Collections of sayings probably made in prophet's lifetime or shortly
after death
When a prophet had come to the attention of civil and religious
authorities (e.g., Amos 7:11), his sayings would have been widely reported
At least in one case (Jer. 36) a scribe wrote down a prophet's
sayings and when that copy was destroyed wrote a larger collection
Disciples also would have passed down oracles in both oral and
written form - a retentive memory was highly valued and it would have been important to a
disciple to remember and pass down his master's words
Fall of Judah in 6th century B.C.E. would also have provided an impetus for
recording their words
Certainly in exile, if not before, collectors would have brought
together and organized prophetic words
Redactors might have done the following:
Added dates and historical information
Reinterpreted some oracles to fit changed conditions
Included later messages of hope to counterbalance earlier words of
judgment and doom
We do know that according to the Isaiah scroll at Qumran that by the 2nd century
B.C.E. the text was fairly well established