The Nevi'im (the Prophets)
The Canon of the Prophets
The Hebrew canon of the section of the Old Testament known as the Nevi'im, or the Prophets, is divided into two sections: the Former Prophets and the Latter Prophets. The Former Proprets contains four historical books_ Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings; the Latter Prophets includes four
prophetic works __the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, formerly written on a single scroll, include the books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Thus, in the Hebrew canon of the Prophets there are, in effect, eight books.
The Christian canon of the Prophets does not include the Former Prophets section in its division of the Prophets; instead, it calls the books in this section Historical Books.In addition to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the Christian canon of the Prophets includes two works from the division of
the Hebrew canon known as the Ketuvim (the writings): the Lamentations of Jeremiah and the book
of Daniel. The number of works in the Christian canon, however, varies.
The Protestant canon contains all books of the latter Prophets and the two books from Ketuvim, thus listing 17 works among the prophetic writings. The Roman Catholic canon accepts one other book as a canonical prophetic work, namely, Baruch ( including the letter of Jeremiah); the number of prophetic writings in the Roman Catholic Canon is, therefore, 18. The Greek Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 did not accept Baruch as canonical.
As far as the Former Prophets is concerned, the Protestant canon, following the Septuagint, separates Samuel and Kings into two sections each:I and II Samuel, and Iand II Kings. The Roman
Catholic and Orthodox churches in the past divided these two works into I, II, III and IV Kings, but
most Roman Catholic translations now follow the listing as it is in the Septuagint.
Hebrew Prophecy
Hebrew prophecy was rooted in the prophetic activities of various individuals and groups from the nations and peoples of the ancient Near East. Though prophecy among ancient Egyptians, Mesopotamians, and canaanites__ as well as among the peoples of the Aegean civilization _generally
was connected with "fortelling" (or predicting ) the future, the Hebrew prophecy centered on "fortelling" (or proclaiming), though it included predictive aspects. Thus, in Hebrew prophecy the phrase "Thus says the Lord" is repeated constantly to emphasize the "fortelling " motif. The Hebrew
prophets were very conscious of the absolute holiness (separateness) of God and his purpose for his chosen people, Israel. Because of this conciousness, they developed an acute awareness of sin and its effects on man and society and, from such an awareness, a radical ethical outlook that applied to both the individual and the community.
The Hebrew term for prophet (navi') is probably related etymologically to Akkadian verb nabu, meaning "to call" or "to name." The Hebrew prophet may thus be viewed as a " caller," or spokesman
for God. Other designations for prophet in the Old Testament are ro'e, or "seer" and Hoze, or "visionary " the two latter terms indicating that the predictive element was operative in hebrew prophecy, however, was the relationship of the prophet to God, the Lord of the Covenant, and to Israel, the covenant people. He spoke for the sovereingn Lord to remind, cajole, castigate, reprove,
comfort,and give hope to the people of the covenant, constantly reminding them that they were chosen to witness to the nations of the love, mercy, and goodness of God.
Some of the Hebrew prophets, from the 11th to the 8th century BCE, belonged to bands or guilds of ecstatic prophets. Such prophets were spokesmen for God whose uncontrollable actions and words caused them to be feared and, sometimes, held in contempt. In II Kings, Chapter9, verse 11, a prophet __who came to Jehu, the 9th -century-BCE army commander who became king of Israel,
in order to anoint him __was called a "madman" (messhugga'). Other Hebrew prophets were more independent, such as Nathan and Elijah, though they continued to maintain the quality of being uncontrollable _ at least as far as the political authorities were concerned. Both of these early nonwriting prophets spoke out against the opression of the weak by the strong, a theme that came
to be expressed constantly in Judaism. The activities of such early prophets, including also Micaiah
and Elisha in the 9th century BCE, are described in the Former Prophets.
In the 8th century BCE, the writing prophets_i.e., the Latter Prophets_began their activities. Though
all the books that bear their names probably have been edited by schools of a prophet or by individuals or groups that were influenced by their ideas, the editors or disciples of the prophets preserved as well as was possible the words, activities, and idiosyncratic themes of the prophetic
personalities. Some of the Latter Prophets may have been connected with the priestly class, such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; most of the Latter Prophets, however, were independent of priestly connections. All of the Latter Prophets stood out in contrast to the court prophets who, in the tradition of court prophets of most ancient Near Eastern peoples, seldom contradicted what they
believed was expected of them by their sovereigns or the people.
Blessed are the peace-
makers, for they will
be called sons of God.
-Matthew 5:9
================
Renewing Your Soul
Miracles of Faith
Invitation to the thirsty
Nobel Peace Price 2001
Photo Galleries
Baptism
Bible (NIV)
Bible Study
HealingII
Poetry
Jesus healing Power
===============
Free The Children
Footprints
Resources
Discipleship
Meditation
Prayer
The Lord's Prayer
Prayer Listings
Heavenly Prayer
Unconditional Love
Contact Us
The Foundation Life's Adventure Prayer Prayer Lists Faith Healing