Prophet: (Heb. nabi, from a root meaning "to bubble forth, as from a fountain,"
hence "to utter", comp.)
(Psalms 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 Samuel 9:9) It occurs seven
times in reference to Samuel. Afterwards another word, hozeh,
"seer"
(2 Samuel 24:11) was employed. In
(1 Chronicles 29:29) all these three words
are used: "Samuel the seer (ro'eh), Nathan the prophet (nabi'), Gad
the seer" (hozeh). In
(Joshua 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. (See)
(Numbers 12:6,8) Thus a prophet was a spokesman for God; he
spake in God's name and by his authority
(Exodus 7:1) He is the mouth by
which God speaks to men
(Jeremiah 1:9; Isaiah 51:16) and hence what the prophet
says is not of man but of God
(2 Peter 1:20,21) comp.
(Hebrews 3:7; Acts 4:25)
(Acts 28:25) Prophets were the immediate organs of God for the
communication of his mind and will to men
(Deuteronomy 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. The great task assigned to
the prophets whom God raised up among the people was "to correct moral
and religious abuses, to proclaim the great moral and religious truths
which are connected with the character of God, and which lie at the
foundation of his government." 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
(Genesis 20:7; Exodus 7:1; Psalms 105:15)
as also Moses
(Deuteronomy 18:15; 34:10; Hosea 12:13) are ranked among the
prophets. The seventy elders of Israel
(Numbers 11:16-29) "when the
spirit rested upon them, prophesied;" Asaph and Jeduthun "prophesied
with a harp"
(1 Chronicles 25:3) Miriam and Deborah were prophetesses
(Exodus 15:20; Judges 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 Samuel 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"
(2 Kings 4:38-41) These young men were taught not
only the rudiments of secular knowledge, but they were brought up to
exercise the office of prophet, "to preach pure morality and the
heart-felt worship of Jehovah, and to act along and co-ordinately with
the priesthood and monarchy in guiding the state aright and checking
all attempts at illegality and tyranny." 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 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 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. These are divided
into four groups:
1. The prophets of the northern kingdom (Israel), viz., Hosea,
Amos, Joel, Jonah.
2. The prophets of Judah, viz., Isaiah, Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah,
Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
3. The prophets of Captivity, viz., Ezekiel and Daniel.
4. The prophets of the Restoration, viz., Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi.
