Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
(Heb. nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a fountain,” hence “to utter”, comp. Ps. 45:1). This Hebrew word is the first and the most generally used for a prophet. In the time of Samuel another word, ro’eh, “seer”, began to be used (1 Sam. 9:9). It occurs seven times in reference to Samuel. Afterwards another word, hozeh, “seer” (2 Sam. 24:11), was employed. In 1 Ch. 29:29 all these three words are used: “Samuel the seer (ro’eh), Nathan the prophet (nabi’), Gad the seer” (hozeh).
In Josh. 13:22 Balaam is called (Heb.) a kosem “diviner,” a word used only of a false prophet. The “prophet” proclaimed the message given to him, as the “seer” beheld the vision of God. ) Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he spake in God’s name and by his authority (Ex. 7:1). He is the mouth by which God speaks to men (Jer. 1:9; Isa. 51:16), and hence what the prophet says is not of man but of God (2 Pet. 1:20, 21; comp. Heb. 3:7; Acts 4:25; 28:25). Prophets were the immediate organs of God for the communication of his mind and will to men (Deut. 18:18, 19).
The whole Word of God may in this general sense be spoken of as prophetic, inasmuch as it was written by men who received the revelation they communicated from God, no matter what its nature might be. The foretelling of future events was not a necessary but only an incidental part of the prophetic office. ” Any one being a spokesman for God to man might thus be called a prophet. Thus Enoch, Abraham, and the patriarchs, as bearers of God’s message (Gen. 20:7; Ex. 7:1; Ps. 105:15), as also Moses (Deut. 18:15; 34:10; Hos. 12:13), are ranked among the prophets.
The seventy elders of Israel (Num. 11:16-29), “when the spirit rested upon them, prophesied;” Asaph and Jeduthun “prophesied with a harp” (1 Chr. 25:3). Miriam and Deborah were prophetesses (Ex. 15:20; Judg. 4:4). The title thus has a general application to all who have messages from God to men. But while the prophetic gift was thus exercised from the beginning, the prophetical order as such began with Samuel.
Colleges, “schools of the prophets”, were instituted for the training of prophets, who were constituted, a distinct order (1 Sam. 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:3, 15; 4:38), which continued to the close of the Old Testament. Such “schools” were established at Ramah, Bethel, Gilgal, Gibeah, and Jericho. The “sons” or “disciples” of the prophets were young men (2 Kings 5:22; 9:1, 4) who lived together at these different “schools” (4:38-41). ” In New Testament times the prophetical office was continued. Our Lord is frequently spoken of as a prophet (Luke 13:33; 24:19).
He was and is the great Prophet of the Church. There was also in the Church a distinct order of prophets (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 2:20; 3:5), who made new revelations from God. They differed from the “teacher,” whose office it was to impart truths already revealed. Of the Old Testament prophets there are sixteen, whose prophecies form part of the inspired canon. ) The prophets of the northern kingdom (Israel), viz., Hosea, Amos, Joel, Jonah. ) The prophets of Judah, viz., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. ) The prophets of Captivity, viz., Ezekiel and Daniel.
) The prophets of the Restoration, viz., Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
The ordinary Hebrew word for prophet is nabi, derived from a verb signifying “to bubble forth” like a fountain; hence the word means one who announces or pours forth the declarations of God. ” The use of the word in its modern sense as “one who predicts” is post-classical. The larger sense of interpretation has not, however, been lost. In fact the English word ways been used in a closer sense. —The sacerdotal order was originally the instrument by which the members of the Jewish theocracy were taught and governed in things spiritual.
Teaching by act and teaching by word were alike their task. But during the time of the judges, the priesthood sank into a state of degeneracy, and the people were no longer affected by the acted lessons of the ceremonial service. They required less enigmatic warnings and exhortations, under these circumstances a new moral power was evoked the Prophetic Order.
Samuel himself Levite of the family of Kohath, (1 Chronicles 6:28) and almost certainly a priest, was the instrument used at once for effecting a reform in the sacerdotal order (1 Chronicles 9:22) and for giving to the prophets a position of importance which they had never before held. Nevertheless it is not to be supposed that Samuel created the prophetic order as a new thing before unknown.
The germs both of the prophetic and of the regal order are found in the law as given to the Israelites by Moses, (13:1; 18:20; 17:18) but they were not yet developed, because there was not yet the demand for them. Samuel took measures to make his work of restoration permanent as well as effective for the moment. For this purpose he instituted companies or colleges of prophets. One we find in his lifetime at Ramah, (1 Samuel 19:19,20) others afterward at Bethel, (2 Kings 2:3) Jericho, (2 Kings 2:2,5) Gilgal; (2 Kings 4:38) and elsewhere.
(2 Kings 6:1) Their constitution and object similar to those of theological colleges. Into them were gathered promising students, and here they were trained for the office which they were afterward destined to fulfill. So successful were these institutions that from the time of Samuel to the closing of the canon of the Old Testament there seems never to have been wanting due supply of men to keep up the line of official prophets.
Their chief subject of study was, no doubt, the law and its interpretation; oral, as distinct from symbolical, teaching being thenceforward tacitly transferred from the priestly to the prophetic order. Subsidiary subjects of instruction were music and sacred poetry, both of which had been connected with prophecy from the time of Moses (Exodus 15:20) and the judges. (Judges 4:4; 5:1) But to belong to the prophetic order and to possess the prophetic gift are not convertible terms.
Generally, the inspired prophet came from the college of prophets, and belonged to prophetic order; but this was not always the case. Thus Amos though called to the prophetic office did not belong to the prophetic order. (Amos 7:14) The sixteen prophets whose books are in the canon have that place of honor because they were endowed with the prophetic gift us well as ordinarily (so far as we know) belonging to the prophetic order. —What then are the characteristics of the sixteen prophets thus called and commissioned and intrusted with the messages of God to his people?
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
PROPH'ET (from a Greek word signifying speaker-, utterer). The term is used in a wider sense, signifying simply "interpreter," in close correspondence with its etymology, and thus it is applied to every one who has received a communication from God which he utters or interprets. Abraham is called a prophet, Gen 20:7, in this sense of the word, and in the same manner Aaron is called the prophet of Moses. Ex 7:1.
As a communication from God is most likely, however, to refer to the future it becomes naturally a prediction in the mouth of the interpreter, and this element of prediction, added to that of interpretation, gives a more special sense to the term, "prophet" signifying a man who is authorized by God to reveal something with respect to the future.
, at once interpreters and predictors, formed a special institution in the Hebrew theocracy, an independent link of the great providential scheme which made the children of Israel, the chosen people among whom the Messiah was to be born, a transition between the old and the new dispensations. Resting on Moses, they pointed toward Christ; preaching the Law, they promised the Gospel. Scattered prophecies occur even before Moses, but it was not until the time of Samuel that the prophets became a regular order in the Hebrew theocracy, like the priests, and afterward the kings.
During the period of the- Judges the priesthood seems to have become somewhat degenerate, and its influence on the people was lowered. Under these circumstances, Samuel undertook to create or develop a new moral power in the nation by the organization of the prophetical institution, and so successful was he in this undertaking that in Holy Scripture he is ranked beside Moses as one of the pillars of the people. Jer 15:1; Ps 97:6; Acts 3:24.
Schools or colleges - in fact, the first theological seminaries - were established first at Ramah, 1 Sam 19:19; afterward at Bethel, 2 Kgs 2:3, Jericho, 2 Kgs 2:5, Gilgal, 2 Kgs 4:38, and in other places. 2 Kgs 6:1. Under the leadership of some elderly prophet, who was called their "father" or "master," 1 Sam 10:12; 2 Kgs 2:3, promising young men were gathered into these schools and instructed in the interpretation of the Law, in music, and in poetry. The connection between prophecy and poetry and music was old, Ex 15:20; Jud 4:4; Jud 5:1, and continued to the last.
1 Sam 10:5; 2 Kgs 3:15; 1 Chr 25:6. Having gone through the school and completed his instruction, the prophet entered on his office as an instructor of the people, leading all the while a stern and austere life. 2 Kgs 4:9, 2 Kgs 4:38; 1 Kgs 19:8; Matt 3:4. Although the prophets formed a regular order like that of the kings or the priests, there was, nevertheless, no uninterrupted succession of prophets. They arose only when specially called by God.
What they learnt in these schools was only a preparation to make them fitter instruments in the hands of God; the principal constituent of their office was the divine authorization, given them in the form of inspiration. But this the prophetic gift was quite independent of the prophetic education; Amos was not educated as a prophet when the divine word came to him. Am 7:14.
The question of the psychological connection between the divine inspiration and the mind of the prophet in its natural state has been much debated, but is in reality inapproachable, because one part of the combination - the divine inspiration - cannot be made the subject of research. From the prophetic writings, however, the manner in which the divine inspiration took hold of the human mind and used it as its instrument is very apparent. Sometimes it is through dreams, Dan 2; sometimes through visions, Isa 6; Eze 1; sometimes through direct communication. 1 Kgs 13:20-22; 1 Sam 3.
Of these various methods, that of the vision is the most common, and, indeed, the writings of the prophets have the general character of visions, as if a curtain had been removed from before the eyes of the prophet, and he had been allowed to see and scan the plans of God in all his dealings with his creatures. Thus endowed, the prophet was in truth within the pale of revealed religion what the oracle attempted to be within the pale of natural religion.
But while the oracle, resulting from the natural exaltation of the human mind, never reached beyond an obscure and uncertain conjecture, the prophet, inspired by God, told the certain truths. The prophets saw the future rather in space than in time, and as a picture of events very close together, though they may have been very far apart. They described the future as a common observer would describe the stars, grouping them as they appear to his eye.
Thus Isaiah, Isa 10-11, connects the deliverance of the Jews from the yoke of the Assyrians with the deliverance by the Messiah; Zechariah (Zech 9) connects the triumphs of Alexander with the coming of the Messiah, although the events were three hundred years apart; Joel, Joel 2:28, connects the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the last day; and so does Peter. Acts 2. Our Lord's great eschatological discourse. Matt 24-25, is a familiar instance of the same fact.
Sent by Jehovah to reveal and enforce his will, to reform or revise the theocratic constitution, and to prepare the way for Christ, 2 Kgs 17:13; Jer 25:4 the prophet stood as a mighty power among the people, guiding and rebuking them and their rulers. He was the true leader of the people, not only in religious, but also in political and social, movements. He kept the theocracy alive, saved it from stagnation and degeneracy, and led it toward its final completion in Christ.
Besides the prophetical utterances scattered through the historical and poetical books, sixteen of the Hebrew prophets have left us writings which now form parts of the canon. Two of the greatest prophets, Elijah and Elisha, have left no special books, but their acts are recorded in the Kings. In all, the Jews reckoned forty-eight prophets and five prophetesses. c. 850 to 420, and fall, according to their chronological order, into three groups, as follows: I. PROPHETS BEFORE THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. II. PROPHETS DURING THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY. III.
PROPHETS AFTER THE RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. c. 890-880.
Schaff's Bible Dictionary
PROPH'ET (from a Greek word signifying speaker-, utterer). The term is used in a wider sense, signifying simply "interpreter," in close correspondence with its etymology, and thus it is applied to every one who has received a communication from God which he utters or interprets. Abraham is called a prophet, Gen 20:7, in this sense of the word, and in the same manner Aaron is called the prophet of Moses. Ex 7:1.
As a communication from God is most likely, however, to refer to the future it becomes naturally a prediction in the mouth of the interpreter, and this element of prediction, added to that of interpretation, gives a more special sense to the term, "prophet" signifying a man who is authorized by God to reveal something with respect to the future.
, at once interpreters and predictors, formed a special institution in the Hebrew theocracy, an independent link of the great providential scheme which made the children of Israel, the chosen people among whom the Messiah was to be born, a transition between the old and the new dispensations. Resting on Moses, they pointed toward Christ; preaching the Law, they promised the Gospel. Scattered prophecies occur even before Moses, but it was not until the time of Samuel that the prophets became a regular order in the Hebrew theocracy, like the priests, and afterward the kings.
During the period of the- Judges the priesthood seems to have become somewhat degenerate, and its influence on the people was lowered. Under these circumstances, Samuel undertook to create or develop a new moral power in the nation by the organization of the prophetical institution, and so successful was he in this undertaking that in Holy Scripture he is ranked beside Moses as one of the pillars of the people. Jer 15:1; Ps 97:6; Acts 3:24.
Schools or colleges - in fact, the first theological seminaries - were established first at Ramah, 1 Sam 19:19; afterward at Bethel, 2 Kgs 2:3, Jericho, 2 Kgs 2:5, Gilgal, 2 Kgs 4:38, and in other places. 2 Kgs 6:1. Under the leadership of some elderly prophet, who was called their "father" or "master," 1 Sam 10:12; 2 Kgs 2:3, promising young men were gathered into these schools and instructed in the interpretation of the Law, in music, and in poetry. The connection between prophecy and poetry and music was old, Ex 15:20; Jud 4:4; Jud 5:1, and continued to the last.
1 Sam 10:5; 2 Kgs 3:15; 1 Chr 25:6. Having gone through the school and completed his instruction, the prophet entered on his office as an instructor of the people, leading all the while a stern and austere life. 2 Kgs 4:9, 2 Kgs 4:38; 1 Kgs 19:8; Matt 3:4. Although the prophets formed a regular order like that of the kings or the priests, there was, nevertheless, no uninterrupted succession of prophets. They arose only when specially called by God.
What they learnt in these schools was only a preparation to make them fitter instruments in the hands of God; the principal constituent of their office was the divine authorization, given them in the form of inspiration. But this the prophetic gift was quite independent of the prophetic education; Amos was not educated as a prophet when the divine word came to him. Am 7:14.
The question of the psychological connection between the divine inspiration and the mind of the prophet in its natural state has been much debated, but is in reality inapproachable, because one part of the combination - the divine inspiration - cannot be made the subject of research. From the prophetic writings, however, the manner in which the divine inspiration took hold of the human mind and used it as its instrument is very apparent. Sometimes it is through dreams, Dan 2; sometimes through visions, Isa 6; Eze 1; sometimes through direct communication. 1 Kgs 13:20-22; 1 Sam 3.
Of these various methods, that of the vision is the most common, and, indeed, the writings of the prophets have the general character of visions, as if a curtain had been removed from before the eyes of the prophet, and he had been allowed to see and scan the plans of God in all his dealings with his creatures. Thus endowed, the prophet was in truth within the pale of revealed religion what the oracle attempted to be within the pale of natural religion.
But while the oracle, resulting from the natural exaltation of the human mind, never reached beyond an obscure and uncertain conjecture, the prophet, inspired by God, told the certain truths. The prophets saw the future rather in space than in time, and as a picture of events very close together, though they may have been very far apart. They described the future as a common observer would describe the stars, grouping them as they appear to his eye.
Thus Isaiah, Isa 10-11, connects the deliverance of the Jews from the yoke of the Assyrians with the deliverance by the Messiah; Zechariah (Zech 9) connects the triumphs of Alexander with the coming of the Messiah, although the events were three hundred years apart; Joel, Joel 2:28, connects the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and the last day; and so does Peter. Acts 2. Our Lord's great eschatological discourse. Matt 24-25, is a familiar instance of the same fact.
Sent by Jehovah to reveal and enforce his will, to reform or revise the theocratic constitution, and to prepare the way for Christ, 2 Kgs 17:13; Jer 25:4 the prophet stood as a mighty power among the people, guiding and rebuking them and their rulers. He was the true leader of the people, not only in religious, but also in political and social, movements. He kept the theocracy alive, saved it from stagnation and degeneracy, and led it toward its final completion in Christ.
Besides the prophetical utterances scattered through the historical and poetical books, sixteen of the Hebrew prophets have left us writings which now form parts of the canon. Two of the greatest prophets, Elijah and Elisha, have left no special books, but their acts are recorded in the Kings. In all, the Jews reckoned forty-eight prophets and five prophetesses. c. 850 to 420, and fall, according to their chronological order, into three groups, as follows: I. PROPHETS BEFORE THE BABYLONISH CAPTIVITY.