Prophets In The Odyssey

While there are many in the Bible who are identified as prophets, Abraham was the first one to obtain this official designation by God in the scriptures. In Genesis 20:6-7 where we find God speaking to Abimelech in a dream he was having. He told Abimelech to give Abraham back his wife “…for he is a prophet”. The word used for prophet here is translated from both the Aramaic and Hebrew word “nabi”, which means seer.

A prophet was to be a spokesman for the Lord. Each of the men granted with this ability would receive some type of communication directly from the Lord. The mode varied from instance to instance, but the communication was always undeniably from God. Upon receiving this communication from the Lord, the prophet would then be required to turn around and relay the information to the intended audience. This information was never for the gain of the prophet, but always used to glorify God.

A prophecy often contained two parts (dual fulfillment prophecies), the major prophecy, which was the prophecy from God of which, God instructed them to speak. In some instances, the major prophecy would not occur for several
33 "But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD, " I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no