Trying to rebuild the temple and populate it with the Priests/ re-established the priesthood and the will be in charge of the torah obedience. 28:15; Jer. 9:20, respectively.). 1. God does not know individuals as such, but has knowledge of all the influences that the heavenly bodies exert upon any person born at any given time and place. In Maimonides' approach to prophecy one can detect his wavering between viewing prophecy primarily in terms of an intellectual attainment and viewing it primarily in terms of the perfection of the imagination. Since most people act in accordance with the influences of the heavenly bodies, and do not exercise their freedom to act in a manner contrary to them, their future can be predicted with a fair amount of confidence. 14:6; Ps. To them the cultic obligations are secondary to, and dependent upon, the fulfillment of the moral code of behavior. Next in line in the Bible's narrative tradition of prophetic intercession stands Samuel, who prayed on behalf of his people after their defeat at the hands of the Philistines (i Sam. They prayed that repentance would have the desired effect: "Who knows, God may yet have a change of heart and turn from His fierce anger so that we shall not perish" (Jonah 3:9, the words of the king of Nineveh expressing the prophetic sentiment; cf. The prophets were not always ready to accept the finality of divine judgment (for Amos and Jeremiah, see above). The classical prophets had visions and unnatural experiences during their prophetic "seizures." Other universalistic themes in the early prophets are exemplified in i Kings 20:28, in which a man of God says to the king of Israel, "Thus says the Lord, 'Because the Arameans have said, "the Lord is a god of the hills but he is not a god of the valleys," therefore I will deliver all of this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord'," and in i Kings 5:15 in which Naaman, the commander of the Aramean army, after being cured by immersing himself in the Jordan River as prescribed by Elisha, confesses, "Behold, I know that there is no God in all the world but in Israel." Those who treat prophecy as a supernatural phenomenon differ over the nature of the prophetic experience. Mantic behavior was not restricted to the pre-classical prophets. To confound matters even more, a true prophet might be misled by a "false" prophet (i Kings 13), and false prophecy might even be inspired by God in order to deceive and entice Israel (i Kings 22:21ff.). ); G. von Rad, Old Testament Theology, 2 (1965), 3300; H.M. Orlinsky, in: Oriens Antiquus, 4 (1965), 15374. Their utterance of divinely inspired oracles was supposed to be an integral component of Israelite worship. 9:29); Jedo (Iddo) wrote of either Solomon or Jeroboam (ii Chron. Crescas accepts Saadiah's notion that the voice heard by Moses and by Israel at Sinai was a created audible one. Jerusalem surrendered in 597 bc. For Crescas, prophecy categorically differs from divination which is received by the imagination. ; Jer. 4. A. Preexilic Date During the Reign of Jehoram (848-841 B.C.) Some did not escape their assassins (Jer. 8:3; Neh. Elijah stops Ahaziah's messengers on their way to inquire of Baal-Zebub; Ahijah the Shilonite tears his new garment when he confronts Jeroboam and announces the division of the United Kingdom (i Kings 11:29ff. 1-2). Sharply reacting to idealistic theories that reduce prophecy to a function of the human spirit, Solomon Ludwig *Steinheim insisted that revelation cannot be explained solely in terms of rational or spiritual insight. Additionally, Puritans such as John Bunyan have described the Christian life as a Pilgrims Progress. From Christ's first coming to his second coming, the Christian life is one of exile. He did not question his sincerity nor did he call him a false prophet, but he merely pointed out that "the prophets who were of old, before my time and yours, prophesied against many countries and great kingdoms of war, disaster, and plague." Elisha foretells the defeat of Moab at the hands of Jehoshaphat and Jehoram (ii Kings 3:16ff.). God alone knows the actions that will perfect the soul and they are those given in the Torah. 15:11). Temple. The problem of how to distinguish a prophet who was truly commissioned by God from a "false" prophet is perplexing. Moses prayed to the Lord and the fire died down" (Num. In the imminent new age a new covenant would be made with the restored house of Israel, to whom God would give a new spirit and a new heart. Even if some of these events are vaticinium ex eventu, "prophecy after the events," the narratives make it abundantly clear that the people believed in the prophet's ability to foresee the future. Jeremiah, who received his call to prophecy in 627 b.c.e., identified the enemy described as the "nation from the north" with Babylonia only after the battle of Carchemish in 605 b.c.e. ; 9:12; Jer. Abraham also valiantly attempted to save the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and with unbridled daring challenged God: "Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly" (18:25). The prophet for Maimonides thus reaches the pinnacle of human perfection and achieves the rank of the perfect philosopher, statesman and diviner. His prophecy also contains much that is of consolation to the thirsty soul (eg. Some prophets (e.g., Jeremiah and Ezekiel) were priests with the duties described above. Other biblically sanctioned, legitimate means through which God discloses His will are dreams (i Sam. In Israel, ritual is conceived of as God's gift, an act of grace intended for the good of humanity. *Heschel contends that the prophet experiences not merely the presence or the love of God, but a revelation of the "divine pathos." Both are referred to together as "the greatest of the prophets" (Deut. The Book of Nahum is about the prophet Nahum and his message to Judah (Nahum 1:15). It emanates from God to the intellect of the person, with or without an intermediary. = ii Kings 19) and Jeremiah (Jer. 10:2; 50:35; Ezek. He will also "set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them.". We see this theme of exile from Genesis to Revelation. . 26ff. The Bible is well aware of divination in other nations as well, e.g., Philistines (i Sam. This commentary on Isaiah helps readers understand the book's original setting and apply it to today's circumstances. 20:4044; 22:8, 26; 4048), as well as the post-Exilic prophets Haggai and Zechariah, had a very positive attitude toward the Temple and its cult. Illumination derived from union with the Divine reaches its highest level in prophecy. Ahijah announced both the selection and the rejection of Jeroboam as king of Israel (i Kings 11:2939; 14:118; 15:29). 12:68) but it is extended to apply to all future prophecy. 12:15, he is distinguished from Shemaiah the navi); ii Chronicles 19:2, Jehu son of Hanani, for Jehoshaphat; ii Chronicles 33:18, anonymous men for Manasseh; and ii Chronicles 35:15, Jeduthun, Heman, and Asaph for Josiah. Davidic King. 8:18; cf. A prophet "who has My word, let him faithfully speak My word. Since the people were afraid of receiving God's word directly in a public theophany (divine manifestation), they requested Moses to "go closer and hear all that our Lord our God tells you and we will willingly do it" (Deut. The prophetic office was not easy to bear. 9:8; Amos 7:1213; Micah 2:6). 26:5556) and the ordeal (Num. The Bible Prophets spoke for God amidst a diversity of economic circumstances, political regimes, and times in history. 49b; cf. Jeremiah is eventually led to curse his people and demand vengeance against his adversaries (11:20b; 12:3b; 15:15a; 18:2123). Used by permission. Simultaneous with the fall of Assyria would come the demise of arrogance, the root of all idolatrous behavior. This incurable stubborness and hardheartedness of the people (Jer. ), imparted oracles (23:31), and prophesied in yhwh's name (14:14; 29:9), since they promised good fortune and prosperity and thereby lulled the people into false security (6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:17; 28:2ff. Before the first surrender of Jerusalem, Ezekiel was a functioning priest probably attached to the Jerusalem Temple staff. As other prophets have done before him, he sees the God-to-People relationship as analogous to that of husband to unfaithful wife and therefore understands the collapse of the life of Judah as a judgment for essential infidelity. This is suggested by the manner of framing questions in the simple form of alternatives in i Samuel 14:37, 42 (cf. ; Ezek. The most dramatic example by far is the unsuccessful flight of Jonah. Ahab persecuted or permitted Jezebel to persecute Elijah (i Kings 17ff. Such commissioning or re-commissioning accounts are found in Isaiah 6 (which does not describe the prophet's original call to prophecy, but rather his re-commissioning, so Kaufmann); Jeremiah 1:4ff. Best Answer Copy The Exilic Prophets are Ezekiel and Daniel. He also knew where the Arameans were encamping (ii Kings 6:9) and hears their very words (6:12). The prophets greatly influenced the political destiny of Israel. Paradoxically, he who dedicated his life to persuading the people to return must now "return" himself. Furthermore, several occasions are specifically recorded in which an oracle delivered by an acknowledged true prophet did not materialize in the manner in which he predicted even within his own lifetime! Azariah son of Oded influenced King Asa to institute a reform in Judah and to rely on God (ii Chron. Additional examples of this phenomenon are found among the Hittite iunianza and the pre-Islamic khins. He eats and drinks during those days only a very small amount of food including barley cake baked on human dung to indicate that the people of Israel and Jerusalem "shall eat their bread unclean among the nations" and "shall eat bread by weight and water by measure" (Ezek. The Minor Prophets - Introduction | Bible.org Omissions? He is then to bind a stone to it and cast it into the Euphrates and say, "Thus shall Babylon sink, to rise no more, because of the evil I am bringing upon her." The prophetic groups in Beth-El and Jericho knew that the Lord would take Elijah away that very day to die (ii Kings 2:3ff.). Religion is not to be equated with formal worship, nor is it to be restricted to certain specified times during the calendar year; it is to encompass all of life. From his discussion of prophecy Maimonides excludes Mosaic prophecy and the Revelation at Sinai. The pre-exilic Prophets Introduction: The word prophet has at least two senses in the Old Testament. And when the spirit rested upon them they spoke in ecstasy" (11:25; cf. Azariah son of Oded in ii Chronicles 15:1 and Jahaziel son of Zechariah in ii Chronicles 20:14 are both inspired by "the spirit of God/yhwh," which comes upon them (cf. 24:18-25:21; 2 Chr. Both speak solely in the name of the God of Israel, who reveals His will directly to them. 28:7; ii Kings 23:24; Isa. There is a decided change in the degree of emphasis in the preexilic literary prophets, but not in the principle. "Do not pray for this people, or lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me, for I do not hear you" (Jer. Malachi. The prophets, however, devaluated the intrinsic significance of ritual, and stressed God's ultimate concern with correct behavior. Saviors of a People Richard D. Draper The thunder of Nebuchadnezzar's battering rams should have sounded the death knell of the Jews as a people, but it did not. 32ff. 15:20; Judg. Thus, it seems that for a short period of time Jeremiah had actually lost prophetic office. A preferable nomenclature would be the pre-classical, or popular, prophets and the classical, or literary, prophets. Can God's knowledge which is unchanging nevertheless encompass all particulars throughout history? 10 Key Points About Work in the Bible Every Christian Should Know, Beyond Rank and Power: What Philemon Tells Us About Leadership, Learning From the Psalms How to Pray Through Your Work, Situating the Prophets in Israels History, Theology of Work Bible Commentary Volume 3: Isaiah Through Malachi, Theology of Work Bible Commentary - One Volume Edition, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Ezekiel, living in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, prophesied the fall of Babylonia but never specified Persia as the conqueror. Connected by 14 bridges and four tunnels, the island of Manhattan is one of five boroughs of New York City. Therefore, that information is unavailable for most Encyclopedia.com content. (2) Some prophesy by words, some by actions. The technical title navi is applied to both. 26:2023; Uriah). "Prophets and Prophecy Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. 6:20; 7:2123; 14:12; Hos. And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, and if it does evil in My sight, not listening to My voice, then I will repent of the good which I intended to do to it" (Jer. Abraham Isaac *Kook's treatment of prophecy, in his work Orot ha-Kodesh (pt. (Isa. Nevertheless prophecy came to them only by night and in "half words" and from "behind the curtain" (Gen. R. 52:5). and the neo-Assyrian empire, foretold exile and destruction for Israel, but he never indicated that it would be executed by Assyria. Intercession would no longer avail, or more properly stated, God would not permit any further intercession, because it just might have been successful in diverting Him from His self-prescribed course. Ex. Some prophets are connected with the literature of the Torah, e.g., Jeremiah with Deuteronomy and Ezekiel with the Priestly Code. The story of Daniel serves as a guidebook and a case study for Christians navigating "secular" settings. He is God's mouthpiece (Jer. https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/prophets-and-prophecy, "Prophets and Prophecy 7 James D. Nogalski, "Reading David in the Psalter: A Study in Liturgical Hermeneutics," HBT 23 (2001) 190. 20:2ff.). The Bible offers guidance for a Christian view of wealth and how wealth can be used for God's redemptive purposes. He is also called their master (lit., "father," ii Kings 6:21). 9:2223; 22:1516; Hos. 31:31ff. In the aforementioned quotations from the books of Jeremiah and Zechariah, the medium of dream communication is coupled with that of divination, a science that was well known and widely spread throughout the entire Ancient Near East. His discussions of prophecy in the introduction to his treatise and towards its conclusion (3:51), on the other hand, describe prophecy as the ultimate intellectual attainment, surpassing the metaphysical knowledge possessed by the philosophers. benei ha-neviim) who may or may not have been located at a shrine. True, both indictments concern a primary breach of the moral law, adultery and murder, and are leveled against kings; but they are still an integral part of the ethical-moral dimension. Summary and Analysis The Post-Exilic Prophets. This article is arranged according to the following outline: The second division of the Hebrew Canonical Scriptures is today subdivided into "The Former Prophets," i.e., the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings (the term is taken from Zech. They could only be judged by the person who had true insight into the intentions of God at that historical moment. 15:22). The life story of a prophet is liable to be one of anguish, fear, rejection, ridicule, and even imprisonment (Isa. He was more interested than his predecessors in understanding the details of this phenomenon what exactly is the nature of the emanation from the Active Intellect and how does it come about that the prophet receives it as a particular message relating to his own historical circumstances. The most analytical discussion of this phenomenon is to be found in the early 14th-century treatise by Gersonides (*Levi ben Gershom), Wars of the Lord. Leaders used power to destroy lives, and religious leaders despised Gods holy things. One may think of the Active Intellect as a giant transmitter which transmits on all frequencies at once all information regarding celestial influences on all places on earth through all time. Business, education, law, service industries, medicine, government--wherever you work, in whatever capacity, the Scriptures have something to say about it. In this category may be included the symbolic names which Isaiah gave his children: "a remnant shall turn back" (Isa. 27:2ff. Pre-exilic Prophets : Cory Baugher www.knowingthebible.net : Free Judah and Jerusalem had fallen to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. 23:31-24:17). Herein lies one possible means of distinguishing between the two kinds of prophets: the function of the prophet as an intercessor. In the period of the pre-classical prophets, the political-historical horizon was of limited local significance. It affords man means by which to draw closer to God. Zechariah. Scott, The Relevance of the Prophets (1944); S. Mowinckel, Prophecy and Tradition (1946); M. Buber, The Prophetic Faith (1949); Y.A. Though the prophet weeps with his destined victims and takes up the cry of his compatriots, he is not understood by them. This intellect is an immortal entity, not dependent upon the body for its existence, and it conjoins with the Active Intellect. 16:1ff.). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 16:710). ; 33:30ff. Prophecy is verified by others by their beholding this special entity in one of its manifold forms, or by miracles that accompany the relaying of the divine message and which only God is capable of performing. Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. Moreover, the words of castigation leveled against the cult are found in the writings of the pre-Exilic prophets; in contrast, in the books of the Exilic and post-Exilic prophets the ritual is often highly emphasized and favorably viewed (see below). They censured, warned, and admonished their audiences to forsake their immoral ways in order to avoid imminent destruction. Since he was both a herdsman of Tekoa (Amos 1:1) and a dresser of sycamore trees (7:14), and sycamores grow only in the Shephelah but not in the hilly country of Tekoa, he must have been a wealthy landowner with flocks in Judea and plantations in the Shephelah (Ned. Halevi at the beginning of his treatise indicates that the Islamic Aristotelian philosophers posit the following criteria for attaining human perfection: possessing the proper potential inherited from one's parents, living in a moderate geographical clime conducive to actualizing this potential by attaining the moral virtues and mastering all of the sciences. Both the topics of providence and miracles are treated in the Wars of the Lord. Moses, Deut. ); and Shemaiah announces to that same king that he should not go to war against his kinsmen of Israel (i Kings 12:22ff.). (ii Kings 9:11). Elisha has one of his colleagues anoint Jehu king of Israel, inspires the latter's rebellion against Jehoram (ii Kings 9), and later (ii Kings 13:14ff.) Verse Concepts. 21:12; cf. Jeremiah, whose personal tribulations and confessions are better known than those of any other prophet, became the paradigm of one who suffers for his mission. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. ." They knew very well the futility of chastisement (e.g., Amos 4:611; Isa. dreams are directly linked to prophecy. So, too, in Deuteronomy 18:18, "I will raise up a prophet for them among their own people, like yourself. Moses made several attempts to dissuade God from selecting him, since he felt that he did not possess sufficient credentials for his mission. 3:11). verses 5ff. Who were the four post-exilic prophets? Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, how You swore to them by Your Self and said to them: 'I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your offspring this whole land of which I spoke, to possess for ever'" (Ex. 2:11; Zech. ), and Jeremiah, for Zedekiah (Jer. One of the stunning tragedies of the people of God was their persistence in pursuing the worship of the many gods of their pagan neighbors. 22:5; ii Sam. 6:14; 8:11; 14:13; 23:17; 28:2ff. Moses, too, possessed a completely false conception of reality. According to Aad Ha-Am, who regarded the nation as the bearer of true ethical universalism, the prophet personifies the finest manifestation of the Jewish national spirit. The lengthy prophetic dedication of Moses (Ex. How can I treat you like Admah or make you like Zeboim! The description of the prophet's emotional experience upon receiving a "stern vision" is at times graphic and overwhelmingly frightening: his loins are filled with anguish; his pain is comparable to birth pangs; he is tortured, anguished, terror-stricken; he reels, and he is filled with the wrath of God (Isa. 15:1) would be helpless in such a situation. Generally speaking, Ezekiel is a Iprophet who deals with the covenant, whereas Daniel is a prophet who deals with the kingdom. Updates? 12:15); and Iddo did the same for Abijah, Rehoboam's successor (ii Chron. ; 14:1ff. He merits this title because of his role as intercessor (see below): "But you [Abimelech] must restore the man's wife [Sarah] since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you to save your life" (Gen. 20:7). Against these common practices of Israel's neighbors the Bible inveighs, "You shall not practice divination or soothsaying" (Lev. This can be seen in Elijah's command that Elisha anoint Hazael king of Aram (i Kings 19:15), for yhwh is considered equally responsible for events in Aram and in Israel. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps. 1:46). ; cf. So that he can once again perform the role of God's emissary, "You shall be my spokesman" (15:19). 23:14); if he used his office to make a living by telling the people what they wanted to hear and not what they ought to hear (Micah 3:11); or if he was a "professional" prophet attached to the staff of temple personnel (the joint denunciation of priest and prophet may be noted in Isa. This is of course clearly expressed in the Bible (Num. According to the Bible, an ecstatic seizure might be induced by external means, e.g., music. One of the postexilic prophet's jobs was to point out that Yahweh was superior and . The restoration would be an act of divine grace, for the sake of Gods name. Nevertheless he cannot cease from being a prophet: "If I say, 'I will not mention Him or speak any more His name,' there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am not able to hold it in" (Jer. Some prophets were fated to become harbingers of their nation's downfall. 20:10). The head is the elder and honorable man, And the prophet who teaches falsehood is the tail. 10:1). "God requires devotion, not devotions" (S. Spiegel, Amos versus Amaziah (1957), 43), right not rite. All other legislations fall short in attaining this goal. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. Blogger Grid member Craig T. Owens (@craigtowens) created the helpful chart below delineating the Old Testament prophets and kings of Israel and Judah and has now updated it: [Sign up to receive in your inbox a free daily reading of the Old & New Testament from Bible Gateway]Craig says:. Some of what I relate here comes from his lectures, while the remainder is drawn from the magisterial commentary on Haggai and Zechariah in the Anchor Bible series written by his mentors, Carol and Eric Meyers. When the divine prophetic spirit rests on a man, he is "possessed" by it in a kind of frenzy or "sober intoxication." Ps. Seligmann, in: Eretz Israel, 3 (1954), 12532 (Heb. 4). His ever-changing cast included the leading historical figures of those days Sargon, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus but his attention was continually focused on Israel; her destiny within the divinely controlled arena of world politics was his main concern. R. 2:4). the same act performed by Zedekiah, i Kings 22:11). Biblical literature - Prophetic themes and actions | Britannica 11:89). The classical prophets played an extremely important role in the Israelite society, as is well known. 38a). The classical prophets for the most part, do not reject the cult per se any more than they absolutely reject prayer or any other type of worship. Thus, classical prophecy arose and reached its zenith during the rise and fall of world empires. 8; Hos. Samuel, who in this narrative (9:6) is also called ish ha-Elohim, and who had been previously informed by the Lord of Saul's arrival, provides the necessary information and, in addition, anoints Saul king of Israel (i Sam. Ezekiel, in particular, was prone to various ecstatic fits; Hosea is called a "madman" (Hos. 14:1ff. It may be inferred, therefore, that the ancient Israelites had more concept, Prophecy: Prophecy in Post-Biblical Judaism, Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Manager, Propiac,(Catherine Joseph Ferdinand) Girard de, Comparison of Pre-Classical and Classical Prophets, dedication and commissioning of the prophet, suspension of freedom and god's inaccessibility, https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/prophets-and-prophecy, Kingship: Kingship in the Ancient Mediterranean World. 24:7; 31:3033; 32:3841; Ezek. In short, he sought to counter the naturalistic approaches to prophecy that characterize Maimonides' and Gersonides' approaches by treating prophecy primarily as a supernatural phenomenon. The Temples form of worship would be reestablished in Israel, and each of the ancient tribes would receive appropriate allotments of land. 42:2, 20) respectively, to intercede on behalf of Israel in the face of an enemy onslaught. They often performed symbolic acts, which dramatized and concretized the spoken word. 15:20 and Num. 19:23). Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel, Hebrew Yeezqel, (flourished 6th century bc), prophet-priest of ancient Israel and the subject and in part the author of an Old Testament book that bears his name. 11:2; Hos. He is even driven in extremis to reproach God: "Why are you like a man dumbfounded, like a mighty man who cannot save?" God gave Jonah a mission to Nineveh, the Assyrian capital, calling the Assyrian people to repentance. Biblical decision-making principles for tough situations at work. Maimonides appears to maintain that Moses received the Torah directly from God, word for word, and not from the Active Intellect. Unit 4 (Exilic/Post-Exilic Prophets) Flashcards | Quizlet And should you ask yourselves, 'How can we know that the prophetic word was not spoken by the Lord?' Armed solely with the divine word and as conveyor of the divine will, he views the world sub specie dei. 89a) is probably to be taken to refer to the fact that although they all reveal the word of God, each one has his own particular message or doctrine. I have neither a lender nor borrower been, yet everyone belittles me" (15:10). The prophet, although conscious of being overwhelmed by the divine word and of being involved in an encounter with God, is still capable of reacting and responding and may even engage God in a dialogue. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. In Israel (as in Mari and Assyria) prophets could be female as well as male (Ex. Great yet unbearable is the fate of one who claims that he was seduced, even forced into his role: "O Lord you have seduced me, and I was seduced; you have raped me, and have prevailed" (Jer. The Pre- exilic, exilic, and Post-exilic prophets Flashcards Israelite resistance was nevertheless renewed, and in 587586 the city was destroyed after a lengthy siege. Biblical literature - Babylonian Exile, Rebuilding of Temple, and 2:6); Babylonians (Isa. The faith of Ezekiel in the ultimate establishment of a new covenant between God and the people of Israel has had profound influence on the postexilic reconstruction and reorganization of Judaism. 30:6; Isa. 29:25ff. Only they are capable of achieving true virtue and the intellectual love of God. He drew upon the spirit that was on him and put it upon the 70 elders. This emanation results in the apprehension of metaphysical truths, principles of governance and the ability to divine the future. Idolatry, too, was subjected to its usual severe criticism (e.g., Isa. The uniqueness of Moses' prophecy has as its most important corollary the fact that his prophecy alone involves divine legislation. The human intellect then conjoins with the Active Intellect. To the prophets, events of history disclosed the finger of God. The irresistible character that such a religious experience has on a "God-intoxicated" individual (Jer. In his philosophic treatise, Light of the Lord, he defines prophecy as follows [Book 2, Section 4]: "Prophecy is a spiritual emanation of knowledge. 15:17). Ezekiel teaches us that when we are called to the workplace, we are called to righteous activity in exile as we embrace the challenges inherent in awaiting the consummation of God's kingdom. In short, God does not know any individual qua individual nor any of his particular circumstances. But this, too, was not an absolute definition, for both pre-Exilic, e.g., Nahum 2:1, Jeremiah 30-33 (if these chapters stem from the early part of his career), and Exilic, e.g., Deutero-Isaiah, as well as post-Exilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, brought messages of comfort, and some also took a positive view of the cult (see below).

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