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Trei Asar תרי עשר
Twelve prophets, one book — that is how the baraita of Bava Batra counts it, and the Gemara explains the binding: Hoshea's prophecy was the earliest, but "since it is small, it would be lost" (איידי דזוטר מירכס) had it circulated alone, so it was written together with the last prophets. Rashi paints the scene: Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, seeing prophecy departing, gathered the short prophecies into one large book so none would perish. The atlas follows the baraita and keeps the Twelve as a single entity.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- תרי עשר
- Also known as
- Shneim Asar, The Twelve, Minor Prophets
- Era
- second-temple
II. When
- Traditional
- twelve prophets from Hoshea to Malachi, gathered into one book by the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, c. 3408–3450 AM, per Bava Batra 15a
- Academic
- individual books span the 8th–5th c. BCE; circulation as a single Book of the Twelve attested by the 2nd c. BCE
- Duration
- ≈42 years
- Precision
- approximate
IV. What
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Structure
- One book of twelve prophets: Hoshea, Yoel, Amos, Ovadiah, Yonah, Michah, Nachum, Chavakuk, Tzefaniah, Chaggai, Zechariah, Malachi.
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| "The Anshei Knesset HaGedolah wrote Yechezkel, the Twelve, Daniel, and Megillat Esther" (אנשי כנסת הגדולה כתבו... ושנים עשר) — the baraita of Bava Batra, counting the Twelve as one book among the eight books of Nevi'im. | rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Why one book? The Gemara asks why Hoshea, chronologically first of the writing prophets, is not a separate earlier book, and answers: "since it is small, it would be lost" (איידי דזוטר מירכס) — so his prophecy was written with Chaggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the last of the prophets. Rashi adds that the final prophets combined the small prophecies into one large book "so they would not be lost because of their smallness." | rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| Timeline placement c. 3408–3450 AM, the working years of the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah — the compilation date; the constituent prophecies span from Hoshea (c. 3140 AM) to Malachi within the assembly itself. The span is schematic. | tradition reconstruction | ★★★☆☆ |