旧约研究6——他赐给我们先知 HGP——第二课   先知的职分

• 目录

• 一、介绍

• 二、职分的词义

• 主要意思

• 次要意思

• 三、职分的过渡

• 前王国时期

• 王国时期

• 被掳期间

• 后被掳-回归期间

• 四、职分的期望

• 流行的模式

• 灵媒/术士

• 算命先生

• 圣约的模式

• 过去的理解

• 当前的理解

• 五、总结

一、介绍

在我身处的文化环境中，当两个人初次见面时所做的第一件事，就是互相交换名字。接下来他们通常会问这个问题：「你做的工作是什么？」在许多方面来看，我们在这一课中问先知的就是这个问题。我们要问：「旧约先知所做的是什么样的工作呢？」

我们称这一课为「先知的职份」。当我们探索先知的工作时，我们将看三个方面：第一，先知工作的职称；第二，工作的过渡期，也就是在预言中所发生的转变；第三，对先知工作的期望，就是神期望先知所做的工作。

二、职分的词义

我们以探索旧约先知的职称开始这一课。在日常生活中，我们用许多称号称呼别人。实际上，同一个人也许有许多不同的称号。例如，我们会称一个人为牧师、运动员和音乐家。为什么呢？因为人们在生活中会做各种各样的事情。在旧约中，先知的情况也是这样。他们有许多不同的称号。

要探索旧约以什么称号来称呼先知，我们先看两个基本类别。首先，我们要看《圣经》中用在先知身上的主要名称。其次，我们要看《圣经》用在这特别被拣选的职份之上，各种各样次要的名称。

主要意思

我们首先来看先知的主要名称。当大多数说英语的基督徒听见「先知」(prophet)一词的时候，他们倾向于把先知想成为一位只会预测未来的人，就象算命的或通灵的人那样。没错，在旧约中先知的确会预测未来，但是，他们的角色比预测未来要来的更宽广。实际上，当我们看英语「prophet」一词的时候，有线索显示这个字所意味的不单单是一位预测未来的人。

英语「prophet」一词是从旧约的希腊语翻译本七十士译本而来的。我们通常没有察觉到，英语「prophet」一字的希腊语字源prophete本身，其实是一个相当灵活的名词。这个名词结合了两个元素。希腊语prophete一字中的第二个元素是phete，这个元素表达了讲话的概念。它表示先知有很多讲话和写作的活动，这是显而易见的。但是，prophete的第一个元素「pro」，能够指出两个方向。一方面它可以意味着预先说话或预言。另一方面，它可以简单地意味着「讲话」或「宣告某一件事情」，这些说话和宣告可以根本不是预言。先知可以是一位作预告或只是作宣告的人。在现实中，旧约先知两方面的工作都做了。他们谈到未来，可是他们也大胆地谈论到当时的世代。先知这个基本的称号是指这些人所执行的各种各样的工作。

当我们看用希伯来语所写的旧约，我们发现「先知」这个名称有更广的意思。七十士译本中希腊语prophete 一字是用于翻译一个独有的希伯来字。与其他近东语言相比之下，我们知道「navi」一字的意思是指一个「被呼召的人」。这是一个非常有弹性的名词，单单指出先知是被神所呼召的人。他们不是普通人。神呼召他们出来作许多特别的服侍。

次要意思

除了把先知定义为「navi」这个主要的意思之外，在旧约中有一定数量的次要名称也是与先知的职份联系在一起的。我们将看一看几个重要的次要名称。首先，先知经常被选派为「ebed」，或是仆人。在旧约中许多不同种类的人被称为仆人，这个名词经常含有服从和谦卑的意思。这个称号对先知来说很重要，因为它也包含了史官或官员的意思，尤其是指朝廷中的官员。就是以色列的国王也被称为神的仆人，因为他们是在神国宫廷中担任官员的国王，他们也是作仆人的。

先知在神的宫廷中也担当了特别的角色。他们是天上王权的代表。他们是奉那伟大的王之名而说话的正式发言人。因此，但以理说以色列不听从先知是犯了极大的罪。听听他在第9章里第6节所说的话：

「我们没有听从你仆人众先知奉你名…所说的话。」（但以理书第9章6节）

先知不是普通人。他们是神宫廷的仆人，是天上王权的代表。

除此之外，希伯来语中有两个密切相关的字，两个字都指向先知所扮演的另一个特别角色。希伯来语「roeh」一字的意思是「先见」，这个字与「hozeh」一字有紧密的关系，此字是「先知」或「观察者」的意思。根据撒母耳记上第9章9节，在以色列立王之前，先知第一次被称为先见。在当时的以色列，今天被称为先知的人当时被称为先见。同样地，撒母耳记下24章11节告诉我们，曾在大卫作王时作先知的迦得也是被称为「先知」或「先见」的。神的话临到先知，大卫的先见。

这些先知的称号指出了他们工作的那哪些方面呢？这些称呼显示当先知接受神的话的时候，经常有非常重要的经历。先知被称为先见，因为他们有特权看见天上的情况。在历代志下中，先知米该雅受到挑战要他解释他说的预言。米该雅以描述他所领受到的天上的异象为回应。在历代志下18章18节中，我们读到先知如何描述他所看到天上的情况：

「我看见耶和华坐在宝座上，天上的万军侍立在他左右。耶和华说：「谁去引诱以色列王亚哈上…阵…呢？」这个就这样说，那个就那样说。」（历代志下第18章18节）

这个段落值得注意，因为它显示了先知为什么被称为先见。他们透视到天上的领域。他们听见神讲话。他们看到事情的发生。他们与神在天上交流活动。当我们研究先知的时候，我们要谨记这种天上的经历是他们工作的中心。

另一个偶尔被用来称呼先知的希伯来字是「shomer」，意思是守望者或保卫者。这个隐喻把先知与古时以色列一般当守卫的作比较。古代的城市经常有看守者眺望四境，注意看有没有客人来访或是不友善的敌人侵入。先知所做的也是一样，他监视敌人的行动，并且观察神如何祝福和审判。例如，在以西结书3章17节里，神对先知以西结这样说：

「人子啊，我立你作以色列家守望的人，所以你要听我口中的话，替我警戒他们。」（以西结书第3章17节）

在《圣经》的时代里，预先警告有敌人临近或有朋友来访对一个城市的利害关系有重要的影响。神启示的是他的先知经常注意守望临近的危险和将要临到的祝福，好让人们有机会作好准备。先知注意守望，他们在梦和异象中看到快要发生的事情，然后向人们宣告周围所发生的事。

先知在希伯来语中也偶尔被称为「malak」，意思是「使者」。在旧约中的古代世界里没有电话，没有电子邮件，也没有电视，唯一的长途通讯方式是通过人作使者。当使者从国王或军事领袖手中接到公报后，他们要负责把那则消息送到收信人手中。当要传递紧急消息的时候，一般来说就会差遣使者。旧约这样称呼先知，是因为他们从神领受讯息，然后把这些紧急的讯息传给神的子民。例如，当犹大人从巴比伦被掳之地归回到耶路撒冷的时候，他们非常沮丧。因此，耶和华对先知哈该说话，传讯息给他。所以，在哈该书第1章13节中，先知这样说：

耶和华的使者哈该奉耶和华差遣对百姓说：「耶和华说：我与你们同在。」（哈该书第1章13节）

使者的称谓清楚地表明了先知不是把自己的想法带给神的子民。相反地，他们是耶和华的使者，代表神说话。

最后，我们要提到先知有时被称为「ish-Elohim」，是神人的意思。「神人」这个称号可以被翻译为「从神而来的人」。这个称号指出先知所扮演的特别神圣的角色。他们被神拣选和差遣。因此，先知受到神特别的保护，同时他们有超然的权柄。在列王记下第1章12节中，先知以利亚揭示了这个名称的重要性。他在那里说：

「『我若是神人，愿火从天降下来，烧灭你和你那五十人。』于是神的火从天降下来，烧灭五十夫长和他那五十人。」（列王记下第1章12节）

以利亚的神授权柄通过降在反对先知的人身上的奇妙之火被显示出来。以利亚不是普通人。他是被神差派来的。神站在他这一边。

我们看见了旧约先知有许多名称和称号。可是，我们只谈到了少数在旧约中所采用的各种各样的称号。即便是这样，我们已经能够清楚地看到一点，先知的职分远超过大多数人所想象的。他们不仅仅是通灵的或是算命的。他们有各种各样的称号，这是因为他们的服侍是多元化的。如果我们要了解旧约的预言，我们必须拓宽我们对先知的看法。

三、职分的过渡

到目前为止，我们看过了旧约先知各种职位的名称。现在我们要转向第二个题目：先知的职分中的过渡期是什么？我一生中做过许多份工作，每分工作都有一个共同点；它们都会改变。当我工作了一会儿之后，我很快发现我的工作和起先不同了。旧约先知所经历的也是类似的情况。他们也有工作要做，但是当《圣经》的历史开展下去的时候，他们的工作就经历变迁过渡。

要了解旧约先知的工作如何经历过渡，考虑先知职分的四个历史阶段会对我们有所帮助：前王国时期，就是以色列立王之前的时间；王国时期；被掳时期，就是从本地被掳出去的时期；和被掳后期，以色列被掳回归的时期。

前王国时期

首先我们看王国前期的先知。当我们探索以色列立王之前的时代，我们很容易看到先知职分的几个特点。首先，相对来说当时先知的数目比较少。「navi」这个名称在创世记到士师记之间不经常出现，在这些书卷里只有不到二十个地方使用了这个名称，其中几个地方是有关将来要出现的先知的。因此，在立王之前只有少数的先知出现。

除此之外，王国前期的先知执行广泛的和不同种类的非正式服侍。他们的工作很多时候似乎是暂时性的，是特别为了特殊的情况和特定的时间而设的。「navi」这个名称在王国前期代表各种各样的人所做的许多不同的事情。

王国时期

当我们离开早期《圣经》历史，离开以色列立王之前的时期，我们看到了旧约的先知职分发生了剧烈的变化。王国时期为以色列国带来了许多变化，其中包括在先知角色上的变化。与王国前期对比之下，我们发现在这期间先知出现的数目增多了。我们一次又一次在撒母耳记、列王记或历代志中读到这个先知和那个先知。实际上，在《圣经》中这个时期的先知数目比任何其他时期都要多。

除了在先知数目上有所增长之外，王国时期的先知职分也变得十分正式。在设立王权的同时，神也给先知一项工作，就是叫他们集中观察王的行动，确保他们遵守摩西的律法。虽然神要以色列在地上有王，他也知道王的失败会为这个国家带来严重的危机。人根本就不会处理手中的大量权力。他们一般会变得腐败，又恶待那些在他权柄之下的人。

在以色列的历史中，王的腐败是非常危险情况，因为他们的行动经常带来神对全国的审判。因此，摩西对国王的权力设下一定数量的限制。在申命记17章14至20节中，摩西为以色列的国王设立一定数量的限制。以色列必须只立一位由神拣选的国王。这位国王必须是从兄弟之中选立的，换句话说，这人必定要是以色列人。这位国王不能拥有大量的马匹。他也不能回到埃及去。这位国王不能多立妃嫔，摩西这个意思大概是不能娶许多外邦女子为妻。他不能为自己大量蓄积金银。国王必须为自己抄录一本摩西律法。他也要一生诵读律法，并谨守遵行律法书上的一切言语律例，他也不能看自己比他的弟兄们好。

可是，当我们读以色列国的历史的时候，我们发现他们没有遵守摩西在他们身上设定的制约。因此，神派遣先知去见证王和跟随王的子民的悖逆。先知担任正式的职位，他的职责是约束王的权力。我们在《圣经》的许多地方能够看到先知和国王之间紧密的联系。先知拿单站立在大卫面前。俄备得向亚哈斯说预言。以利亚批评亚哈。

不用多说，不是每一个先知都正式地在朝廷中服侍。许多真先知被当时的国王弃绝了。但是，不论先知是在朝廷中服侍或是在城市的街道上服侍，王国时期的先知要叫王和他们的官员向神的律法负责任。他们服侍神的方法是去指出王和官员如何违犯了神的律法。

因此，在王国时期我们看见有许多先知出现，我们也看见先知担任较正式的职务，在朝廷中服侍神。

被掳期间

我们已经看见了从王国前期到王国时期一些先知职分的发展，现在我们要把注意力转向被掳时期。在被掳时期中先知职份有什么变化呢？在公元前722年，以色列北国的首都撒玛利亚落在亚述人手中。在公元前586年，耶路撒冷又陷于巴比伦人手里。神的子民不计其数地从他们的土地中被逐出，被掳到其它国家去。在这段时间中，先知的职分有两个特点。首先，先知数字减退了。有很多先知由于不具备足够的知名度，所以他们的职分没有记录在《圣经》里。但以理和以西结是这段时期中少数有名的先知。

当然，与被掳连结在一起的是以色列王权的衰亡，因此，先知服侍神的方式又再变得较多元化和不拘形式。绝大部分真正被神所差派的先知，花大量的时间解释被掳这件事，并向神的子民指示回归到原来土地上的可能性。因此我们可以看见在被掳时期只有少量的先知，并且他们很少与以色列王有关系。

后被掳-回归期间

在被掳时期之后的一段时间，我们进入到被掳后期中几个见到先知活动的世代。被掳时期初期的领袖所罗巴伯开始复兴国家。重新设立君主制度的可能性出现了。结果，有两件事发生在先知的职分上。先知的数字相对地来说依然是少数，但是，在先知之中有一些非常重要的活动发生了。哈该、撒迦利亚，和玛拉基是我们认识的这个时期中的重要先知。

先知开始再次稍稍转回去担任比较正式的角色。所罗巴伯成为犹大省长，有人期望他成为未来的君主。因此，哈该和撒迦利亚鼓励以色列的官员重建圣殿。玛拉基在修复社区后因官员和子民继续背叛神而谴责他们。在整个被掳后期中，先知继续留心注意领袖和普罗大众，同时鼓励他们对神忠心。

先知的职分随着君主制的起跌而变得或多或少的鲜明突出，又或多或少的正式。当我们研究某一些先知的话时，我们总要注意到究竟我们是在王国前期、王国时期，被掳时期或是被掳后期中。先知工作职分的过渡能够帮助我们提供了解他们的话的取向。

四、职分的期望

到目前为止，我们看过先知各种各样的称号，又看过在以色列历史中先知职分是如何发展的。现在我们将看一看对先知工作的期望。神盼望先知做什么呢？要探索这个题目，我们将看两个主题：第一，许多释经者应用在先知身上的一般模式；其次，立约模式，就是《圣经》本身给先知工作期望所设立的标准。

流行的模式

让我们首先看看一些描述神盼望先知所做的工作的不同模式。在释经的历史过程中，犹太人和基督徒对先知的角色有不同的了解。一些模式比较接近事实，可是，他们仍然不能够为神要先知所做的工作提供一个全面的模式。

灵媒/术士

许多释经者把旧约先知与其它文化中的灵媒作比较。就象特耳菲的神谕或其他近东文化的灵媒那样，先知被看成为能够与神沟通，传递神对个人问题和祷告回应的人。我们必须承认有时候先知在《圣经》中的确是扮演了这个角色，但是，我们会见到这个立场是不足以作为对先知工作期望的整个模式的。

算命先生

另一个对于先知在旧约中的工作的普遍看法，是他们基本上是预测未来的人或是算命的人。当有人想知道将要发生的事，他们会去找先知。这个看法有部分是真实的，因为先知经常会预测将来要发生的事。神给他们异象，因此他们可以把这些异象宣告给应该知道的人。可是，我们必须小心，不要把算命看成是旧约先知的工作重心。旧约期望先知所做的，是更广大和更重要的事。

圣约的模式

这些对先知工作的普遍模式可以在某种程度上帮助我们，但是，这些模式同时也使神对先知的最基本期望变得模糊了。旧约中描述先知工作的最全面的模式是立约的模式。在我们开始探索先知工作的立约模式时，我们必须谨记多个世纪以来，犹太人和基督徒认同立约是《圣经》的中心概念。但是，我们对《圣经》中约这概念的理解随着岁月而增进了。因此，我们必须开始考虑过去对约的理解和当代对约的理解。

过去的理解

以往对约的理解运作得很好，但是，其中很少涉及到《圣经》对约这个概念的增长的历史背景。我们最近才了解到旧约立约的概念在古代近东背景中的关系。因此，神学家别无选择，只好把他们自己的想法引入到《圣经》中。一般来说，他们会根据罗马法律或当代法律程序来理解旧约的约章。例如，契约一般的意思是两个人或者多人之间的协议，这条公式或者其它类似的公式不是完全错误，可是，这个含义太隐晦了，对我们帮助不大。

当前的理解

在过去，神学家采用这种一般的看法去理解契约，因为他们再没有更好的解释了。但是当代对契约的理解比这些过去的公式更完满。在近数十年来，许多重要的考古学发现帮助我们突破性地理解旧约中约的观念。这些突破使我们能够了解契约是如何建立起旧约先知的工作期望的。古代近东的发现显示，旧约经常以跟古代政治条约相类似的方式，去描述神与以色列的关系。在古代的中东，国际条约一般出现在国与国之间。虽然这些条约形式的形成方法都不一样，其中却是有共通点的，目的是叫整个区域的居民都了解条约的运作。因此，神以约的形式与以色列建立关系，这些约在许多方面来看与古代近东的条约是相似的。

在《圣经》时代里，条约一般来说是建立在具有相等地位的国家之间，我们称这些条约为平等条约。例如，埃及和亚述也许在历史的某些期间是平等的。可是很多时候，古代世界的条约是一个国的王和一个城市或小国的君王之间的协议。例如，迦南地各城市的王多次与大埃及帝国立约。这种条约被称为附庸条约。宗主一词简单地指国皇或皇帝，附庸当然就是皇帝的仆人了。宗主或皇帝订立这关系的规则，并且假设会为附庸提供保护和关注其利益。相对来说，附庸或仆人要透过缴纳税款和在战争中提供援助来对宗主表示忠诚。

附庸条约的一个重要特点是，皇帝给他的代表人或使者特别的角色。宗主经常差遣使者或大使去提醒附庸国他们之间所立条约的条款。这些使者是契约条款的检察官。他们设法使附庸国依从所订立的约章，但是附庸国经常不遵守所立的约。宗主对他们的附属国非常有耐心，但是最终如果附庸拒绝听大使的话，宗主会使用军事力量去打败那些小国。

古代近东使者的功能为旧约先知提供了一个模式。先知是神契约的使者，或者称他为契约的检察官。他们从神圣君主的宝座领受讯息，神圣君主透过他们与附庸国讲话。先知偶尔因为以色列遵从契约而称赞他们，但是，他们的主要讯息是为了人们不断违反契约而作出警告，不守约会带来愤怒的神的攻击。

旧约先知书中这个看法非常明显，不用再作强调。先知是神的使者。他们在附庸国以色列面前代表神这位大宗主。只有当我们记住这个基本立约模式的时候，我们才能够了解先知为神所做的工作。

以赛亚书第6章是个耳熟能详的故事，这个故事非常清楚地说明了使者模式的重要性。虽然在这章里没有明确地提及契约，但是先知作为王的使者和契约检察官的概念，引导了以赛亚书第6章的整体陈述。以赛亚在起头的五节经文中领受了异象。在这异象中，他看见神坐在天上的宝座上。在以赛亚书第6章1节里，先知报道说他看见神

坐在高高的宝座上。他的衣裳垂下，遮满圣殿。（以赛亚书第6章1节）

当以赛亚当面看到这情况的时候，他在第5节中这样惊叹地说：

「我眼见大君王万军之耶和华。」 （以赛亚书第6章５节）

这个段落明确地指出先知是多么的了解神。神是他子民的王，他作宗主、作王，他坐在至高的宝座上接受敬拜。先知有特权进入到神圣宗主的同在里。

即使如此，我们必须问为什么以赛亚被邀请去看神宝座荣耀的异象呢？以赛亚立刻知道原因的所在。以赛亚看着他宗主的宝座，在第6章5节里说：

「祸哉！我灭亡了！因为我是嘴唇不洁的人，又住在嘴唇不洁的民中。」（以赛亚书第6章5节）

以赛亚被呼召到神圣宗主的同在中的原因，是因为罪在附庸国家中严重地撒播蔓延。这是在旧约中一般先知被呼召的原因。神子民远离跟他们立了约的主，不再忠诚，因此，神呼召他的先知去执行契约。

在第6章第6和7节里，撒拉弗来到以赛亚跟前，以灼热的煤炭清洁他的嘴唇。这洗涤的过程使以赛亚能够服侍神，当神的发言人。再下来在第8至13节中，以赛亚接受委派去执行契约。在第6章8节里，主说：

「我可以差遣谁呢？谁肯为我们去呢？」（以赛亚书第6章8节）

主要差派一个人到以色列作他的使者。以赛亚以我们都很熟悉的字句回答说：「我在这里，请差遣我。」以赛亚接受他的呼召，就如被大宗主差派到以色列国那样。以赛亚书剩下的部分说明了先知怎样担任这个角色。他与国王、其他的领袖和国民说话。他谴责他们违反契约，并凭着契约的祝福为神的子民提供希望。在以赛亚书第6章里描绘的形式在其他的旧约预言中也常常出现。先知是坐在宝座上的大宗主的使者，他们把讯息带到附庸国以色列去。

五、总结

在这一课里我们通过看了先知的工作，从而探索先知的经历。我们看了他们领受的许多职称，也研究了先知的职称在以色列的历史中如何发展和改变。最后，我们看了决定先知工作的基本期望。

我们对于旧约先知书仍然有许多困惑的地方，如果我们记住他们的职称、他们所经历的过渡期和神期望先知如何代表他所立的约去说话，我们就已经能够避免其中许多混乱的地方。如果我们记住有关先知的这些要点， 那么我们就能够在今日的世界中应用他们的话。

He Gave Us Prophets: A Prophet's Job

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INTRODUCTION

In my culture, when two people meet each other for the first time, the first thing they do is to exchange names. But very soon they usually ask this question: "What job do you do?" In many respects, that's what we're going to be asking about prophets in this lesson. We want to ask: "What kind of job did Old Testament prophets do?"

We have entitled this lesson "A Prophet's Job." As we explore the job of a prophet, we will look at three items: first, the job titles of prophets; second, the job transitions — the changes that took place in prophecy — and then finally the job expectations of prophets — what God expected his prophets to do.

Let's begin this lesson by exploring the job titles of Old Testament prophets.

JOB TITLES

In everyday life we call people by many titles; in fact, we might call the very same person by many different titles. For example, we might call one man a pastor, an athlete, a musician. Why? Because people do all sorts of things in life. Well, in the Old Testament, the same kind of thing is true about Old Testament prophets. They're called by many different titles.

To explore the titles that the Old Testament uses for prophets we're going to look at two basic categories. First, we'll look at the primary term used for prophet in the Bible. And second, we'll take a look at an assortment of secondary terms which the Bible uses to designate this office. Let's look first at the primary term for prophets.

Primary Term

When most English-speaking Christians hear the word "prophet," they tend to think that a prophet is someone who simply predicts the future, much like a fortune-teller or a psychic. It's true that prophets in the Old Testament foretold the future, but their role was much broader than this. In fact, we get a clue that even the English word "prophet" has the potential of meaning more than someone who simply predicts the future.

English speakers get their term "prophet" from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. We often don't realize it, but the Greek word prophetes from which we derive our English word "prophet" is a rather flexible term. This term combines two elements. The second element of the Greek word prophetes is phetes and it denotes the concept of speaking. It suggests that prophets did a lot of talking and writing. This is plain enough, but the first element of prophetes, pro, may point in two directions. On the one hand it may mean to "speak beforehand" or "predict," and on the other hand, it may simply mean to "speak forth" or to "proclaim" something that is not even a prediction at all. A prophet then can be someone who predicts or simply someone who proclaims. In reality, Old Testament prophets did both. They spoke of the future, but they also spoke boldly about their own days. The basic title "prophet" points to the variety of jobs that these people performed.

When we look at the Hebrew Old Testament, we discover that the term "prophet" had an even broader meaning. The Greek word prophetes is the term used in the Septuagint to translate a particular Hebrew term, nabi. From parallels to other languages of the ancient Near East, we know that the term nabi means a "called person." It's a very flexible term, simply indicating that a prophet was someone who was called by God. They were not ordinary people; God called them out for many special services.

In addition to the primary designation of a prophet as a nabi, a number of secondary terms also come to be associated with the office of prophet in the Old Testament. We'll take a look at several of these important secondary terms.

Secondary Terms

In the first place, prophets were also frequently designated by the term ebed, or servant. Many different kinds of people were called servants in the Old Testament, and the term always indicates some kind of subservience and humility. But this title is important for prophets, because it often bore the connotations of an official or an officer, especially an officer of a royal court. Even Israel's kings are called servants of God because they were the vassal kings who held official positions in God's heavenly, royal courts.

Prophets play special roles in God's royal court. They served as representatives of the heavenly throne. They were official servants who spoke in the name of the Great King. This is why Daniel confessed that it was Israel's great sin to ignore the prophets. Listen to the way he spoke in Daniel 9:6:

We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name (Daniel 9:6).

The prophets were not ordinary people. They represented the throne of heaven as servants of the royal court of God.

Beyond this, two closely related Hebrew words point to another special role which prophets played. The Hebrew term ro'eh means "seer" and is closely associated with the term hozeh which means a "seer" or an "observer." According to 1 Samuel 9:9 prophets were first called seers before the rise of kingship in Israel. Formerly in Israel, the prophet of today used to be called a seer. In a similar way, 2 Samuel 24:11 tells us that Gad, who was a prophet of David's time, was also known as a hozeh, or a seer —

The word of the Lord [came] to Gad the prophet, David's seer (2 Samuel 24:11).

What do these titles for a prophet suggest about their job? These designations pointed to a very important experience which prophets often had as they received God's word. The prophets are called seers because they were given the privilege of looking into the heavenly places. In the book of 2 Chronicles, the prophet Micaiah ben-Imla was challenged to explain his prophecy. In response, Micaiah described a vision of heaven that he had received. In 2 Chronicles 18:18-19, we read the prophet's description of what he saw in heaven:

I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing on his right and on his left. And the Lord said, "Who will [lure] Ahab, King of Israel, into attacking …?" One suggested this, and another that (2 Chronicles 18:18-19).

This is a remarkable passage, showing why prophets were called seers. They looked into the heavenly realms. They heard God speak. They watched actions take place. They interacted with God in the heavenly places. And as we learn about the prophets, it's important to remember that these kinds of heavenly experiences were central to their ministries.

Another term occasionally used for prophets is the Hebrew word tsōpheh, or a "watchman," "one who keeps guard." This metaphor compared prophets with the service of a normal watchman in ancient Israel. Cities in the ancient world had watchmen who scanned the horizon for expected and unexpected visitors. Prophets did the same by watching out for enemies and watching for the approach of God in blessing and in judgment. For example, in Ezekiel 3:17, God spoke to the prophet Ezekiel in this way:

Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me (Ezekiel 3:17).

In biblical times, advanced warning of an enemy's approach or a friend's visit was important to the affairs of a city. God revealed that his prophets often watched for impending doom and approaching blessings so that the people could have opportunity to prepare themselves. Prophets looked out and saw what was coming in dreams and in visions, and then they turned to the people and announced what was on the horizon.

Prophets were also occasionally designated by the Hebrew word mal'ak which means "messenger." In the ancient world of the Old Testament there were no telephones, no e-mail, no televisions. The only way to communicate over long distances was through human messengers, and messengers received a communique from one person, often a king or a military general, and would bear that message to its recipients. Very often messengers were used when it was urgent to communicate. The Old Testament designates prophets by this term because they received messages from God and bore those urgent communications to the people of God. For instance, when some Judahites returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile, they were tremendously discouraged. So, the Lord called Haggai, the prophet, and sent him with a message. For this reason, Haggai 1:13 speaks of the prophet in this way:

Then Haggai, the Lord's messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: "I am with you," declares the Lord (Haggai 1:13).

The designation of "messenger" makes it clear that prophets did not bring their own ideas to the people of God. On the contrary, they served as Yahweh's envoys and spoke on the behalf of God.

Finally, we should mention that prophets were sometimes called 'ish 'elohim, a "man of God." The designation "man of God" may also be translated "man from God." This title pointed to the special sacred role which prophets had. They were selected and sent by God. As such, prophets had special protection from God, and they had special authorization. In 2 Kings 1:12 the prophet Elijah revealed the significance of this term. There we read:

"If I am a man of God . . . may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men (2 Kings 1:12).

Elijah's divine authorization is demonstrated by a miraculous display of fire against those who opposed the prophet. Elijah was no ordinary man. He was sent from God. God was on his side.

So we have seen that Old Testament prophets had many designations and titles. Our survey has only touched on a handful of these various titles that are used in the Old Testament. But we can see one thing clearly — prophets were much more than what most people think. They were not mere psychics or fortune-tellers. They had a variety of titles because they had a variety of services. And if we want to understand Old Testament prophecy, we have to broaden our idea of what a prophet is.

JOB TRANSITIONS

So far we've looked at a variety of job titles that Old Testament prophets bore. Now we should turn to our second topic: what transitions took place in the prophet's job? I've had lots of jobs in my life, and there has been one thing that's been true about every single one of them — they've all changed. I've worked for a while and the next thing I know, the job is different than it was before. Well, something similar is true of Old Testament prophets. They had a job to do, but as the history of the Bible developed, their jobs went through transitions.

To understand how the job of Old Testament prophets went through transitions, it helps to think of prophecy in four historical stages: the pre-monarchical period — the time before kings arose in Israel; the monarchical period; the exilic period — the time of exile from the land; and the post-exilic period — when Israel returned from exile.

Pre-Monarchy

Let's look first at prophets during the pre-monarchical period. When we explore the times before there was a king in Israel, it's easy to see several features of prophecy. First, there were relatively few prophets during this time. The term nabi does not appear very often in the books of Genesis to Judges. There are less than twenty references in these books, and some of them concern future prophets to come. So there were very few prophets during the early times before there was a king.

Beyond this, during the pre-monarchical period, prophets exhibited a wide variety of relatively informal services. Much of their work seems to have been temporary, designed for particular situations and particular times. The term nabi is used in the pre-monarchical period to signify a wide variety of people doing many different things.

Monarchy

Leaving behind the early period of biblical history before there were kings in Israel, we come upon a dramatic shift in Old Testament prophecy. The monarchical period brought many changes to the nation of Israel, including changes in the role of prophets. In contrast to the pre-monarchical period, prophets appear in large numbers during this time. Time and again we read of this prophet and that prophet in books like Samuel and Kings and Chronicles. In fact, there are more prophets in the Bible during this period of time than any other.

Along with the increase in the number of prophets during the monarchical times, prophecy also became much more formal. With the rise of kingship, God gave prophets the job of focusing on the actions of kings and making sure that they were obedient to the Law of Moses. Although God wanted Israel to have a human king, he also knew that fallen human kings would present a serious danger to the nation. Human beings simply do not know how to handle lots of power. They usually become corrupt and abuse those who are under their authority.

In the case of Israel's history, when kings became corrupt, it was very dangerous because their actions often brought judgment from God on the whole nation. For this reason, Moses laid down a number of restrictions on the power of kings. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20 Moses sets forth a number of restrictions on the kings of Israel: Israel must only have a king whom the Lord chooses. The king must be from among your brothers — in other words, an Israelite. The king must not acquire great numbers of horses. He must not return to Egypt. The king must not take many wives — and by this Moses probably meant many foreign wives. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. The king must write for himself a copy of the Law of Moses. And the king must read the law all the days of his life. He must follow carefully all the words of the Law of Moses. And he must not consider himself better than his brothers.

Of course, as soon as we read the history of the kings of Israel, we discover that they did not observe the restrictions that Moses laid upon them. And so God sent prophets to witness against the disobedience of kings and the people who followed them. The prophets held a formal office to check the power of kings. We can see this close association of prophets and kings on many pages of the Bible. Nathan the prophet stood before David. Oded prophesied to Ahaz. Elijah critiqued Ahab.

Now, needless to say, not every prophet actually served officially in the royal court. Many true prophets were rejected by kings of their day. But whether in the courts themselves or in the streets of the cities, prophets of the monarchical period held kings and other officials accountable to God's law. They served God at this time by pointing out when kings and officials violated the law of God.

So it is that during the monarchical period, we see a rise of many prophets, and we also see a more formal function for prophets as they served the Lord in the courts of kings.

Exile

Now that we've seen some of the developments in prophecy from the pre-monarchical to the monarchical period, we should turn our attention to the period of the exile. What happened to prophecy during the exile? Well, in 722 B.C. northern Israel's capital of Samaria fell to the Assyrians. And in 586 B.C. Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Vast numbers of God's people were taken from their land and exiled to other nations. During this time, two features characterized the prophets' ministries. First, there was a numerical decrease of prophets. There were not many prophets who were prominent enough to have their prophecies recorded in the Bible. Daniel and Ezekiel, for example, are the best known of the very few prophets during this time.

Of course, along with the exile was the demise of Israel's kingship, and for this reason prophets' service to God became much more diverse and informal again. For the most part, true prophets of God spent their time explaining the exile and instructing God's people about the possibility of return to the land. So we can see that during the exile there were fewer prophets, and they concerned themselves much less with the kings of Israel.

Post-Exile

After the period of exile, we come to those few generations who saw prophetic activity in the post-exilic period. The early post-exilic leader, Zerubbabel, began to revive the nation. The potential for a re-instituted monarchy arose. As a result, two things happened to prophecy. The numbers of prophets remained relatively few, but there was some very important activity that took place among the prophets. Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi are the important prophets that we know from this period.

Prophets began to move slightly back toward a more formal role again. Zerubbabel became the governor of Judah, and hopes were put in him as the upcoming monarch. As a result, Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the officials of Israel to rebuild the temple. Malachi rebuked the officials and the people of the restored community for continuing to rebel against God. During the entire post-exilic period the prophets kept watch on the leaders and the general population as well to encourage them to be faithful to God.

So it was that prophecy became more or less prominent and more or less formal as the institution of monarchy rose and fell. As we explore the words of particular prophets, we must always be mindful of whether we are in the pre-monarchical, the monarchical, exilic, or post-exilic periods. These transitions in the prophets' job will help provide us with an orientation toward understanding their words.

JOB EXPECTATIONS

So far, we have seen the various titles given to prophets, and the ways prophecy developed in the history of Israel. At this point, we'll take a look at the expectations of a prophet's job. What did God expect prophets to do? To explore this topic we'll take a look at two subjects: first, popular models of expectations which many interpreters of the Bible apply to prophets, and second, the covenant model which the Bible itself gives as the standard of a prophet's job expectation.

Popular Models

Let's look first at some assorted models that have been used to describe what God expected his prophets to do. Throughout the history of interpretation, Jews and Christians alike have understood the roles of prophets in different ways. Some of these models touch on aspects of the truth, but they still fall short of providing a comprehensive model for what God wanted his prophets to be.

Medium/Shaman

Many interpreters have compared Old Testament prophets with mediums of other cultures. Much like the Oracle of Delphi or mediums of other Ancient Near Eastern cultures, prophets have been seen as men who gain access to God and deliver his responses to personal questions and prayers. Now, I think we have to admit that prophets did play this kind of role in the Bible from time to time, but as we will see this outlook is not adequate for a comprehensive model of what prophets were expected to do.

Fortune Teller

Another popular idea of what prophets did in the Old Testament is that they were fundamentally predictors of the future, or fortune-tellers. When someone wanted to know what would happen next, they would go to a prophet to find out. Again, there's some truth in this outlook because prophets did often predict what was going to happen in the future. God gave them insights and they proclaimed these insights to the appropriate people. Yet we must be careful not to think of fortune-telling as the heart of Old Testament prophecy. Something much larger and more significant was expected of Old Testament prophets.

Covenant Model

These popular models for prophecy can help us in some ways, but they also obscure the most fundamental expectation God had for his prophets. The most comprehensive model which the Old Testament uses to describe prophecy is a covenant model. As we begin to explore the covenant model for prophecy, we must remember that for centuries Jews and Christians have recognized that covenant is a central concept in the Bible.

But our understanding of the biblical idea of covenant has improved through the years. So, we must begin by thinking about past understandings of covenant and then more contemporary understandings.

Past Understandings

Past understandings of covenant have functioned well, but with very little idea of the historical context out of which the Bible's concept of covenant grew. We have not known much about the Ancient Near Eastern contexts of Old Testament covenants until recently. So, theologians have had little choice other than to read their own ideas of covenant into the Bible. Usually, they read Old Testament covenants in terms of Roman law or contemporary legal arrangements. For instance, when we hear that a covenant is an agreement between two or more persons, as is often said, this formulation, or other similar formulations, are not entirely wrong, but is a bit too vague to help us much.

Contemporary Understandings

In the past, theologians understood covenant in this general way because they could do no better.

But our contemporary understanding of covenant is much fuller than these past formulations. In recent decades many important archaeological discoveries have helped us make breakthroughs in our understanding of covenants in the Old Testament. These breakthroughs put us in a better position to understand how covenant established the job expectations of Old Testament prophets. Ancient Near Eastern discoveries have demonstrated that the Old Testament often describes God's relationship with Israel in ways that were very similar to the political treaties that existed in the ancient world. Throughout the ancient world of the Middle East, international treaties often existed between one nation and another. Although there was a variety in the way these treaties were formed, there was also consistency so that people throughout the region understood how these treaties worked. For this reason, the Lord related to Israel in covenants that paralleled these Ancient Near Eastern treaties in many ways.

In biblical times, treaties were often established between nations of equal status, and we call these treaties parity treaties. For example, a treaty between the Egyptian and Assyrian empires might have been between equals at certain periods in history. But more often, treaties in the ancient world were agreements between a great emperor and a lesser king of a city or a small nation. For instance, several times kings of Canaanite city-states made treaties with the great Egyptian empire. These kinds of treaties are known as suzerain-vassal treaties. The term "suzerain" simply means the "czar" or the "emperor," and the vassal means, of course, the servants of that great emperor. The suzerains, or great emperors, established the rules of the relationship and provided protection and care. In return, the vassals or servant states showed loyalty to the suzerain by paying taxes and by supporting his war efforts.

One important feature of these suzerain-vassal treaties was the special role which the emperors gave to representatives, or emissaries. Suzerains often sent emissaries, or ambassadors, who reminded the vassal nations of the terms of their treaties. These emissaries would act as covenant treaty prosecutors. They tried to get the vassal states to comply with the terms of their arrangements, but often they would not. Now, emperors were very patient with their servant nations, but in the end, if a vassal nation refused to listen to the words of an emissary, the great emperor would come with his military forces to defeat those smaller nations.

The function of emissaries in the Ancient Near East provided a model for Old Testament prophets. Prophets served as God's covenant emissaries, or his covenant prosecutors. They received their messages from the throne room of the Divine Emperor, and the Divine Emperor spoke to his vassal nation through them. Prophets occasionally commended Israel for complying with their covenant, but they primarily warned that continuing violations would bring the attack of a wrathful of God.

It would be difficult to overemphasize this insight into Old Testament prophecy. The prophets were God's emissaries. They represented him as the great suzerain to his vassal nation, Israel. It's only as we remember this basic covenant model that we'll ever be able to understand the job that prophets did for God.

The well-known story of Isaiah 6 illustrates the importance of this emissarial model very clearly. Though covenant is not mentioned explicitly in this chapter, the idea that prophets are covenant prosecutors — emissaries on the behalf of the great King — guides the whole presentation of Isaiah 6. In the first five verses, Isaiah received a vision. In this vision, he observed God in his heavenly throne room. In Isaiah 6:1, the prophet reported that he saw God,

… seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple (Isaiah 6:1).

When confronted by the sight, Isaiah exclaimed, in verse 5:

My eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty (Isaiah 6:5).

This passage makes explicit how the prophet understood his God. God was the king of his people, the suzerain or the emperor who was high and exalted as Lord over all. The prophet had the privilege of entering into the presence of this divine suzerain.

Even so, we have to ask why Isaiah was invited to see the glorious sight of God's throne room. He recognized why immediately. Isaiah looked at the throne of his suzerain and said this in 6:5:

Woe to me! … I am ruined! I am man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5).

Isaiah had been summoned to the presence of the divine suzerain because serious, widespread sin had taken place in the vassal nation. This is the normal reason why prophets are called in the Old Testament. The people of God wander from being faithful to their covenant Lord, and so God calls on his prophets to prosecute the covenant.

In 6:6-7 a seraph approaches Isaiah and cleanses his lips with a burning coal. This cleansing makes it possible for Isaiah to serve God as his spokesman. Then in verses 8-13 Isaiah receives a commission to prosecute the covenant. In Isaiah 6:8 the Lord says:

Whom shall I send? … who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:8).

The Lord wants someone to be his emissary to Israel, and Isaiah replies in those well-known words:

Here am I. Send me! (Isaiah 6:8).

Isaiah accepts his call as one who is sent from the great Suzerain to the vassal nation of Israel. The rest of the book of Isaiah illustrates how the prophet served in this function. He spoke to kings and other leaders and to the people. He condemned covenant violations and offered the hope of covenant blessings to the people of God. The pattern illustrated here in Isaiah 6 appears everywhere in Old Testament prophecy. Prophets were emissaries who bore messages from the great Suzerain on his heavenly throne, and they took those messages to his vassal nation, Israel.

CONCLUSION

In this lesson we have explored the prophets' experience by looking at their job. We've seen some of the many job titles that they've received, and we've also explored how the office of prophet developed and changed through Israel's history. Finally, we've looked into the basic expectations that governed the job of a prophet.

There's a lot of confusion out there about Old Testament prophets, and we can avoid a lot of that confusion if we will just remember their job titles, the transitions they went through, and the expectation that God had of prophets that they would represent his covenants. If we remember these things about prophets, we'll be able to apply their word to our world today.

Dr. Richard L. Pratt, Jr. (Host) is Co-Founder and President of Third Millennium Ministries. He served as Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary for more than 20 years and was chair of the Old Testament department. An ordained minister, Dr. Pratt travels extensively to evangelize and teach. He studied at Westminster Theological Seminary, received his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary, and earned his Th.D. in Old Testament Studies from Harvard University. Dr. Pratt is the general editor of the NIV Spirit of the Reformation Study Bible and a translator for the New Living Translation. He has also authored numerous articles and books, including Pray with Your Eyes Open, Every Thought Captive, Designed for Dignity, He Gave Us Stories, Commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles and Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians.