Keywords
Micah and Malachi
family fragmentation
family solidarity
prophetic lament and rhetorical concerns
How to Cite
Abstract
The era of inevitable fragmentation and severance of family solidarity, forcing people to take sides and break family bonds, is an essential prophetic motif in the Book of the Twelve. By means of intertextuality, this article examines the collapse of family solidarity and family reconciliation in the books of Micah and Malachi, where fragmented family conflicts are observed, together with several prophetic laments that describe situations of complete social polarisation, which have shattered the moral and familial fabric of society. Such collapse of family solidarity and tranquillity, according to these prophets, is a symptom of society’s moral degeneration. Since marriage and family life are significant issues in biblical, theological and moral discourse, this article probes the prophetic laments in the books of Micah and Malachi, providing contemporary readers with ethical insights within the larger domain of biblical theology and anthropology.
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