The Hebrew word nabi (pl., nebi'im) refers primarily to a person who speaks forth the words commanded him by God. In so much as God is all-knowing, He may command to his spokeman things regarding the future, in which case the 'forth-telling' would also then contain an element of 'fore-telling.' 'Fore-telling,' however, is not the primary element in prophecy. The analogy that classically illustrates the meaning of prophecy is Exo 6:28-7:2:
Now when the Lord spoke to Moses in Egypt, he said to him, "I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you." But Moses said to the Lord, "Since I speak with faltering lips, why would Pharaoh listen to me?" Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country.
In saying this to Moses, God defines the meaning of the prophet; he is simply someone who speaks on behalf of another who exercises final authority over his words. The office of being a prophet, a spokeman for God, is, therefore, taken seriously in the Bible, and false prophets, those who presume to speak in His name when they have not been appointed to do so, were to be put to death (Deut 18:20; Jer 28, esp., vv.15-17).
1 Sam 9:9 uncovers an interesting note about the prophet in Israel's history: the prophets (nabi'im) was formerly known as a 'seer' (ro'eh): "Formerly in Israel, if a man went to inquire of God, he would say, 'Come, let us go to the seer,' because the prophet of today used to be called a seer."
Many Bible-teachers, esp., within "charismatic cicle," believe that, with Samuel, there came into existences so-called "schools of prophets," and not a few have sought to establish their—often dynastic—versions of such "schools." The idea for such "schools of prophets" come from a number of verses (see, e.g., 1 Sam 19:18-24, 2 Ki 2:3-5; 4:38-44) reporting gatherings of "sons of prophets." It is, however, a stretch to accept that like-spirited prophets would gather together for ministry and fellowship to conjuring up "schools of prophets." These verses say too little about those "sons of prophets" to enable anyone to say anything certain about them. One website (BibleAsk.org), e.g., avers, under the subtitle, "The Curriculum" of such "school of the prophets," the following:
The chief subjects of study in these schools were the law of God, with the instruction given to Moses (Leviticus 10:11), sacred history (Joel 1:3), and sacred music (1 Samuel 10:5). In addition, the students were taught a trade to help them be self-supportive. A rabbinical proverb taught the Jewish families, “He who does not teach his son a trade teaches him to be a thief.” Every youth, whether his parents were rich or poor, was taught some kind of a trade.
Thus, even the pupils in the schools of the prophets had to be educated both for holy office and for practical life work. Following this example is Paul, who studied at the school of Rabbis. He learned the trade of tent making. Because of his trade, Paul was prepared to earn his livelihood in Corinth as he had done in Thessalonica. In this way, he protected himself against any accusation of self-interest in teaching God's truth among the Greeks (1 Cor. 9:15-19; 2 Cor. 11:7-13; 1 Thess. 2:9).
This claim, confident as it is, is, unfortunately, built upon a montage of ideas gleaned from diparate passages of Scriptures. The "sons of prophets" may well have done such things. And then they may not. There is nothing anywhere in the Bible to affirm such things one way or another. It is wise, therefore, not to be too dogmatic about them.
NB: A fuller article exploring the subject of prophets and prophecy in the Bible is being prepared.
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