Prophetic schools are found in the historical books of the Old Testament mainly under two names: "prophetic hosts" and "prophetic sons". We can hardly be mistaken in saying that the reader of the Bible does not then have any definite ideas with these names; and if any ideas arise at all, they are completely arbitrary, and when scientifically tested they sometimes change completely almost into the opposite. But at the same time, it is instinctively felt that by "prophetic hosts" and "prophetic sons" are meant not insignificant and not accidental biblical-historical facts, but facts very characteristic of the entire history of Biblical Jewry, which left their imprint on its religious and moral physiognomy, especially at certain moments of Old Testament history, facts especially characteristic of the greatest and highest phenomenon of the Old Testament - for Old Testament prophecy. For the history and characteristics of Old Testament prophecy, the prophetic schools seem especially important because they appear in the periods of the most intense activity of the greatest prophets, "in the heroic epochs of Old Testament prophetism," as one German researcher put it. But all this historical significance, as well as the outward form of the institution, is presented to the reader of the Bible in the most vague and indistinct outlines. This, at any rate, undesirable phenomenon is due to the fact that the only source from which any information about the prophetic schools can be gleaned, the Bible, provides too little material for judging the said institution and for its scientific investigation. Historical books, sometimes setting forth in some detail the external history of Israel and the deeds of its kings, touch too briefly on the religious and moral state of the people in this or that period of its history, sometimes confining themselves to the remark that such and such a king did what was displeasing in the eyes of the Lord. Historical books speak of the prophetic schools only when they appear in the arena of the external political life of the people, and they speak of them insofar as their life and activity concern the general political life. There is no special talk about prophetic schools in themselves in the Bible. About the internal character of the prophetic schools, their external organization, the activities of the "sons of the prophets", about the goals and tasks they set for themselves, about the ways and means adopted for the implementation of these goals and tasks - about all this, the Bible, as if involuntarily spilling the beans, drops - and then very rarely - completely insignificant remarks in two or three words. With such a position of the primary source, it is understandable that there is an immense scope for endless conjectures and divination, most of which can neither be accepted for lack of positive instances, nor rejected for the same lack of negative instances.

If scientific research should not consist only of conjectures and divination, then it is obvious that the question of the prophetic schools cannot have a strictly scientific formulation and cannot receive an indisputably scientific solution. Is this not why this question does not attract the attention of scholars of the Bible and biblical history? There is not a single major monograph on prophetic schools even in German scientific literature - an unusual phenomenon for German science [1]. The absence of monographs, of course, cannot be compensated for by what is in other studies on related issues. Various remarks on the prophetic schools are scattered throughout the innumerable "histories of the people of Israel," "Bible commentaries," and "theological encyclopedias." More attention is paid to prophetic schools in monographs devoted to biblical prophetism in general [3]. But the remarks of scientific researchers are often arbitrary and very contradictory. The first is especially noteworthy of the works of those Western scholars who take as their point of departure all the results of rationalistic Biblical hypercriticism and read the Bible, printed not on plain white paper, but the Bible, multi-colored, iridescent (Regenbogen-Bibel) [4]. The harmonious and consistent constructions of such scientists turn out to be hanging in the air for those who doubt the usefulness of hypercriticism and are suspicious of its results.

In the present article we do not at all pretend to any scientific solution of the problem. No, our task is much more modest. We would like, without forgetting the scholarly works, to present in a concise sketch what can be known about the history and organization of the prophetic schools from the Bible, and how it is possible to imagine these most remarkable institutions of Old Testament Jewry in accordance with the biblical data. In our opinion, although a brief reminder of the prophetic schools at the present time, not only scientific, but also life-practical significance can be of vital importance, about which we will say a few words in the conclusion of the article.

Brief Historical Information on the Prophetic Schools

The first information about the prophetic schools is found in the narrative of the 1st Book of Samuel about Samuel and Saul. Samuel, having anointed Saul as king, gives him signs that the Lord has anointed him king over His inheritance. By the way, one sign was the following. "After," said Samuel, "when you come to the hill of God (hibat elohim), where the Philistine guard... and when you enter the city there, you will meet a host of prophets (hebel nebiim) coming down from on high, and before them the psalter and the tympanum, and the flute and the harp, and they prophesy (mitnabin); and the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy (hitnabita) with them, and you will become another man (1 Samuel 10:1,56). Samuel's prediction was fulfilled. And it came to pass, when Saul came to the hill, that a host of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And all those who knew him yesterday and the third day, when they saw him prophesying with the prophets, said among the people to one another, What has become of the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And one of those who were there answered and said, "And those who have a father?" For this reason it has become a proverb: "Is Saul also among the prophets" (1 Samuel 10:1012). On another occasion we meet with a prophetic host in the history of the persecutions of Saul and David. They reported to Saul, saying, Behold, David is in Nabath in Ramah. And Saul sent his servants to take David, and when they saw the assembly of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel ruling over them, the Spirit of God came upon Saul's servants, and they began to prophesy. This was reported to Saul, and he sent other servants, but these also began to prophesy. Then Saul sent third servants, and they began to prophesy. ... Saul himself went to Ramah, and came to a great spring in Seph, and asked, saying, Where are Samuel and David? And they said, "Behold, in Nebath, in Ramah." And he went there to Nabath in Ramah, and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he went and prophesied, until he came to Nabaf in Ramah. And he also took off his garments, and prophesied before Samuel, and all that day and all that night he lay unclothed; therefore they say: "Is Saul also among the prophets" (banebiim) (1 Samuel 19:1924)? In the above words we have the first biblical testimony about two hosts of prophets: one Saul met near the "hill of God." By this hill is meant the hill on which the city of Gibeah was located, mentioned a little later (see 1 Samuel 10:26) [5]. In the Russian translation of the Bible, Gibeah's proper name is translated as "the hill of God." Another incident dates back to the last days of Samuel's life, and in this case we see a more organized assembly of prophets, headed by Samuel, who had their permanent residence in Ramah, north of Jerusalem, in the tribe of Benjamin.

But does the first mention of prophetic schools in the Bible coincide with their actual historical beginning? Did prophetic schools appear only under Samuel, or did they exist before him? Most scholarly scholars accept that the establishment and founding of these schools is due to Samuel's initiative. There were no prophetic schools before the time of Samuel, and therefore they are not mentioned anywhere; In addition, in 1 Samuel 3:1 it is noted: "The word of the Lord was rare in those days, and visions... are not frequent. This remark allegedly testifies to the fact that in the period of the judges there were no prophetic schools. But, in any case, there are no sufficient grounds for decisively rejecting the existence of prophetic schools in one form or another before the time of the life and work of the prophet Samuel. If the Bible nowhere says about the existence of prophetic hosts in the pre-Samuel time, then it should be noted that the Bible does not say a word about the fact that Samuel founded these prophetic institutions. In the Bible, the prophetic hosts appear without any prefaces, nothing is said about their origin, but about their activity as already existing institutions. True, the Bible says that the word of God was rare in the period of judges and visions were not frequent (see 1 Samuel 3:1), but still the word of the Lord and visions were there, although not often. God's Providence has always been vigilant over the fate of the chosen people; the activity of God's Providence did not cease even in the times of the judges, which are generally considered to be especially gloomy times. The Lord raised up judges who saved the Jews from the hands of their robbers (Judg. 2:16,18), who, according to the Bible, had the Spirit of the Lord on them (Judg. 3:910), who sometimes possessed the gift of prophecy (Judg. 4:4). Sometimes the Lord also sent His prophets, who preached the word of God (Judg. 6:810). These prophets are sometimes referred to in this period by the Bible as "the people of God" (1 Samuel 2:2736; cf. 2 Chronicles 25:7,9) and as the angels of the Lord (Judg. 2:14). Jehovah said through Moses, "I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brethren, such as you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will speak to them all that I command him" (Deuteronomy 18:18). If the prophet can also be seen as a collective concept of prophecy, as the preceding verses (Deuteronomy 18:10, 1415) rightly do, then it must be assumed that the word of Jehovah was fulfilled in the time of the judges. In addition, the words of 1 Samuel 3:1 speak of the rarity of prophets, and prophets and prophetic hosts, as we shall see below, are not one and the same. Some, placing the origin of the prophetic schools in close connection with the needs of the time, object to their early existence, that there was no special need for their existence before the time of Samuel. Only under Samuel, at the request of the special and exceptional circumstances of the time, were whole hosts of prophets raised up by God [7]. But it is in vain to look upon the hosts or schools of the prophets as special messengers of God, such as the prophets were, and to see their whole essence in their external activity, without thinking about their inner life. As "hosts" of pious people, zealots not only for public piety, but also for personal piety, prophetic hosts are natural and necessary at all times and under all possible historical circumstances. Historical circumstances that had changed for the worse could only induce self-imprisoned prophetic "hosts" to enter the arena of public activity; this speech is recorded in the Bible without any notes about their early existence.

Circumstances have really changed. The Jewish people entered a new phase of state life. All the elders of Israel gathered together, and came to Samuel in Ramah, and said to him, ... set a king over us, that he may judge us as among the other nations (1 Samuel 8:45). The Law of Moses did not exclude this form of state life (Deuteronomy 17:1520). But the people did not grasp the theocratic ideas of the law, which are also clearly expressed in the law (Deuteronomy 32:9; cf. 1 Samuel 12:12). The elders added meaningful words to their request: like other nations. For this reason Samuel did not like this word, and God Himself said to Samuel, "They have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me" (1 Samuel 8:67) [8]. But it cannot be accepted that the prophetic hosts were organized by Samuel specifically for the purpose of "guarding the cause of Jehovah and returning to the law the people who had deviated from it" [9]. We see the prophetic assembly existing at the very establishment of the royal form of government (see 1 Samuel 10:5,10). Institutions such as prophetic hosts cannot be established in a few years or months. It is necessary to admit the early existence of prophetic hosts, regardless of the purpose of existence put forward for them by later circumstances. It may also be noted that at the second mention of the host of prophets who prophesied under the leadership of Samuel in Ramah (see 1 Samuel 19:1920), the assembly seems to have a definite organization, and this makes it necessary to look for its beginnings in earlier times. And even at the first mention of the host of prophets, its existence seems to have entered the popular consciousness as an everyday fact that does not cause any amazement. Is Saul also among the prophets? - those who knew him yesterday and the third day asked about Saul's prophecy (1 Samuel 10:11). And one of those who were there answered... but those who are fathers (1 Samuel 10:12)? In this conversation, it is so striking that for the speaker of the host of prophets, his character, the origin of his members - all this is something very definite and usual for the speakers. Everything gives the right to assume that there were prophetic schools or hosts before Samuel.

Reference may be made to Maibaum,10 who most emphatically asserts the existence of prophetic schools before Samuel, and devotes a whole chapter of his study to the description of the prophetic schools in the pre-Samuel period. But Maybaum, admitting the existence of prophetic schools before the time of Samuel, identifies them completely with the schools of pagan diviners. The study of pagan mantics, according to Maybaum, occupied the first place in these schools. Samuel radically reformed these pagan schools, completely destroyed the coarse character of the former prophecy - mantik, divination [12]. Under Samuel, the mantic gave way to prophecy on the basis of inner revelation. In the reformed schools, they stopped studying mantik; Instead, there are higher occupations: music, poetry, the study of history, and the like [13]. Maybaum does not say how he himself learned about the common root of the origin of prophecy and pagan mantik [14] and on what grounds he proclaims his opinion to the scientific world. For Deuteronomy, which denies the early origin, it certainly does not make sense to make the strict distinction between Hebrew prophecy and pagan mantle, but for us this distinction is significant. And in Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people: The nations... whom thou hast cast out, they listen to diviners and soothsayers (kosemim),[15] but the Lord thy God hath not given thee. A prophet from among you, from among your brethren, like me, the Lord your God will raise up for you (Deuteronomy 18:1415). There is no reason in the Bible to assert that before Samuel prophecy had the character of superstitious pagan divination. If there were any prophetic schools or hosts of prophets before Samuel, it is best to think of them as unions or societies of especially religiously minded people who reduced even their worldly needs in order to spend more time in religious exercises in community with similar religious people. The constant concentration of their religious feeling made them more receptive to the influences of the Deity, and there were times when they "prophesied." There is information about such mass prophecies in the earliest biblical data. Thus, while wandering in the wilderness, the Spirit descended on the 70 elders chosen to help Moses, and they began to prophesy. Two of them, Eldad and Modad, prophesied in the camp. When Joshua said to Moses, "Rebuke them," Moses answered, "Are you not jealous for me? oh, that all in the people of the Lord were prophets (Num. 11:2529). Even if not all of the Lord's people were highly religious, there were always zealots for the faith, who were sometimes vouchsafed the influence of the Spirit of God.

The story of Samuel's life concludes with the biblical information about the prophetic schools of ancient times. In 2 Samuel there is absolutely no mention of prophetic schools, nor is there any mention in 3 Samuel, except for a fleeting single remark in 20:35. Only in the 2nd Book of Kings, when narrating about the time of the prophetic activity of Elijah and Elisha [17], is there again information about the prophetic schools. Here the prophetic schools appear under the name of "sons of the prophets" (bene nebiim). The question arises: were there prophetic schools in the period from Samuel to Elijah, or are the "prophetic sons" of Elijah's time a completely new phenomenon, perhaps only analogous to the "prophetic hosts" of Samuel's time? It should be noted that there is no information in the Bible about the disintegration of the prophetic hosts in the time of Samuel, nor about the emergence of societies of "sons of the prophets" in the time of the prophet Elijah. In the time of Elijah, the "sons of the prophets" appear immediately and in large numbers. Therefore, it can already be assumed that the societies of the prophets existed after Samuel and before Elijah. The fact that in 2 Kings the term "sons of the prophets" (bene nebiim) is used exclusively, which does not occur in 1 Kings, can hardly be a sufficient basis for the assertion that 2 Kings speaks of an entirely new institution. The name may have changed according to the time, as well as from the various writers of 1 and 2 Kings. External activity could also be cast into new forms, but in reality it is hardly possible to note any contradictory features of the "prophetic hosts" and the "sons of the prophets." There are no sufficient grounds to deny the existence of prophetic schools in the period from Samuel to Elijah, that is, their continuous existence [19]. True, the prophetic schools are not mentioned at all in the history of David and Solomon, but some, very vague, hints can be found. Thus, it is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that the prophet Nathan was of great importance in the time of David and Solomon (see 1 Kings 1, especially verses 32, 34, 45). He even calls Solomon the name Jedidiah (see 2 Samuel 12:25). It is assumed that Nathan was Solomon's tutor, just as Elisha raised Joaca [20]. Consequently, the prophets of this time were not alien to the religious-pedagogical mission. Nathan could bring up not only Solomon, but a whole prophetic host. The Bible says many times that the prophets wrote chronicles at this time as well. Case... David... are described in the writings of Samuel the seer... and in the records of Gad the seer (1 Chronicles 29:29). The deeds of Rehoboam... described in the records of Shemei the prophet and Addah the seer (2 Chronicles 12:15); the deeds of Asa are in the story of the prophet Adda (2 Chronicles 13:22). This fact testifies to the fact that the prophets were no strangers to school classes, as the writing of national history. Vitringa sees some reflection of the fact of the existence of prophetic schools in Proverbs, where it is said that Wisdom built herself a house... and she sent her servants to proclaim from the high places of the city (Proverbs 9:1,3) [21]. The history books are occupied with the depiction of the tense political life under David and Solomon, and then with the division of the kingdoms and the establishment of a new cult. But in spite of all these high-profile external affairs, it must be assumed, the inner work of the religious consciousness was also carried out in the person of people who were especially disposed to it, who formed close alliances among themselves under the guidance and guidance of the prophets. The 2nd Book of Kings tells us about the societies of the "sons of the prophets" as societies very large in terms of the number of members included in them and having a certain organization. This speaks very convincingly for the existence of prophetic schools earlier than the Prophet Elijah.

The last mention of prophetic schools can be found in the prophet Amos. Amos said to Amaziah, "I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet; I was a shepherd and gathered sycamores (Amos 7:14). It is true that nowhere is a member of the prophetic societies called "the son of the prophet," as Amos calls himself here. In the 1st Book of Kings (20:35) we find the expression: one of the sons of the prophets, therefore "the son of the prophet" can be understood literally, in the sense of a son by birth, but it is also permissible in connection with the preceding words of Amaziah to Amos (Amos 7:12) and another understanding. Amos proves his right to prophecy by referring to the command of God and denies his connection with the prophets, who prophesied and therefore ate bread, as Amaziah put it. He did not need to mention that he was not the son of a prophet, since descent from a prophet did not make him a prophet, and therefore it is possible to see in the words "not the son of a prophet" an allusion to the prophetic schools [22]. Thus, it is possible to define the period of prosperity of the prophetic schools as the time from Elijah to Amos [23].

Of course, the prophetic schools could not disappear at any particular moment in time, but it must be assumed that in the last years, before the destruction of the kingdom of Israel in connection with the general religious and moral decay of the people's life, the prophetic schools, which we will allow ourselves to call the flowers of religious and moral life, also withered.

It is impossible to pass over in silence the fact that the books of Kings say absolutely nothing about the existence of prophetic schools in the kingdom of Judah. All the "prophetic sons" mentioned in 2 Kings live and work only in the kingdom of Israel. But it seems hasty to conclude from this that there were no prophetic schools in the kingdom of Judah.

If the prophets had disciples in the kingdom of Israel, then why could there not be such disciples in the kingdom of Judah? But it is clear that there is absolutely nothing to say to factually confirm the existence of prophetic schools in the Kingdom of Judah as well.