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Tell me, how many prophets are there in the Bible, and who are they?

The Bible calls a great many people prophets, an exact count of whom is hardly possible. Strictly speaking, biblical history distinguishes between writing prophets, who preached the Word of God and recorded the revelation given to them, and prophets who left a mark on history but did not record anything .

The writing prophets — these are no fewer than 15 and hardly more than 20 people, among whom are the following:

1. Moses. Moses came from the tribe of Levi, was raised by Pharaoh's daughter, lived for a long time in the Sinai desert, and led Israel out of Egyptian slavery. The most ancient part of the Pentateuch is traced back to Moses: the foundation of the books of Genesis and Exodus. By the end of the 5th century BC, the entire Pentateuch was also inscribed with the name of Moses, although he was not formally its author.

2. The so-called "major prophets," authors of the large prophetic books. These include:

a. Isaiah and his school

i. The prophet Isaiah (First Isaiah) was a nobleman and "statesman" and lived in Jerusalem in the second half of the 8th century BC, under kings Ahaz and Hezekiah. First Isaiah left the first 39 chapters of the "book of the prophet Isaiah" and, in addition, had many disciples and followers.

ii. The author of the second part, unknown by name and called "Second Isaiah," lived in the middle of the 6th century BC, was in the Babylonian captivity, and was one of the first to return to Jerusalem around 540 BC. Chapters 40-66 of the "book of the prophet Isaiah" belong to him. Perhaps some chapters of the first half of the book also belong to him.

iii. Third Isaiah (?). Some Bible scholars argue that chapters 61-66 could have been written by another follower of First Isaiah, distinct from Second Isaiah. This opinion, however, is not generally accepted.

b. Jeremiah and Baruch.

i. The prophet Jeremiah (c. 650 BC — c. 580 BC) came from a priestly family from the village of Anathoth near Jerusalem. He preached in Jerusalem under the last Jerusalem kings Josiah, Eliakim, and Zedekiah, and after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC died (according to tradition) in exile in Egypt. He is the author of the book.

ii. Baruch — a disciple of the prophet Jeremiah. Practically nothing is known about his life. He was possibly the editor-compiler of the book of the prophet Jeremiah. The book inscribed with the name of the prophet Baruch was compiled no earlier than the 3rd century BC.

c. Ezekiel. A priest, born at the end of the 7th century BC in Jerusalem (?), spent most of his life in the Babylonian captivity, where he died around the middle of the 6th century BC. He is the author of the book.

3. The so-called "Twelve minor prophets," authors of twelve smaller books (in chronological order):

a. 8th century BC

i. Amos. A shepherd and seasonal agricultural worker, he lived in the Northern Kingdom in the first half — middle of the 8th century BC, and preached in Bethel during the days of King Jeroboam II. Exiled by the king's servants, he was the first of all the prophets to begin recording his preaching.

ii. Hosea. A priest, a younger contemporary of Amos and an older contemporary of First Isaiah, he lived in the Northern Kingdom in the middle of the 8th century BC. He also preached in Bethel, the main sanctuary of the Northern Kingdom.

iii. Micah. A younger contemporary of the prophets Hosea and First Isaiah, he was most likely a simple, common man from the town of Moresheth in the Southern Kingdom and lived in the second half of the 8th century BC.

b. 7th century BC

i. Zephaniah lived in the Judean (Southern) kingdom in the middle — second half of the 7th century BC. He came from a noble family, and nothing else is known about the identity of the prophet.

ii. Habakkuk, a younger contemporary of Zephaniah, lived in the second half — end of the 7th century BC. He was a prophet in the Jerusalem temple.

iii. Nahum, a contemporary of Habakkuk and possibly also a temple prophet in Jerusalem. He lived at the end of the 7th century BC.

c. 6th century BC

i. Obadiah. Lived at the beginning — first half of the 6th century BC in the Judean kingdom. Nothing is known about the life and identity of the prophet.

ii. Haggai. Almost nothing is known about the life and identity of the prophet. Being advanced in years, he came from the Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem in 522 BC.

iii. Zechariah the First (author of the first 8 chapters of the book of the prophet Zechariah). He was a noble man, returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity, and lived in the second half of the 6th century BC. Perhaps he died already at the beginning of the 5th century.

d. 5th century BC

i. The author of the "book of the prophet Jonah." The book of the prophet Jonah differs in genre from the other books of the writing prophets and is quite conditionally included among the "Twelve Prophets." Its author apparently lived in the first half of the 5th century BC.

ii. Malachi. Lived in the first half of the 5th century BC. Nothing is known about the identity of the prophet; even the name Malachi ("messenger") is perhaps not a proper name.

iii. Joel. Possibly a minister of the Second Temple. He lived in Jerusalem at the end of the 5th — beginning of the 4th centuries BC.

iv. Second Zechariah. The unnamed author of the second half (chapters 9–14) of the "book of the prophet Zechariah." He lived in Judea at the end of the 5th — first half of the 4th century BC.

The number of writing prophets, thus, extends to 18–20 people. However, besides them, many prophets lived and ministered in Israel, and not all of them are mentioned in the Bible. Information about them can be gathered from the books of Kings and Chronicles, as well as from the writing prophets. The most well-known among them are Aaron, the brother of Moses, Joshua, Samuel, King David, Nathan, Korah, Elijah, Elisha, but there were also many others. The last in this line to be mentioned should be Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, Simeon the God-Receiver, and finally, John the Baptist himself.

In the New Testament, the prophetic gift and prophetic ministry take on somewhat different forms and become quite widespread, at least in the first three centuries.

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