Prophets and revelation

In a minute

Jews believe that God speaks to human beings. The greatest moment of revelation was at Mount Sinai, when God gave the Torah to Moses and the whole people heard the Ten Commandments. Before and after Sinai, God spoke through prophets (nevi'im), men and women who brought God's word to their people: to comfort them, to warn them, and above all to call them back to justice and faithfulness. Jews believe Moses was the greatest prophet of all, and that the age of prophecy ended about 2,500 years ago with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Since then, God's will is sought through study of the Torah.

What it is and how it's lived

Sinai

The Torah describes thunder, lightning, a thick cloud and the sound of a ram's horn, and the whole people trembling at the foot of the mountain (Exodus 19). God spoke the Ten Commandments, and Moses went up to receive the rest of the Torah. Jews celebrate this every year at Shavuot, and Jewish tradition counts it as a revelation not to one person in private but to a whole people at once.

Who were the prophets?

The Talmud says Israel had forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses whose words were recorded, and many more besides (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 14a). The seven women are Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther.

Who	When (approx.)	Remembered for
Moses (Moshe Rabbenu, "Moses our teacher")	13th century BCE (traditional)	leading Israel out of Egypt; receiving the Torah
Miriam and Deborah		Miriam's song at the sea; Deborah as judge and leader
Samuel	11th century BCE	anointing Saul and David
Nathan	10th century BCE	confronting King David over Bathsheba
Elijah and Elisha	9th century BCE	challenging idolatry; the "still small voice"
Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah	8th century BCE	justice for the poor; God's faithful love; peace among nations
Jeremiah and Ezekiel	6th century BCE	the destruction of Jerusalem and exile; hope of return
Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi	late 6th–5th century BCE	rebuilding the Temple; the last of the prophets

Jonah's story, of a prophet sent to Israel's enemies in Nineveh who repent and are forgiven, is read every Yom Kippur afternoon.

How prophets are heard today

Every Shabbat and festival, after the Torah reading, a passage from the Prophets is read: the haftarah. So the prophets' words are heard in the synagogue every week.

Prophecy itself is believed to have ended with Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 9b; Sanhedrin 11a). The Talmud adds that "since the Temple was destroyed, prophecy has been given to the wise" (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 12a): the sages, through study and argument, carry the task of discerning God's will. The Talmud even tells of a debate in which the rabbis ruled against a heavenly voice, because the Torah "is not in heaven" (Deuteronomy 30:12) and had been given into human hands to interpret (paraphrased; Babylonian Talmud, Bava Metzia 59b).

Its inner meaning

A prophet in Judaism is not mainly a fortune-teller. A prophet is a conscience. The great prophets told kings they were wrong, told worshippers that sacrifices without justice were worthless, and told exiles in despair that God had not abandoned them.

"But let justice well up as waters, And righteousness as a mighty stream." (Amos 5:24, JPS 1917)

"Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God." (Isaiah 40:1, JPS 1917)

And God's voice is not always in the spectacular. On the mountain, Elijah found that God was not in the wind, the earthquake or the fire:

"and after the fire a still small voice." (1 Kings 19:12, JPS 1917)

Key texts

"And there hath not arisen a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face" (Deuteronomy 34:10, JPS 1917)

Hebrew:

וְלֹא־קָם נָבִיא עוֹד בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל כְּמֹשֶׁה אֲשֶׁר יְדָעוֹ יְהוָה פָּנִים אֶל־פָּנִים

"I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." (Deuteronomy 18:18, JPS 1917)

"And one called unto another, and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory." (Isaiah 6:3, JPS 1917)

(These words from Isaiah's vision, the Kedushah, are said aloud by the congregation in the repetition of the Amidah prayer.)

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, And before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5, JPS 1917)

From the rabbis and Maimonides

Maimonides' sixth and seventh principles: that God gives prophecy to human beings, and that Moses' prophecy was greater than all others, because God spoke to him "mouth to mouth", awake and directly (paraphrased; Commentary on the Mishnah, Sanhedrin 10; Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 7:6).
Maimonides taught that a prophet must first be wise, of good character and in control of their desires; prophecy is a gift that rests on a prepared person (paraphrased; Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 7:1).
A true prophet never changes the Torah's commandments for all time; prophets call people back to the covenant (paraphrased; Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Foundations of the Torah 9:1).

Common misunderstandings, answered gently

"The prophets mainly predicted the future." Most prophetic words are about the present: honesty in the market, care for widows and orphans, faithfulness to God. Their predictions were usually warnings that could be changed by repentance, as Jonah discovered in Nineveh.
"Jews ignore the prophets and only read the Torah." A prophetic reading (haftarah) follows the Torah every Shabbat, and the Psalms and Prophets fill the prayer book.
"Revelation ended, so God is silent." Jews believe God's word continues to be heard through the Torah and its study, and that every person can pray and be heard.

Across the movements

Orthodox Judaism holds that the whole Torah was dictated by God to Moses. Masorti and Progressive Jews often speak of revelation as continuing and human-divine, the record of Israel's encounter with God, and give special weight to the prophets' call for justice; Reform Judaism has sometimes been called "prophetic Judaism" for this reason.

Reflection

Elijah heard God not in the earthquake but in a "still small voice". Where in your own life is the quiet voice easy to miss?

In the other traditions

Christianity: Christians honour the same prophets and read their words in church. Christians believe the prophets point towards Jesus, and that "God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets", has spoken through his Son (Hebrews 1:1–2, WEB, opening phrase).
Islam: Muslims honour Moses (Musa) as a great prophet and messenger to whom God spoke directly, together with Abraham, David, Solomon, Elijah (Ilyas), Elisha, Jonah (Yunus) and others named in the Qur'an. Muslims believe Muhammad is the last prophet.

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