# prophet, prophecy, prophesy, seer, prophetess

## Definition:

A “prophet” is a man who speaks God’s messages to people. A woman who does this is called a “prophetess.”

* Often prophets warned people to turn away from their sins and obey God.
* A “prophecy” is the message that the prophet speaks. To “prophesy” means to speak God’s messages.
* Often the message of a prophecy was about something that would happen in the future.
* Many prophecies in the Old Testament have already been fulfilled.
* In the Bible the collection of books written by prophets are sometimes referred to as “the prophets.”
* For example the phrase, “the law and the prophets” is a way of referring to all the Hebrew scriptures, which are also known as the “Old Testament.”
* An older term for a prophet was “seer” or “someone who sees.”
* Sometimes the term “seer” refers to a false prophet or to someone who practices divination.

## Translation Suggestions:

* The term “prophet” could be translated as “God’s spokesman” or “man who speaks for God” or “man who speaks God’s messages.”
* A “seer” could be translated as “person who sees visions” or “man who sees the future from God.”
* The term “prophetess” could be translated as “spokeswoman for God” or “woman who speaks for God” or “woman who speaks God’s messages.”
* Ways to translate “prophecy” could include, “message from God” or “prophet message.”
* The term “prophesy” could be translated as “speak words from God” or “tell God’s message.”
* The figurative expression, “law and the prophets” could also be translated as “the books of the law and of the prophets” or “everything written about God and his people, including God’s laws and what his prophets preached.” (See: [synecdoche](rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-synecdoche))
* When referring to a prophet (or seer) of a false god, it may be necessary to translate this as “false prophet (seer)” or “prophet (seer) of a false god” or “prophet of Baal,” for example.

(See also: [Baal](../names/baal.md), [divination](../other/divination.md), [false god](../kt/falsegod.md), [false prophet](../other/falseprophet.md), [fulfill](../kt/fulfill.md), [law](../kt/lawofmoses.md), [vision](../other/vision.md))

## Bible References:

* [1 Thessalonians 2:14-16](rc://en/tn/help/1th/02/14)
* [Acts 3:25](rc://en/tn/help/act/03/25)
* [John 1:43-45](rc://en/tn/help/jhn/01/43)
* [Malachi 4:4-6](rc://en/tn/help/mal/04/04)
* [Matthew 1:23](rc://en/tn/help/mat/01/23)
* [Matthew 2:18](rc://en/tn/help/mat/02/18)
* [Matthew 5:17](rc://en/tn/help/mat/05/17)
* [Psalm 51:1](rc://en/tn/help/psa/051/01)

## Examples from the Bible stories:

* __[12:12](rc://en/tn/help/obs/12/12)__ When the Israelites saw that the Egyptians were dead, they trusted in God and believed that Moses was a __prophet__ of God.
* __[17:13](rc://en/tn/help/obs/17/13)__ God was very angry about what David had done, so he sent the __prophet__ Nathan to tell David how evil his sin was.
* __[19:1](rc://en/tn/help/obs/19/01)__ Throughout the history of the Israelites, God sent them __prophets__. The __prophets__ heard messages from God and then told the people God’s messages.
* __[19:6](rc://en/tn/help/obs/19/06)__ All the people of the entire kingdom of Israel, including the 450 __prophets__ of Baal, came to Mount Carmel.
* __[19:17](rc://en/tn/help/obs/19/17)__ Most of the time, the people did not obey God. They often mistreated the __prophets__ and sometimes even killed them.
* __[21:9](rc://en/tn/help/obs/21/09)__ The __prophet__ Isaiah __prophesied__ that the Messiah would be born from a virgin.
* __[43:5](rc://en/tn/help/obs/43/05)__ “This fulfills the __prophecy__ made by the __prophet__ Joel in which God said, ‘In the last days, I will pour out my Spirit.’”
* __[43:7](rc://en/tn/help/obs/43/07)__ “This fulfills the __prophecy__ which says, ‘You will not let your Holy One rot in the grave.’”
* __[48:12](rc://en/tn/help/obs/48/12)__ Moses was a great __prophet__ who proclaimed the word of God. But Jesus is the greatest __prophet__ of all. He is the Word of God.

## Word Data:

* Strong’s: H2372, H2374, H4853, H5012, H5013, H5016, H5017, H5029, H5030, H5031, H5197, G24950, G43940, G43950, G43960, G43970, G43980, G55780
