PROPHETICAL BOOKS – I

Introduction to the prophetic movement

 Prophetical Books 1
Introduction to the Prophetic Movement
Scope

This is a three credit course designed to give a detailed understanding about the
origin and development of the OT Prophecy. The main intension of the course is to
identify the meaning of prophetic ministry and find its relevance in the contemporary
society.

Objectives

 To initiate the students into the world of Hebrew prophets and prophecy and equip
them to listen to the wide and different varieties of prophetic discourses.
 To help the students to understand the origin and development of the prophecy and
the nature and distinctive characteristics of the prophetic ministry in Ancient
Israel.
 To recall the various historical situations and the message of the prophets
addressed to such situations.
 To identify important theological ideas and the ethical issues in the teachings of
the prophets.
 To interpret the message of the different prophets to the contemporary ecclesial
and socio-political contexts.
 To draw inspirations from the personal experiences of the prophets for the
ministry today and preach relevantly from the prophetical books.

Purpose:
1. To draw inspirations from the personal experiences of the prophets for the ministry
today and preach relevantly from the prophetical books.
2. To be a prophetic voice in today’s world.

Course Requirements
Class Grade 40%
Assignments 20%
Class Tests 10%
Class Participation 5%
Reading Report 5%
Final Exam 60%
Course Outline

1. Introduction
A. Popular understanding of prophets and prophecy: What is prophecy?
B. Technical terms: nabi, seer…
C. Definitions: foretelling and forth telling
Write up on: Are we part of the prophetic movement? Write an essay.

2. Prophecy in Ancient Israel

A. Origin of the Old Testament prophecy-
Prophecy in Ancient Near East – a brief survey on the non-canonical prophetic
phenomena (titles for the prophets and the ways of receiving and
communicating the message and its relationship with Old Testament prophecy).

Uniqueness of Hebrew Prophecy-

B. Development of the Old Testament prophecy

i. Prophetic ministry before monarchy
- Pre-Mosaic period
- Mosaic period
- Period of judges
ii. Prophetic ministry during the monarchical period
- United monarchy – Samuel (Prophetic schools), Nathan

- Divided monarchy
- Assyrian crisis
- Babylonian crisis
iii. Prophecy during exilic period
iv. Post-exilic prophetic ministry
Write up on: The Early prophecy and the writing prophecy.

Differentiate between pre-exilic, exilic, and post-exilic historical moments as they apply to the
prophetic literature. In this session, special attention should be paid to the post-exilic moment
and the so-called cessation of prophecy.
Write up on: The shift from prophecy to apocalypticism: the Book of Daniel

3. The prophetic Task

The roles of the prophet
The prophetic task

Write up on: The task of a prophet today

3. Prophets: Person and Practice
A. Prophetic call and commission
B. Prophetic inspiration and ways of communication
 C. Qualification of a true prophet
D. The prophetic word- Dabar
Write up on: Prophets and their context
Write up on: life of prophets as a paradigm for today’s servant of God

4. Formation of the Prophetic books – A brief explanation of the different stages of

the formation of prophetic books with particular emphasis on the book of Isaiah.
The Prophetic Genre: Literary forms of the prophetic oracles.

6. Prophetic movement today

-Prophetic voice and prophetic elements in the church today

-Prophecy in the major religious traditions in India

Write up on: Where are my prophets today?

COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Lecture notes: Lecture notes and regular reading report of the prescribed books to be
written in the class notes. Evaluation will be based on the class notes.

2. Assignment Topic____________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Last date of submission- __________________

Date of Presentation _____________________

Prescribed Texts:
Assignments

Uniqueness of Hebrew Prophecy -_________________

True prophets and false prophets - ________________

The message of a prophet - _____________________

Prophets role in Israelite society -______________________

The prophetic schools -______________________

The alternate life style of the prophet-___________________

Elijah: the troubler of Israel -___________________

The prophetic word- ________________________

The suffering of a prophet -______________________

 The Prophetical Movement

1. Introduction

1.1. Who is a prophet?

A. Popular understanding of prophets and prophecy: What is the popular understanding of

prophets and prophecy today?

Terminology: Who is a prophet in the Biblical world? The Hebrew word for prophet is
nabi, derived from the root ‘naba’ meaning “to bubble forth” hence the word means one who
speaks or announces the declarations of God (Strong’s Hebrew 5012). Another word roeh is also
used meaning seer or one who received the message through vision (I Samuel 9:9). However the
word nabi meaning spokesman is the preferred Hebrew word for prophet. The prophet was a
spokesman for God; as he spoke in God’s name and by his authority. He is the mouth by which
God speaks to people (Jeremiah Isaiah 51:16 and so the words of the prophet is of God.

O.T Usage: In the Bible we see that Abraham, Moses, Miriam and Deborah were all
called prophets (Genesis 20:7; Numbers 12:2-8; Exodus 15:20; Judges 4:4). These Old
Testament stalwarts though were not called into a prophetic office as such but carried out the
function of a prophetic call, in that they became the voice of God in their own generation.
However a distinct ministry of prophecy was established only from the time of Samuel. During
Samuel’s time prophetic schools were established for training prophets as well as there were
prophetic groups given the generic name “sons of prophets” or the “company of the prophets” (I
Samuel 10:6-8; I Kings 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3). Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea and
the other literary prophets could be could be included in this genre of prophetic ministry. The
fearless revelation of the moral will of Yahweh, the God of Israel’s covenant was the task of
these prophets. The prophets were Yahweh’s special designates as the names that they took for
themselves signifies. They took the titles such as, messengers of Yahweh (Malachi 3:1), servants
of God (Isaiah 20:3, Amos 3:7), shepherds (Jeremiah 17:16), watchmen (Ezekiel 3:17; Jeremiah
6:17) (Brown, Raymond E, Fitzmeyer, Joseph & Murphy, Roland E (ed.). The new Jerome
Biblical Commentary, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990 p188-190)

A prophetical movement was thus very much evident from the days of Abraham
through the days of last Old Testament prophet John the Baptist who was called “more than a
prophet” by Jesus. The usage of the word prophetical movement is intentional here in that it
represents and defines all the prophetic activity of God in the Old Testament times. Prophetic
movement involves all that God began to do through his servants like Abraham and Moses,
leading through the ministry of prophets like Elijah and Elisha extending up to the writing of the
very words of God spoken by the prophets of God.

N.T Usage: In the New Testament times the prophetical office was continued. Jesus was
frequently spoken of as a prophet (Luke 4:24; 13:33; 24:19). In the early church also there was a
distinct and widespread ministry of prophecy (Acts 13:1; 21:9). Acts 11:28 describes about a
band of prophets who travelled from Jerusalem to Antioch, and one of them predicted a severe
famine which would spread over the entire Roman world. Prophecy one of the gifts for edifying
the church was instituted as an office by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:11). According to I
Corinthians 14:3 the primary purpose of prophetic ministry is to strengthen, encourage and
comfort believers. Paul in I Corinthians 14:31 the instructive role of prophetic utterance and
Luke describes about the role of prophecy in providing divine direction for ministry and to give
warnings (Acts 13:1-3; 21:4). Thus the task of New Testament prophets was to speak forth the
word of God with the purpose of building the church into the fullness of the Lord.

1.2 Who is a prophet today? Are there prophets today? In terms of the office of prophecy in the
New Testament church, it is the sole prerogative of the Holy Spirit in appointing or ordaining a
person as a prophet or God’s spokesman. A prophet of God cannot be self appointed or self
acclaimed, he has to be ordained by the Holy Spirit. Is God calling men and women into his
office of prophecy today? Yes! God is calling men and women as his prophets because he loves
his people, the Church. But where are the prophets of God today? Rarely do we see them today.
Is it because they have not recognized the call of God upon them or is it that they have been
silenced by the noise of the majority or is it that they have misunderstood their task or is it
because they were not ready to risk being a prophet of God? God is asking the question, “Where
are my prophets today?”

The Prophetic Voice: Apart from the office of a prophet, the general meaning and usage
of the term ‘prophet’, as the one who speaks the word of God by becoming his mouthpiece or as
one who stands for God, becomes the basis for talking about the significance of prophetic voice
today. A prophetic voice is concerned about the heart of God, the voice of God and nature of
God. A prophetic voice is concerned about the will of God being fulfilled on the earth especially
in the church. Every servant of God, whatever their calling may be, must become the prophetic
voice of God today.

The prophetic voice however must not be confused with the dissenting voice about which
we hear so much in the political and social spheres. Dissenting voice is something which comes
out of one’s own inner impulse but prophetic voice comes from the infilling and inspiration of the
Holy Spirit. This distinction is very important otherwise we may be forced to call the modern
philosophers, political analyst, social thinkers and critiques as prophets, which they are not. In
simple words a prophet is one who hears what God wants to communicate to his people and
pours forth those words. A prophet is an anachronism in the world, his words may not have any
meaning or value for the modern thinkers or philosophers but he is a prophet because he speaks
for God. Jesus was such a prophet as he sat and ate with the sinners and the prostitutes much to
the criticism of the religious leaders, rebuked the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, crossed all the
social and sacral boundaries by touching the lepers and set a new paradigm of relationship by
forgiving those who nailed and crucified him.
 Why should we study about prophets and the prophetic movement? Every aspect of
the ministry of church, whether it be preaching, teaching, shepherding or evangelizing, must be
the prophetic voice of God to be effective instruments in the hands of God. The servants of God
are the prophetic voice of God and as such they must be bold in speaking forth the word of God.

a. We are also part of the prophetic movement that started in the OT times and continues
even today.

b. For the servants of God who dare to be the prophetic voice of God there are many
lessons to be learnt from the life of prophets of both Old and New Testament. The prophets of
old stand as examples for us in terms of how to hear and receive message from God, how to live
for God in this ungodly generation and how to patiently endure the sufferings of a prophet.

Conclusion and Challenge: Prophets were known for wearing mantles as a sign of their
calling and authority (I Samuel 15:27; I Kings 19:13). The mantle of the prophet was a cloak or
robe that the prophet wore symbolizing his authority and calling as God’s prophet. When the
prophet Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha, Elisha knew what Elijah was doing, the putting of
mantle was a symbol of the prophetic call being given to him (I Kings 19:19). As Elijah was
about to be taken to heaven, his disciple Elisha asked for a double portion of the spirit that was
upon Elijah. Elijah promised Elisha that if he would see Elijah being taken up to heaven then he
would have the double portion of his spirit. Finally as Elisha witnessed Elijah being taken up to
heaven the mantle of Elijah fell and Elisha took up the mantle that had fallen from him and he
continued the prophetic ministry of his master Elijah.

God is passing on the mantle of prophetic ministry today because he loves his people and
he is interested to guide them in all truth. Putting on the prophetic mantle today is not exclusively
about being called “prophet” in terms of being called into the prophetic office, but to be God’s
voice in today’s’ generation. Putting on the prophetic mantle means putting off the cloak of
professional ministry, putting off the religious robes of the clerical class and becoming the
prophetic voice of God. Do you have the prophetic mantle upon you? Are you willing to take the
risk of being the prophetic voice of God today? What does it mean to wear the prophetic mantle
today? What is the task of a prophet today?

Assignment: Study the Text; Isaiah 1

Group Discussion of Isaiah 1
2. Prophecy in Ancient Israel
C. Origin of the Old Testament prophecy-
Prophecy in Ancient Near East – a brief survey on the non-canonical prophetic
phenomena (titles for the prophets and the ways of receiving and communicating the
message and its relationship with Old Testament prophecy).
ANE Background: Ecstasy, possession, Canaanite prophecy,
-soothsayers, clairvoyants
Was there a parallel prophetic movement in the ANE?
Balaam, Ahab’s prophets of Baal
Other evidences- Fifty letters in the royal archives of Mari.
-visions of Neferti in Egypt
- the term ‘muhu’

Uniqueness of Hebrew Prophecy-

Do you think that Israelite prophetic movement was unique?
Israelite prophets were spokesmen of Yahweh in the arena of history. Israelite prophecy was
unique in its content, medium and purpose.
Is our prophetic movement today carrying its uniqueness? Or is it a copying of the other religious
and social arenas?

Assignment: Isaiah 2:1-5

 Assignment: Check Summary of class 1

Group Discussion of Isaiah 2:1-5

D. Development of the Old Testament prophecy

i. Prophetic ministry before monarchy
- Pre-Mosaic period
Abraham was called a prophet
- Mosaic period
- Period of judges
ii. Prophetic ministry during the monarchical period
- United monarchy – Samuel (Prophetic schools), Nathan

- Divided monarchy
iii. Prophecy during exilic period
iv. Post-exilic prophetic ministry
 Chapter 2 The prophetic Task

The thundering words of the prophets “thus says the Lord” brought about the
utterance of the word with its power and authority. They spoke the heart and will of God.
When they spoke, their words disturbed the status quo of the rulers and the religious
leaders, their words hammered the will of God into the stubborn hearts of the people, and
by denouncing their sins their words served as the voice of the conscience of the nation.

What was the task of biblical prophets as we see them in the Biblical world? What
is the task of a prophet today? The predictive aspect of prophecy is so much emphasized
today that the other aspects of the prophetical ministry has been overshadowed. A study
of the biblical prophets would reveal that prophecy is the communication of God to
mankind. Biblical prophecy was not only foretelling (predicting future events) but it was
more of a forth telling (bubbling forth or speaking forth the words of God). Predicting the
future events was definitely a part of the prophetic oracles but even then the purpose was
not just to inform the community about the future events but to invoke hope and faith in
the promise of Yahweh and thereby motivate the people to come back to the covenant.
(explain more from texts like Hosea…)

The prophets of the Old Testament were ordained by God to keep the people of
Israel within the framework of the Law of God- the Torah. The prophet’s purpose was to
reveal the mind and the will of God. The prophets of God denounced the evil ways of the
leaders and the people of Israel by drawing them to the Law of God. The primary task of
all the prophets was to give the call of God to return. They called the people of Israel to
return to their Lord, return to the Law and to return to the covenant love.

When God called Jeremiah to be his prophet, he clearly set the objective of his
prophetic call before him, “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the
kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to
plant.” (Jeremiah 1:10) That is a fair description of what the task of a prophet entails. A
prophet is called to root out and pull down all the structures of oppression and injustice,
destroy and throw down all that stands against the will of God, and build the people of
God with justice and plant righteousness in the hearts of the people. Apostle Paul also
envisages a similar role of prophecy in the church, the role of equipping, edifying and
building the saints into the image of the Son. (Ephesians 4:12, 13)

The prophets of the Bible denounced the sins of the people, warned the people of
the coming disaster and called them to come back to their Lord. In calling back the
people of God to Yahweh they invoked and inspired hope of a renewal of their covenant
ushering the beginning of the era of peace (Shalom). This general scheme could be seen
in many of the prophetical literatures like the book of Isaiah, Hosea, and Jeremiah. So we
see that the prophets not only announced the words of condemnation but also brought
consolation and comfort to the people by inspiring hope in Yahweh.

The prophets of old were not the diplomatic kind, pleasing people with their nice
words; they were rugged and unsophisticated in their rebukes as we hear John the Baptist
thundering, “brood of vipers who asked you to flee from the wrath”. Their task was not to
sooth the people in their sins as they pursued the path of injustice but to unsettle the
settled, disturb the rich and the aristocratic, and to dethrone the seats of wickedness and
ungodliness.

The meaning and the task of prophecy today has been narrowed down to that of
prediction and foretelling. Unfortunately that is the task of a diviner or a soothsayer
whom the Lord detests. Prophecy today must first of all come out of the garb of being a
soothsayer or a diviner. Biblical prophecy did involve prediction of future events but the
focus always was to rebuke, correct, warn and give hope to the people of God.

Prophets today are called to build and equip the saints by drawing them to a closer
relationship with the Lord. They are called to rebuke, correct and warn about the sins of
the people of God.
3. Prophets: Person and Practice
A. Prophetic call and commission
“I Knew You”
It was the call of the prophet that gave them courage to stand in the midst of the greatest
challenges. It was their call that authenticated their message.
That is the prime reason for the detailed description of the call of the prophets in some of
the prophetic books.
The burning bush experience of the call of Moses gives the description of Moses
asking the name of God. By asking the name of the Lord Moses was giving words to his
deep desire to know the Lord in a more personal way than by knowing the Lord as the
God of the forefathers. This was very important for him to fulfill his task of pulling the
people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt. How else he could stand before Pharaoh and
command him to free the people of Israel.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you
and I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 It was this unique relationship
that the prophets enjoyed that carried them through the toughest storms and challenges of
being singled out and made them strong to suffer persecutions. The prophets could
always look back to their call and be assured that they are in the hands of a God, who
knows them, who separated them and who ordained them
Do you have such a unique relationship with the Lord? A close and intimate relationship
with the savior, that becomes the reservoir from which you can draw strength and solace
and be charged to move forward with great courage.
 B. Prophetic inspiration and ways of communication

C. Qualification of a true prophet

D. The Alternate life style of the Prophet

From the mouth of the ravens…

Why was Elijah asked to ….?

The alternate life style of the prophet

Elijah- fed by ravens and the brook and not from the kings table.

Jeremiah-

John the Baptist-

Jesus- not like the religious Pharisees and the religious leaders.
 4. Formation of the Prophetic books – A brief explanation of the different stages of the
formation of prophetic books with particular emphasis on the book of Isaiah.

Literary forms of the prophetic oracles

5. A brief survey of the prophetic books in the Old Testament
Former prophets
Later prophets
6. Prophecy in the major religious traditions in India