Old Testament scholar James Ward assumes the essential yet formidable task of interpreting the Prophets. Representing one fourth of the Old Testament, these books are highly significant in the Bible and in Christian witness. Dr. Ward's objectives are: (1) to see whether and to what extent we can discover the Word of God in the Prophets, and (2) to examine the assumptions and convictions which affect the way we deal with these texts and the conclusions we reach in interpreting them.

Passages representative of all the Prophets are selected from Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and one of the Minor Prophets to demonstrate four themes call, commission, ministry; worship and idolatry, the righteous-ness of God; and who is God like? The book shows how three exercises-determining what the passage actually says, considering the meaning of the text where it appears, and determining the meaning it has for us-result in biblical interpretation that is faithful to the Word of God relevant to our day. As a case exercise, Isaiah 6 is compared in rin, major recent English versions of the Bible, and additional suggested reseres are listed.

JAMES M. WARD is associate dean and professor of Old Testament at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. Dr. Ward holds degrees from Harvard, Union Theological Seminary, and Columbia University. He has written four books and numerous articles and book reviews for religious and scholarly journals. He was a contributor to The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, published by Abingdon Press.