I

Their Stories,
Sayin9s, &.. Scrolls
 INTRODUCTION
TO THE PROPHETS
Their Stories, Sayings, and Scrolls

Second Edition

THOMAS L. LECLERC

p AULIST PRESS
NEW YORK/ MAHWAH, NJ
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version: Catholic Edition,
Copyright© 1989 and 1993, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Copyright© 2017 by Thomas L. Leclerc
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Leclerc, Thomas L., 1953- author.
Title: Introduction to the prophets, their stories, sayings, and scrolls / Thomas L. Leclerc.
Description: Second Edition. I New York: Paulist Press, 2017, I Includes bibliographical references.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017010029 (print) I LCCN 2017036728 (ebook) I ISBN 9781587687273 (ebook) I ISBN
9780809153619 (pbk.: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Prophets.
Classification: LCC BS1505.55 (ebook) I LCC BS1505.55 .L43 2017 (print) I DDC 224/.061-dc23
LC record available at https://lccnJoc.gov/2017010029
ISBN 978-0-8091-5361-9 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-58768-727-3 (e-book)
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great sin that brought the punishment God had long ago predicted and promised. The
theological convictions and answers of the Deuteronomists-exclusive worship of Yahweh,
prophecy/fulfillment, blessings/curses-were woven into their telling of the stories of the
various prophets.
The second issue the Deuteronomists attempted to address was the problem of conflicting
prophetic messages, a problem dramatized in the story of Micaiah hen Imlah versus
Zedekiah (1 Kgs 22). How is it possible to discern true prophets from false? In response, they
offered specific criteria for distinguishing between true and false prophets; they then
shaped their stories so that various prophets embodied their ideals. Thus, prophets (such as
Elijah and Elisha) and prophetic figures (such as Joshua) were presented to conform to the
Mosaic ideal (Deut 18:15), and each of the prophets we have studied measures up to the
Deuteronomistic criterion of speaking God's words (Deut 18:18). Frequently, the authors
drew attention to the fulfillment of various prophecies, thus fulfilling another
Deuteronomistic criterion (Deut 18:21-22) and reinforcing the prophecy/fulfillment theme
that binds together these books of the former prophets. Elijah and Elisha, in particular, were
strident in their opposition to the worship of Baal and upheld the primary obligation of
covenant theology-exclusive loyalty to Yahweh; obviously, their message conformed to the
Law (Deut 12:21-13:4). Not infrequently, the prophets announced punishment for the sins
of kings, confirming the covenantal conviction that disobedience enacts the curses specified
in the covenant. All of which is to say that these stories are more useful in understanding
the theology of prophecy than they are in reconstructing the history of prophecy.
That said, it is telling to note that even though the Deuteronomists have a distinctive
understanding of prophecy and of covenant obligations, they have incorporated into their
narratives a tradition of royal theology that in some ways stands in tension with their own
views. They have also preserved three other aspects of prophecy: (1) the social role of
prophets as critics and counselors to kings, as participants in international relations, and as
interpreters of Israelite tradition; (2) the religious role of prophets as intercessors; and (3)
their role as public speakers who employed stylized speech patterns including the
messenger formula, first-person speech, and the use of legal language such as the
indictment and judgment. All of these features are also evident in the books attributed to
prophets. It is not so much that the Deuteronomists established the precedent that the
individual prophets then emulated. Rather, due to the late date of the DH, the authors drew
on their knowledge of the prophets to help them shape and tell the story of those former
prophets who ministered before any of the prophetic books were compiled. It is to those
books-or collections of prophetic words-that we now turn.