– In Greek, where this word comes from ( prophetes ), it has the meaning of interpreter of the gods, the one who explains, manifests the oracles, predicts the future. Among the Israelites, the prophet is a messenger and interpreter of the divine Word:
Ex 4,15-16 : You will speak to him, you will put words in his mouth. And when you speak, I will be with you and with him.
Ex 7,1 : See, I will make you a god to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
Jer 1,9 : And thus he said to me: “Behold, I put my words in your lips”.
– He is called by God and cannot escape this mission:
Am 3,8 : The lion roars, who will not fear? The Lord Yahweh speaks: who will not prophesy?
Am 7,15 : The Lord took me from following my flock and said to me: Go and prophesy against my people Israel.
Is 6 : In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a very high throne.
Jr 1,4-10 : Before your birth, I had already consecrated you, and I had appointed you prophet of the nations.
Jr 20,7-9 : You seduced me, Lord; and I let myself be seduced! You dominated me and obtained the triumph.
– Example of resistance to God’s order, and his conversion is in the book of Jonah:
Jon 1–4 : Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak your oracles against it.
– The prophets are orators, preachers, and their speech was preserved in writing by their disciples:
1Sm 10,5 : At the entrance of the city, you will find a group of prophets coming down from the high place.
1 Kings 18:3-4 : When Jezebel slaughtered the prophets of the Lord, Abdias took a hundred prophets.
1 Kings 20:35 : Then one of the sons of the prophets said to his companion, by order of the Lord.
2 Kings 2 :3 : The sons of the prophets who were at Bethel went out to meet Elisha.
2 Kings 9:1 : The prophet Elisha called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him: “Put on your belt and go”.
– The prophets are classified into majors and minors not by their importance, but by the length of their books. The greatest are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel and Daniel; the minors: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
– There were also prophetesses:
Ex 15:20 : The prophetess Mary, Aaron’s sister, took her tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her.
Judg 4,4 : At that time, the prophetess Deborah, wife of Lapidot, was a judge in Israel.
2 Kings 22:14 : Helcias the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan and Azariah went to Huldah the prophetess.
Ne 6,14 : Remember, O my God, the evils of Tobias and Sanabalat, as well as the prophetess Noaddia.
Lc 2,36-37 : There was also a prophetess named Anna, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher.
– And false prophets:
Deut 13,2-3 : If a prophet or a visionary arises among you, announcing a sign or wonder to you.
Deut 18:20 : The prophet who has the audacity to utter a word in my name that I have not commanded him to say.
Jr 23,9-24 : To the prophets. My heart breaks within me.
Jer 28,1-17 : Son of Azur, prophet of Gabaon, came to the temple and before the priests and the crowd.
Ez 13,1-23 : Say to those who prophesy out of their own head: listen to the Word of the Lord.
Mic 3,5-6 : Oracle of the Lord against the prophets who lead my people astray.
– Already prophesied through the mysterious character of the Servant of Yahweh:
Is 49-55 : The Lord called me from my birth; still in my mother’s womb, he pronounced my name.
– Jesus Christ, sent by the Father, accepted his mission as prophet and messiah:
Mt 13:57 : It is only in his homeland and his family that a prophet is despised.
Mt 16,14 : Some say he is John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
Mk 6,4.15 : A prophet is only despised in his homeland, among his relatives and in his own house.
Mk 8:28 : The disciples answered him: “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; others, one of the prophets.”
Lk 4:24 : And he added: “Truly I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his homeland”.
Lc 7,16 : A great prophet appeared among us: God turned his eyes to his people.
Lk 9 :8, 19 : And still others: “He is one of the ancient prophets who has risen”.
Jo 4,19.44 : “Sir”, the woman said to him, “I perceive that you are a prophet!”.
Jn 9:17 : They asked the blind man: “What do you say about him who opened your eyes?”. “He is a prophet,” he replied.
– John the Baptist was defined by Jesus as being more than a prophet:
Mt 11,9-14 : So why did you go there? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, more than a prophet.
Mt 14,5 : I would gladly have him killed; he feared, however, the people who considered John a prophet.
Mt 21,26 : And if we say: Of men, the multitude is to be feared, because the whole world regards John as a prophet.
Mt 17,12-13 : But I tell you that Elijah has already come, but they did not know him; rather, they did with him as they pleased.
Mk 9,12-13 : Elijah must return first and restore everything in order.
Lk 1:76 : And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will go before the Lord and prepare the way for him.
Lc 7,26 : But, finally, what did you go to see? A Prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
