Page 118 - Advanced OT Survey Revised

Chapter 10: Introduction to Prophets (God’s messengers of
judgment and redemption) - The Major and Minor Prophets

Connect…

What usually comes to mind when you hear the term “Prophets”? “They have a strange way of talking,
like people who, instead of proceeding in an orderly manner, ramble off from one thing to the next so
that you cannot make heads or tails of them or see what they are getting at.” lxxxix

Before we jump into individual prophetic books we will first learn about the Prophets in general. They
are an important part of God’s Word. Let see if we can understand why….

Objectives…

1. The student should be able to explain why the Major and Minor Prophets are important parts of the
canon of Scripture.

2. The student should be able to place the various prophets within a historical framework.

3. The student should be able to describe the various forms of prophetic literature.

4. The student should be able to describe how Christ is an important part of prophetic literature.

The Lesson ...

What are the Major and Minor Prophets?

The terms Major Prophets and Minor Prophets are simply a way to divide the Old Testament prophetic
books. The Major Prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The Minor Prophets
are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi. The Minor Prophets are also sometimes called The Twelve.

The Major Prophets are described as “major” because their books are longer, and the content has
broader, even global implications. The twelve Minor Prophets are described as “minor” because their
books are shorter (although Hosea and Zechariah are almost as long as Daniel) and the content is more
narrowly focused. That does not mean the Minor Prophets are any less inspired than the Major
Prophets. It is simply a matter of God choosing to reveal more to the prophets that wrote the longer
books than He did to the Minor Prophets.

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