Prophets in the Bible: Who They Were, What They Actually Did

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

In popular culture, a prophet is frequently imagined as a mysterious figure who sees events long before they happen and announces what is to come. But in the Bible, prophecy is much broader and more demanding than fortune-telling.

So what exactly was a prophet? Who are the prophets in the Bible, and which functions did they fill? And if prophecy was once such an important feature of biblical religion, when and why did it apparently come to an end?

To answer these questions, we need to look at what the Bible itself says about prophets, how Jewish and Christian traditions have interpreted them, and what historians and biblical scholars can tell us about the world in which these remarkable figures lived.

What Is a Prophet?

The word “prophet” is a translation of the Hebrew word navi, meaning a "spokesperson" or "speaker" who delivers a message on behalf of God. The Hebrew word is likely derived, in turn, from the Akkadian verb nabû, meaning "to call, announce, or proclaim." In the Hebrew Bible, known as the Tanakh within Judaism, one of the major sections of books is called the Nevi'im or “the Prophets” (the others are the Torah—Law or Teaching—and the Ketuvim—or Writings). The meaning and function of a prophet is well-described in Deuteronomy 18:17-18:

This led medieval Jewish scholar and rabbi Samuel ben Meir (also known as Rashbam) to note that a prophet functioned as the “mouth of God.” In addition, medieval Jewish commentators offered different explanations of the word navi. Rashbam connected it with niv, ‘fruit’ or ‘utterance of the lips,’ emphasizing the prophet as one who speaks God's words. Other medieval grammarians instead treated the Hebrew root as nun-bet-aleph. Modern scholars generally regard the precise etymology as uncertain.

The English word prophet, though, comes almost directly from the Greek translation of navi, which is prophētēs, meaning “one who speaks for a god and interprets his will.” Mladen Popović notes that

This is a useful distinction for understanding the Greek origins of the word prophet. Prophets were not merely relaying word-for-word divine messages but also interpreting those messages. Both functions, the utterance and the interpretation, were generally fulfilled by the prophets of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. While modern connotations of the word often involve predicting the future—and as people in touch with the divine, prophets in the Bible are able to do this sometimes—that is not the prophet’s main function.

What Is a Prophet in the Bible?

In her commentary on the book of Jeremiah in the Jewish Study Bible, Dalit Rom-Shiloni notes that the prophetic vocation in the Hebrew Bible was highly demanding. What’s more, Rom-Shiloni points out that prophets were often opposed and faced persecution from their own people precisely for fulfilling the rigorous demands of their office. Jeremiah, for example, is told by God in 1:17–19

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In other words, prophets were often the victims of “shooting the messenger.” Rom-Shiloni notes, for instance, that in return for his faithfulness in delivering the truth of God's message, Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers (12:6), beaten and put into the stocks by Pashhur, a priest and temple official (20:1–4), imprisoned by the king (37:18), threatened with death (38:4), and thrown into a cistern by Judah's officials (38:6). Remember that Jeremiah was not simply speaking his own opinions but was literally giving the people of Judah direct messages from God.

This might make you wonder why anyone would want to be a prophet, and, in truth, the answer they often don’t. Remember that Moses, considered the most important and greatest prophet in Judaism, is highly reluctant to accept God’s call in Exodus 3, claiming that the Israelites won’t listen to him and that he isn’t a good enough public speaker to be God’s prophet:

Likewise, Jeremiah tells God “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy” (Jer 1:6), while Jonah literally runs away rather than accepting God’s call (Jonah 1:1–3). Note, though, that while Moses and Jeremiah initially object because of their perceived inadequacies, Jonah's resistance has a different motive: he does not want Nineveh to receive the mercy he knows God may show its people.

By the way, prophets in the Hebrew Bible are not always Israelites, nor are their messages always for Israelites. Non-Jewish prophets included Balaam (Numbers 22). Meanwhile, while Jonah is an Israelite prophet, God sends him to the people of Nineveh, who were Assyrians.

Now that we know a bit about the prophet’s role, let’s look more specifically at prophets in the Bible.

How Many Prophets Are in the Bible?

The number of prophets in the Bible depends on how they are classified. In fact, when people ask about prophets, they are often referring to the authors of the prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, so that’s what we’ll discuss in this article.

How many prophets in the Bible are from the Old Testament? Within ancient Jewish texts, The Talmud gives a traditional list of 48 prophets and seven prophetesses who prophesied on behalf of Israel, while explicitly acknowledging that many more prophets existed whose prophecies were not preserved. 

In Jewish tradition, it is also generally taken for granted that Malachi, as the last book, was the final prophet and that the period of prophecy ended with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (mid-5th century BCE). The Tanakh counts the Nevi'im as eight books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and the Twelve. 

The Twelve, however, contains twelve individual prophetic works, which is why Christian Bibles normally count the material as twelve separate books. For Jews, they are divided into two categories. Note that although Daniel is classified among the prophetic books in Christian Old Testaments, in the Jewish Tanakh it belongs to the Ketuvim (Writings), not the Nevi'im (Prophets).:

Former Prophets (four books): Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (counted as one book), and 1 and 2 Kings (counted as one book).

Latter Prophets (four books): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve (Hosea through Malachi, counted as one single collection).

On the other hand, Protestant Bibles contain 17 prophetic books in the Old Testament, divided into two groups:

Major Prophets (five books): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Minor Prophets (12 books): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, though, contain 18 prophetic books in the Old Testament, which are divided into six major prophetic books and 12 minor prophetic books. They add the book of Baruch, which is considered non-canonical for Protestants, to the list of major prophets. They also include deuterocanonical additions to the book of Daniel.

Meanwhile, Biblical scholars note that over 133 named people are explicitly identified or function as prophets throughout the Old and New Testaments. How many female prophets are in the Bible? We know that there are at least 16 (more on them later). In addition, many other people prophesy in the Bible without bearing the formal title of prophet, which makes a single definitive count difficult.

Major Prophets vs. Minor Prophets in the Bible

Judaism does not actually use the terms "major" and "minor" prophets. In the Tanakh, the shorter prophetic books are collectively known as The Twelve, rather than as minor prophets. The Major and Minor Prophets are divisions of the Old Testament prophetic books categorized by the length of their writing, not their importance. The prophetic books were first formally designated as "major" and "minor" prophets in the 4th century CE within the Latin-speaking Western Church, and popularized as such by Church Fathers like Hilary of Poitiers, Jerome, and Augustine of Hippo.

Who Are the 5 Major Prophets in the Bible?

There are five Major Prophets in the Bible within the Protestant Old Testament (six for Catholics and Eastern Orthodox) which feature longer texts. These include:

Who Are the Minor Prophets in the Bible?

There are twelve Minor Prophets, again just called "The Twelve" in Judaism, which feature shorter texts and specific or localized focuses.

What Did Prophets Actually Do?

Prophets had several functions in the Old Testament. First and foremost, as I noted above, they acted as the spokesperson for God. As such, prophets stood in for God’s authority among their people. This meant that attacking a prophet was treated as an attack on God's authority since the prophet was a divine ambassador. Thus in 1 Chronicles 16:22 God says “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” Speaking for God, prophets called out sin, condemned idolatry and injustice, and urged people to obey God's laws and care for the poor.

In addition, sometimes God revealed future events to prophets, who relayed them to the people. These included warnings of coming judgment, often through being conquered by other people groups like the Babylonians. They also enforced covenants, reminding the Israelites of prior established laws and warning of immediate geopolitical or historical consequences for disobedience. Bart Ehrman writes that for the prophets in the Bible,

Finally, some prophets, through the power of God, were also miracle workers. Elijah, for instance, revived a widow's dead son after praying over him and parted the Jordan River by striking it with his cloak. Prophets also prayed and interceded on behalf of the people. Amos, for instance, interceded in visions when God threatened judgment with locusts and fire, causing the Lord to relent (Amos 7) and Daniel who, while living in exile in Babylon, offered deep national confessions and prayers, sought God's mercy and restoration for Jerusalem and his people (Daniel 9).

Why Do People Read Some Prophets as Predicting Jesus?

New Testament authors presented Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection as the ultimate fulfillment of ancient Hebrew prophecies.

For example, Gospel authors explicitly cited passages from prophets such as Isaiah and Micah, stating that specific events in Jesus' life happened in order to fulfill what was spoken of old. Matthew 1:22–23 refers to Isaiah 7:14 to explain Mary's miraculous pregnancy. Mark 1:2–3 combines quotations from Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3, to explain the role of John the Baptist as the prophesied messenger:

In addition, Christian tradition views the Old Testament as a unified story pointing forward to the advent of Christ. Believers see Jesus as resolving unresolved tensions, meeting unmet needs, and fulfilling their interpretation of prophetic promises of a true King (Isaiah 9:6–7), Temple (Ezekiel 40–48), and mediator (Isaiah 52–53). For Christians, the alignment between prophetic texts and the events of the New Testament thus provides evidence of divine inspiration and biblical authority.

While this is the confessional perspective on prophecy related to Jesus, historians and scholars note that the original Hebrew prophets were primarily preachers addressing their own immediate historical audience in ancient Israel and Judah.

They called people back to covenant faithfulness and warned of impending exile rather than acting as fortune-tellers looking centuries ahead. Critical perspectives therefore suggest that early Christians reinterpreted existing Jewish Scriptures through the lens of their faith experience after the crucifixion and resurrection, seeing patterns and connections that were not explicitly about a future messiah in their original historical settings.

False Prophets in the Bible

Several women are explicitly identified as prophets in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments.

Old Testament

Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron. She led the women of Israel in song and dance after the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20).

Deborah was a judge and military leader who directed Barak to victory against Sisera (Judges 4:4).

Huldah was an advisor and prophet during King Josiah's reign who authenticated the discovered Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:14).

Isaiah's Wife (unnamed) was mentioned briefly as a prophet when giving birth to a son with prophetic significance (Isaiah 8:3).

Noadiah was mentioned as a false prophet who opposed Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:14).

New Testament

Anna, an elderly widow and temple devotee who recognized the infant Jesus as the Messiah (Luke 2:36).

Philip’s Four Daughters (unnamed) were four virgin daughters of Philip the evangelist, all of whom prophesied (Acts 21:9).

Jezebel (of Thyatira) (probably not her real name), a false prophet and teacher criticized by John of Patmos for leading believers into immorality (Revelation 2:20).

Prophets in the New Testament: A Different Context

New Testament prophets were individuals called by God to deliver inspired messages, build up the early church, and guide believers under the new Christian covenant. Who were the prophets in the Bible? Key NT figures include

John the Baptist, who acted as a prophetic voice preparing the way and fulfilling Old Testament promises (Mark 1, for instance).

Agabus, who accurately foretells a severe worldwide famine and warns Paul about his upcoming imprisonment in Jerusalem (Acts 11:27–30, Acts 21:10–14).

Barnabas, Simeon (Niger), Lucius, Manaen, and Silas who are Identified as prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch and who encouraged and strengthened the believers (Acts 13:1–3).

Jesus, who despite his messianic role in the Gospels, is also called a prophet (Matthew 21:11, Luke 24:19, John 9:17).

Unlike the classical prophets of Israel and Judah, whose messages frequently addressed the covenant obligations of entire nations and communities, New Testament prophets operated within the emerging Christian assemblies. They worked alongside apostles to lay the foundational doctrine of the early church (Ephesians 2:20). In 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul ranks church roles, placing prophets second only to apostles. Meanwhile, in 1 John 4:1, Christians were instructed to test prophetic messages against Scripture and the Holy Spirit rather than accepting blindly what they said.

When and Why Prophecy Stopped

Judaism

Classical or canonical prophecy in ancient Israel wound down following the Babylonian exile and the rebuilding of the Second Temple. Traditional rabbinical consensus marked the end of the prophetic era with the generation of Ezra and Nehemiah (approx. 5th–4th century BCE).

Scholars note, however, that these absolute limits were largely defined by later rabbis. During the late Second Temple period leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, apocalyptic and prophetic figures remained active and recognized by various segments of Jewish society, although the era of writing canonical Scripture had closed.

Classical rabbinical tradition teaches that with the deaths of the last prophets (Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi), the ultimate "spirit of prophecy" departed from Israel. Rabbinical thought views the cessation of prophecy primarily as a spiritual tragedy or consequence of diminished national spiritual standing and the rise of sin and/or foreign influence.

Some rabbinic texts look to passages like Amos 8:11–12, describing a "famine... of hearing the words of the Lord" as a divine response to unfaithfulness. With direct prophecy gone, mainstream Judaism understood divine guidance to have shifted to the Sages, Torah study, legal interpretation (halakhah), and minor heavenly echoes known as the Bath Qol ("daughter of a voice"). Some Jewish traditions associate the restoration of prophecy with the messianic age.

Christians

Christians traditionally view the intertestamental period as a deliberate pause in public canonical revelations ordained by God. This era ended abruptly with the appearance of John the Baptist, who served as the prophesied forerunner (the return of the spirit of Elijah) heralding the Messiah. In Christian theology, the old prophetic era paved the way for and pointed directly toward Jesus Christ.

According to Christian teaching, public and foundational revelation did not merely continue in an old pattern; rather, prophecy found its complete fulfillment and culmination in Jesus Christ, who is regarded as the living, full Word of God. Therefore, no new foundational public revelation equal to the Old/New Testament canon was needed afterward.

Table: Every Prophetic Book, its Prophet, Approximate Date, and Audience

Below is a table of the prophetic books of the Bible (at least in the traditional Protestant ordering). I’ve included the four Major Prophets and the twelve Minor Prophets. Dates of composition are approximate and refer primarily to the period in which the book reached something like its present form; for several books, scholars debate whether material was added or edited later.

Conclusion

So, what is a prophet? At its most basic level, a prophet is a person who delivers messages on behalf of God. But as we have seen, that role was far more complex than simply predicting future events. Biblical prophets were preachers, interpreters, critics, intercessors, counselors, and, sometimes, miracle workers. They confronted kings and religious leaders, defended the vulnerable, condemned injustice and idolatry, warned of coming judgment, and called their communities back to faithfulness.

The Bible also presents prophecy as a diverse phenomenon. Prophets were not exclusively male, Israelite, or even authors of books bearing their names. Women such as Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Anna played prophetic roles, while figures such as Balaam and Jonah demonstrate that prophetic messages could cross ethnic and national boundaries. Likewise, the New Testament continues to describe prophetic activity within the early Christian movement, showing that the concept of prophecy did not simply disappear with the last books of the Hebrew Bible.

Perhaps the greatest misconception about biblical prophecy is therefore the idea that prophets were primarily ancient fortune-tellers. They certainly sometimes announced future events, but their central concern was usually the present. They interpreted the circumstances of their own communities in light of their understanding of God's will. Their warnings about exile, war, judgment, injustice, repentance, restoration, and hope were directed toward real people facing real political, social, and religious crises.

This is also why the relationship between biblical prophecy and Jesus is interpreted differently across religious and scholarly traditions. Christians have traditionally read many prophetic passages as anticipating and ultimately being fulfilled in Jesus, while Jewish interpretation does not generally read those same passages through a Christian messianic framework. These approaches do not all reach the same conclusions, but understanding their differences helps explain why prophecy remains such a rich and contested subject.

Ultimately, the prophets of the Bible were voices calling people to pay attention—to God, to justice, to covenant faithfulness, and to the consequences of their actions. Whether one approaches them as sacred messengers, historical religious figures, or influential literary voices, their writings continue to ask difficult questions about power, morality, suffering, hope, and the possibility of divine communication.

Most people assume Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible as one consistent story. So, why is it so inconsistent? If you’re interested in this topic, check out Joel Baden’s online course called “The Bible by Committee.”