Prophets in the Old Testament

The Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) records ten ancient prophets:

• Adam (aka Adapa, Atab, Atabba, HaAdamah, Ancient of Days, آدم ,אָדָם)
• Seth ben Adam (aka Shet, Sheth, שֵׁת)
• Enos ben Seth (aka Anoush, Enosh, אֱנוֹשׁ)
• Enoch ben Jared (aka Enoc, Chanok, Hanokh, Henoch, Idris, ادريس ,חֲנוֹך)
• Methuselah ben Enoch (aka Mathusala, Mathusalam, Methusael, Methusalah, Metushelach, מְתוּשֶׁלַח)
• Noah ben Lamech (aka Noach, Noe, Nuh, نوح ,נוֹחַ)
• Shem ben Noah (aka Sam, Sceaf, Sem, Seskef, שֵׁם)
• Salah ben Cainan (aka Sala, Salih, Shâlikh, Shehiah, Shelach, Shelah, صلاح ,שָׁלַח)
• Eber ben Salah (aka Abin, `Aybar, `Ever, Heber, Hoodh, Hud, هود ,חֶבֶר)
• Melchizedek ben Malakh (aka Melchisedec, Melchisedech, Melkisedek, Malki-Tzedek, מַלְכִּי־צָדֶק)

From the Chaldean city of Ur to Egypt and on to Canaan, the nomadic people of the Patriarchal period roamed large tracts of the Middle East.

The Patriarchy that began with Abraham and included the Exodus continued to the period of the Judges. The sixteen prophets from this era are:

• Abram ben Terah (aka Abraham, Avram, Avraham, Ibrahim, ابراهيم ,אַבְרָהָם ,אַבְרָם)
• Isaac ben Abraham (aka Yitzhak, Celi, Yitshaq, Isaak, Ishaq, Yitzchak, اسحاق ,יִצְחָק)
• Jacob ben Isaac (aka Israel, Sarurn, Ya'akov, Yaakov, Ya'quob, Yisra'el, Yakov, Ya'qub, Yaquob, اسرائيل ,يعقوب ,יִשְׂרָאֵל ,יַעֲקֹב)
• Joseph ben Jacob (aka Jehoseph, Yosef, Yusuf, Zaphenath-Pa'aneah, يوسف ,יוֹסֵף)
• Job ben Zerah (aka Jobab, Iyov, Aiyub, Ayoub, Ayub, أيوب ,אִיּוֹב)
• Caleb ben Jephunneh (aka Carmi, Chelubai, כָלֵב)
• Hur ben Caleb (Chur, חור)
• Jethro ben Reuel (aka Hobab, Jether, Shoaib, Yethro, Yitro, شعيب ,יִתְרוֹ)
• Moses ben Amram (aka Moshe, Musa, موسى ,מֹשֶׁה)
• Aaron ben Amram (aka Aharon, Haroun, Harun, هارون ,אַהֲרֹן)
• Assir ben Korah (aka Asir, אַסִּיר)
• Joshua ben Nun (aka Jeshua, Hoshea, Jehoshua, Yehoshuah, Yehoshua, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ)
• Phinehas ben Eleazar (aka Pinechas, Pinchas, פִּינְחָס)
• Boaz ben Salmon (aka Bo`az, Booz, Ivtzan, בֹּֽעַז)
• Beor ben Aram (aka Bosor, Be'or, בְּעֹר)
• Balaam ben Beor (aka Bil`am, Bilam, בִּלְעָם)

Following the Patriarchal period, the nation called Israel evolved into a loose federation of tribes ruled by Judges, and held together by a common faith and a common ancestry.

While there were more than twenty judges during this period -- Samson being the most infamous -- only four were considered to have the status of Prophets. (Two additional judges are included in the list of Prophetesses.)

The four Prophet-Judges are:

• Eli ben Ithamar (aka `Eli, עֵלִי)
• Gideon ben Joash (aka Gid`on, Jerubbaal, Jerubbesheth, Yerubba`al, יֶר-בַּעַל ,גדְעוֹן)
• Elkanah ben Jeroham (aka Elka'nah, אֱלְקָנָה)
• Samuel ben Elkanah (aka Shem'u-el, Shmuel, שְׁמוּאֵל)

The loose federation of Israelite tribes eventually gave way, and in its place rose a monarchy and the best-known period of Israel's history: The Kings.

The six Prophets who guided Saul, David, Solomon and Rehoboam through the period of the unified kingdom are:

• Nathan (aka Natan, Nosson, נָתָן)
• Gad (aka גָד)
• Ahimelech ben Ahitub (aka Ahiah, Ahijah, Achimelekh, אֲחִימֶלֶךְ)
• Abiathar ben Ahimelech (aka Avyatar, אֶבְיָתָר)
• Shemaiah HaNavi (aka Shemayah, שְׁמעיָה)
• Iddo the Seer (aka Aidoin, Jaddo, Jadon, Oded, עְדִּי)

As the monarchy fell apart after the death of King Solomon, the kingdom split into two: The Northern Kingdom of Israel, with its ten tribes, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah with its two tribes.

The Northern Kingdom was home to nine prophets:

• Ahijah ben Seraiah (aka Abijah, Achiah, Achiya, Achyah, Ahaiah, Ahiyah, HaShiloni, the Shilonite, אֲהָיָּה)
• Micaiah ben Imlah (aka Micah, Micha, Mikhayahu, Michoyhu, מִיכָיְהוּ)
• Beeri (aka Be'eri, בְּאֵרִי)
• Hosea ben Beeri (aka Hoshei'a, Hoshe'a, Osee, הוֹשֵׁעַ)
• Amos (aka `Amos, עָמוֹס)
• Jonah ben Amittai (aka Dhun Nun, Jonas, Yonah, Yunus, يونس ,יוֹנָה)
• Elijah the Tishbite (aka Elias, Eliyah, Eliyahu, Eliyohu, Ilyas, إلياس ,אֱלִיָּהוּ)
• Elisha ben Shaphat (aka Al-Yasa`, اليسع ,אֱלִישַׁע)
• Oded the Samarian (aka עֹדֵד)

The Southern Kingdom of Judah had the longest list of prophets -- twenty-two in all. Working with good kings and bad, these prophets fought to save Judah from destruction.

In the end, though, the temple was destroyed, Jerusalem came under siege, and the Jews were carried away into captivity.

The Prophets of the Southern Kingdom are:

• Oded the Exhorter (aka עֹדֵד)
• Azariah ben Oded (aka Azaryah, Azaryohu, עֲזַרְיָה)
• Hanani (aka Chanoni, Haroeh, חֲנָנִי)
• Jehu ben Hanani (aka Yehu, Yeihu, יְהוּא)
• Jahaziel ben Zechariah (aka Haziel, Yachziel, יַחֲזִיאֵל)
• Eliezer ben Dodavah (aka Eliezar, Elozor, אֱלִיעֶזֶר)
• Obadiah of Eliphaz (aka Ovadiah, Ovadyah, עֹבַדְיָה)
• Joel ben Pethuel (aka Ioel, Yo'el, יוֹאֵל)
• Zechariah ben Jehoiada (aka Zekaryah, זְכַרְיָה)
• Amoz ben Josiah I (aka Amotz, Omotz, אָמֹוץ)
• Isaiah ben Amoz (aka Esaias, Yeshayah, Yeshayahu, יְשַׁעְיָהוּ)
• Zechariah ben Jeberechiah (aka Zekaryah, זְכַרְיָה)
• Micah of Moresheth (aka Michah, Mikha, Miykah מִיכָה)
• Nahum (aka Naoum, Nachum, נַחוּם)
• Maaseiah ben Zedekiah (aka Maaseas, Machseyosh, Mehseiah, Mechaseyah, מַחְסֵיָה)
• Neriah ben Maaseiah (aka Neriyah, Neryah, נֵרִיָה)
• Jeremiah ben Hilkiah (aka Yirmeyahu, Yirmiyah, יִרְמְיָהוּ)
• Baruch ben Neriah (aka Barukh, בָרוּך)
• Zephaniah ben Cushi (aka Tzefanyah, צְפַנְיָה)
• Habakkuk ben Bethtsohar (aka Abacuc, Chavakuk, Habbacuc, Havakuk, חֲבַקּוּק)
• Urijah ben Shemaiah (aka Uriah, Ury'ah, 'Uriyah, אוּרִיָה)

The destruction of the temple in Jerusalem was followed by a seventy-year exile that left most of the Jewish population spread throughout Mesopotamia -- primarily modern-day Iraq and Iran.

The period called the Captivity gave rise to four prophets:

• Daniel of Judah (aka Belteshazzar, Belteshatztzar, Daniyel, Daniyyel, דָנִיֵּאל)
• Ezekiel ben Buzi (aka Dhul-Kifl, Ezechiel, Hizqeel, Yechezkel, Yechezqel, Yehezkel, Zulkifl, ذو-الكفل ,יְחֶזקֵאל)
• Mordecai ben Jair (aka Mordechai, Mordekhai, מָרְדֳכַי)
• Seraiah ben Neriah (aka Serayah, Soroyoh, שֶׁר־צִוָּ)

Following the Babylonian captivity, Cyrus decreed that the enslaved Jews would be permitted to return to their homelands, rebuild the temple and reinstitute their religious practices.

The five prophets who oversaw that return, and who authored the final portions of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) are:

• Ezra ben Seraiah (aka Azariah, Azaryah, עֶזְרָא)
• Haggai (aka Aggeus, Chaggai, Hagai, חַגַּי)
• Malachi (aka Mal'akhi, מַלְאָכִי)
• Nehemiah ben Hachaliah (aka Nechemia, Nechemyah, נְחֶמְיָה)
• Zechariah ben Berechiah (aka Zachariah, Zacharias, Zekaryah, Zekharyah, זְכַרְיָה)

The Imahot -- the Jewish matriarchs -- and other prominent holy women make up the Prophetesses of the Hebrew Bible.

Wives and mothers, most of them, the joy and sorrow of their lives call out to modern readers. We'll meet each of them individually in future postings.

The twelve Prophetesses of the Old Testament are:

• Eve, the matriarch of all living (aka Ava, Chava, Chavva, Chavvah, Eve of Elda, Havva, Hawah, Nin-Khawa, חַוָּה)
• Sarai, daughter of Haran (aka Sarah, Sara, שָׂרָה ,שָׂרָי)
• Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel (aka Rebecca, Rivka, Rivkah, Rivqah, רִבְקָה)
• Leah, daughter of Laban (aka Lea, Le'ah, לֵאָה)
• Rachel, her sister (aka Rahel, רָחֵל)
• Miriam, sister of Moses and daughter of Amram
  (aka Miryam, מִרְיָם)
• Deborah, judge and wife of Lapidoth (aka Devorah, דְבוֹרָה)
• Hannah, judge and wife of Elkanah (aka Chana, Channah, חַנָּה)
• Ruth the Moabite, possibly a daughter of King Eglon (aka Rut, רוּת)
• Abigail, wife of Nabal and David (aka Avigail, Avigayil, אֲבִיגָיִל)
• Huldah, daughter of Shallum (aka Chuldah, חוּלְדָה)
• Esther, daughter of Abihail (aka Amestris, Ester, Hadassah, אֶסְתֵר)