Hebrew Word: Prophet, Prophecy
It is the object of this work to explain the Hebrew words for “prophet” and “prophecy”. Usually, when people talk of a prophet, it is meant a chosen person who divines the future, and of a prophecy: knowledge of the future said to be obtained from a divine source, i.e., a deity. But the Hebraic concept of prophet and prophecy should not be confused with the divination or fortunetelling found among the nations. So, who is a prophet, and what a prophet is called for? Perhaps, the most remarkable example of what a prophet is in the Eternal’s statement, “I shall raise up for them a prophet like you … And I shall put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him”. The matter will become clear once we understand what was meant when the Eternal said, “I shall put My words in his mouth, etc.” We will cite several examples where the Hebrew word for “prophet” is used in its literal meaning unaltered in the translations.
The Hebrew word for “prophet” is נָבִיא navi, (feminine נְבִיאָה neviah, a prophetess). Navi comes from the root verb נָבָא nava and is usually misunderstood to mean to prophesy, i.e., “to predict the future” in inspiration. The noun derived from this verb is “prophecy”, נְבוּאָה nevuah, which is usually understood to mean a prediction. However, the Hebrew word נָבִיא navi and נְבוּאָה nevuah, have different meanings. As we will see below, נָבִיא navi has the literal meaning of one who has the role to “create (בָּרָא bara), the fruit or produce (נוֹב nov) of the lips”, as seen in Isa 57:19. We read from the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) translation of Isaiah thus,
Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith the LORD that createth the fruit (Hebrew, nov) of the lips; and I will heal him. (Isa 57:19 JPS)
The Hebrew word for “fruit” can be spelled in one more way: נֵיב neiv having the same meaning. The noun נוֹב nov comes from the root verb נוּב nuv which means to germinate, hence, to give fruits. This word can be found in only one more place in Mal 1:12, where it is used with its literal meaning,
But ye profane it, in that ye say: ‘The table of the LORD is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even the food thereof, is contemptible’. (Mal 1:12 JPS)
“God never uses two prophets to announce the same message”. Talmud Sanhedrin 89
The second Hebrew in focus is the word behind “create”: בָּרָא bara. This is the same word used in Genesis 1:1 telling us that Elohim created, but more literally, filled up the heavens and the earth.
According to Talmud Megillah 14a, there are 48 prophets and 7 prophetesses of Israel. The first time, when the term “prophet” is used in the Torah, is in Genesis 20:7, wherein the patriarch Avraham is called by the Eternal “prophet”. Likewise, Miryam, the sister of Aharon and Mosheh, was called “prophetess” in Exo 15:20. Had they ever predicted the future? We read in Genesis 20 that Avimelech took Sarah, the wife of Avraham, against her will, which was a sin of violence. The Eternal said to him in a dream, “I knew that you did this with a blameless heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me. That was why I did not let you touch her”.
And now, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and let him pray for you and you live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall certainly die, you and all that are yours. (Gen 20:7)
Here, we are told that it is not that Avraham could see into the future, but a prophet is the one to whom the Eternal responds favorably to his prayer. The Eternal would not have forgiven the king even when he had given back Sarah to Avraham, until Avraham had pacified Him by his prayer. The other function of a prophet, namely, to be a spokesman for the Eternal is found in Exodus 7:1. It is the term “prophet” by which Aharon was called. Notice that in Exodus 4:16 he was also called up to be “mouth” for his brother Mosheh to speak for him. The Eternal said to Mosheh,
And he (Aharon) shall speak for you to the people. And it shall be that he shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be a mighty one for him. (Exo 4:16)
See, I have made you a powerful one to Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother is your prophet. (Exo 7:1)
Note: Most translations read: “I have made you a god” (KJV) implying the Eternal made Mosheh a deity, but this is not the reading of the Hebrew text, which states that He “gave” it to Mosheh. JPS renders the phrase better: “I have set thee in God’s stead to Pharaoh”. What did the Eternal give to Mosheh? The Hebrew word אֱלֹהִים, elohim, one of power and authority; it is used in Tanach for angels, as angels execute judgement or relay messages to men, for judges and chastisers. Thus, Mosheh was called up to act like him in authority and power to execute judgement on Egypt, or to chastise Pharaoh with plagues and torments. In this capacity of Mosheh to speak before Pharaoh, Aharon would be his spokesperson on account of Mosheh’s speech impairment. A more literal translation therefore would be: “I gave you power and authority to act before Pharaoh”, or “I set you in the role of God to Pharaoh”. We now return to the text.
Hence, in keeping with the rules of parallelism, we find that Aharon was (1) “a mouth” for Mosheh, i.e., he conveyed to Pharaoh whatever Mosheh spoke, and (2) a prophet. Hence, we learn that the navi is the one who is a spokesperson for the Eternal, charged with producing (filling up) a warning message, whether positive or negative, or one who delivers judgement, as Mosheh brought the plagues upon Egypt. The best way to understand the office of a prophet as a spokesperson for the Eternal is to study the lives of two great prophets of the Eternal: Mosheh, the greatest one among all prophets, and only second to him is Eliyahu.
Yet, Mosheh bade Israel to await another prophet, a prophet like him, who would be raised up from their midst. He is the one about whom the Eternal spoke to Mosheh, saying,
I shall raise up for them a prophet like you out of the midst of their brothers. And I shall put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. (Deu 18:18)
The matter of the prophet like Mosheh, as spoken of here, deserves a separate study which we intend to do in a future article.
Therefore, we see that the Hebraic concept of “prophecy” נְבוּאָה nevuah, is quite different from how it is interpreted today. The role of a prophet is not to foretell the future, that is a fortuneteller, but to bring the people back to the Covenant and to the Torah observance when they go astray. It is true, however, that when the people do not listen to the navi’s fruit of the lips, he may act like a seer (1Sa 9:9) to warn them of their future, which may not be a pretty good picture.
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