The prophetic books are a division of the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, grouping 18 books ( Catholic and Orthodox canon) or 17 books ( Protestant canon, excluding Baruch) in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. In terms of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Latter Prophets from the

Nevi'im The (; ) is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the ''Tanakh''), lying between the () and (). The Nevi'im are divided into two groups. The Former Prophets ( ) consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings ...

, with the addition of Lamentations (which in the Tanakh is one of the

Five Megillot The Five Scrolls or the Five Megillot ( , ''Hamesh Megillot'' or ''Chomeish Megillos'') are parts of the Ketuvim ("Writings"), the third major section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Bo ...

) and Daniel, both of which are included among the books of the Hebrew

Ketuvim The (; ) is the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible, after the ("instruction") and the "Prophets". In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually titled "Writings" or "Hagiographa". In the Ketuvim, 1–2 Books ...

. The prophetic books are named as such because prophets are traditionally attributed as authors.Major and Minor Prophetic Books of the Bible
/ref> However, modern scholars think that the books as they have been handed down to the present time are the work of successive generations of writers who took their inspiration from the messages of these prophets. These authors were active between 750 BC and 450 BC. The first six of the books are known as the major prophets, while the last 12 are known as the

minor prophets The Twelve Minor Prophets (, ''Shneim Asar''; , ''Trei Asar'', "Twelve"; , "the Twelve Prophets"; , "the Twelve Prophets"), or the Book of the Twelve, is a collection of twelve prophetic works traditionally attributed to individual prophets, like ...

. These names do not imply that the major prophets are more important than the minor prophets, but refer to the major prophetic books being much longer than the minor ones. The books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel have 66, 52 and 48 chapters, respectively, while the minor prophets merely have 1 to 14 chapters per book. Incidentally, outside of the prophetic books, prophets also feature as characters in other books of the Hebrew Bible.

List

The major prophets in Christianity are: *

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

* Lamentations * Baruch (not included in Protestant canons) *

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

* Daniel In Judaism, only Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are counted amongst the 'major prophets'. Baruch, a Septuagintal book, is considered canonical in Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and

Oriental Orthodox churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...

and

apocryphal Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

in Protestant Christianity and in Judaism. The

are the same in Christianity as in Judaism (however, in Jewish Bibles they are grouped as one single book, titled "The Twelve"): *

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; ), also known as Osee (), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose collective writing ...

* Joel *

Amos Amos or AMOS may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Amos'' (album), an album by Michael Ray * Amos (band), an American Christian rock band * ''Amos'' (film), a 1985 American made-for-television drama film * Amos (guitar), a 1958 Gibson Fl ...

Obadiah Obadiah (; – ''ʿŌḇaḏyā'' or – ''ʿŌḇaḏyāhū''; "servant/slave of Yah"), also known as Abdias, is a biblical prophet. The authorship of the Book of Obadiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Obadiah. The ma ...

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

* Micah * Nahum * Habakkuk * Zephaniah * Haggai * Zechariah *

Malachi Malachi or Malachias (; ) is the name used by the author of the Book of Malachi, the last book of the Nevi'im (Prophets) section of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh. It is possible that ''Malachi'' is not a proper name, because it means "messenger"; ...

References

{{Authority control Biblical criticism Development of the Christian biblical canon Christian terminology Ancient Hebrew texts

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See also

References