Library Home
>
All Subjects
>
S Subjects
>
Sons of the Prophets
Sons of the Prophets
Subject download …
Download PDF
Print
Share on Facebook
Share on X (Twitter)
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
These are referred to in the
Old
Testament
, and at
times
were numerous. They are spoken of as being at
Bethel
,
Jericho
, and
Gilgal
(
2 Kings 2:3,5
3
And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. (2 Kings 2:3)
5
And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. (2 Kings 2:5)
;
2 Kings 4:38
38
And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. (2 Kings 4:38)
). At one place their dwelling was too limited, and they cut down timber to build themselves a larger place (
2 Kings 6:1-2
1
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. (2 Kings 6:1‑2)
). We read of them only in the days of
Samuel
,
Elijah
, and
Elisha
, who were held in repute by them. When Elijah was about to be taken up, these prophets apparently had a revelation concerning it, and they sent fifty men “to view afar off,” and afterward sent fifty to look for
the
prophet
(
2 Kings 2:7,17
7
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. (2 Kings 2:7)
17
And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. (2 Kings 2:17)
; compare
1 Sam. 10:10
10
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. (1 Samuel 10:10)
). The “company of prophets” with
psaltery
,
tabret
,
pipe
, and
harp
, whom
Saul
met, were probably sons of
the prophets
(
1 Sam. 10:5
5
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: (1 Samuel 10:5)
). The hundred prophets whom
Obadiah
hid from the persecution of
Jezebel
may have been of the same (
1 Kings 18:4
4
For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) (1 Kings 18:4)
). From whence these prophets were gathered, and what their functions were is not recorded.
From
Manners and Customs of the Bible
:
2 Kings 2:3
3
And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. (2 Kings 2:3)
. And the
sons of
the prophets
that were at
Bethel
came forth to
Elisha
.
The disciples of the prophets were called sons, as teachers are
sometimes
called
fathers
(
2 Kings 2:12; 6:21
12
And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. (2 Kings 2:12)
21
And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? (2 Kings 6:21)
). These “sons of the prophets” formed a peculiar order, whose mission seems to have been to assist
the
prophet
in their duties, and in
time
to succeed them. They were not a monastic order, as some suppose, nor were they merely theological students, though they probably studied the
law
and the history of
God
’s people, together with sacred
poetry
and
music
.
The “schools of the prophets” in which these “sons” were trained are supposed to have been founded by the prophet
Samuel
, though their origin and history are involved in obscurity. They were located not only in Bethel, as appears from the text, but also in
Rama
(
1 Sam. 19:19-20
19
And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20
And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. (1 Samuel 19:19‑20)
) in
Jericho
(
2 Kings 2:5
5
And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. (2 Kings 2:5)
) in
Gilgal
(
2 Kings 4:38
38
And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. (2 Kings 4:38)
) and probably in other places. See
1 Samuel 10:5,10
5
After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: (1 Samuel 10:5)
10
And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. (1 Samuel 10:10)
and
2 Kings 6:1
1
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. (2 Kings 6:1)
. Their members were numerous; a hundred are spoken of in Gilgal (
2 Kings 4:43
43
And his servitor said, What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people, that they may eat: for thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and shall leave thereof. (2 Kings 4:43)
) and at least fifty in Jericho (
2 Kings 2:7
7
And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. (2 Kings 2:7)
).
Some of “the sons of the prophets” were married, and probably lived in houses of their own (
2 Kings 4:1-2
1
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the Lord: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
2
And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. (2 Kings 4:1‑2)
). Others were unmarried and occupied a building in common (
2 Kings 6:1-2
1
And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2
Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. (2 Kings 6:1‑2)
) and ate at a common
table
(
2 Kings 4:38
38
And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. (2 Kings 4:38)
).
How long the “schools of the prophets” lasted is not definitely known. They seem to have flourished most in the time of Samuel,
Elijah
, and Elisha. Fifty years after. Elisha’s
death
Amos
prophesied; and, according to his statement, he had no training in a prophetic school, though it does not follow that none existed in his
day
. See
Amos 7:14
14
Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: (Amos 7:14)
.
An extended account of these schools may be found in Keil’s Commentary on
1 Samuel 19:18-24
18
So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
19
And it was told Saul, saying, Behold, David is at Naioth in Ramah.
20
And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
21
And when it was told Saul, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. And Saul sent messengers again the third time, and they prophesied also.
22
Then went he also to Ramah, and came to a great well that is in Sechu: and he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And one said, Behold, they be at Naioth in Ramah.
23
And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
24
And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? (1 Samuel 19:18‑24)
Related Books and Articles:
326. Schools of the Prophets
From:
Manners and Customs of the Bible
By:
James M. Freeman
Narrator:
Chris Genthree
Duration:
2min
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Audio
Authors
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
Y
Z
All Authors
Bibles
Books
All Books and eBooks
Commentaries
Hymnbooks
Magazines
Reference
Stories & Bios
Subjects
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
All Subjects
Bible Truth Study Bible
Español (Spanish)
More
All Articles
Charts
Conferences & Events
Hymnbooks
Illustrations & Quotes
Maps
Magazines
Poetry
Sunday School
Store