Hebrew: nabi, from a root meaning “to bubble forth, as from a
fountain,” hence “to utter”, compare
Ps. 45:1)
Nabi is 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 (
Hebrew) 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; compare
Hebrews 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 major Old Testament prophets there are sixteen, whose
prophecies form part of the
inspired canon.
These are divided into four groups:
- 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.
(found here)
[h=3]Prophet • WebBible Encyclopedia • ChristianAnswers.Net[/h]