Prophets

The Hebrew words נָבָא (chôzeh), רֹאֶה (ro-eh'), נְבִיא (nebı̂y'), and נָבִיא (nâbı̂y') are variously translated as seer or prophet. Apparently the meanings of these words changed and merged over time (1 Samuel 9:9), making context necessary to determine what is meant in each case. Three of them are used as distinct appellations in 1 Chronicles 29:29.

Possible meanings include:

• One who has the ear of God, Genesis 20:7; Amos 3:7.
• The spokesman of God, Exodus 7:1; 1 Kings 22:8.
• One who receives words or visions from God, Numbers 12:6; 2 Kings 6:8-10.
• One who can obtain answers from God, 1 Samuel 9:6; 1 Kings 14:1-5.
• A musician or singer devoted to God, 1 Samuel 10:5; 1 Chronicles 25:1-3.
• One who experiences the Spirit of God in a dramatic way, 1 Samuel 19:23-24; Numbers 11:25.
• One who pretends to do one of the above, 1 Kings 22:10-12; Jeremiah 14:14.
• One who raves and cries out to false gods, 1 Kings 18:29.

Prophets can be led by God to lie (2 Kings 8:10); they can receive divine inspiration from minstrelsy (2 Kings 3:15); they can be left without inspiration (2 Kings 4:27).


The English word prophet is directly derived from the Greek προφήτης (prophétés), meaning one who reveals or relates God's word or will. When the NT refers to an OT 'prophet', it is generally in the sense of one who foretold or foreshadowed Jesus Christ, but this is not the case for NT prophets.

Προφήτης is also used of the pagan Greek poet Epimenides.