Prophet

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Jump to: navigation, search A prophet is one who speaks for God. The term usually refers to God's spokesmen in the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham, and ending with St. John the Forerunner.

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1 Old Testament Prophecy o 1.1 Major prophets o 1.2 Minor prophets 2 The End of Prophecy 3 Assessment of the prophet's authenticity and false prophets 4 Sources and external links

Old Testament Prophecy

The word prophet itself derives from the Greeks, who used the word to refer to an interpreter or spokesperson of a deity, who "utters forth." In Hebrew, however, the word traditionally translated as prophet nevi, which likely means "proclaimer." The meaning of nevi is perhaps described in Deuteronomy 18:18, where God said, "I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them all that I command him." Thus, the navi was thought to be the "mouth" of God. The root nun-bet-alef (navi) is based on the twoletter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness, perhaps in reference to God. Some examples of prophets in the Old Testament include Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Isaiah, David, Solomon, and Job. Also, sixteen books in the Old Testament are called by the names of prophets, although not necessarily written by their hands. They are traditionally divided into the "major" and "minor" prophets:

Major prophets

Book of Isaiah, Isaiah Book of Jeremiah, Jeremiah includes book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel Book of Daniel, Daniel

Minor prophets

The books of the 12 so-called minor prophets:

Book of Hosea, Hosea Book of Joel, Joel Book of Amos, Amos Book of Obadiah, Obadiah Book of Jonah, Jonah Book of Micah, Micah Book of Nahum, Nahum Book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk Book of Zephaniah, Zephaniah Book of Haggai, Haggai Book of Zechariah, Zechariah Book of Malachi, Malachi

The End of Prophecy

Orthodoxy teaches that John the Baptist (also known as John the Forerunner) was the last of the prophets, thus tightly linking the period of prophecy in the Old Testament with Jesus, who delivered the fullness or fulfillment of the law. Some Protestant (and thus heretical) sects hold that prophecy continues to this day, including Pentecostals and Quakers. In doing so, they often manage to diminish the role of Holy Tradition by overemphasizing such new "revelations." Mormons also think that the current president of their "church" is a prophet. An early Christian heresy centering around continuing prophecy was Montanism, whose most notable adherent was Tertullian. This, however, is not to say that the spirit of prophecy is dead in the Church; there are many instances of saints and other Orthodox receiving prophetic dreams or visions. The term "prophet" itself, though, is generally reserved for Old Testament figures.

Assessment of the prophet's authenticity and false prophets

According to Deuteronomy 18:21-22, one should judge a prophet by checking whether his predictions come true. Likewise, in the New Testament Christ warned against false prophets and said that one should judge a prophet by his fruits. From (Matthew 7): Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.1 Sts. Peter and Paul also enjoin the faithful to beware of "false prophets" (i.e. heretics) repeatedly in their epistles. See 2 Peter 2 and Acts 20:28 in particular http://orthodoxwiki.org/Prophet

OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT Definition: Prophecy is "the proclamation of divine messages in a state of inspiration" (Helmer Ringgren, "Prophecy in the Ancient Near East," in Israels Prophetic Tradition, 1). Some important distinctions in the study of the biblical prophets: Major and minor prophets: refers only to the length of the book, not the importance of the message or the power of the preaching. There are only three major prophets in the OT--Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Classical, or writing prophets: those of the 8th-c and beyond; those who have left a book bearing their name, in contrast to those such as Elijah or Huldah.

Terms used for prophets: The message and the type of inspiration differed widely in the ancient world. The revelation might come through dreams, auditions, visions, etc., or it might be evoked by music, dance, or ecstasy. It might come to an individual or a group; it might come suddenly and unexpectedly, or after preparation on the part of the prophet [see Koch, Prophets, 1:15]. Understandably, then, there is no single term used for a prophet. Nabi (or navi): 300 times in OT; translated as "prophet."

Root meaning of the term:

Akkadian nabu = call, announce. Arabic nabaa = announce.

Suggested meanings of nabi: Rowley: a nabi is one who delivers a message not his own, i.e. a spokesman (Servant of the Lord, 105).

On servant as spokesman, see Exodus 7:1-2.

Klaus Koch: nabi probably literally means "one entrusted with a message" (The Prophets 1:16). Lindblom: "a person who, because he is conscious of having been specifically chosen and called, feels forced to perform actions and proclaim ideas which, in a mental state of intense inspiration or real ecstasy, have been indicated to him in the form of divine revelations" (Prophecy in Ancient Israel, 46).

Seer (ro'eh): note 1 Sam 9:9 ("for the one who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer").

Visionary (hozeh): "The majority of the occurrences of the verb and its nominal derivatives are in visionary contexts, so we may safely assume that the hozeh was one who obtained revelations through visions" (Robert R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 254). Wilson suggests that hozeh is used primarily of Jerusalemite prophets (254; also in Interpretation 38:15, n. 19). The verb form is used in Micah 1:1.

What kind of person was the prophet? Note the cross-cultural studies of Johnannes Lindblom, Robert R. Wilson, and Thomas Overholt.

A person who believed that he or she had a message from God to a segment of the population or to the people as a whole.

 A prophet might be a professional (i.e., a cult prophet, one who worked at a religious shrine-e.g., Deborah; Balaam [Num 22:5ff]; the prophet of Bethel [1 K 13]) or might be someone from another walk of life who felt called out at a specific time to deliver a prophetic message. The prophet might well be from the influential, aristocratic class of society. Amos was a sheepbreeder. Ezekiel was a priest.

A prophet sometimes, but not frequently, used dramatic [sometimes miraculous] signs to accompany his message. Isaiah walked through Jerusalem naked (chap 20). Ezekiel lay on his left side for 390 days to symbolize the years of Israel's punishment, then lay on his right side for 40 days symbolizing Judah's time of punishment (Ezekiel 4:4-8).

The prophets authority derived from both God and his/her audience. Certainly the prophet believed that he/she had authority from God. But that is a faith statement, not open to absolute proof. Consequently, the prophet also derived authority from his audience, or, in some cases, the audience withdrew authority and refused the prophet. Note well Thomas Overholt: "Because any prophets message is addressed to a group of people living in a specific historical-cultural situation, its credibility is judged in terms of how adequate it appears to be for coping with the specific problems presented by that situation" (Channels of Prophecy, 1989, 32f). "The people choose their prophets; that is, they attribute authority to them, because they perceive in the proclamation continuity with the cultural traditions sufficient to make what they say intelligible and at the same time innovations sufficient to offer the possibility of a new interpretation that will bring order out of what is perceived as chaos. . . . From the point of view of audience reaction, then, the general criterion for the attribution of authority to prophets might be expressed as perceived effectiveness" (71). E.G., MARTIN LUTHER KING and GHANDI.

Note also the Oxford Annotated Bible, 2nd ed, p. 863: "The prophets are not simply social analysts who issue moral and religious urgings; they are also artists who redescribe reality and who construe social experience in new and venturesome categories" [Walter Brueggemann].

Prophets often say something about the future, but not in the way that popular interpretation often believes. The prophets did not predict events so far into the future that they would have had no relevance for the audience of their day. They prophesied events that they believed were soon to happen, events that related to the social, religious, and political events of their day.

Klaus Koch: "A prophet addresses himself to the future" [The Prophets, first sentence of the book, p. 1]. He continues, however: "Not everyone who says something definite about the future is a prophet. Prophets are distinguished from mere soothsayers in that they base what is impending on the present, drawing their conclusions from the moral behaviour of the people round them." "The promise is therefore not simply a clairvoyant announcement about some future event which will break in without any relation to anything else. It is the continuation of a history that is already taking place" (1:10).

William Sanford LaSor, David Hubbard, and Frederic Bush: even when the prophet is announcing predictive prophecy, "the prophet speaks about what has meaning for his listeners. He does not suddenly forget them and utter an irrelevant prophecy of things to come" (OT Survey 305). H. H. Rowley: "The prophets were continually predicting the future, though commonly the future as arising out of the present, rather than a distant and unrelated future" (Servant of the Lord, 131). ***On the contemporary interest in OT prophecy as predictive of contemporary events, see John Elson, "Apocalypse Now?" Time, Feb 11, 1991); also Paul Boyer, When Time Shall Be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture, 1992.

NOTE: this class will NOT take the approach that the OT prophets predicted modern events!

Some things that make understanding the prophetic writings difficult:

 The prophetic books are not primarily narrative, but are summaries of the prophets' spoken messages. It is often difficult to discern transitions of thought, so the use of a good study Bible is helpful. Our ignorance of the historical situation of the prophet. E.g., the Persian Gulf War vs. the Syro-Ephraimitic War.

THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS

We can summarize the message of the classical prophets under 4 headings: 1. Unfaithfulness to Yahweh: like the Deuteronomistic historians, the prophets see both Israel and Judah forsaking Yahweh to follow other gods, primarily Baal. Hosea 4:1-3, 6: "no knowledge" of Yahweh. 2. Lack of justice and righteousness: the prophets see this as a consequence of unfaithfulness. The covenant with God involved social obligations of Israelites to each other as well--many of the laws of the Torah deal with interpersonal relations. The prophets see that Israel and Judah dont practice righteousness and justice. Note: righteousness is a personal term, designating the right/appropriate relations that should characterize individuals in a relationship. Justice is more a social term, designating the right ways that persons should be treated in community. Isaiah 1:10--; Amos 2:6-8; 4:1-3; 5:11-12 3. The Day of the Lord: for the OT prophets, this is the day that Yahweh would punish his people for their sins. The prophets interpret political/military events of their day as Gods action: in the 8th century, they believe that God raised up the Assyrians to use as an instrument of punishment against Israel--and indeed the Assyrians annihilated the northern kingdom in 722 BC, turning it into a province of Assyria. In 587 BCE, the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and Judah, making them a province of Babylon. For the prophets, both of these actions were the Day of the Lord. Amos 5:18-20; Isaiah 3 ("on that day" or "in that day" = the Day of the Lord) 4. Gods faithfulness and restoration: especially in the aftermath of 587, the survivors wondered if they were even still the people of God. Perhaps God was so disgusted with them that he had cast them off forever and would choose another people to be his. Against that crisis of belief, the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel brought reassurance--in spite of the peoples unfaithfulness, Yahweh remained faithful. He would punish, but he wasnt turning against them completely.

In light of the strong emphasis made by both the Deuteronomistic historians and the prophets regarding Israels and Judahs unfaithfulness, this emphasis is both notable and unexpected. It is one of the strong messages of grace in the OT--God remains faithful, in spite of his people. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel comments: "This, however, is our hope: God will redeem where we fail; He will complete what we are trying to achieve. . . . We must constantly remember: we spoil and God restores. How ugly is the way in which we spoil, and how good and how beautiful is the way in which He restores" (God in Search of Man [NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1955] 407). Jeremiah and Ezekiel speak of restoration in at least 4 ways: (1) restoration from exile back to the homeland: Jer 29:10-14 (2) new covenant: Jer 31:31-34. In contrast to the Sinai covenant that they repeatedly violated, God will make a new covenant "in their heart." (3) new heart/spirit: Ezek 11, esp vv 19-20. (4) new king: Ezek 34:23-24; 37:24; Jer 30:9. ---this refers to a restored king of Davids line. This is the hope for a messiah in the OT--a king like David who will save them from their enemies. After 587 they had not had a king of their own; the Babylonian king was their ruler. See Journey of Faith 58-59. ---this hope remains unfulfilled in the OT. Even after they were restored from exile, they continued to be ruled by the various empires.

http://web.campbell.edu/faculty/vandergriffk/INTProphecy.html? faculty/vandergriffk/INTProphecy.html

Lesson 04

Teachings of the Prophets

Monotheism.
One of the principal teachings of the Old Testament prophets is Monotheism or the belief in one and only God. Although one may not speak about an evolution of this belief, one has to admit the fact that it was the prophets that asserted Strict Monotheism, by affirming the supremacy of Yahweh over all nations. They went so far as far as to deny anything divine to the other gods and goddesses. (Isaiah 44, 6-20; Jeremiah 51, 17-19).

Covenant
Prophets always understood Israel as people of the Covenant, i.e. the Covenant at Sinai. Hence, whenever the Israelites broke the covenant, by worshipping other gods and goddesses, the prophets condemned them, and proclaimed Gods severe judgement on them. Therefore, they upheld the obligations coming from the Covenant. A covenant, in the ancient Middle East, had the following elements: 1. Introduction of the Covenant Parties (esp. the main party) I am Yahweh (Ex.20/2) 2. Historical Prologue (what the main party has done in favour of the other party) who brought you from Egypt, the house of bondage (Ex. 20/2) 3. Stipulations (Conditions or Laws) - Decalogue 10 commandments (Ex. 20/3-17) 4. Oath to keep the Covenant: Verbally or through Symbolic Action (Gen.15,7-18). 5. Curses & Blessings (Deut. 28 & 29.) 6. Witnesses. Although among other nations various gods were said to serve as witnesses, in the Biblical Covenants, elements of Nature are presented as witnesses. (Is.1, 2.) (Joshua 24,26-27.)

7. Covenant Meal: This expressed the intimate relationship resulting from the covenant. (Ex. 24/11) 8. Depositing the Covenant document in a sanctuary and reading it periodically Prophets do mention Israel breaking the Covenant. (Jr. 11/.) The reason for the breach is the fact that the Covenant at Sinai is bilateral in nature. When a Covenant is bi-lateral, then the other party can break it. Therefore Israel, from time to time renewed the Covenant.

Jeremiah in 31/31-34 proposes a new Covenant distinct from that of Sinai.

V. 31 The days are coming This is a very common expression in the Prophetic literature regarding Gods future intervention in human history. V. 32 -I shall make a new Covenant The word, new can be ambiguous i.e. something totally new or a new version of the old. Hence we have to go to the Greek text of the Old Testament (Septuagint) which uses the word, Kaine which means something totally new. This means there is a clear distinction between the new Covenant and the Covenant at Sinai. And this is further affirmed in V32, where it is said not like the Covenant. with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It is agreed among the scholars, that the expression House of Judah had been added to the text later, to clarify the expression House of Israel. This is very clear from V.33 where only the House of Israel is found. There is ambiguity in the expression House of Israel for, it could refer to the whole of Israel or to the Northern Kingdom. Not like to Covenant

Here the Prophet refers to the Covenant at Sinai. This means, the Covenant at Sinai is replaced by the New Covenant. When I took them by the hand This is the covenant imagery i.e. Father-Son relationship. One has to visualize a father leading his son. The Prophets of the Old Testament expressed the covenant relationship between God and Israel in term of following imagery, namely: Husband- wife (V32) Ez. 16 Father- Son Is 1/2 - Hosea 11/1-4 Shepherd - Flock Is 40/10-11 Ez. 34 Owner and his Vineyard Is 5/1-7 My covenant which they broke Since the Sinai Covenant was bi-lateral it could be broken by Israel and therefore there is the need for a new covenant which cannot be broken. Here, the covenant that is intended is uni-lateral, because God takes responsibility. It is a covenant of promise on the part of God. V33 . I will put my Law within them and I will write it upon their hearts. This sentence brings in the distinction between the Covenant of Sinai and the New Covenant. The covenant of Sinai was written on two tablets of stone, whereas the new covenant is written on the heart, i.e. it is internalized. This means Gods Law expressed in the covenant seems to coincide with the conscience of the Man. According to the Hebrew mind, Heart (Leb) was considered to be the centre of all activity in man. V.53 I will be their God, and they shall be my people. This is the Covenant formula which indicates the relationship between God and his people. This formula, according to scholarly studies, seems to have been derived from the ancient marriage formula, which read as I shall be to you a husband and you shall be to me a wife. V34 No longer shall each man to ask his neighbour . They shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest. This section seems to have been misinterpreted, for a long time, after Reformation, to challenge the teaching authority of the Church. The main idea behind these words is the deep experience of God within oneself, by virtue of this covenant. Therefore this intimate experience cannot be communicated externally, as it is a deep experience of God within

one self. I will forgive their iniquity. What is special in this covenant is the assurance of Gods constant forgiveness. Therefore it becomes a very important condition to maintain the covenant relationship i.e. the sinner persisting in sin cannot continue this relationship with God. Hence, forgiveness on the part of God, becomes a necessary condition to help man to keep the covenant. This text is later taken up in Qumran and given a sectarian interpretation. The sectarians at Qumran called themselves the community of the new covenant. There they had the different interpretation of the Law of Moses. Later the concept of the New Covenant is taken up by the New Testament. The earliest is 1 Cor 11/23-26 (this is my blood of the New Covenant). Here the presentation seems to differ from Jeremiah, because Jeremiah does not speak about blood in terms of the New Covenant. In this Text, the New Covenant seems to be connected with Exodus (Ex. 24/1-8). Thus both Jeremiahs idea of the New Covenant and the sealing of the Covenant at Sinai by blood are fused together. Therefore on the one hand, there is a connection between the New Covenant and the Covenant at Sinai, and On the other, there is a clear difference between them, i.e. the New Covenant is sealed not with the blood of the animals as in the Covenant at Sinai, but by the blood of Jesus on the cross. The same is found in Luke 22/19-20. For other New Testament texts on the New Covenant refer: 2 Cor. 3/4 -11; Galatians 4/21-26; Heb. 8/7-13; Heb 9/15-17; 10/15-18; 12/22-24

http://www.slcnyusa.com/prophets04.htm