Prophet

PROPHET. This Word comes from the Greek, Prophetes, which signifies one that foretells future Events. The Hebrews 1 Sam. ix. 9. ראהvidens. נביאNabi, Propheta.at the Beginning call’d them Seers. Afterwards they call’d them Nabi, which comes from the Root Nibba, to foretell, to divine. Also the Scripture often gives them the Name of Men of God, and of Angels, or Messengers of the Lord. The Verb Nibba to prophesy, in the Hebrew is of very great Extent. Sometimes it signifies to foretell what is to come; at other times, to be inspired, to speak from God. God says to Exod. vii. 1.Moses, Aaron thy Brother shall be thy Prophet; that is to say, he shall explain thy Sentiments to the People. St. Paul in his Epistle to Titus, i. 12. quoting a profane Poet, calls him a Prophet; One of themselves, even a Prophet of their own: Because the Pagans thought their Poets inspired by the Gods. The Scripture often gives the Name of Prophet to Impostors, who falsely boasted of Inspiration.

As the true Prophets, at the times that they were transported by the Motions of God’s Spirit, were sometimes agitated in a violent Manner; those Motions were call’d Prophesying which they exhibited, whether they were fill’d with a good or evil Spirit. 1 Sam. xviii. 10.For Example, Saul being moved by an evil Spirit prophesy’d in his House; that is to say, he was agitated with Violence, as the Prophets were. To prophesy is also put for to sing, to dance, to play on Instruments. Thou shalt meet a Company of Prophets, says 1 Sam. x. 5, 6.Samuel to Saul, coming down from the high Place, with a Psaltery, and a Tabret, and a Pipe, and a Harp before them, and they shall prophesy. And the Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another Man. We read in the Chronicles, that the Sons of 1 Chron. xxv. 1.Asaph were appointed to prophesy upon Harps.

This Term is also used in St. Paul, for 1 Cor. xi. 4, 5. xiv. 1, 3, 4, &c.explaining Scripture, speaking to the Church in publick; probably because they that exercised these Functions were look’d upon as replete with the Holy Ghost, and gave themselves Motions like those of Enthusiasts. The Scripture uses this Term in an extraordinary Sense, instead of saying, to work a Miracle, to raise the Dead. Thus it is said of the Bones of Elishah, that after his Ecclus. xlviii. 13.Death his Body prophesy’d, because they had restored a dead Person to Life, as if they had still been actuated by the Soul of this Prophet. Lastly, ‘tis said, that the Bones of the Patriarch Joseph prophesy’d also after Ecclus. xlix. 15.his Death, because they were as a Pledge of the Promise he had made to his Brethren, that they should one Day be deliver’d from their Servitude in Egypt, and that they should be in Possession of the Land of Canaan.

The most usual Way by which God communicated himself to the Prophets was Inspiration, which consisted in illuminating the Mind of the Prophet, and exciting his Will to proclaim what the Lord dictated to him from within. ‘Tis in this Sense that we acknowledge as Prophets, all the Authors of the Canonical Books of Scripture, both of the Old and New Testament. God also communicated himself to the Prophets by Dreams and nocturnal Visions. Joel promises to the People of the Lord, that their young Men should see Visions, and their old Men should have prophetick Dreams. St. Peter in the Acts fell into an Ecstacy at Noon-day, and had a Revelation concerning the Call of the Gentiles to the Faith. The Lord appear’d to Abraham, to Job, to Moses in a Cloud, and discover’d his Will to them. He has often made his Voice to be heard in an articulate Manner. Thus he spoke to Moses in the burning Bush, and upon Mount Sinai, and to Samuel in the Night. St. Austin acknowledges three Sorts of Prophets; those of the Jews, those of the Gentiles, and Joel ii. 28. Acts x. 11, 12. Gen. xvi. 10. Job. xl. 1. Exod. xiii. 21, &c. Exod. iii. 2. 1 Sam. iii. 4. Aug. Præfat. in lib. 19. contra Faust.those of the Christians. Those of the Jews are known: Those of the Gentiles are their Poets and their Divines; and those of the Christians are the Apostles, and Apostolical Men, of whom Jesus Christ has said;¹ Wherefore behold, I send unto you Prophets, and wise Men, and Scribes.

We have in the Old Testament the Writings of the sixteen Prophets; that is, of four greater Prophets, and twelve lesser Prophets. The four great Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Baruk is commonly reckon’d with Jeremiah. The Jews do not properly place Daniel among the Prophets, because (they say) he lived in the Splendour of temporal Dignities, and in a kind of Life different from that of the other Prophets. The twelve lesser Prophets are, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi.

This is pretty nearly the Chronological Order in which they may be ranged.

1. Hosea prophesy’d under Uzziah King of Judah, who began to reign in the Year of the World 3194; and under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah, and under Jeroboam II. King of Israel, and his Successors, to the Destruction of Samaria, which happen’d in the Year of the World 3283.

2. Amos began to prophesy in the twenty-third Year of Uzziah, and of the World 3219, and about six Years before the Death of Jeroboam II. King of Israel, which happen’d in the Year of the World 3220.

3. Isaiah began to prophesy at the Death of Uzziah, and at the Beginning of the Reign of Jotham King of Judah, in the Year of the World 3246. He continued to prophesy to the Reign of Manassah, which began in the Year of the World 3306. He caus’d Isaiah to be put to Death by sawing him with a Saw.

4. Jonah lived in the Kingdom of Israel under the Kings Joash and Jeroboam II. about the same time as Hosea, Isaiah, and Amos. Jeroboam II. died in the Year of the World 3220.

5. Micah lived under Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, Kings of Judah. Jotham began to reign in 3245, and Hezekiah died in 3306. Micah was contemporary with Isaiah, but began later to prophesy.

6. Nahum appeared in Judah under the Reign of Hezekiah, and after the Expedition of Sennacherib, that is, after the Year 3291.

7. Jeremiah began in the thirteenth Year of the Reign of Josiah King of Judah, in the Year of the World 3375, and Zephaniah prophesy’d about the same time. Jeremiah continued to prophesy under the Reigns of Shallum, Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah, to the taking of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans, in the Year of the World 3416. ‘Tis thought he died two Years after in Egypt, in 3418. Baruch was the Disciple and Amanuensis of Jeremiah.

8. Zephaniah appear’d at the Beginning of the Reign of Josiah, and before the twenty-eighth Year of this Prince, which is the Year of the World 3381; and even before the taking of Nineveh, which happened in 3378.

9. Joel under Josiah, about the same time as Jeremiah and Zephaniah.

10. Daniel was taken into Chaldea in the Year of the World 3398, which was the fourth Year of Jehoiakim King of Judah. He prophesy’d at Babylon to the End of the Captivity, which happen’d in 3468, and perhaps longer than that.

11. Ezekiel was carry’d Captive to Babylon along with Jeconiah King of Judah, in the Year of the World 3405. He began to prophesy in the Year 3409. He continued till towards the End of the Reign of Nebuchadnezzar, who died in the Year of the World 3442.

12. Habakkuk lived in Judea at the Beginning of the Reign of Jehoiakim, about the Year 3394, and before the coming of Nebuchadnezzar into the Country in 3398. He dwelt in Judea during the Captivity, and carry’d Food to Daniel in the Lyon’s Den.

13. Obadiah lived in Judea after the taking of Jerusalem, which happen’d in 3414, and before the Desolation of Idumea, which happen’d (as we believe) in 3410.

14. Haggai was brought to Jerusalem in 3414; he return’d from the Captivity in 3468, and prophesy’d the second Year of Darius Son of Hystaspes, which was the Year of the World 3484.

15. Zachariah prophesy’d in Judea at the same time as Haggai, and he seems to have continued to prophesy after him.

17. Malachi has not put any Date to his Prophecies. If he was the same as Esdras, as is very probable, he may have prophesy’d under Nehemiah, who return’d into Judea in 3550.

Under the several Articles of these Prophets, may be seen the Proofs of what is here advanced, and the Particulars of their Lives and Actions, of their Prophecies, their Characters, and Deaths.

Besides the Prophets we have now mentioned, there are found the Names of a great many more in the Scripture. Clemens AlexandrinusClem.Alex. Strom. l. 1. p. 145. seu 400. nov. edit Oxon. Potteri. reckons up Thirty-five after Moses, and Five before him, which are Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He reckons five Prophetesses, which are Sarah, Rebeccah, Miriam the Sister of Moses, Deborah, and Huldah. Epiphanius² reckons up Seventy-three Prophets, and ten Prophetesses, in both the Old and New Testament. The Prophets are, 1. Adam. 2. Enoch. 3. Noah. 4. Abraham. 5. Isaac. 6. Jacob. 7. Moses. 8. Aaron. 9. Joshua. 10. Eldad. 11. Medad. 12. Job. 13. Samuel. 14. Nathan. 15. David. 16. Gad. 17. Jeduthun. 18. Asaph. 19. Heman. 20. Etham. 21. Solomon. 22. Abiah. 23. Shameah. 24. Oded. 25. Eli, the High-priest at Shiloh. 26. Joad. 27. Iddo. 28. Azariah. 29. Ananiah, otherwise Azariah. 30. Jehu. 31. Micaiah the Son of Imlah. 32. Elijah. 33. Uzziel.³ 1 Kings xxii. 8.b 34. Eliad. 35. Jesus Son of Hananiah. 36. Elisha. 37. Jonadab. 38. Zachariah otherwise Hananiah. 39. Another Zachariah. 40. Hosea. 41. Joel. 42. Amos. 43. Obadiah. 44. Jonah. 45. Isaiah. 46. Micah the Morasthite. 47. Nahum. 48. Habakkuk. 49. Obed. 50. Abdadon. 51. Jeremiah. 52. Baruch. 53. Zephaniah. 54. Uriah. 55. Ezekiel. 56. Daniel. 57. Esdras. 58. Haggai. 59. Zachariah. 60. Malachi. 61. Zachariah Father of John the Baptist. 62. Simeon. 63. John the Baptist. 64. Enoch. 65. Methusalah. 66. Lameel. 67. Balaam. 68. Saul. 69. Abimilech. 70. Amasa. 71. Zadok. 72. The anonymous Prophet that came to Bethel. 73. Agabus, mentioned in Acts xxi. 10. He might have added the Apostles, and particularly St. Barnabas, Simon Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, and Manahem, mentioned in the Acts xiii. 1, 2. And he might have omitted others, for Example, Ethan, who is the same as Jeduthun; Joad, Obed, Abdadon, all unknown, and Balaam, who was a wicked and false Prophet; and some others who hardly deserve to be put into the List of true Prophets.

The Prophetesses are 1. Sarah. 2. Rebecca. 3. Miriam the Sister of Moses. 4. Deborah. 5. Huldah. 6. Hannah the Mother of Samuel. 7. Judith. 8. Elizabeth. 9. Anna⁴ the Daughter of Phanuel. 10. The Virgin Mary. To these may also be added the Acts xxi. 9.Daughters of Philip the Deacon.

The Hebrews in the Book Megillah, c. 1. acknowledge but Forty-eight Prophets, and seven Prophetesses. The Prophets are, 1. Abraham. 2. Isaac. 3. Jacob. 4. Moses. 5. Aaron. 6. Joshua. 7. Phinehas. 8. Elchanah. 9. Eli. 10. Samuel. 11. Gad. 12. Nathan. 13. David. 14. Solomon. 15. Iddo. 16. Micajah the Son of Imlah. 17. Obadiah. 18. Abijah. 19. Jehu Son of Anani. 20. Azariah Son of Oded. 21. Haziel Son of Matthaniah. 22. Eliazar Son of Dodo. 23. Hosea. 24. Amos. 25. Michah the Morasthite. 26. Amos (probably the Father of Isaiah.) 27. Elijah. 28. Elisha. 29. Jonah. 30. Isaiah. 31. Joel. 32. Nahum. 33. Habakkuk. 34. Zephaniah. 35. Jeremiah. 36. Uriah. 37. Ezekiel. 38. Daniel. 39. Baruch. 40. Neriah. 41. Seraiah. 42. Mahaziah. 43. Haggai. 44. Zechariah. 45. Malachi. 46. Mordecai. 47. Hanameel Father of Jeremiah. 48. Shellum the Husband of Huldah.

The Prophetesses are, 1. Miriam Sister of Moses. 2. Deborah. 3. Hannah the Mother of Samuel. 4. Abigail. 5. Huldah. 6. Esther. 7. The Midwives of Egypt, who preserved the First-born of the Hebrews.

After Malachi no Prophets were found in Israel as before; so that in the Time of the Maccabees, a when the Altar of Burnt-sacrifices was demolished, which had been prophaned by the Gentiles, the Stones thereof were set aside, till a Prophet should arise to declare what should be done with them. But in this Interval God did not desist from raising up inspired Writers, as the Authors of the Books of Esther, of Judith, of the Maccabees, of Wisdom, and of Ecclesiasticus, which the Christian Church has received into her Canon. ‘Twas about the same time that the three Sects were form’d, the Essenians, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, which afterwards became so famous among the Jews.

Aug. l. 18. de Civit. c. 41.The Prophets, according to St. Austin, were the Divines, the Philosophers, the Instructors, and the Guides of the Hebrew People in the Ways of Piety and Virtue, They generally lived retired from the People, in some Country Retreat, and in a sort of Community, where they and their Disciples were wholly employ’d in Prayer, in labouring with their Hands, and in Study. Their Habitations were plain and simple, which they built themselves, and cut down the Wood for this Purpose. Yet they exercised no Trade for Gain, nor did they undertake any Work that was too laborious, or inconsistent with the Repose that their Employment required. Thus Elisha1 Kings xix. 20. quitted his Plough, as soon as Elijah had called him to the prophetick Office. Zech. xiii. 5.Zechariah says, he is no Prophet, but an Husbandman. Amos says, he is no Prophet, but an Herdsman, and a Gatherer of Amos vii. 14.Sycamore-fruit.

Elijah was cloathed with Skins, and 2 Kings i. 8.girded with a Girdle of Leather. Isaiah wore Sack-cloth, that is, a coarse rough Zech. xiii. 4.Habit, of a dark brown Colour, which was the ordinary Cloathing of the Prophets. Zechariah says, speaking of the false Prophets who imitated the true Prophets of the Lord, as to their Outside, that They should not wear a rough Garment to deceive. Rev. xi. 3.In the Revelations, the two Witnesses, thought to be Enoch and Elijah, are represented as cloathed in Sackcloth. Their Poverty is conspicuous in all their Actions. The Presents they received were only Bread, Fruits, and Honey, as being made to poor Men. The first Fruits of the Earth were given them, as being Persons that possess’d nothing themselves. 1 Sam. ix. 7, 8. 1 Kings xiv. 3. 2 Kings iv. 42.The Woman of Shunem, that entertain’d Elisha, put into the Prophet’s Chamber no Furniture but what was plain and necessary. The same Prophet refuses the rich Presents of Naaman, and drives away from his Presence Gehazi who had received them. 2 Kings iv. 10. 2 Kings v. 26. 2 Kings iv. 27.Their Frugality appears through their whole History. ‘Tis well known what is related of the wild Gourds, (Coloquintida) that one of the Prophet’s caus’d to be boiled for the Refreshment of his Brethren. The Angel gave to Elijah only Bread and Water for a long Journey. 2 Kings iv. 38, 40. 1 Kings xix. 6. Bell & Dragon, 33. 1 Kings xviii. 7. Isai. viii. 3. Hosea i. 2, &c.Habakkuk brought to Daniel nothing but Broth or Pottage. Lastly, Obadiah, the Governor of Ahab’s Houshold, gave nothing but Bread and Water to the Prophets that he fed in the Caves.

All the Prophets were not Observers of a strict Continency; for Samuel had Children, and Isaiah had a Wife, who is call’d the Prophetess. Hosea received Orders to marry a Prostitute. But there were no Women or Wives in the Societies of the Prophets. Neither Elijah nor Elisha had any that we hear of, and we see with what Reserve the Woman that entertained Elisha accosted him and spoke to him; she speaks to him only by the Interposition of Gehazi; she dares not so much as enter in to him, or present herself before him. If in the Transport of her Affliction she would throw herself at the Feet of Elisha, Gehazi hinders her, and takes her away. The Prophets were often exposed to the Railleries, the Insults, the Persecutions, the ill Treatment both of Kings and People, whose Vices and Irregularities they undertook to reprove. St. Paul⁵ St. Paul acquaints us, that many of them died by a violent Death. Others were tortured, not accepting Deliverance, that they might obtain a better Resurrection. And others had Trial of cruel Mockings, and Scourgings; yea, moreover of Bonds and Imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the Sword: They wander’d about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. (Of whom the World was not worthy.) They wander’d in Deserts, and in Mountains, and in Dens, and Caves of the Earth. Such were the Lives and the Deaths of the Prophets.

We shall not here enter into the Particulars of their Lives, because this is already done in their several Articles. The Reader may also see our Prefaces before each of them, and our general Preface upon the Prophets. Father Boulduc, a Capuchine, in his Book called Ecclesia ante legem, pretends, that the Prophetical Order began even before the Deluge; that then it was divided into several Branches, and that these different Orders composed the whole Ecclesiastical Hierarchy. Upon this Occasion he delivers many things that are very particular and extraordinary, and which certainly may be said to be very visionary. They that love such kind of Entertainment, may consult the Author himself.

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