While many people are familiar with the 12 minor prophets who lived after the time of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, there are actually 17 prophets in the Old Testament. The other 5 are referred to as The Major Prophets. Often neglected in a list of the greatest, these five men still called Israel to repent of their sins and turn back to God.
A history of Old Testament prophets. A look at the life and times of the 17 prophets in the Old Testament, including their inspiration, contributions, personalities and more. Knowing about Major prophets in the old testament, List of prophets in the Bible in order.
You may find it hard to access the right information on the internet, so we are here to help you in the following article, providing the best and most updated information on what are the 17 prophetic books of the Old Testament, names of prophets in the bible and their meanings, who is the first prophet in the bible. Read on to learn more.
17 Prophets In The Old Testament
In the Hebrew canon the Prophets are divided into (1) the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and (2) the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve, or Minor, Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).
There are 17 prophets in the Old Testament. They are listed below in order of their appearance in the Bible:
- Moses – Deuteronomy 18:15-19:22, Numbers 12:1-16, 20:1-21:29
- Joshua – Joshua 1-12
- Samuel I – Judges 2:6-3:5; 1 Samuel 5:1-7; 6:12; 7:4
- Nathan – 2 Samuel 7:4b-14a, 15b-17, 18b-19a; 1 Chronicles 17:9-13; 2 Chronicles 8:11b-12a, 13b
- Gad – 1 Samuel 22:5b-23; 24b; 1 Kings 22, 24b; 2 Kings 2
The prophets are an important part of the Old Testament, and they help to give us a clear sense of what it means to be a prophet. The prophets were messengers who brought God’s message to the people of Israel. They were distinguished by their ability to predict the future, but they also preached against sin and injustice, and encouraged people to return to God.
Here is a list of 17 prophets in the Old Testament:
1) Moses – The first prophet in the Bible was Moses, who was born around 1550 BC in Egypt. As a young man, he was saved from death by being placed in a basket on the Nile River and raised by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:1-10). At age 40 he became Israel’s leader when God called him out of Egypt (Exodus 4:10-17). During his 40 years with Israel he led them through 40 years of wandering in the desert before bringing them into Canaan (Numbers 33:1-29). Moses wrote many books including Genesis through Deuteronomy (the first five books), Leviticus through Numbers as well as Joshua through Judges.
In the Old Testament, there are 17 prophets. The first prophet is Moses, who lived approximately 3,000 years ago. He was one of the leaders of God’s people and he delivered the Ten Commandments to them.
The second prophet is Aaron, who was Moses’ brother and also a leader in Israel.
Samuel was the third prophet and he led Israel during a time of great spiritual darkness.
Jonah was a reluctant prophet who traveled to Nineveh to preach repentance to its people after they had sinned against God.
Isaiah wrote about the coming Messiah and predicted that he would be born in Bethlehem, which is one of the reasons why many Christians believe Jesus was born in Bethlehem, where he later died on the cross for our sins.
Jeremiah was another reluctant prophet who predicted captivity for Judah before it happened so they would repent (they didn’t). He also foretold that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II but that it would be rebuilt after 70 years (it wasn’t).
Ezekiel predicted when Babylon would fall to Persia; he also predicted an end-times rebellion against God by those who rejected his word as revealed through prophecy and
There are 17 books of prophecy in the Old Testament of the Bible, written by 17 prophets. God chose these prophets to spread his message to the people.
The first prophet was Moses, who received a vision from God on Mount Sinai. He then became a religious leader and led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
The second prophet was Samuel, who was also a judge and a priest. He led Israel during a period of great prosperity and peace, but his sons later led the nation into civil war.
The third prophet was Nathan, who helped King David learn how to be a king after he had taken over Saul’s throne through murder (1 Samuel).
The fourth prophet was Elijah, who lived during Israel’s transition from monarchy to monarchy under kingship (1 Kings).
The fifth prophet was Elisha, who took over for Elijah when he died and carried on the work of calling down rain from heaven when famine struck the land (2 Kings).
The sixth prophet was Isaiah (Isaiah 1-66), whose prophecies were recorded after his death by other prophets such as Hosea and Micah.
Major Prophets In The Old Testament
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel are considered the Major Prophets of the Old Testament. They prophesied in a time of great political upheaval and are considered some of the most influential prophets in history. Their writings are still read today as guides for living a moral life.
The Minor Prophets include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. The Minor Prophets were also prophets during a time of political upheaval but were written later than the Major Prophets. They wrote more about God’s love for his people than they did about judgement or sin.
Other prophets included Haggai (2nd century BCE), Zechariah (6th century BCE), Malachi (5th century BCE) and Jonah (1st century BCE).
List of Prophets In The Bible In Order
The list below shows the name of the prophet, in alphabetical order, and the first Bible verse in which they are referred to as being a prophet.
For Isaac, Job and Peter in the “First appearance” column, you’ll see an asterisk after their Bible verses. These three prophets were not explicitly identified as prophets but these Bible verses show examples of prophecies that these Biblical figures received.
The chart also shows the testamentary era in which the prophet lived.
Prophet
First appearance
Testament
Links
1
Aaron
Exodus 7:2
Old Testament
2
Abel
Luke 11:50-51
Old Testament
3
Abraham
Genesis 20:7
Old Testament
» Abraham’s prophecies
4
Agabus
Acts 21:10
Old Testament
» Agabus’ prophecies
5
Agur
Book of Proverbs 30:1
Old Testament
6
Ahab
Jeremiah 29:21
Old Testament
7
Ahijah
1 Kings 11:29
Old Testament
» Ahijah’s prophecies
8
Amos
Amos 7:14-15
Old Testament
» Amos’ prophecies
9
Anna
Luke 2:36
New Testament
10
Antichrist
1 John 2:18-19
New Testament
11
Asaph
2 Chronicles 29:30
Old Testament
12
Azariah
2 Chronicles 15:8
Old Testament
13
Azur
Jeremiah 28:1
Old Testament
14
Barnabas
Acts 13:1
New Testament
15
Daniel
Matthew 24:15
Old Testament
» Daniel’s prophecies
16
David
Hebrews 11:32
Old Testament
» David’s prophecies
17
Deborah
Judges 4:4
Old Testament
18
Eldad
Numbers 11:26
Old Testament
19
Eliezer
2 Chronicles 20:37
Old Testament
20
Elihu
Job 32-35
Old Testament
21
Elijah
1 Kings 18:36
Old Testament
22
Elisabeth, mother of John the Baptist
Luke 1:41
New Testament
23
Elisha
2 Kings 9:1
Old Testament
24
Elymas (Bar-Jesus)
Acts 13:6-12
New Testament
25
Enoch
Jude 1:14
Old Testament
26
Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:3
Old Testament
» Ezekiel’s prophecies
27
Gad
1 Samuel 22:5
Old Testament
28
Habakkuk
Habakkuk 1:1
Old Testament
29
Haggai
Haggai 1:1
Old Testament
30
Hanani
2 Chronicles 16:7
Old Testament
31
Hananiah
Jeremiah 28:5
Old Testament
32
Hosea
Hosea 1:1
Old Testament
» Hosea’s prophecies
33
Huldah
2 Kings 22:14
Old Testament
34
Iddo
2 Chronicles 13:22
Old Testament
35
Isaac
Genesis 26:2-5*
Old Testament
» Isaac’s prophecies
36
Isaiah
2 Kings 19:2
Old Testament
» Isaiah’s prophecies
37
Jacob
Genesis 28:11-16
Old Testament
» Jacob’s prophecies
38
Jahaziel
2 Chronicles 20:14
Old Testament
39
Jehu
1 Kings 16:7
Old Testament
40
Jeremiah
Jeremiah 20:2
Old Testament
» Jeremiah’s prophecies
41
Jesus
Luke 24:19
New Testament
» Jesus’ prophecies
42
Jezebel (not the Jezebel of the Old Testament)
Revelation 2:20
New Testament
43
Job
Job 19:25-27*
Old Testament
» Job’s prophecies
44
Joel
Acts 2:16
Old Testament
45
John of Patmos
Revelation 1:1
New Testament
46
John the Baptist
Luke 7:28
New Testament
47
Jonah
2 Kings 14:25
Old Testament
48
Joseph
Genesis 37:5 – 11
Old Testament
49
Joseph, foster father of Jesus
Matthew 1:20
New Testament
50
Joshua
Joshua 1:1
Old Testament
51
Judas Barsabbas
Acts 15:32
New Testament
52
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
Daniel 2:1
Old Testament
53
King Saul
1 Samuel 10:10
Old Testament
54
King Solomon
1 Kings 3:5
Old Testament
55
Lucius of Cyrene
Acts 13:1
New Testament
56
Malachi
Malachi 1:1
Old Testament
» Malachi’s prophecies
57
Manaen
Acts 13:1
New Testament
58
Mary, mother of Jesus
Luke 1:26-28
New Testament
59
Medad
Numbers 11:26
Old Testament
60
Micah
Micah 1:1
Old Testament
» Micah’s prophecies
61
Micaiah
1 Kings 22:9
Old Testament
» Micaiah’s prophecies
62
Miriam
Exodus 15:20
Old Testament
63
Moses
Deuteronomy 34:10
Old Testament
» Moses’ prophecies
64
Nahum
Nahum 1:1
Old Testament
» Nahum’s prophecies
65
Nathan
2 Samuel 7:2
Old Testament
» Nathan’s prophecies
66
Noadiah
Nehemiah 6:14
Old Testament
67
Noah
Genesis 7:1
Old Testament
68
Obadiah
Obadiah 1:1
Old Testament
69
Oded
2 Chronicles 28:9
Old Testament
70
Paul the Apostle
Acts of the Apostles 9:20
New Testament
» Paul’s prophecies
71
Peter
2 Peter 3:1-18*
New Testament
» Peter’s prophecies
72
Philip the Evangelist
Acts 8:26
New Testament
73
Samuel
1 Samuel 3:20
Old Testament
74
Shemaiah
1 Kings 12:22
Old Testament
75
Silas
Acts 15:32
New Testament
76
Simeon Niger
Acts 13:1
New Testament
77
Simeon of Jerusalem
Luke 2:25, 26
New Testament
78
Simon Magus
Acts 8:9-24
New Testament
79
The false prophet of the Book of Revelation
Revelation 16:13, 19:20, 20:10
New Testament
80
The four daughters of Philip the Evangelist
Acts 21:8, 9
New Testament
81
The seventy elders of Israel
Numbers 11:25
Old Testament
82
Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:3
New Testament
83
Urijah
Jeremiah 26:20
Old Testament
84
Zechariah, father of John the Baptist
Luke 1:67
New Testament
85
Zechariah, son of Berechiah
Zechariah 1:1
Old Testament
» Zechariah’s prophecies
86
Zechariah, son of Jehoiada
2 Chronicles 24:20
Old Testament
87
Zedekiah
Jeremiah 29:21
Old Testament
88
Zephaniah
Zephaniah 1:1
Old Testament