prophet

In book of Deuteronomy 18:15–19 (NABRE), Moses tells the people that he will raise up a prophet “like him” to speak to them because the people have requested that they do not want to hear the voice of the LORD directly. We often think of a prophet primarily as one who foretells the future, but in this context, a prophet has a much different role.

The Hebrew word for prophet, נָבִיא (navi), is related to speaking. The Greek word προφήτης (prophetes) comes from the verb πρόφημι (prophemi), a combination of a verb meaning “to speak” and the prefix “pro-“. This prefix can mean either “before” in the sense of time, or “in front of” or “forth” in a spatial context. In line with this week’s reading from the book of Deuteronomy, the ancients viewed prophecy spatially as someone speaking forth to a group of people to disclose the words of God.

Why do you think it is that the people wanted someone to speak to them on God’s behalf? How do we as Christians hear the voice of God?

related topics: apostle; prophecy; word of God

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