Have you ever wondered about the identity politics and intergroup conflicts of ancient times and how it is reflected in the biblical writings? Were issues like economic and political oppression, holy wars, resistance literature, hate-speech, xenophobia and other 21st-century realities already present among the kingdoms, colonies and nations of the ancient Near East? Prophetic literature and specifically the Book of Nahum and other "Oracles Concerning the Nations" texts in the Old Testament provide a unique perspective on these issues. In this book the theological-ethical question of social identity and intergroup conflict is studied. The Book of Nahum is read multidimensionally (combining synchrony and diachrony) as part of the Book of the Twelve, and incorporates social identity theory, self-categorization theory and an ideological-critical sensitivity. A theological-ethical model, which combines the role of identity in ethics, the concept of “natural law”, the responsibility ethics of Levinas and a focus on liberation, is developed as a useful instrument for interpreting the theological-ethically uncomfortable "Oracles Concerning the Nations" texts. This book contributes towards Old Testament methodology, Nahum research, Book of the Twelve studies as well as providing a possible theological-ethical solution to intergroup conflicts from an Old Testament perspective. Through Nahum’s moving poetry and disturbing imagery, oppression is verbalised, deep emotion is uncovered and we are given a glimpse of liberation and new hope in times of darkness and turmoil. This book will sensitize the reader to a better understanding of the identity and dynamics of oppressed people groups, both ancient and modern.

Dr JP Bosman has researched and lectured at the Department of Old and New Testament at the University of Stellenbosch, and at the Department of Old Testament at the Philips Universität Marburg in Germany.