Jeremiah 26:7

The prophets, &c.— The prophets, as is manifest from many passages in Scripture, were an order of men among the Jews devoted to sacred literature, and qualified by their attainments in religious knowledge to advise and instruct the people, who came to consult them in cases of doubt and difficulty. They appear to have been trained in seminaries and schools under the direction of some prophet eminent for wisdom and piety, as those mentioned 1 Samuel 19:20 were under Samuel, and those 2 Kings 2:3; Exodus 6:1 under Elijah and Elisha. That they were numerous, appears from this circumstance, that when Jezebel slew all the prophets of JEHOVAH whom she could meet with, Obadiah hid a hundred of them, and saved their lives; 1 Kings 18:4.: and afterwards there appeared no less than four hundred of them prophesying in that character before Ahab and Jehoshaphat, 1 Kings 22:6. It is not to be supposed that these were all of them, or at all times, divinely inspired, but ordinarily gave their advice as men versed in the law and in the other Scriptures. Sometimes, however, they were enabled to answer those that consulted them by immediate revelation from God. And out of this body God generally perhaps chose those whom he sent as his ambassadors, and messengers extraordinary, to notify the designs of his providence, and to warn his people to repent and turn from the ways which displeased him. I say, generally, but not always; for Amos expressly says of himself, that he was "neither a prophet," meaning by profession, "nor a prophet's son," one bred up in the schools of the prophets; but an illiterate herdsman, when JEHOVAH sent him to prophesy unto Israel; Amos 7:14. But neither did the sacredness of their character secure them from bearing a part in the general corruption of the times; on the contrary, Jeremiah in particular complains bitterly of them for having prostituted themselves to the worst of purposes, deceiving the people by false pretences, and being greatly instrumental in promoting the cause of impiety and wickedness. See chap. Jeremiah 5:31 Jeremiah 14:13 Jeremiah 23:14, &c. Jeremiah 28:15 Jeremiah 29:8, &c. See also Ezekiel 13:2; Ezekiel 13:23.Micah 3:5; Micah 3:11.Zephaniah 3:4. After a total cessation of prophesy, the Scribes, who are often mentioned in the Gospels, seem to have stepped into the place of the prophets, and by their acquired skill in the sacred writings, without any claim to supernatural gifts, to have taught the people, and instructed them in all matters of religious concernment. See Matthew 23:2.