Bible History

Old Testament Prophets

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I. PROPHETS OF ISRAEL

A. Jonah

1. 4 chapters, 48 verses

2. Jonah means �dove

3. During the reign of Jeroboam II (II Kgs.14:25); book written around 770BC

4. From Gath-hepher, about 3 miles northeast of Nazareth

5. Ministry to Israel; book deals with special ministry to Ninevah

6. Outline

a. In a Boat for Tarshish (ch.1)

b. In the Belly of the Whale (ch.2)

c. In the Battle for the Lord (ch.3)

d. Under the Booth in a Mood (ch.4)

B. Amos

1. 9 chapters, 146 verses

2. Amos means �burden-bearer�

3. Written around 760BC toward the end of the reign of Jeroboam II

4. From Tekoa, a village 6 miles south of Bethlehem overlooking the Dead Sea

5. Call while tending his flock (7:14-15)

6. Ministered to Israel (1:1)

7. Outline

a. Judgments Against the Nations (ch.1-2)

b. Judgments Against Israel (ch.3-6)

c. Five Visions of Judgment (ch.7-8)

d. The Promised Messiah (ch.9)

C. Hosea

1. 14 chapters, 197 verses

2. Hosea means �salvation�

3. Written around 725BC shortly before the Assyrian Captivity

4. Ministry spans 7 kings of Israel and 4 kings of Judah

5. Mostly ministered to Israel (4:1,15; 5:1; 7:1; 9:1-3; 10:1; 11:1-5)

6. Outline

a. The Unfaithful Wife (ch.1-3)

b. The Unfaithful Nation (ch.4-14)

II. PROPHETS OF JUDAH

A. Obadiah

1. 1 chapter, 21 verses

2. Obadiah means �servant of the Lord�

3. Time of writing unsure; one guess is between 840 and 825BC

4. Lived in Judah; prophesied against Edom

B. Joel

1. 3 chapters, 73 verses

2. Joel means �Jehovah is God�

3. Probably written around 820BC

4. Ministered to Judah

5. Deals much with �the day of the LORD� (1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14)

C. Isaiah

1. 66 chapters

2. Isaiah means �Jehovah saves�

3. Ministered during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (1:1)

4. Contemporary with the prophets Hosea and Micah

5. Family

a. Father � Amoz (1:1)

b. Wife � a prophetess (8:3)

c. His sons

(1) Maher-shalal-hash-baz (8:3) �means �speedy is the prey�

(2) Shear-jashub (7:3) �means �a remnant shall return:�

6. Songs in Isaiah

a. Song of the Vineyard (ch.5)

b. Song of the Redeemed (ch.12)

c. Song of the Blossoming Desert (ch.35)

d. Song of the Restored Wife (ch.54)

7. Outline

a. Judgment of God (ch.1-39)

b. Comfort of God (ch.40-66)

8. Gospel According to Isaiah

a. Birth (7:14; 9:6)

b. Family (11:1)

c. Anointing (11:2)

d. Character (11:3-4)

e. Simplicity of Life (7:15)

f. Gentleness (42:1-4)

g. Death (ch.53)

h. Resurrection (25:8)

i. Glorious reign (11:3-16; 32)

9. Four messages to Judah (repeated throughout the book)

a. Rebellion (1:2-4,10-15,21-23)

b. Retribution (1:5-8,15,20,28)

c. Repentance (1:16-19,27)

d. Restoration (1:9,18,24-31)

10. Key phrase � �Holy One of Israel� (25 times)

D. Micah

1. 7 chapters, 105 verses

2. Micah means �Who is like unto Jehovah?�

3. Probably written between 734 and 722BC

4. From Moresheth-gath (1:1,14) about 20 miles southwest of Jerusalem

5. Ministered mainly to Judah

6. Six prophecies already fulfilled

a. Fall of Samaria (1:6-7; 722BC)

b. Invasion of Judah by Sennacherib (1:9-16; 702BC)

c. Fall of Jerusalem (3:12; 7:13; 586BC)

d. Exile in Babylon (4:10; 586BC)

e. Return From Captivity (4:1-8,13; 7:11,14-17; 520BC)

f. Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem (5:2)

7. Quoted three times in the Bible

a. Micah 3:12 in Jeremiah 29:18

b. Micah 5:2 in Matthew 2:5-6

c. Micah 7:6 in Matthew 10:35-36

E. Nahum

1. 3 chapters, 47 verses

2. Nahum means �consolation� or �comforter�

3. Written between 663 and 612BC

4. From Elkosh (1:1) �location uncertain

5. Book is a message of judgment to Ninevah; can be considered a sequel to the book of Jonah

F. Zephaniah

1. 3 chapters, 53 verses

2. Zephaniah means �hidden, or protected, by Jehovah�

3. Written about 627BC during the reign of Josiah

G. Habakkuk

1. 3 chapters, 56 verses

2. Habakkuk means �embracer� (as in encourager)

3. Probably written between 612 and 605BC

4. Two-thirds of book written as a conversation between Habakkuk and God

III. PROPHETS OF THE CAPTIVITY

A. Jeremiah

1. 52 chapters plus the 5 chapters of Lamentations

2. Jeremiah means �Jehovah exalts, or establishes�

3. Written before and after the time of the Babylonian conquest of Judah (586BC)

4. Known as the �weeping prophet� (15:10; 10:14-18)

5. From Anathoth just a few miles north of Jerusalem

6. His father, Hilkiah, was a priest. Jeremiah was called from the priesthood to be a prophet (1:1-10)

7. Suffered much (16:1-4; 26:7-16; 38:1-13)

8. Object lessons in Jeremiah

a. The almond rod (ch.1)

b. The boiling caldron (ch.1)

c. The marred girdle (ch.13)

d. The full bottle (ch.13)

e. The drought (ch.14)

f. The potter�s vessel (ch.18)

g. The broken bottle (ch.19)

h. Two baskets of figs (ch.24)

i. Bonds and bars (ch.27)

j. Buying a field (ch.32)

k. The hidden stones (ch.43)

l. Book sunk in the Euphrates (ch.51)

9. Christ Pictured in Jeremiah

a. The Fountain of Living Waters (2:130

b. The Great Physician (8:22)

c. The Good Shepherd (31:10; 23:4)

d. The Righteous Branch (23:5)

e. The Redeemer (50:34)

f. The LORD our Righteousness (23:6)

10. Key word � return (47 times)

B. Ezekiel

1. 48 chapters

2. Ezekiel means �God strengthens�

3. Written after 592BC; Ezekiel was in exile in Babylon

4. Born of a priestly heritage (1:3)

5. God revealed to Ezekiel on the same day the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (24:2) and the death of his wife (24:15-18)

6. Lived at Tel-abib (3:15) a city for exiles near Babylon near the river Chebar(1:1), the Grand Canal, which flowed from the Euphrates above Babylon and back into the Euphrates near Erech

7. Met at his house with the elders of Judah (8:1; 14:1; 20:1)

8. Visions of Ezekiel

a. Vision of the Cherubim (ch.1)

b. Vision of the Roll (ch.2-3)

c. Vision of the Plain (ch3)

d. Visions of Jerusalem (ch.8-11)

e. Vision of the Dry Bones (ch.37)

f. Visions of the New Temple (ch.40-48)

9. Symbolic Actions of Ezekiel

a. Sign of the brick (4:1-3)

b. Sign of the prophet�s posture (4:4-8)

c. Sign of famine (4:9-17)

d. Sign of the knife and razor (5:1-17)

e. Sign of the house moving (12:1-7,17-20)

f. Sign of the sharpened sword (21:1-17)

g. Sign of Nebuchadnezzar�s sword (21:18-23)

h. Sign of the smelting furnace (22:17-31)

i. Sign of Ezekiel�s wife�s death (24:15-27)

j. Sign of the two sticks (37:15-17)

10. Allegories in Ezekiel

a. The Vine (15:1-8)

b. The Faithless Wife (16:1-63)

c. The Two Eagles (17:1-21)

d. The Cedar (17:22-24)

e. The Two Women (23:1-49)

f. The Boiling Caldron (24:1-14)

11. Key words

a. Son of man � over 90 times

b. The word of the LORD came unto me � 49 times

12. Outline

a. Judgment (ch.1-32)

b. Restoration (ch.33-48)

C. Daniel

1. 12 chapters, 357 verses

2. Daniel means �God is Judge�

3. Written between 605 and 536BC, the time of Daniel�s ministry

4. Greatest prophecies in the Bible on the times of the Gentiles

IV. PROPHETS OF THE RETURN

A. Haggai

1. 2 chapters, 38 verses

2. Haggai means �festive, or celebration�

3. Written in 520BC

4. Worked with Zechariah (Ezra 5:1; 6:14)

5. Preached the importance of completing the temple (1:1-4)

B. Zechariah

1. 14 chapters, 211 verses

2. Zechariah means �The Lord remembers�

3. Written between 520-516BC

4. Born into a priestly line (1:1)

5. Preached the importance of completing the temple (4:6-10)

6. Prophecies of Christ in Zechariah

a. Servant (3:8)

b. Branch (3:8; 6:12)

c. King0Priest (6:13)

d. Lowly King (9:9-10)

e. Betrayed (11:12-13)

f. Hands Pierced (12:10)

g. Cleansing Fountain (13:1)

h. Humanity and Deity (13:7; 6:12)

i. Smitten Shepherd (13:7-9)

j. Second Coming (14:5,9)

7. Visions in Zechariah

a. The Horseman (1:7-17)

b. The Horns and the Carpenters (1:18-21)

c. The Measuring Line (2)

d. Joshua, the high Priest (3)

e. The Golden Candlesticks (4)

f. The Flying Roll (5:1-4)

g. The Ephah (5:5-11)

h. The Four Chariots (6:1-8)

C. Malachi

1. 4 chapters, 55 verses

2. Malachi means �messenger of Jehovah�

3. Probably written around 433BC

4. Prophet to the Jews in the land after the return from captivity

5. Ends the Old Testament with the word �curse�

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