Nevi’im (“Prophets”) is the second section of the Tanakh. It lies between the Torah and Ketuvim.
The Nevi’im are divided into two groups. The Nevi’im Rishonim (Former Prophets) includes of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. The Nevi’im Aharonim (Latter Prophets) include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Prophets.
Some of the prophets saw the future or did miracles. But mostly the prophets showed people what was important or right in the present. Their main role was to warn the people of Israel of their sins in front of G-d and remind them of their relationship with G-d.
The most common Hebrew word for prophet is ‘navi’. This can mean ‘one who calls’ or ‘one who is called’. This shows again that the prophets were called by G-d to call to the people to remember and do what was right.
The prophets could not make law. According to tradition, prophecy could not happen outside of Israel.
After the fall of the Second Temple, the rabbis de-emphasised the importance of the prophets. This may have been aimed at groups who became Jesus’ followers or started following other prophets.
Text adapted from English Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0.
Haftara scroll from Obernai, Alsace, 1867, Jewish Museum of Switzerland; Photo by Dieter Hofer via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
