems readers encounter as they engage this segment of Scripture occur because they do not understand the nature or function of prophecy in ancient Israel. Taking that portion of our reading into consideration, summarize the key aspects of the genre. Be sure to include aspects of their hermeneutical suggestions in your summary thread as well.

The Prophets: Enforcing the Covenant in Israel
In order to understand prophecy, it is important to realize that prophecy does not pertain to what may occur in our future but that which was to occur in the future of the people of the Old Testament. A Prophet was not one who spoke to God but an individual who presented God’s word to His people. There are two types of prophets; Major and Minor Prophets. The terms do not assert one’s importance over another, they were merely utilized to identify longer books/messages and were often not in any chronological order.
The function of prophecy in Israel can be broken down into four basics thought. “1. The prophets were covenant enforcement mediators.” (Stuart, 2003) “2. The prophets’ message was not their own, but God’s.” (Stuart, 2003) “3. The prophets were God’s direct representatives.” (Stuart, 2003) “4. The prophets’ message is unoriginal. The meaning is that of God but the wording and vocabulary is that of the individual presenting the prophecy.” (Stuart, 2003)
It can be necessary to utilize outside resources for the exegetical task. These resources include Bible dictionaries, commentaries, Bible handbooks, and “How to Read the Bible Book by Book” by Fee and Stuart. The three hundred years from Amos (ca.760BC) to Malachi (ca. 460BC) form the most context of covenant