Prophets of the Old Testament before 800 B.C.
If you ask someone today what biblical prophets did, they will likely tell you that they divinely foretold of future events. While this was often the case, most prophets in the Bible focused as much on “forthtelling” God’s messages as they did on “foretelling” the future. That is, their primary role was to simply “forthtell” divinely acquired messages to leaders and groups of people, and at times that included foretelling of coming judgment, blessing, rescue, etc. Also, though plenty of prophets (sometimes called “seers” in Scripture) often spoke in confrontational or eccentric language that put them at odds with kings and religious leaders, the biblical writers also applied the term prophet to people who communicated God’s messages in ways that many readers today might not think of as prophecy, such as worship leaders appointed by David to “prophesy with lyres, harps, and cymbals” (1 Chronicles 25:1). Similarly, the books of Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings are typically categorized as history by Christians, but in the Hebrew canon they belong to the category of Former Prophets. The Lord raised up prophets throughout all of biblical history, from the giving of the law under Moses to the revelation of the last days by the apostle John, and the kings of Israel and Judah often recognized and supported specific people as official prophets of the royal court and consulted them to find out God’s perspective about official matters. Following is a list of nearly everyone designated as prophet or seer in the Old Testament and the primary area of their ministry.
• Deborah (1216 B.C.) [Judges 4:4] => Baal-tamar?
• Samuel (1070 B.C.) [1 Samuel 3:20; 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 35:18] => Ramah
• Gad (1018 B.C.) [2 Samuel 24:11; 1 Chronicles 21:9; 29:29; 2 Chronicles 29:25] => Masada?
• Nathan (1000 B.C.) [2 Samuel 12:1; 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 29:25] => Jerusalem
• Asaph (1000 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 29:30] => Jerusalem
• Ahijah (935 B.C.) [1 Kings 11:29; 2 Chronicles 9:29] => Jerusalem
• Shemaiah (930 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 12:2-15] => Jerusalem
• Iddo (913 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 9:29; 12:15; 13:22] => Jerusalem
• Jehu son of Hanani (890 B.C.) [1 Kings 16:1-7; 2 Chronicles 19:2] => Samaria?
• Azariah (890 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 15:1-8] => Jerusalem
• Elijah (860 B.C.) [1 Kings 18:36] => Samaria
• Micaiah (853 B.C.) [1 Kings 22:8-23; 2 Chronicles 18:7-22] => Samaria
• Jahaziel (853 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 20:14] => Jerusalem
• Eliezer (853 B.C.) [2 Chronicles 20:37] => Mareshah
• Elisha (850 B.C.) [1 Kings 19:16; 2 Kings 2:15] => Samaria
• Joel (835 B.C.) [Joel 1:1] => Jerusalem
Temple of the Lord
The Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, where all Israelite males were commanded to offer sacrifices to the Lord (Exodus 23:14-19; Deuteronomy 16:16-17), underwent several stages of reconstruction and development over hundreds of years. The first Temple was built by King Solomon to replace the aging Tabernacle, and it was constructed on a threshing floor on high ground on the north side of the city (2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21). Hundreds of years later King Hezekiah expanded the platform surrounding the Temple. When Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C., the Temple was completely destroyed (2 Kings 25:1-21; 2 Chronicles 36:17-21; Jeremiah 39:1-10; 52:1-30). It was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after a group of Jews returned to Judea from exile in Babylon (Ezra 1:5-6:15; Nehemiah 7:5-65). Herod the Great completely rebuilt and expanded the Temple once again around 20 B.C., making it one of the largest temples in the Roman world. Jesus’ first believers often met together in Solomon’s Colonnade, a columned porch that encircled the Temple Mount, perhaps carrying on a tradition started by Jesus himself (John 10:23; Acts 3:11; 5:12). But Herod’s Temple did not last long: After many Jews revolted against Rome, the Romans eventually recaptured Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in A.D. 70.