prophet
[prof-it]  
Origin
Church of Jesus Christ
Chat live with a Mormon today All of your questions answered.
www.mormon.org
Dictionary.com Free Toolbar
Define Prophet Instantly. Faster Page Loads With Fewer Ads.
Dictionary.com
Ads
proph·et
   [prof-it]
Show IPA
noun 1. a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.
2. (in the Old Testament)
a. a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the people of Israel: Moses was the greatest of Old Testament prophets.
b. ( often initial capital letter
) one of the Major or
Minor Prophets.
c. one of a band of ecstatic visionaries claiming divine inspiration and, according to popular belief,
possessing magical powers.
d. a person who practices divination.
3. one
of a class of persons in the early church, next in order after
the apostles, recognized as inspired to utter special revelations and predictions. 1 Cor. 12:28.
4. the Prophet, Muhammad, the founder of Islam.
5. a person regarded as, or claiming to be, an inspired teacher or leader.
EXPAND
Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English prophete < Late Latin prophēta < Greek prophḗtēs, equivalent to pro-
pro-2 + -phētēs speaker, derivative of phánai to speak
Related forms proph·et·hood, noun
proph·et·less, adjective
proph·et·like, adjective
Can be confused:  
profit, prophet .
:04
Prophet is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH FLASHCARDS...
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2011.
Cite This Source |
Link To
prophet
Explore the Visual Thesaurus »
Related Words for :
prophet
oracle,
seer,
vaticinator
View more related words »
Collins
World English Dictionary
prophet (ˈprɒfɪt)
—
n 1. a person who supposedly speaks by divine inspiration, esp one through whom a divinity expresses his willRelated:
vatic 2. a person who predicts the future:
a prophet of doom 3. a spokesman for a movement, doctrine, etc 4.
Christian Science a. a seer in spiritual matters b. the vanishing of material sense to give way to the conscious facts of spiritual truth Related:
vatic [C13: from Old French
prophète, from Latin
prophēta, from Greek
prophētēs one who declares the divine will, from pro- ² +
phanai to speak]
'prophetess —
fem n 'prophet-like —
adj
Prophet (ˈprɒfɪt)
—
n 1. the principal designation of Mohammed as the founder of Islam 2. a name for Joseph Smith as founder of the Mormon Church
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
prophet
c.1175, from O.Fr. prophete (11c.), from L. propheta, from Gk. prophetes (Doric prophatas) "an interpreter, spokesman," especially of the gods, from pro- "before" + root of phanai "to speak," from PIE *bha- "speak" (see
fame). Used in Septuagint for Heb. nabj "soothsayer."
EXPAND
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
prophet definition
Someone who brings a message from God to people. The best-known prophets are those of the
Old Testament. Their most frequent
themes were true worship of God, upright living, and the coming of the
Messiah. They often met with bitter resistance when they spoke against the idol worship and immorality of their people. Among the prophets of the Old Testament were
Daniel,
Elijah,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Jonah, and
Moses.
Prophets also appear in the
New Testament.
Jesus called
John the Baptist a prophet;
Christians consider him a bridge between the prophets of the Old Testament and those of the New Testament. Jesus mentions “true prophets” and “false prophets” — those who present the true message of God and those who present a counterfeit (
see By their fruits ye shall know them and wolves in sheep's clothing). He himself was considered a prophet in his lifetime (
see A prophet is not without honor save in his own country) and is still widely revered by non-Christians as a prophet, though not as the Messiah. The New Testament also mentions that some of the early Christians were prophets who spoke inspired messages to their communities.
Note : In general usage, a “prophet” is someone who can foretell the future. The prophets of the
Bible often made predictions, which confirmed their authority when the predictions came true, but changing the lives of their people was a more central part of their mission.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Easton
Bible Dictionary
Prophet definition
(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. (See Num. 12:6, 8.) 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. 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 (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). 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 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. 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.
Easton's 1897 Bible
Dictionary
Cite This Source
