Nevi'im
Encyclopedia
Nevi'im is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible
, the Tanakh
. It falls between the Torah
(teachings) and Ketuvim
(writings).
Nevi'im is traditionally divided into two parts:
, Samuel
and Kings
are each counted as one book. In addition, twelve relatively short prophetic books are counted as one in a single collection called Trei Asar or "The Twelve Minor Prophets". The Jewish tradition thus counts a total of eight books in Nevi'im out of a total of 24 books in the entire Tanakh. In the Jewish liturgy
, selections from the books of Nevi'im known as the Haftarah
are read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat
, as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days. The Book of Daniel
is considered part of the writings, or Ketuvim
, in the Tanakh.
The term “prophets” in the Torah stems from the Hebrew word “nabi” meaning a person who serves as a channel of communication between humans and God and vice versa. In the Former Prophets the word is used as the “preferred title for people who were considered legitimate communication links" between humans and God as a means for God to communicate with and reach out to his people in a perceivable manner, in Hebrew language. In the Latter Prophets, the term is used less frequently and often refers to "prophetic figures" as narrators of visions. In 1st Samuel prophets are also referred to as “prophetic seers”, those who communicated with God through visions, dreams or divinations. A prophet is also referred to as a “man of God” in 1st Kings with Elijah and Elisha. Many prophets stemmed out of groups of trained pious professionals who earned their living as religiously and ritually "clean" and devout prophet candidates, as did Samuel in 1st Kings and Elijah and Elisha in 2nd Kings, who also belonged to a kind of “guild” of holy men ready to be prophets. Prophets in the Torah are seen most frequently during the time of the monarchy. They appear less frequently in the “premonarchic period” prior to the appearance of kings. Prophets were “king makers” and most often their moral counterparts in that they often chose, anointed and uttered prophecies
about the possible downfall of an impious king as seen with Saul (1st Samuel).
), (2) the emergence of the “people of Israel” as independent states during the “premonarchic" period of the judges (in the Book of Judges
), (3) when kings replaced judges as rulers in the monarchic period (in the books of 1st & 2nd Samuel
and 1st & 2nd Kings
) with the anointing of Saul in 1st Samuel. The monarchic period of the Former Prophets can be further divided into the (A) United Monarchy
during the time of King David (2nd Samuel) and the reign of King Solomon (1st Kings), (B) the Divided Monarchy in 1st Kings when the kingdoms are divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (1st Kings). It accounts for the fall of the capitol of the Northern Kingdom, Samaria, to the Assyrian empire in 1st Kings and then (C) only the kingdom of Judah remained until the fall of its capitol Jerusalem to the Babylonians (2nd Kings).
(Yehoshua יהושע) contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses
to that of Joshua
. After Moses' death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses' successor, receives from God the command to cross the Jordan. In execution of this order Joshua issues the requisite instructions to the stewards of the people for the crossing of the Jordan; and he reminds the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half of Manasseh of their pledge given to Moses to help their brethren.
The book essentially consists of three parts:
(Shoftim שופטים) consists of three distinct parts:
(Shmu'el שמואל) consists of five parts:
A conclusion of sorts appears at 1 Kings 1-2, concerning Solomon
enacting a final revenge on those who did what David perceived as wrongdoing, and having a similar narrative style. While the subject matter in the Book(s) of Samuel is also covered by the narrative in Chronicles
, it is noticeable that the section (2 Sam. 11:2-12:29) containing an account of the matter of Bathsheba
is omitted in the corresponding passage in 1 Chr. 20.
(Melakhim מלכים) contains accounts of the kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah
, and the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon
until the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). Kings synchronize with 1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical
office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the royal office.
) include the books named after individual prophets. They follow books of the Former Prophets of Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings. The Latter Prophets include the "Major" prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial and "Minor" prophets or "The Twelve" books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
The activities included in the books of the prophets describe their experiences as "ecstatic prophecies" or spiritual possession and cultic prophecies dealing with ancient shrines and worship centers (note: "cultic" is not used in the sometimes negative modern interpretation but meaning practice of rituals and worship). The prophets talked about politics and war. The prophets activities also included guild memberships meaning they were either members of a certain class or of a "prophetic guild".
(Yeshayahu [ישעיהו]) consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah
. These nations include Babylon
, Assyria
, Philistia, Moab
, Syria
, Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia
, Egypt
, Arabia, and Phoenicia
. The prophecies concerning them can be summarized as saying that God
is the God of the whole earth, and that nations which think of themselves as secure in their own power might well be conquered by other nations, at God's command.
Chapter 6 describes Isaiah's call to be a prophet of God. Chapters 35-39 provide historical material about King Hezekiah
and his triumph of faith in God. Chapters 24-34, while too complex to characterize easily, are primarily concerned with prophecies of a "Messiah
", a person anointed or given power by God, and of the Messiah's kingdom, where justice and righteousness will reign. This section is seen by Jews as describing an actual king, a descendant of their great king, David, who will make Judah a great kingdom and Jerusalem a truly holy city.
The prophecy continues with what some have called "The Book of Comfort" which begins in chapter 40 and completes the writing. In the first eight chapters of this book of comfort, Isaiah prophesies the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of the Babylonians and restoration of Israel as a unified nation in the land promised to them by God. Isaiah reaffirms that the Jews are indeed the chosen people of God in chapter 44 and that Hashem
is the only God for the Jews (and only the God of the Jews) as he will show his power over the gods of Babylon in due time in chapter 46. In chapter 45:1 the Persian ruler Cyrus
is named as the messiah
who will overthrow the Babylonians and allow the return of Israel to their original land. The remaining chapters of the book contain prophecies of the future glory of Zion
under the rule of a righteous servant (52 & 54). Chapter 53 contains a very poetic prophecy about this servant which is generally considered by Christians to refer to the crucifixion
of Jesus
, though Jews generally interpret it as a reference to God's people. Although there is still the mention of judgment of false worshippers and idolaters (65 & 66), the book ends with a message of hope of a righteous ruler who extends salvation to his righteous subjects living in the Lord's kingdom on earth.
(Yirmiyahu [ירמיהו]) can be divided into twenty-three subsections, and its contents organized into five sub-sections or 'books'.
In Egypt, after an interval, Jeremiah is supposed to have
added three sections, viz., ch. 37-39; 40-43; and 44. The principal Messianic prophecies are found in 23:1-8; 31:31-40; and 33:14-26.
Jeremiah
's prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words, phrases, and imagery. They cover the period of about 30 years. They are not in chronological order. Modern scholars do not believe they have reliable theories as to when, where, and how the text was edited into its present form.
(Yehezq'el [יחזקאל]) contains three distinct sections.
(Trei Asar תרי עשר) includes:
"Minor" in this context refers to the length of the books, not the importance of the prophets themselves.
is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat
, as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days.
melody for the haftarah, distinct from that of the Torah portion. In some earlier authorities there are references to a tune for the "prophets" generally, distinct from that for the haftarah: this may have been a simplified melody for learning purposes.
Certain cantillation
marks and combinations appear in Nevi'im but not within any of the Haftarah selections, and most communities therefore do not have a musical tradition for those marks. J.L. Neeman suggested that "those who recite Nevi'im privately with the cantillation melody may read the words accented by those rare notes by using a "metaphor" based on the melody of those notes in the five books of the Torah, while adhering to the musical scale of the melody for Nevi'im." Neeman includes a reconstruction of the musical scale for the lost melodies of the rare cantillation
notes. In the Ashkenazi tradition, the resemblance between the Torah and Haftarah melodies is obvious and it is easy to transpose motifs between the two as suggested by Neeman. In the Sephardi traditions the haftarah melody is considerably more florid than the Torah melody, and usually in a different musical mode, and there are only isolated points of contact between the two.
. These reading sessions are not considered to be synagogue services, and often take place in the synagogue courtyard.
translation
of the Hebrew Bible written or compiled in the Land of Israel
or in Babylonia
from the Second Temple
period until the early Middle Ages
(late first millennium).
According to the Talmud
, the Targum
on Nevi'im was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel
. Like Targum Onkelos
on the Torah, Targum Jonathan
is an eastern (Babylonian) Targum with early origins in the west (Land of Israel
).
Like the Targum to the Torah, Targum Jonathan
to Nevi'im served a formal liturgical purpose: it was read alternately, verse by verse, or in blocks of up to three verses, in the public reading of the Haftarah and in the study of Nevi'im.
Yemenite Jews
continue the above tradition to this day, and have thus preserved a living tradition of the Babylonian vocalization for the Targum to Nevi'im.
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, the Tanakh
Tanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
. It falls between the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
(teachings) and Ketuvim
Ketuvim
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
(writings).
Nevi'im is traditionally divided into two parts:
- Former Prophets or Nevi'im Rishonim [נביאים ראשונים], which contains the narrativeNarrativeA narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
books of Joshua through Kings. - Latter Prophets or Nevi'im Aharonim [נביאים אחרונים], which mostly contains prophecies in the form of biblical poetryBiblical poetryThe ancient Hebrews perceived that there were poetical portions in their sacred texts, as shown by their entitling as songs or chants such passages as Exodus 15:1-19 and Numbers 21:17-20; and a song or chant is, according to the primary meaning of the term, poetry.- Rhyme :It is often stated that...
.
Synopsis
In JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Samuel
Books of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
and Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
are each counted as one book. In addition, twelve relatively short prophetic books are counted as one in a single collection called Trei Asar or "The Twelve Minor Prophets". The Jewish tradition thus counts a total of eight books in Nevi'im out of a total of 24 books in the entire Tanakh. In the Jewish liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, selections from the books of Nevi'im known as the Haftarah
Haftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
are read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days. The Book of Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
is considered part of the writings, or Ketuvim
Ketuvim
Ketuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
, in the Tanakh.
The term “prophets” in the Torah stems from the Hebrew word “nabi” meaning a person who serves as a channel of communication between humans and God and vice versa. In the Former Prophets the word is used as the “preferred title for people who were considered legitimate communication links" between humans and God as a means for God to communicate with and reach out to his people in a perceivable manner, in Hebrew language. In the Latter Prophets, the term is used less frequently and often refers to "prophetic figures" as narrators of visions. In 1st Samuel prophets are also referred to as “prophetic seers”, those who communicated with God through visions, dreams or divinations. A prophet is also referred to as a “man of God” in 1st Kings with Elijah and Elisha. Many prophets stemmed out of groups of trained pious professionals who earned their living as religiously and ritually "clean" and devout prophet candidates, as did Samuel in 1st Kings and Elijah and Elisha in 2nd Kings, who also belonged to a kind of “guild” of holy men ready to be prophets. Prophets in the Torah are seen most frequently during the time of the monarchy. They appear less frequently in the “premonarchic period” prior to the appearance of kings. Prophets were “king makers” and most often their moral counterparts in that they often chose, anointed and uttered prophecies
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
about the possible downfall of an impious king as seen with Saul (1st Samuel).
Former Prophets
In 586 BCE, the Israelites lost their land to the Babylonian conquerors. The books Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, 1st & 2nd Kings contain the narratives that begin immediately after the death of Moses with the divine appointment of Joshua as his successor, who then leads the people of Israel into the Promised Land. The books of the Former Prophets describe a time that includes: (1) Joshua’s conquest of the land of Canaan (in the Book of JoshuaBook of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
), (2) the emergence of the “people of Israel” as independent states during the “premonarchic" period of the judges (in the Book of Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
), (3) when kings replaced judges as rulers in the monarchic period (in the books of 1st & 2nd Samuel
Samuel
Samuel is a leader of ancient Israel in the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. He is also known as a prophet and is mentioned in the Qur'an....
and 1st & 2nd Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
) with the anointing of Saul in 1st Samuel. The monarchic period of the Former Prophets can be further divided into the (A) United Monarchy
United Monarchy
According to Biblical tradition, the united Kingdom of Israel was a kingdom that existed in the Land of Israel, a period referred to by scholars as the United Monarchy. Biblical historians date the kingdom from c. 1020 BCE to c...
during the time of King David (2nd Samuel) and the reign of King Solomon (1st Kings), (B) the Divided Monarchy in 1st Kings when the kingdoms are divided into the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (1st Kings). It accounts for the fall of the capitol of the Northern Kingdom, Samaria, to the Assyrian empire in 1st Kings and then (C) only the kingdom of Judah remained until the fall of its capitol Jerusalem to the Babylonians (2nd Kings).
I. Joshua
The Book of JoshuaBook of Joshua
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament. Its 24 chapters tell of the entry of the Israelites into Canaan, their conquest and division of the land under the leadership of Joshua, and of serving God in the land....
(Yehoshua יהושע) contains a history of the Israelites from the death of Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
to that of Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
. After Moses' death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses' successor, receives from God the command to cross the Jordan. In execution of this order Joshua issues the requisite instructions to the stewards of the people for the crossing of the Jordan; and he reminds the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half of Manasseh of their pledge given to Moses to help their brethren.
The book essentially consists of three parts:
- The history of the conquest of the land (1-12).
- The allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites (13-22), and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes.
- The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death (23, 24).
II. Judges
The Book of JudgesBook of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
(Shoftim שופטים) consists of three distinct parts:
- The Introduction (1:1-3:10 and 3:12) giving a summary of the book of Joshua
- The Main Text (3:11-16:31), discussing the five Great Judges, Abimelech, and providing glosses for a few minor Judges
- The Appendices (17:1-21:25), giving two stories set in the time of the Judges, but not discussing the Judges themselves.
III. Samuel
The Books of SamuelBooks of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
(Shmu'el שמואל) consists of five parts:
- The period of GodTetragrammatonThe term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
's rejection of EliEli (Biblical Priest)Eli was, according to the Books of Samuel, a Jewish High Priest of Shiloh, and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel.-Biblical narrative:...
, Samuel's birth, and subsequent judgment (1 Samuel 1:1-7:17) - The period of the life of SaulSaul-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
prior to meeting DavidDavidDavid was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
(1 Samuel 8:1-15:35) - The period of Saul's interaction with David (1 Samuel 16:1-2 Samuel 1:27)
- The period of David's reign and the rebellions he suffers (2 Samuel 2:1-20:22)
- An appendix of material concerning David in no particular order, and out of sequence with the rest of the text (2 Samuel 22:1-24:25)
A conclusion of sorts appears at 1 Kings 1-2, concerning Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
enacting a final revenge on those who did what David perceived as wrongdoing, and having a similar narrative style. While the subject matter in the Book(s) of Samuel is also covered by the narrative in Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
, it is noticeable that the section (2 Sam. 11:2-12:29) containing an account of the matter of Bathsheba
Bathsheba
According to the Hebrew Bible, Bathsheba was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah. She is most known for the Bible story in which King David seduced her....
is omitted in the corresponding passage in 1 Chr. 20.
IV. Kings
The Books of KingsBooks of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
(Melakhim מלכים) contains accounts of the kings of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, and the annals of the Jewish commonwealth from the accession of Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
until the subjugation of the kingdom by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (apparently a period of about four hundred and fifty-three years). Kings synchronize with 1 Chronicles 28 - 2 Chronicles 36:21. While in the Chronicles greater prominence is given to the priestly or Levitical
Levite
In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi. When Joshua led the Israelites into the land of Canaan, the Levites were the only Israelite tribe that received cities but were not allowed to be landowners "because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their inheritance"...
office, in the Kings greater prominence is given to the royal office.
Latter Prophets
The Latter Prophets of the Hebrew Bible (or the TanakhTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
) include the books named after individual prophets. They follow books of the Former Prophets of Joshua, Judges, 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings. The Latter Prophets include the "Major" prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekial and "Minor" prophets or "The Twelve" books of Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.
The activities included in the books of the prophets describe their experiences as "ecstatic prophecies" or spiritual possession and cultic prophecies dealing with ancient shrines and worship centers (note: "cultic" is not used in the sometimes negative modern interpretation but meaning practice of rituals and worship). The prophets talked about politics and war. The prophets activities also included guild memberships meaning they were either members of a certain class or of a "prophetic guild".
V. Isaiah
The 66 chapters of IsaiahBook of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
(Yeshayahu [ישעיהו]) consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
. These nations include Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
, Philistia, Moab
Moab
Moab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Israel (the northern kingdom), Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Arabia, and Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
. The prophecies concerning them can be summarized as saying that God
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
is the God of the whole earth, and that nations which think of themselves as secure in their own power might well be conquered by other nations, at God's command.
Chapter 6 describes Isaiah's call to be a prophet of God. Chapters 35-39 provide historical material about King Hezekiah
Hezekiah
Hezekiah was the son of Ahaz and the 14th king of Judah. Edwin Thiele has concluded that his reign was between c. 715 and 686 BC. He is also one of the most prominent kings of Judah mentioned in the Hebrew Bible....
and his triumph of faith in God. Chapters 24-34, while too complex to characterize easily, are primarily concerned with prophecies of a "Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
", a person anointed or given power by God, and of the Messiah's kingdom, where justice and righteousness will reign. This section is seen by Jews as describing an actual king, a descendant of their great king, David, who will make Judah a great kingdom and Jerusalem a truly holy city.
The prophecy continues with what some have called "The Book of Comfort" which begins in chapter 40 and completes the writing. In the first eight chapters of this book of comfort, Isaiah prophesies the deliverance of the Jews from the hands of the Babylonians and restoration of Israel as a unified nation in the land promised to them by God. Isaiah reaffirms that the Jews are indeed the chosen people of God in chapter 44 and that Hashem
Tetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
is the only God for the Jews (and only the God of the Jews) as he will show his power over the gods of Babylon in due time in chapter 46. In chapter 45:1 the Persian ruler Cyrus
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
is named as the messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
who will overthrow the Babylonians and allow the return of Israel to their original land. The remaining chapters of the book contain prophecies of the future glory of Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
under the rule of a righteous servant (52 & 54). Chapter 53 contains a very poetic prophecy about this servant which is generally considered by Christians to refer to the crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, though Jews generally interpret it as a reference to God's people. Although there is still the mention of judgment of false worshippers and idolaters (65 & 66), the book ends with a message of hope of a righteous ruler who extends salvation to his righteous subjects living in the Lord's kingdom on earth.
VI. Jeremiah
The Book of JeremiahBook of Jeremiah
The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
(Yirmiyahu [ירמיהו]) can be divided into twenty-three subsections, and its contents organized into five sub-sections or 'books'.
- The introduction, ch. 1.
- Scorn for the sins of Israel, consisting of seven sections, (1.) ch. 2; (2.) ch. 3-6; (3.) ch. 7-10; (4.) ch. 11-13; (5.) ch. 14-17:18; (6.) ch. 17:19-ch. 20; (7.) ch. 21-24.
- A general review of all nations, foreseeing their destruction, in two sections, (1.) ch. 46-49; (2.) ch. 25; with an historical appendix of three sections, (1.) ch. 26; (2.) ch. 27; (3.) ch. 28, 29.
- Two sections picturing the hopes of better times, (1.) ch. 30, 31; (2.) ch. 32,33; to which is added an historical appendix in three sections, (1.) ch. 34:1-7; (2.) ch. 34:8-22; (3.) ch. 35.
- The conclusion, in two sections, (1.) ch. 36; (2.) ch. 45.
In Egypt, after an interval, Jeremiah is supposed to have
added three sections, viz., ch. 37-39; 40-43; and 44. The principal Messianic prophecies are found in 23:1-8; 31:31-40; and 33:14-26.
Jeremiah
Jeremiah
Jeremiah Hebrew：יִרְמְיָה , Modern Hebrew:Yirməyāhū, IPA: jirməˈjaːhu, Tiberian:Yirmĭyahu, Greek:Ἰερεμίας), meaning "Yahweh exalts", or called the "Weeping prophet" was one of the main prophets of the Hebrew Bible...
's prophecies are noted for the frequent repetitions found in them of the same words, phrases, and imagery. They cover the period of about 30 years. They are not in chronological order. Modern scholars do not believe they have reliable theories as to when, where, and how the text was edited into its present form.
VII. Ezekiel
The Book of EzekielBook of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
(Yehezq'el [יחזקאל]) contains three distinct sections.
- Judgment on Israel - Ezekiel makes a series of denunciations against his fellow Judeans ( 3:22-24), warning them of the certain destruction of Jerusalem, in opposition to the words of the false prophets (4:1-3). The symbolic acts, by which the extremities to which Jerusalem would be reduced are described in Chapters 4 and 5, show his intimate acquaintance with the Levitical legislation. (See, for example, Exodus 22:30; DeuteronomyDeuteronomyThe Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
14:21; LeviticusLeviticusThe Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
5:2; 7:18,24; 17:15; 19:7; 22:8) - Prophecies against various neighboring nations: against the AmmonAmmonAmmon , also referred to as the Ammonites and children of Ammon, was an ancient nation located east of the Jordan River, Gilead, and the Dead Sea, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the modern city of Amman, Jordan's capital...
ites ( Ezek. 25:1-7), the MoabMoabMoab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
ites ( 25:8-11), the EdomEdomEdom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
ites ( 25:12-14), the PhilistinesPhilistinesPhilistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
( 25:15-17), Tyre and SidonSidonSidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
( 26-28), and against EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
(29-32). - Prophecies delivered after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II: the triumphs of Israel and of the kingdom of God on earth ( Ezek. 33-39 ); Messianic times, and the establishment and prosperity of the kingdom of God ( 40-48).
VIII. Minor prophets
The book Twelve "Minor" ProphetsMinor prophet
Minor prophets is a book of the Hebrew Bible, so named because it contains twelve shorter prophetic works. In Christian Bibles the twelve are presented as individual books...
(Trei Asar תרי עשר) includes:
- HoseaBook of HoseaThe Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It stands first in order among what are known as the twelve Minor Prophets.-Background and Content:...
or Hoshea [הושע] - JoelBook of JoelThe Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Minor Prophets or simply as The Twelve; the distinction 'minor' indicates the short length of the text in relation to the larger prophetic texts known as the "Major Prophets".-Content:After...
or Yo'el [יואל] - AmosBook of AmosThe Book of Amos is a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II, making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah...
[עמוס] - ObadiahBook of ObadiahThe canonical Book of Obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel. The text consists of a single chapter, divided into 21 verses, making it the shortest book in the Hebrew Bible....
or Ovadyah [עובדיה] - JonahBook of JonahThe Book of Jonah is a book in the Hebrew Bible. It tells the story of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah ben Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh but tries to escape the divine mission...
or Yonah [יונה] - MicahBook of MicahThe Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
or Mikhah [מיכה] - NahumBook of NahumThe book of Nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Nahum, and was probably written in Jerusalem in the 8th century BC.-Background:...
or Nachum [נחום] - HabakkukBook of HabakkukThe Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was probably composed in the late 7th century BC. A copy of chapters 1 and 2 is included in the Habakkuk Commentary, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.Chapters 1-2...
or Habaquq [חבקוק] - ZephaniahBook of ZephaniahThe superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” . All that is known of Zephaniah comes from the text. The superscription of the book is lengthier than...
or Tsefania [צפניה] - HaggaiBook of HaggaiThe Book of Haggai is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanak, and has its place as the antepenultimate of the Minor Prophets or the "Book of the Twelve." It is a short book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BCE before the Temple has been rebuilt...
or Haggai [חגי] - ZechariahBook of ZechariahThe Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
Zekharia [זכריה] - MalachiBook of MalachiMalachi is a book of the Hebrew Bible, the last of the twelve minor prophets and the final book of the Neviim...
or Malakhi [מלאכי]
"Minor" in this context refers to the length of the books, not the importance of the prophets themselves.
Liturgical Use: The Haftarah
The HaftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
is a text selected from the books of Nevi'im that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on each Shabbat
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
, as well as on Jewish festivals and fast days.
Cantillation
There is a special cantillationCantillation
Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points...
melody for the haftarah, distinct from that of the Torah portion. In some earlier authorities there are references to a tune for the "prophets" generally, distinct from that for the haftarah: this may have been a simplified melody for learning purposes.
Certain cantillation
Cantillation
Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points...
marks and combinations appear in Nevi'im but not within any of the Haftarah selections, and most communities therefore do not have a musical tradition for those marks. J.L. Neeman suggested that "those who recite Nevi'im privately with the cantillation melody may read the words accented by those rare notes by using a "metaphor" based on the melody of those notes in the five books of the Torah, while adhering to the musical scale of the melody for Nevi'im." Neeman includes a reconstruction of the musical scale for the lost melodies of the rare cantillation
Cantillation
Cantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points...
notes. In the Ashkenazi tradition, the resemblance between the Torah and Haftarah melodies is obvious and it is easy to transpose motifs between the two as suggested by Neeman. In the Sephardi traditions the haftarah melody is considerably more florid than the Torah melody, and usually in a different musical mode, and there are only isolated points of contact between the two.
Extraliturgical public reading
In some Near and Middle Eastern Jewish traditions, the whole of Nevi'im (as well as the rest of the Tanakh and the Mishnah) is read each year on a weekly rota, usually on Shabbat afternoons: see Seder ha-MishmarahSeder ha-Mishmarah
The Seder ha-Mishmarah is a study cycle devised by the Ben Ish Ḥai and used by some Jews of Near and Middle Eastern origin, for reading the whole of the Hebrew Bible and the Mishnah in the course of a year...
. These reading sessions are not considered to be synagogue services, and often take place in the synagogue courtyard.
Aramaic translation of Nevi'im
A targum (plural: targumim) is an AramaicAramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
translation
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
of the Hebrew Bible written or compiled in the Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
or in Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
from the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
period until the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
(late first millennium).
According to the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, the Targum
Targum
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
on Nevi'im was composed by Jonathan ben Uzziel
Jonathan ben Uzziel
Jonathan ben Uzziel is known as the author of Targum Jonathan. He is also said to have written a book of kabbalah known as Megadnim. He was one of the 80 tannaim who studied under Hillel the Elder. His tomb is in Amuka, Galilee near Tzfat, Israel...
. Like Targum Onkelos
Targum Onkelos
right|thumb|Interlinear text of [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 6.3–10 with [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] Targum Onkelos from the [[British Library]]....
on the Torah, Targum Jonathan
Targum Jonathan
Targum Jonathan - otherwise referred to as Targum Yonasan/Yonatan is the official eastern targum to the Nevi'im. Its early origins, however, are western i.e. from the Land of Israel, and the Talmudic tradition attributes its authorship to Jonathan ben Uzziel...
is an eastern (Babylonian) Targum with early origins in the west (Land of Israel
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
).
Like the Targum to the Torah, Targum Jonathan
Targum Jonathan
Targum Jonathan - otherwise referred to as Targum Yonasan/Yonatan is the official eastern targum to the Nevi'im. Its early origins, however, are western i.e. from the Land of Israel, and the Talmudic tradition attributes its authorship to Jonathan ben Uzziel...
to Nevi'im served a formal liturgical purpose: it was read alternately, verse by verse, or in blocks of up to three verses, in the public reading of the Haftarah and in the study of Nevi'im.
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
continue the above tradition to this day, and have thus preserved a living tradition of the Babylonian vocalization for the Targum to Nevi'im.
See also
- Hebrew BibleHebrew BibleThe Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
- TanakhTanakhThe Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
- KetuvimKetuvimKetuvim or Kəṯûḇîm in actual Biblical Hebrew is the third and final section of the Tanak , after Torah and Nevi'im . In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa"...
- HaftarahHaftarahThe haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
- CantillationCantillationCantillation is the ritual chanting of readings from the Hebrew Bible in synagogue services. The chants are written and notated in accordance with the special signs or marks printed in the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible to complement the letters and vowel points...
- Codex CairensisCodex CairensisThe Codex Cairensis is believed to be the oldest extant Hebrew manuscript containing the complete text of the Old Testament Nevi'im .- History :...