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  • From: "Heard, Christopher" <Christopher.Heard AT pepperdine.edu>
  • To: b-hebrew <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] nevi
  • Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:16:03 -0700

James,

Re: your question about "prophet," quoted below. This is not really a semantic/lexical issue, but a matter of socio-theological roles.

Although it is a somewhat simplistic distinction, I often use this distinction with my first-year college students. I don't much like the term "forthtelling," since it is a word nobody ever really uses, but the intended distinction is useful. In common parlance, at least in American English, prophets are usually associated with "foretelling" the future; when making this distinction with my students, I prefer to use the phrases "predicting the future" or, better, "announcing God's plans." The use of the term "forthtelling" is intended to communicate the idea of ethical/moral/spiritual teaching, so I prefer the phrases "proclaiming God's will" or, better, "appealing for behavior" (usually behavioral change).

Neither of these senses really has much bearing on the designation of Abraham as a "prophet" in Genesis 20, however. What is foregrounded there is the _intercessory_ function of a prophet. Abraham functions as a "prophet" in Genesis 20 by praying on behalf of Abimelech. I'm sure there are a number of studies that address this intercessory role, but one I recently read was Donald Widmer, _Moses, God, and the Dynamics of Intercessory Prayer_. You can read a little more about this book on my blog at http://www.heardworld.com/higgaion/2005/07/ moses-god-and-dynamics-of-intercessory.html if you wish. The main thrust of the book is an exegesis of Moses' prayers in Exodus 32-34 and Numbers 13-14, but there is considerable attention given to the intercessory function of biblical prophets, and plenty of bibliography on that as well.

Best wishes,

Chris

On Aug 17, 2005, at 9:03 AM, Read, James C wrote:
Reading through Genesis I noticed that the first occurence of the word we translate as prophet is
found in reference to Abraham. This reminded me of my Hebrew lecturer at St. Andrews who argued
(years ago) that the orignal meaning of prophet meant something similar to 'forth teller' rather
than 'fore teller' and that his primary characteristic was that of speaking out rather than that
of predicting the future.

Any thoughts?



--
R. Christopher Heard
Assistant Professor of Religion
Seaver Fellow in Religion
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California 90263-4352
Professional Web Page: http://faculty.pepperdine.edu/cheard
Internet Resource Index: http://www.iTanakh.org
Personal Web Page: http://www.heardworld.com





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