On the inadmissible understanding of prophecy is also based the interpretation according to which the sons of the prophets artificially prepared themselves for prophecy. Thus, Jewish interpreters, for example, Abarbanel, say about the sons of prophets: se ipsos disponunt ad vaticandum. But is it possible to admit the teaching of prophecy? Is prophecy an art, an ability that can be developed in oneself through personal effort if desired? The only answer is no. A prophet needs neither a school nor a teacher; the Lord Himself calls him from his mother's womb (Isaiah 49:1; Jeremiah 1:5), drawing him as if against his will; the fire burns in the bones of the prophet, and he cannot restrain it (Jeremiah 20:79). One cannot prepare oneself for prophecy ad vaticandum. For this, a special overshadowing by God is necessary. According to the view of the Old Testament, a prophet must be born spiritually [39].

A more definite account of the occupations of the sons of the prophets is in the 2nd Book of Kings, where it is said of the sons of the prophets that they "sat before the face" of their leader, the prophet. The expression "to sit before someone" as it is used elsewhere in the Bible means the relation of the one being taught to the one who is teaching. In the book of Ezekiel it is said several times that the elders of the people sat before him (see 8:1; 20:1); but the elders came to inquire of the Lord (see 20:1), and the prophet, while they sat before him, gave them revelations and visions, the word of God (see 8:1; 20:2), that is, he taught them. In another place, the Lord said to the prophet Ezekiel: "They come to you as to a gathering place of the people, and My people sit down before you, and they hear your words, but do not do them" (Ezekiel 33:31). On the basis of this use of the expression "to sit before someone," it must be stated that the prophets taught a more or less close circle of the sons of the prophets that gathered around them. Elders and other persons of the people came to the prophets and sat before them on certain special and rare occasions; the sons of the prophets were more or less constant listeners of the prophets. "Sitting before the prophet" consisted in listening to his advice, instructions, explanations, and in general his speeches as a man of God and an influential prophet [40]. On the basis of this expression, the majority of scholarly researchers present the relationship of the sons of the prophets to the prophet as the attitude of disciples to teachers [41]. The same relationship is clearly indicated by the name prophetic sons. Of course, "prophetic sons" cannot be taken literally; in a figurative sense, the name "son" in the Old Testament always means a student, a disciple. Come, children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord, says David (Psalm 33:12). In the book of Proverbs, the teacher always addresses the one being taught as a son: "Hear, my son, the instruction of your father" (Proverbs 1:8; see: 1:10,15; 2:1; 3:1,21; 4:1,10,20; 5:1,7; 6:1; 7:1,24, etc.). Thus the sons of the prophets may be called disciples of the prophets, and the societies of the sons of the prophets themselves may be called the schools of the prophets. However, if we call societies prophetic schools, then it is absolutely necessary to renounce modern ideas about the school; Prophetic schools did not and could not have a school character in the modern sense. There is no reason to suppose that theoretical scientific systems were taught in the prophetic schools, or that theoretical theology was developed there (Maybaum). Meanwhile, the view of the prophetic schools as schools in the modern sense is shared by many. Even the Jewish rabbis called the sons of the prophets talmidim, and the prophetic schools bathe hamidrasch. Many of the later scholars also see in the prophetic schools educational institutions where various sciences were taught, comparing them with the philosophical schools of the Pythagoreans [42]. But the teaching in the Bible is never presented as teaching and assimilating theoretical knowledge. The Bible, like antiquity in general, does not distinguish between knowledge and virtue. Wisdom was combined with teaching or instruction, Heb. - musar. This instruction meant the entire system of educational measures (Slavic - "punishment") [43].

A teacher should not be a funny singer with a pleasant voice and a good player, who can only be listened to, and whose words cannot be sung (Jeremiah 33:32). The prophetic schools were not schools in the modern sense; they were not only educational institutions, but were more religious and educational institutions. We have said above that in the prophetic schools there was even a special way of life. This system must be considered an essential feature of the Old Testament prophetic school. Blessed Jerome, paying attention to this way of life, calls the prophetic schools monasteries and the sons of the prophets monks [44]. In their outward way of life, the prophetic schools were indeed similar to monasteries, but, of course, they were not entirely monasteries [45]. Prophetic schools were religious, educational institutions with a monastic order of life.

What was the educational side of the prophetic schools? The Bible answers this very interesting question with perfect silence. Various scholars, at their own will, determine the plans and programs of classes in prophetic schools [46]. Without inventing any detailed programs, we can call the subject of study only the sacred books, not only the law, but also the historical books. On the basis of some biblical data, we can even attribute literary and historical activity to educational subjects. In the books of Chronicles, the historical writings of the prophets are mentioned many times (see: 1 Chronicles 29:29; 2 Chronicles 12:15; 13:22, see above). But the chronicles were kept by the prophets, and what was the participation of the sons of the prophets in this matter - nothing is known about this.

The life of the prophetic schools did not consist of teaching alone; no, this life was a religious education. At the first mention in the Bible, the prophetic assembly is represented as descending from the height (see: 1 Samuel 10:5,10). Perhaps this host was making some religious procession; That is why there was such enthusiasm that it involuntarily captured those who joined this chorus of prophets. The same religious and liturgical education is also evidenced by the study of music, which was in the prophetic schools. Even in the time of Samuel, the assembly of prophets, descending from on high, had a psalter, and a tympanum, and a pipe, and a harp (see 1 Samuel 10:5,10). The sons of the prophets are said to have "prophesied," but this may mean that they sang inspired hymns in Jehovah's honor and accompanied them with music. For the very verb "naba" sometimes means religious music. Of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Idithun it is said that they prophesied (hanebiim - prophesied) in kinnors, psalters and cymbals (see 1 Chronicles 25:1); Asaph himself played (haniba) at the king's instruction (see 25:2). Everywhere there is religious music, which is noted in v. 3, which says: Idifun played the zither to the glory and praise of the Lord (haniba alhodot vehallel lajhovah).

Finally, it should be noted that some of the prophetic sons served the prophets and sometimes carried out their commissions. Beginning with Moses, we see in almost every prophet a special servant who follows his master everywhere, takes care of him, and carries out his commands. The Bible has preserved for us one case when a prophet entrusts his disciple with a very important task. Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, "Gird up your loins, and take this vessel of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth-Gilead..." and anoint Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Namesiah... to be king over Israel (2 Kings 9:13).

We have noted everything that can be considered the subject of classes in prophetic schools. But how to imagine all these activities? What was the nature of these classes? You can talk about all this as much as you like and in any way, but all this will and can only be subjective. Here we will give the floor to another person who thus conceives of the nature of the occupations of the sons of the prophets. "The prophet, who was himself the first and direct organ of the reception of Divine revelation, was better able than any later interpreter to explain by his living word those true testimonies contained in writing, on which millions of people later based their hope. The prophets simply and graphically revealed to their listeners a wondrous picture of the creation of the world, drawing attention to the [ubiquitous] traces of the creative actions of the Great Provider of the universe. The living prophetic spirit extracted from under the veil of the dead letter living thoughts, clothing them in flesh and blood, warming them with its breath and illuminating with new light this or that truth according to the needs of its listeners and interrogators" [47]! The same author describes the teaching of history in the following terms: "To the spiritual gaze of the interlocutors there were not mute skeletons of randomly woven facts and tables of chronology, but vital and fresh pictures, everywhere woven with miraculous facts of God's guidance, marked by the presence of Jehovah and sealed by His feet, deeply connected with the present and the future. The prophets vividly described to their spiritual sons the history of their ancestors, sealed by Jehovah's boundless love for his people. History in the words of the prophet and in his life-giving breath turned into a series of living pictures with living figures. In conversations about the law, the life-giving spirit in a dead letter was revealed; in the laws on sacrifices, from under various types of blood sacrifices, the martyric image of the promised Lamb, who had to bear the sins of the world, rose before the eyes of the listeners, and from under the sacrificial veil the most holy essence and mystery of the New Testament was revealed." "Nor did the mother tongue seem unworthy of reasoning, since it was the language of Jehovah in His dealings with His people and the language of the Divine Scriptures, and it was not the letter of the language that was examined, but the spirit revealed in it, its beauty, vitality, power, and loveliness" [48]. Such descriptions of the nature of the prophetic schools are no doubt beautiful and eloquent, but they are no less arbitrary. It is only true in all these descriptions that the general spirit of the prophetic schools was very far from the dry, strained, and official spirit of many modern schools. There was no juridism in the prophetic schools. The prophetic school can only be represented as a closely united brotherhood, a family, where there is no external authority, no ostentatious order, where obedience necessarily follows from reverent respect and gratitude; A family where everyone is dear, and not accidentally gathered, disgusting to each other, where everyone knows each other and loves each other, and does not tolerate only. One has only to read one verse of the Bible, and read it according to the Slavonic Bible: And one meek said: Come and thyself with thy servants. And he said: I will go. And go with them (2 Kings 6:34). Is it not already evident in these words that priceless spirit of brotherly love, which is the adornment of every society? The Prophet was not obliged to establish schools; he was impelled to do so only by zeal for the glory of God. The prophetic school was the feat of the prophet, his walk before God. The sons of the prophets did not receive any "rights", and therefore for them staying in the "school" was a matter of their love for God and their moral aspirations. For teachers and students, "learning" was an animated, unselfish feat. With such enthusiasm, the ascetic way of life was also natural, which in itself had, of course, a great educational significance. In prophetic schools they were not taught, but educated. Teaching passed into divine services, and all life in the prophetic schools was one religious feat, inspired and free, capturing all the sons of the prophets and uniting them into a common family dear to everyone. The freedom of the sons of the prophets was not the freedom of confusion, reminiscent of the well-known fable where the cart was taken in different directions. The prophetic son was free because he found what he was looking for, because he was among people who aspired to the same high and beautiful goals as he did, with whom he could therefore live and merge into one brotherhood, where each felt happy and free, although others could understand neither his happiness nor his freedom. It is this system of prophetic schools, a system alien to "officialdom" and full of spirit and like-mindedness, that we would like to emphasize especially.

In conclusion, we would like to say a few words about what thoughts are aroused by the remembrance of the Old Testament prophetic schools. Everything that concerns the Old Testament prophecy also concerns the Christian church hierarchy. The Old Testament prophecy, as it were, passed into the New Testament; in the life of the Church of the first centuries we find a New Testament parallel to Old Testament prophecy, these are charismatics - evangelists, prophets, teachers. In the early days of Christianity, these charismatics were higher than hierarchical persons - bishops. Hierarchical persons performed only administrative and liturgical functions. Inspired teaching belonged to charismatics. In the "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles" it is said about hierarchical persons: do not despise them; for they are the most honorable among you, together with the prophets and teachers. But soon the cause of the charismatics began to move to hierarchy, and, finally, the charismatics, compromised by the Montanist prophets, completely gave way to hierarchy. The hierarchy also accepted the duties of charismatics. Consequently, the hierarchy of the Church, through the intermediary of charismatics, is in part the ideological heir of the prophets, and if this is so, then everything that relates to the prophetic schools also concerns the theological school. And the theological school can learn a lot from the prophetic schools. The theological school encloses within its walls persons who are completely alien to each other, striving in diametrically opposite directions. Religious education in them is reduced to a minimum; it is presented to those who wish. Whoever by some miracle remains faithful to God and the Church, only let him remain in the service of them. The school should accommodate only those who already have a clearly defined vocation in life, that is, it should be specifically pastoral. According to one highly "authoritative" project [50], the life of a school can be determined by its possible approximation to that of a monastery (6), and the school should educate good pastors of the Orthodox Church not only by teaching them the necessary knowledge, but also by going through the feats of Christian life and activity (1) [51]. In the same draft, the formal and official system is completely crossed out. The superior and his teachers do not constitute an educational corporation in the usual sense of the word, but a spiritual brotherhood united by strict obedience to the superior and common mutual love (12). The teachers of the school think of themselves not only as teachers of science, but also as spiritual guides of their pupils in the Christian life and in preparing themselves for pastoral work (14). If we imagine a pastoral school with such a spirit and structure, then it involuntarily resembles the prophetic schools of which we have spoken. And does not such a school bring up pastors at least somewhat similar to the prophets, of whom the ancient sage speaks: Elijah the prophet arose like fire, and his word burned like a lamp... in his days Elisha did not tremble before the prince... nothing overcame him... And the twelve prophets, let their bones blossom from their place! - comforted Jacob and saved him... a sure hope (Sir. 48:1, 1314; 49:12).

Notes

1. There have been monographs devoted specifically to prophetic schools, but they have only existed; They belong to the past and the centuries before last. These are: J. Alting. Historia Academiarum Hebraeorum. 1687; Werenfel. Dissertatio de scholis prophetarum. Basel, 1701; Zinck. Dissertatio de prophet. scholis. Göttingen, 1737; Hering. Abhandlung von der Propheteuschulen. Breslau, 1777; Schweyler-Mieg. De prophet. scholis, quas ferunt commentationes theolog. part. Strassburg, 1833. It is clear that these ancient books are known only by their names, from more preserved ancient books, for example: Vitringa. De synagoga vetere. Weissenfels, 1726, and mainly from the only monograph of any kind new: Guil. Rud. Kranichfеld. De iis, quae in Testamento vetere commemorantur, prophetarum societatibus. Berolin, 1861, where a list of all the earliest monographs on the question of prophetic schools is given. But Kranichfeld's work itself can hardly be called a monograph; It is rather a brochure of about 60 pages. In addition, Kranichfeld's brochure is a bibliographic rarity.

2. It must be said, however, that all these remarks are for the most part fragmentary and do not give a definite idea of the institution of the prophetic schools as a whole. Biblical commentaries only at best devote a few pages in a row to the prophetic schools, as we see, for example, Carl Friedrich Keil. Die Büscher Samuels. Biblischer Commentar über das Alte Testament / Herausgeg. von C. Fr. Keil und Franz Delitzsch, Th. 2. Bd. 2. Leipzig, 1864. S. 146151. Other commentaries are limited only to the exegesis of the relevant verses. Encyclopedias, on the other hand, sometimes do not devote special articles to the prophetic schools, but speak about them in articles devoted to Old Testament prophecy in general. See, for example, Real-Encycklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche / Herausgeg. von Herzog. 2-te Aufl. Bd. 12 (hereinafter referred to as Herzog. RE2).

3. These are: J. Alting. Historia Academiarum Hebraeorum. 1687; Werenfel. Dissertatio de scholis prophetarum. Basel, 1701; Zinck. Dissertatio de prophet. scholis. Göttingen, 1737; Hering. Abhandlung von der Propheteuschulen. Breslau, 1777; Schweyler-Mieg. De prophet. scholis, quas ferunt commentationes theolog. part. Strassburg, 1833. It is clear that these ancient books are known only by their names, from more preserved ancient books, for example: Vitringa. De synagoga vetere. Weissenfels, 1726, and mainly from the only monograph of any kind new: Guil. Rud. Kranichfеld. De iis, quae in Testamento vetere commemorantur, prophetarum societatibus. Berolin, 1861, where a list of all the earliest monographs on the question of prophetic schools is given. But Kranichfeld's work itself can hardly be called a monograph; It is rather a brochure of about 60 pages. In addition, Kranichfeld's brochure is a bibliographic rarity.

4. A particularly typical study of this genus can be called: Dr. Siegmund Maybaum. Die Entwickelung des israelitischen Prophetenthums. Berlin, 1883. Regenbogen-Bibel (German) - the so-called "rainbow Bible", a critical edition of the Bible, published at the end of the 19th century. In which, according to the theory of the "four sources" of the Pentateuch, the text was printed in four different colors, respectively. -Note. Red.

5. See: Keil. Op. cit. S.74; M. Verzhbolovich. Cit. cit., p.230231.