Former Prophets

Scope and Contents

The term "Former Prophets" means "the earlier prophets." The Hebrew Bible (the Jewish Scriptures) is divided into three parts, and the Former Prophets are the first four books of the second part, the Prophets (Hebrew Nevi'im). They comprise the following books:

• Joshua
• Judges
• Samuel (1 Samuel and 2 Samuel)
• Kings (1 Kings and 2 Kings)

Jewish tradition counts Samuel and Kings as one book each. The remaining books of the Prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets—are called the "Latter Prophets."

The narrative begins with Israel's entry into and settlement of Canaan. It then moves through the period of the judges, the establishment of the monarchy under Saul and David, Solomon's building of the temple, the division of the kingdom, and the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel and then of Judah. It closes with King Jehoiachin's release from prison during the Babylonian exile (2 Kings 25:27-30).

Name and Background

The Christian Old Testament classifies these same books among the historical books. This arrangement follows the tradition of the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament). Accordingly, Ruth is placed after Judges, and 1 Chronicles, 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther are also grouped among the historical books. In the Hebrew Bible, books such as Ruth and Chronicles belong to the third part, the Writings (Hebrew Ketuvim).

Several reasons are commonly given for calling these narrative books "prophets":

• Prophets such as Samuel, Nathan, Elijah, and Elisha play prominent roles.
• The books interpret Israel's history in terms of its obedience or disobedience to the word of God.
• The Talmud (a body of Jewish traditional literature) is reported to preserve a tradition that Joshua wrote the book of Joshua, Samuel wrote Judges and Samuel, and Jeremiah wrote Kings.

Significance Within the Bible as a Whole

The Former Prophets show how the promise of the land and the covenant given in the Pentateuch were fulfilled—and broken—in the course of Israel's history. In particular, the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7) underlies the New Testament's confession of Jesus as the "Son of David."

The New Testament often refers to the Old Testament as a whole as "the law and the prophets" (Matthew 7:12). Jesus cited the accounts of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath and of Elisha and Naaman (Luke 4:25-27). Paul's sermon in Acts 13 and the eleventh chapter of Hebrews also recall figures from these books.

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Authorship: None of the four books names its author. The view that prophets wrote them is a later Jewish tradition and should be distinguished from what the texts themselves state.
• Deuteronomistic History hypothesis: In 1943 the German Old Testament scholar Martin Noth proposed that Deuteronomy and the Former Prophets form a single historical work shaped by the theology of Deuteronomy. The hypothesis has since been widely discussed in scholarship, and various revisions have been proposed concerning the dating and stages of its redaction. Many conservative evangelical and Reformed scholars who emphasize the historicity of Scripture and traditional views of authorship are critical of the hypothesis.
• Differing perspectives behind the two names: The difference between the names "historical books" and "prophets" is sometimes explained as a difference in emphasis in reading the same books. "Historical books" emphasizes the record of events, while "prophets" emphasizes the theological interpretation of that history.

In the Korean Church

The Korean church generally follows the arrangement of the Christian Old Testament and presents Joshua through Esther as the historical books. The term "Former Prophets" (along with an alternative Korean rendering, "Former Prophetic Books") is used mainly in seminary lectures and Old Testament introductions. Stories from these books—such as those of Gideon, Samson, David and Goliath, and the contest on Mount Carmel—are frequently featured in preaching and Sunday school instruction.