International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue I, January 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186

A Re-examination of the Origin and Cycle of Prophetic Movement in Israel

Nyoyoko, Vincent Gabriel And Essien, Stella Patrick
Akwa Ibom State University, Nigeria

Abstract
The upsurge of interest in the prophetic ministry in the 20th and 21st centuries is one that cannot be ignored. Its ever increasing significance presents an imperative for the critical Bible reader to evaluate modern claims to the prophetic ministry/gift in the light of the scriptures. Thus, questions regarding the origin, essence, characteristics and form of the prophetic ministry in the Bible abound, as scholars seek to give clarification, interpretation and/or credence to what is practiced today. The questions that comes to the fore, however, are (1) is prophecy to be understood as a novel means through which Yahweh communicated with His people in the Judeo-Christian tradition, or as an adoption of a religious medium of communication that was already prevalent in the Ancient Near East? (2) Can it be said that the model of prophecy that is prevalent in the 21st century conforms to that of the Judeo-Christian tradition? This essay adopts the historical and phenomenological methods of research, and the research findings agree with modern study of psychology and history of religions which has shown that prophecy is not a phenomenon limited to Israel alone, thus, the origins of prophetism can be traced together with the origin of the Israelite nation; and that prophecy was a phenomenon that shed light on the history and philosophy of Israel as a nation, seeking to align Yahweh’s people with His sovereign will at all times, not a one-sided venture seeking to please the people by saying what they wished to hear as is practiced by many acclaimed prophets today. The conclusion drawn is that, more than any other time in history, the prophetic ministry of the Church needs to be revived, revamped, and redirected in the 21st century, especially in the post-Covid-19 Nigeria in which corruption, nepotism, and bad leadership are being heightened by the day. Only then would the renewed interest in the prophetic ministry be justified and salubrious to the nation, as long as it conforms to the rubrics and ethics of the prophetic ministry as revealed in the holy writ.

Key Words: Prophet, Israel, Greek Era, Religion, Old Testament, Hebrew

Introduction

The tendency has always been to speak or think of the prophets of Israel whose work and utterances are familiar to us from the scriptures. But the modern study of psychology and of the history of religions has shown that prophecy is not a phenomenon limited to Israel alone. The “new paradigm” in prophetic studies considers prophecy as a phenomenon that is, as an occurrence or type of cross-cultural behaviour observed in various societies across temporal and geographic bounds (Kelly, 2020:24). It has been shown that most world religions (past and present) have exhibited the prophetic phenomenon, either continually or at some stage of their development, and so prophets are found in many provinces of the world of religion, in ancient as well as in modern times (Nmah & Nwadialor, 2011: 290; cf. also Ndiokwere, 1995). Before the nation of Israel came into being and while prophecy was at its peak, the nations and states of the Ancient Near East had their own oracular speakers whom we may also consider as prophets. As in Israel, they took various forms and titles and presented different sorts of messages. Though there are bound to be some significant differences in emphasis, the analogies are sufficiently clear that we might speak of prophecy as a part of the ancient world and not simply a part of Israelite’s history. However, it is to be noted that the very category of “ancient Near Eastern prophecy” did not emerge before the last decades of the twentieth century, and it is still sometimes ignored by Assyriologists (Nissinen, 2017:8).