Man spake from God: Chap 1; the prophets, para 1
H L Ellison was an academic from a Christian Brethren background. He wrote extensively on the Old Testament and on aspects of Brethren specialisms eg the Household Church. Like other Brethren academics he sometimes ran foul of conservatives, but his writings are very informative. He wrote book called men spake from God, the text of which is now on-line at this URL. It still provides a useful introduction to the prophetical books of the Old Testament.
In the light of the way that the terminology of 'prophetic' is used widely today, I thought it would be good to draw SIers attention to some basic features of prophecy and open up some possible discussions. I plan to introduce you to the first chapter, paragraph by paragraph. Please be discerning as you read. I do not vouch for all Ellison's opinions. (I don't even vouch for all of MY opinions, all the time ;-) )
The Prophetic Books.
In popular speech the Prophetic Books are the sixteen books of the Old Testament, from Isaiah to Malachi, including Lamentations as well. They are further subdivided into the four Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) and the twelve Minor Prophets.
This enumeration and sub-division is not to be found in the Hebrew Bible. It is divided into the Torah (Law), Neviim (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). The second section, the Prophets, consists of eight books: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings (the Former Prophets), and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve (the Latter Prophets). The reasons for the omission of Daniel, which belongs to the Writings, are considered in ch. XVII. For the moment it is sufficient to say that the rabbis made a correct distinction between normal prophecy and the apocalyptic visions we find in Daniel.
The distinction between Major and Minor Prophets is first found in the Latin Churches, and Augustine rightly explains that it means a difference in size, not in value (De Civitate Dei: 18. 29). Though we are not dealing with the Former Prophets in this book, we shall profit by grasping the implications of books we call historical being considered prophetic.
H L Ellison: Men Spake from God.
Even at this early stage there is important information here. Traditionally the scribes spoke of the former and the latter prophets; the latter are what we usually refer to as 'The Prophets'. but the 'former' prophets comprised;
Joshua
Judges
1 & 2 Samuel
1 & 2 Kings.
Now, hands up, who would have classified these as 'prophetic books of the Old Testament? The reason they are so designated is because it was recognized that this was a 'God's eye view' of history. That gives us an initial clue as to what the prophetic relates to.
The latter prophets were classified as
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
the Twelve (we call them the minor prophets. That little cluster which constantly change their position in your bible!)
You may notice that Daniel was recognized as something quite different and was included with the Writings, another group.
_________________
Ron Bailey
|
