Pre-Pentecost Prophets (Bible list)
This is a working list of "Pre-Pentecost Prophets" I have been compiling over the past few years. This includes any person (or group of people) who — before the day of Pentecost — is referred to as 1) a prophet, 2) a prophetess, 3) a false prophet/false prophetess, 4) an oracle, 5) a seer, 6) or are indicated to have been believed to be authoritatively speaking to people on God's behalf.
Pre-Pentecost prophets confirmed in the OT:
* The order of this list follows the order that each person appears in the Bible [more or less].
Abraham:
(Genesis 20:7) “Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live.”
(Note:) While Abraham is the first person in the Bible to be referred to as a "prophet"...it would seem that Moses/Aaron were the first true prophets in the sense that they were corporate representatives who stood between God and His people. Consider Deuteronomy 18:15-16. This account makes it seem as though the origin of Israel’s prophets stems from the story (which took place during the Exodus 20 account).
(Deuteronomy 18:15-16) “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.
(Deuteronomy 5:5) [Moses says] "...while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain…"
Aaron:
(Exodus 7:1) “And the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet.”
Eldad and Medad:
(Numbers 11:26) “Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp.”
Note: Verse 25 says, “they did not continue doing it.” (seems like they prophesied for a limited duration).
Moses: (SUPER-PROPHET)
(Numbers 12:6-8) And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
(Dueteronomy 34:10) “And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.”
Balaam:
(Numbers 22:5,26) And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak”…Balaam answered Balak, “Did I to tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?”
Note: many wonder if Balaam would be considered a true prophet or a false one. One thing is sure: God spoke divinely revealed truth to Balak through Balaam.
“a prophet”
(Judges 6:8) “the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel…”
MAYBE?: Jotham (Youngest son of Gideon/Jerubbaal)
(Judges 9:5) When it was told to Jotham, he went and stood on top of Mount Gerizim and cried aloud and said to them, “Listen to me, you leaders of Shechem, that God may listen to you.
(Judges 9:57) And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.
Micah’s Levite: False Prophet?
(Judges 18:5–6) And they said to him, “Inquire of God, please, that we may know whether the journey on which we are setting out will succeed.” And the priest said to them, “Go in peace. The journey on which you go is under the eye of the Lord.”
“a man of God” (came to Eli)
(1 Samuel 2:27) And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD…”
Samuel:
(1 Samuel 3:20) “And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the Lord.”
Saul + “the group of prophets” (for a limited time)
(1 Samuel 10:10-11) “When they came to Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?”
(1 Samuel 16:14) “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him.”
Sauls messengers “prophesy”
(1 Samuel 19:20) …the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul and they also prophesied. When it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they also prophesied. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they also prophesied. Then he himself went to Ramah…and the Spirit of God came upon him also, and as he went he prophesied…
Note: This kind of “prophesying” does not sound like what we usually picture when we think of “prophesy”. Verse 24 says, “and he too stripped off his clothes, and he too prophesied before Samuel and lay naked all that day and all that night.”
This sounds more like a debilitating condition than it does an act of divine revelation!
Nathan:
(2 Samuel 7:2) “The king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”
Gad:
(2 Samuel 24:11) “And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer…”
Ahijah:
(1 Kings 11:29) “And at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him on the road.”
“The Man of God” (although never identified as a “prophet”):
(1 Kings 13:1-2) “And behold, a man of God came out of Judah by the word of the LORD to Bethel… ‘Behold, a son shall be born…’”.
Note: Elisha is also referred to as a “man of God” in (2 Kings 5:8)
“The Old Prophet”: (false prophet?)
(1 Kings 13:11) “Now an old prophet lived in Bethel…”
This prophet LIED to the “man of God”.
Jehu:
(1 Kings 16:7) Moreover, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house…)
“A Hundred Prophets”:
(1 Kings 18:4) “and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.”
Perhaps referring to some prophets and their families?
Elijah:
(1 Kings 18:22) “Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord.”
Elisha:
(1 Kings 19:16) “And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.”
“a prophet” [to Ahab]:
(1 Kings 20:13) “And behold, a prophet came near to Ahab king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, Have you seen all this great multitude?”
“one of the prophets” [to Ahab]:
(1 Kings 20:35-41) “And a certain man of the sons of the prophets…And the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets.”
“400 prophets”(false prophets):
(1 Kings 22:6) “Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?”
Clearly these were all false prophets...who were wrong in what they proclaimed…and the king KNEW it.
(1 Kings 22:23) “Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.”
Micaiah:
(1 Kings 22:7-8) “ But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.”
“50 sons of the prophets”:
(2 Kings 2:7) “Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan.”
Jonah the son of Amittai:
(2 Kings 14:25) “ He restored the border of Israel from Lebo-hamath as far as the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, which he spoke by his servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet, who was from Gath-hepher.”
Isaiah:
(2 Kings 19:2) And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz.”
Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun
(1 Chronicles 25:1) David and the chiefs of the service also set apart for the service the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who prophesied with lyres.
(1 Chronicles 25:5) “All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer…”
Shemaiah:
(2 Chronicles 12:5) “Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the Lord, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’ ”
Iddo:
(2 Chronicles 13:22) “The rest of the acts of Abijah, his ways and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.”
Azariah:
(2 Chronicles 15:1-8) The Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded…As soon as Asa heard these words, the prophecy of Azariah the son of Oded…
Hanani (Seer):
(2 Chronicles 16:7) “At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah
Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah (False prophet):
(2 Chronicles 18:5, 10, 11) “Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men…And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself horns of iron and said…and all the prophets prophesied so…”
The only named [false] prophet who is numbered among the 400 prophets of Ahab…which were also mentioned in 1 Kings 22:6.
Eliezer:
(2 Chronicles 20:37) “Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you have joined with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.” And the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.
“a Prophet” (against Amaziah):
(2 Chronicles 25:15) “Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?”
Oded:
(2 Chronicles 28:9) “But a prophet of the Lord was there, whose name was Oded…”
Jeremiah:
(2 Chronicles 36:12) “ He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord.”
(Jeremiah 1:5) “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
Zechariah the son of Jehoiada:
(2 Chronicles 24:20) Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God…”
Agur (Oracle):
(Proverbs 30:1) The words of Agur son of Jakeh. The oracle.
King Lemuel (Oracle):
(Proverbs 31:1) The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
Pashur (false prophet):
(Jeremiah 20:6) “And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”
Uriah:
(Jeremiah 26:20) “There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like those of Jeremiah.”
Hananniah (false prophet):
(Jeremiah 28:1) “In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people.”
Ahab and Zedekiah (false prophets):
(Jeremiah 29:21) Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying a lie to you in my name:
Shemaiah (false prophet):
(Jeremiah 29:31) Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Because Shemaiah had prophesied to you when I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie,”
Ezekiel:
(Ezekiel 4:7) “And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city.”
Daniel:
(Daniel 2:19) “Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.”
Not specifically called a “prophet” in the OT, but confirmed explicitly in the NT.
(Matthew 24:15) “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel…”
Hosea:
(Hosea 1:1) “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.”
Joel:
(Joel 1:1) The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son off Pethuel:
Amos:
(Amos 7:14-15) “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”
Obadiah:
(Obadiah 1:1) “The vision of Obadiah”
Micah:
(Micah 1:1) “The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah
(Jeremiah 26:18) Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah…
Nahum:
(Nahum 1:1) “An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh:
Habakkuk:
(Habakkuk 1:1) “The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.”
Zephaniah:
(Zephaniah 1:1) “The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, son of Gedaliah, son of Mariah, son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.”
Haggai:
(Haggai 1:1) “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest:”
(Ezra 5:1) “Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
Zechariah:
(Zechariah 1:1) “In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, son of Iddo,”
(Ezra 5:1) “Now the prophets, Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them.
Malachi:
(Malachi 1:1) The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Pre-Pentecost prophets confirmed in the NT:
John the Baptist:
(Matthew 11:13-14) “For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
Abel?
(Luke 11:50-51) “So that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah”
David:
(Acts 2:30) [Peter speaking of David] “Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,”
(Matthew 13:35) “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: (quotes Psalm 78)
(2 Samuel 23:2) [Davide writes] “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; His word is on my tongue.”
Enoch:
(Jude 1:14) It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied,
Jesus (ULTIMATE) Prophet:
(Deuteronomy 18:15) 15“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
(John 5:46) For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
(Acts 3:22-24) Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days.
(Hebrews 1:1–2) 1Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Female Prophets (Prophetess):
Miriam (prophetess)
(Exodus 15:20) Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing.
Deborah (prophetess):
(Judges 4:4) Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time.
Huldah (prophetess)
(2 Kings 22:14)14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her.
(2 Chronicles 34:22) So Hilkiah and those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter) and spoke to her to that effect.
Noadiah (prophetess/false prophet):
(Nehemiah 6:14) “Remember Tobiah and Sanballat, O my God, according to these things that they did, and also the prophetess Noadiah and the rest of the prophets who wanted to make me afraid.”
Isaiah’s wife:
(Isaiah 8:3) And I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son. Then the Lord said to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz;
Anna (prophetess):
(Luke 2:36) And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin.
Jezebel? (false prophetess)
(Revelation 2:20) But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.