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	Uncle Noah Bible Dictionary
Edited by Uncle Dee and Aunt Sandy
Prophet
Nabi is the Hebrew word used most of the time. Its root meaning is to bubble forth, as from a fountain...to utter. In the time of Samuel another word ro'eh (seer) began to be used. (I Samuel 9:9) Later, another word hozeh (seer) is used in II Samuel 24:11. All these words are used together in I Chronicles 29:29. (ro'eh-Samuel, nabi-Nathan and hozeh-Gad) Balaam is called koser (diviner). This word is always used as a false prophet. The prophet told the message given to him, and the seer told the vision of God. The prophet and seer was a spokesman for God, in God's name and by God's authority. (Exodus 7:1) He is the mouth by which God speaks to men. (Jeremiah 1:9) What a prophet says is not of man, but of God. (II Peter 1:20,21) All of the Bible may be considered prophetic because it was written by men who received revelation directly from God. The foretelling of future events was not necessary, but was used at times. The great task of prophets was to correct moral and religious abuse and to proclaim great moral and religious truths. In the New Testament times the prophetic office was continued. Jesus is called a prophet and was the great prophet of the church. (Luke 13:33; 24:19) There was a distinct office of prophet in the early church. (I Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 2:20; 3:5) These men revealed new revelations from God. They were different from the teacher, who told truths already revealed. By the time Paul wrote the letter to Timothy, the revelation was complete. There was no more need for the prophetic office. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so the man of God may be thoroughly (completely) equipped for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16,17)
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