Prophets relayed their messages from God in a variety of ways, choosing methods that would make the meaning clear, attract attention or convince the people of the truth of their words.
God speaks through the prophets
On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
Prophecy directly proclaimed
Jonah 3:1–4 See also 1 Kings 13:1–3, 1 Kings 14:6–16, 1 Kings 20:22; Isaiah 7:13–17; Jeremiah 26:18; Acts 11:27–28; 1 Corinthians 14:29
Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.” This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey. On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
Messages presented as coming from God
2 Kings 7:1 Prophets often used the phrases “hear the word of the LORD” and “says the LORD” to ensure that their audience understood the divine origin of their proclamation. See also 2 Kings 20:16–18; Jeremiah 7:2, Jeremiah 30:3, Jeremiah 44:26; Ezekiel 34:7–10; Hosea 4:1; Amos 1:5, Amos 7:16–17; Zephaniah 3:20; Haggai 2:9; Zechariah 1:3; Malachi 1:6
Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: ‘About this time tomorrow at the gate of Samaria, a seah of fine flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel.’”
Prophecy enacted
1 Kings 11:29–39 See also 1 Kings 22:11; Jeremiah 19:1–13, Jeremiah 27:1–7, Jeremiah 28:10–11, Jeremiah 43:8–13; Ezekiel 4:1–17, Ezekiel 5:1–3, Ezekiel 12:3–11; Zechariah 6:9–15; Acts 21:10–11
Prophecy expressed as an allegory or parable
2 Samuel 12:1–12 See also Ezekiel 15:1–8, Ezekiel 17:1–4, Ezekiel 19:2–14, Ezekiel 23:1–4, Ezekiel 24:3–5; Matthew 24:32–35 parallels Mark 13:28–31, Luke 21:29–33
Prophecy given by vision or dream
Ezekiel 11:24–25 See also 1 Kings 22:17; Jeremiah 1:11–16; Ezekiel 40:1–4; Amos 8:1–2; Zechariah 4:1–14
And the Spirit lifted me up and carried me back to Chaldea, to the exiles in the vision given by the Spirit of God. After the vision had gone up from me, I told the exiles everything the LORD had shown me.
Prophecy recorded in writing
Jeremiah 36:1–4 See also Isaiah 30:8; Jeremiah 25:13, Jeremiah 30:2, Jeremiah 36:32, Jeremiah 45:1, Jeremiah 51:60; Ezekiel 43:10–11; Daniel 12:4; Habakkuk 2:2; Revelation 1:3, Revelation 22:19; 2 Chronicles 21:12–15; Jeremiah 29:1
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you during the reign of Josiah until today. Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about all the calamity I plan to bring upon them, each of them will turn from his wicked way. Then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.” So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.
Prophecy associated with music
1 Chronicles 25:1–3 See also 1 Samuel 10:5, 1 Samuel 18:10; 2 Kings 3:15–19
Additionally, David and the commanders of the army set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun to prophesy with the accompaniment of lyres, harps, and cymbals. The following is the list of the men who performed this service: From the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asarelah. These sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied under the direction of the king. From the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah , Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah — six in all — under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with the harp, giving thanks and praise to the LORD.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.