Who are the prophets mentioned in the Bible? A prophet in the biblical record is a person uniquely called and commissioned to speak on behalf of God. Throughout Scripture, prophets serve as God’s mouthpiece to His people, proclaiming His will, warning of impending judgment, and offering hope of redemption.
God spoke through prophets in both ancient and modern times. This list of Old Testament prophets details the identity and scriptural sources for them.
Throughout the pages of Scripture, from the earliest books of the Old Testament to the final chapters of Revelation, prophets in the Bible stand as towering figures who shaped the course of human history.
Since there is one God, a true prophet must necessarily be a prophet of this God. The word, however, might be used of one who pretended or actually believed that he was a mouthpiece of God or some other god. Prophets and prophecy are designated in the OT by a number of different terms.
Chronological timeline of Old Testament prophets from Jonah to Malachi, set against the history of Israel, Judah, and surrounding empires.
God sent prophets throughout history to guide and warn His people. As often happens with humans, they turned their backs and didn’t follow the instructions and warnings.
In the Old Testament history books (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah), prophets such as Deborah, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, Elisha, Huldah, and others came forward to speak God’s word to a rebellious people.
In the first place, the prophets are God’s messengers. The prophets communicate their messenger role by often starting their report of God’s speech with “thus says the Lord” (hundreds of times in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) or “decree of Yahweh” (also hundreds of times).