PROPHETIC

BOOKS OF

THE BIBLEThe Prophetic Books Address the Classical Period of Biblical Prophecy

There have been prophets throughout every era of God's relationship

with mankind, but the books of the prophets address the "classical"

period of prophecy—during the later years of the divided kingdoms

of Judah and Israel, throughout the time of exile, and into the years

of Israel's return from exile.

The Prophetic Books were written from the days of Elijah (874-

853 B.C.) until the time of Malachi (400 B.C.).

Prophetic Books of the Bible

MAJOR

P

R

O

P

H

E

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S

*Isaiah

*Jeremiah

*Ezekiel

*Daniel

MINOR

P

R

O

P

H

E

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S

*Hosea

*Joel

*Amos

*Obadiah

*Jonah

*Micah

*Nahum

*Habakkuk

*Zephaniah

*Haggai

*Zechariah

*Malachi

*Lamentations

Isaiah (sometimes spelled as: Esaias)

Isaiah, the son of Amoz, was married and had two children. He was called in the year King Uzziah died (740 BC). His ministry was a

long one, during the reign of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Isaiah, means "Yah is salvation".

Isaiah was sent primarily to Judah, although his message concerns the northern kingdom of Israel as well. He lived through the

awful days of the civil war between Israel and Judah in 734 - 732 BC.

Isaiah is considered by some to be the greatest of all Old Testament prophets, his disciples continued to transmit his

teachings long after he died. Isaiah also looked beyond his own time to the coming exile of Judah and the deliverance that God

would provide. Jesus quoted from the book of Isaiah often, which is not surprising, considering that salvation is a central

theme in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah’s book is the first of the Major Prophets, and the longest of all the Prophets.

Jeremiah (Jeremy)

Jeremiah lived about 2600 years ago. He was the son of Hilkiah and lived in the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin in Judah.

Jeremiah, according to the Bible book that bears his name, preached from about 628 BC to 586 BC in Jerusalem. During that time, the Babylonian Empire had taken control of Jerusalem. The Babylonians took Jews as

captives to Babylon as early as 605 BC and 597 BC. Babylon destroyed Jerusalem in 586 BC..

Jeremiah warned the people of Jerusalem that they would be punished harshly for their sins. He pleaded with the people to turn away from sin and to turn back to God, but to little avail. In return, Jeremiah was targeted with scorn

and persecution.

When the people of Jerusalem were being deported, Jeremiah was given a choice of either staying in Judah or going to Babylon. He chose to stay in Judah, but was compelled later to flee to Egypt after a group of fanatics killed the Babylonian who had been appointed governor of Judah. It is

believed that Jeremiah died in Egypt.

The book of Jeremiah is the second of the four Major Prophets.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel lived about 2600 years ago, during the time that the Babylonian Empire had subdued the nation of Judah and had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He was the son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest. He received his call as a prophet during the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel's

ministry lasted about 22 years.

Ezekiel's prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem caused friction among the Jews who were with him in Babylon. But, when his prophecies came

true, people began to listen to him more intently. Ezekiel's wife died during the day that the Babylonians began their siege of Jerusalem. This siege

began in about 586 BC, after Ezekiel and others had been taken as captives to Babylon. The siege ended with the destruction of Jerusalem

and of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Ezekiel was very much a shepherd and a watchman for the nation of Israel. As a shepherd, he protected the people. And as a watchman, he warned of

dangers ahead.

Ezekiel's name means "God strengthens." The Bible's book of Ezekiel is the third of the four Major Prophets.

Daniel

The Bible's book of Daniel deals with many historical events of that era. His book also contains prophecies concerning the future. Daniel saw and described the great world empires that were to come. He also saw the power of God and of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) who was to come and

undo the evil of this world.

The book of Daniel is divided into two parts. The first part is a collection of narratives about Daniel and his friends (Chapters 1 - 6). The second part is

a collection of apocalyptic visions foreseeing the course of world history (Chapters 7 - 12).

After a three-year training period in Babylon, Daniel was found to be smarter than all of the skilled magicians and wise astrologers in Babylon, and was

appointed as a counselor to King Nebuchadnezzar.

Daniel stayed true to God and prayed three times a day. He refused to bow to idols, and would not eat the food or drink the wine furnished by the King. He ate only vegetables and drank water. Through his faithfulness, God

gave him the power to interpret dreams, see into the future, and God gave him a long life.

The name Daniel means "God is my judge." His book is the fourth book of the four Major Prophets.

Hosea

Hosea is the first of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.

The Book of Hosea was written in the Northern Kingdom in the eighth century BC, during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC).

The Book reveals the personality of the prophet, an emotional man who in a moment could swing from violent anger to the

deepest tenderness.

Hosea parallels his own tragic marriage to his unfaithful wife Gomer to that of the covenant between God and Israel. Israel

has been unfaithful through idolatry and oppression of the poor. Hoseas refers to Israel under the names of "Ephraim," its largest

tribe, and "Samaria," its capital. God promises chastisement, which would make Israel seek God once again. The prophecy of Hosea was realized when the Northern Kingdom was crushed by

the Assyrians in 722 BC.

Joel

Joel is the second of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.

Joel was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the

period of the Divided Kingdom (930-722 BC). Joel identified himself

as the son of Pethuel, preached to the people of Judah, and

expressed a great deal of interest in Jerusalem. Joel also made

several comments on the priests and the temple, indicating a

familiarity with the center of worship in Judah (Joel 1:13–14; 2:14,

17). Joel often drew upon natural imagery—the sun and the moon,

the grass and the locusts—and in general seemed to understand

the reality that truth must have an impact on us in the real world.

The Book of Joel is apocalyptic in nature, referring to the "Day of the

Lord.“ Joel’s book gives some of the most striking and specific

details in all of Scripture about the day of the Lord—days cloaked

in darkness, armies that conquer like consuming fire, and the moon

turning to blood.

Amos

Amos is the third of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.

Amos was a prophet during the reign of Jeroboam Joash(Jeroboam II), ruler of Israel from 793 BCE to 753 BCE, and the reign of Uzziah, King of Judah, at a time when

both kingdoms (Israel in the North and Judah in the South) were peaking in prosperity. He was a

contemporary of the prophet Hosea, but likely preceded him. Amos also made it a point that before his calling he

was a simple husbandman and that he was not a "professional" prophet of the prophetic guild.

The Prophet Amos lived in the Eighth Century BC in the Northern Kingdom of Israel, during the peaceful reign of Jeroboam, and is the first Prophet to have a Book of the

Bible named after him.

Obadiah

Obadiah literally means “Servant of the Lord.” This was

one of the most common names in the Hebrew Bible.

This book, the shortest among the twelve minor prophets,

is a single twenty-one-verse oracle against Edom.

Nothing is known of the author, although his prophecy

against Edom, a neighbor and rival of Israel, indicates a

date of composition sometime after the Babylonian

destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C., when the

Edomites apparently took advantage of the helpless

people of Judah and Jerusalem (v. 11; Ps 137:7). The

relations and rivalries between Israel and Edom are

reflected in oracles against Edom (Is 34; Ez 35) and in

the stories of their ancestors, the brothers Jacob and

Esau (Gn 25–33).

Jonah

Jonah is the fifth of the twelve prophets in the Book of the

Twelve.

The prophet Jonah, son of Amittai, is mentioned in II Kings

14:25, during the reign of Jeroboam II (786-746 BC) of

Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Jonah was a disobedient

prophet, who ran away rather than perform God's

mission. He is punished, but prays and receives God's

abundant mercy, and carries out his mission to Nineveh,

Assyria. When he becomes upset over God's mercy to

Israel's enemy, Nineveh, God teaches him a lesson.

Jonah and the whale is a favorite story among children.

The story is a parable of mercy. It may be read as an

allegory, one of sin and repentance, of God's loving

mercy and forgiveness.

MicahMicah lived about 2750 years ago, in about 750 BC, during the time of

Isaiah. He lived in a small town (Moresheth) south of Jerusalem. He

was a contemporary of Isaiah, but it is not known if the two had ever

met.

Micah predicted the downfall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the

Temple, which were fulfilled by the Babylonian destruction of

Jerusalem and the Temple in about 586 BC and again by the

Romans in 70 AD. The Temple has not been rebuilt since that

destruction.

Micah has a handful of famous prophecies including the coming of the

Messiah (5:2-4), and that the humble little town of Bethlehem, not

Jerusalem, would be the birthplace of the Messiah.

Micah, means "Who is like Yah?" implying "there is none like Yah".

Micah was the first prophet to foresee Jerusalem's destruction as a

punishment for the city's sins against the Lord.

The Bible's book of Micah is the sixth of the books of the twelve minor

prophets.

Nahum

Nahum lived about 2600 years ago. He was a native of Elkosh (about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem). The Bible's book of Nahum is

short in length and consists almost entirely of a prophecy of Nineveh's destruction. Nahum explains that because of Assyria's

pride and cruelty in their destruction of Israel, and because of their idolatry, treachery, superstition, and injustice, their empire would be

destroyed as punishment. In 612 BC (about 2600 years ago), a coalition of Babylonians, Scythians and Medes conquered Nineveh.

As we can see today, Nahum was right. Nineveh was never again a world power. And today, it is little more than an archaeological site. In contrast, Israel is again a nation, and a relatively prosperous one

at that.

God's holiness, justice and power are the foundation of the Nahum's prophetic book.

Nahum, means "Comforted". His book is the seventh of the twelve minor prophets.

Habbakkuk

Habakkuk is the eighth of the twelve prophets in the Book of the Twelve.

Habakkuk was a prophet in the Kingdom of Judah, and the prophecy dates from about 600 BC, just prior to

the Babylonian capture of Jerusalem.

Habakkuk is unique in that for the first time a man questions the fairness of God's management of the

world - is it really fair how those who are evil seem to win out over the righteous? Chapter Two is the Divine response - that in time the wicked will be punished,

that it is for us to be patient in our endurance. Chapter Three is Habakkuk's hymn of praise.

Zephaniah

The book opens with the announcement of the Day of

the Lord, which is characterized as a day of massive,

even total, destruction. It is a day that reverses

creation; humans, animals, birds, and the whole world

will be swept away (1:2-3; 17-18). Officials (1:8),

persons of means (1:13), and other subgroups are

mentioned, but the chapter does not limit the

devastation to specific groups within Judah.

The name "Zephaniah" (tsephanyah; Sophonias), which

is borne by three other men mentioned in the Old

Testament, means "Yah hides," or "Yah has hidden"

or "treasured.“

It is the ninth of the twelve Minor Prophets.

Haggai

The prophet Haggai, in 520 B.C.E., urges those who have returned from Babylonian exile, including

Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the governor, to rebuild the temple of the Lord in

Jerusalem. Haggai blames their lack of prosperity on the fact that the temple still lies in ruins while

they themselves live in paneled houses. Haggai's book ends with a prophecy for Zerubbabel,

a descendant of David. When the Lord defeats the nations, Zerubbabel will become like a "signet

ring" on God's hand; he will be the Lord's chosen ruler.

It is the tenth of the "minor" (or shorter) prophets, the twelve books that make up the final portion of

the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles.

Zechariah

Zechariah was a prophet in Jerusalem about 2500 years ago. During that time, many Jews were

returning from the Babylonian Captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. Even so, Zechariah's prophecies looked far into a future in which the

Jews would again be exiled from their homeland, and this time scattered worldwide.

Zechariah, the son of Iddo, was instrumental in inspiring his fellow Jews to rebuild the Temple

(see Ezra 6:14).

Zechariah, means "Yah has remembered". The Bible's book of Zechariah is the 11th book of the

twelve minor prophets.

Malachi

Malachi (or Malachias) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, written by the prophet Malachi. Possibly this

is not the name of the author, since Malachi means ‘My Messenger' or ‘My Angel' in Hebrew.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and is a book of Prophetic Oracle. It is a post-exilic book,

meaning it was written after the return from captivity in Babylon. The prophet Malachi wrote it approximately 430 B.C. Key personalities include Malachi and the priests. The purpose of this book is that Malachi wrote to ensure that the hearts of the Jews was right and that they were keeping

God first in their lives.

Lamentations

While the author of Lamentations remains nameless within the book, strong evidence from both inside and outside the

text points to the prophet Jeremiah as the author.

In addition, when the early Christian church father Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, he added a note claiming

Jeremiah as the author of Lamentations.

The original name of the book in Hebrew, ekah, can be translated “Alas!” or “How,” giving the sense of weeping or

lamenting over some sad event.1 Later readers and translators substituted in the title “Lamentations” because of

its clearer and more evocative meaning. It’s this idea of lamenting that, for many, links Jeremiah to the book. Not only does the author of the book witness the results of the recent destruction of Jerusalem, he seems to have witnessed the

invasion itself.