Thus, as a result of a comparison of these different words for prophet, it seems quite plausible that some lost Hebrew root should be associated with related Akcat and Arabic words. Basically, the meaning of these words is "to know" or "to proclaim". The Greek root is "prophetos" or "prophetiz," as we call it in the Bible, and the Greek Bible uses this term when translating the word "nabis." In the Latin, Hellenic world, this word combined several meanings; It denoted a person who speaks in public or on behalf of someone else, as well as predicting the future.

The predominant meaning in the Bible is not so much the time as the substitution of speaking for someone else, or for someone else, or for a place in front of someone. Thus, the original prophets of the Bible are not people who predict the future, but speak in the name of God or straighten the ways of the Lord, bringing them to the hearts of men. Were there prophets in the Old Testament before Israel? Yes, there were such people. We must say a few words about them. Prophecy did not begin with the prophets of the Old Testament.

As a phenomenon, prophecy also existed outside of Israel, in Mesopotamia, in Canaan, and in Egypt. In Egypt, since the 11th millennium, there have been cases when men and women, usually in a state of ecstasy, spoke in the name of the Deity who sent them. In Egypt, quite a lot of texts have been found containing the predictions of certain prophets. This is also the warning of a certain Egyptian sage, where a political orator describes the figure of an ideal ruler, the prophetic story of Nefertiti. However, a sober assessment of these records leads to the conclusion that they were all made much later, and indicate that they were not written in the time of these prophets, but by later thinkers and interpreters. There are famous predictions of Egyptian oracles, for example, Omonovsivi and a number of others.

In Mesopotamia, we also encounter a civilization of the magical type, where divination takes place by divination by the entrails of animals, by the stars. Apparently, these predictions were the reality of Mesopotamian life. The Sumerians had the same custom of divination by the entrails of animals; there was also the god of dreams, Dmamu, and dreams were widely commented on, certain prophecies were based on them. Inspiration was also obtained from communication with various oracles.

In addition, there were other people in Mesopotamia who were called "esseby" (a man into whom God entered). There were also special priestesses, or mourners, who also uttered prophecies. There is also evidence of ancient prophets, the so-called "Texts of Mari". We are talking about the area located on the western bank in the middle reaches of the Euphrates River. In Mari, quite a few texts have been found that have the character of prophecies: the revelations of the god Dagon in Tegri. A certain official receives a revelation from God, which begins as follows: "I send you to speak."

There is also Canaan, which includes Phoenicia, where there is evidence that an Egyptian priest went there and prophesied there. Both the account of Amun's journey to Byblos and the stele of Zahur, king of Hamat, also speak of this prophecy. There are many of them, but we will give another example of a special prophecy that you need to know – this is Balaam. This is an ancient prophet who speaks at the beginning of the conquest of the Promised Land. This is about 1200-1250 years B.C., the era of the end of the 40-year wandering (Num. 22-24).

Balaam is an exceptional figure, in some respects unique in the unbiblical world of prediction. Most likely, he is a native of the Mesopotamian part of Syria. Balaam is mentioned in the biblical legends in a double guise: in the Yahwist tradition he appears as the prophet of Yahweh, and in the tradition of the Eloist, {76} he is hostile to Yahweh. As you know, the two traditions are combined in one, and it turned out to be a rather interesting story about Valaam.

Thus, we can conclude that the prophets were not the prerogative of Israel, they were also in other countries, but we argue that the biblical prophets owe much to the practice of their contemporaries (they certainly knew about these prophecies). However, despite the unconditional external forms of similarity, there is something special that separates the prophet of Israel from others – this is the light of faith in the One God, in Yahweh.

So, before us are the prophets of the Bible. The entire history of Israel, including the stories about the lives of patriarchs, judges, and kings, is full of deep meaning and drama and is to a large extent a prelude to the preaching of the great prophets. The patriarchs and leaders, priests and kings of ancient Israel were the medium into which the first rays of revelation penetrated through the thickness of superstition, barbarous mores, and crude concepts of God.

Only Moses rises like a giant in the twilight of early Old Testament history. He was a true messenger of God, a bearer of high moral and religious principles, a prophet who had no equal even after him (Deuteronomy 34:10). It was the beginning in relation to the other Old Testament prophets. The high religious and moral teaching of Moses was fully revealed in classical "prophetism." But it was unable to overcome crude naturalism and popular superstition. However, the seed planted in Sinai sprouted in the Promised Land in Palestine.