Major and Minor Prophets
The Pentateuch:
Genesis – teaches us about the origin of the
universe and records Israel’s roots and early
history.
Exodus – teaches about the enslavement and
deliverance of the Israel and the history of their
journey toward Canaan under the leadership of
Moses.
Leviticus – contains over 600 laws that Israel was
to live by.
Numbers – records the 40 years of wandering in
the wilderness.
Deuteronomy – contains a repetition of the laws
given shortly before Israel entered Canaan.
The 12 Books of History:
Joshua – is the book of the conquest of Canaan as
promised by God.
Judges – records the 12 judges over Israel and
history of Israel’s continual rebellion against
God when a judge died.
Ruth – is the story of the life of Ruth and how she
became an ancestor of David and of Jesus.
1 & 2 Samuel – is the history of Samuel and the
beginning of Israel having kings.
1 & 2 Kings – records the early history of the
kingdom of Israel and then its division into
Israel and Judah. We are introduced to Elijah
and Elisha.
1 & 2 Chronicles – mainly covers the history of
David, Solomon, and the kings of Judah up to the
time of their captivity.
Ezra – is a record of the return of the Jews from
captivity and the rebuilding of the temple.
Nehemiah – gives us an account of the rebuilding
of the walls of Jerusalem and how the God’s
people recommitted themselves to keep the Law
of Moses.
Esther –the story of Esther and how she made it
possible for the Jews to be saved from the plot of
Haman.
The 5 books of poetry:
Job – teaches us what Job had to endure by the
testing of Satan, how he had great patience, and
in the end he was found faithful and God blessed
him with more than he had before.
Psalms – is a collection of 150 spiritual songs,
prayers, and poems by different authors some of
which are unnamed, and they cover a variety of
topics.
Proverbs – is a collection of moral and religious
maxims on such topics as wisdom, temperance,
and justice.
Ecclesiastes – shows us how all life is vanity
without God in the picture.
Song of Solomon – is a love song that shows the
deep love between a couple that gets married.
Over the next couple of years, we will be looking
at these 16 Major and Minor Prophets that are
contained in 17 books. The time of these writings
are from 800 – 400 B.C.
The main theme of these prophetic books is the
justice, sovereignty, and mercy of God.
Deuteronomy 18:20 'But the prophet who
presumes to speak a word in My name, which I
have not commanded him to speak, or who
speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet
shall die.' 21 "And if you say in your heart, 'How
shall we know the word which the LORD has not
spoken?' -- 22 "when a prophet speaks in the
name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen
or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD
has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it
presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
• Amos and Hosea spoke to Israel.
• Jonah and Nahum spoke to Nineveh.
• Daniel spoke to Babylon.
• Ezekiel spoke to the captives in Babylon.
• Obadiah spoke to Edom.
• Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi spoke
to Judah.
The 5 books of the Major Prophets
The Book of Isaiah is one of the longest and most
important books in the Old Testament. It covers
the life of Isaiah and what he said and did as a
prophet of God.
Isaiah began prophesying around 759 B.C.
The Book of Jeremiah records how God made this
young man into a prophet though he was
reluctant at first. He lived about 100 years after
Isaiah and he prophesied for about 60 years from
626 B.C. – 566 B.C.
Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I
will make with the house of Israel after those
days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their
minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No
more shall every man teach his neighbor, and
every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
for they all shall know Me, from the least of them
to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will
forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will
remember no more."
The Book of Lamentations is a collection of 5
poems that express grief over the destruction of
Jerusalem and the captivity of the Jews.
The Book of Ezekiel covers the prophecies made
by Ezekiel. Ezekiel had been carried into captivity
by Nebuchadnezzar around 597 B.C. and started
prophesying 5 years later.
The Book of Daniel is about the life of Daniel and
the dreams he interpreted. Daniel was part of the
first group of Jews taken into captivity around
606 B.C.
The 12 Minor Prophets
The Book of Hosea is about the prophet Hosea. He
preached his message to Israel from about 786
B.C. to 726 B.C. while Isaiah and Micah were
preaching to Judah.
The Book of Joel is about the prophet Joel. We do
not know for sure, but some think he may have
been the first prophet to preach to Judah.
The Book of Amos tells of how Amos, who was
shepherd, preached about how Judah would not
escape punishment for her sins, and he preached
many other prophecies about other nations.
He was preaching around the same time as Joel
and Hosea around 786 B.C. – 726 B.C
The Book of Obadiah is about the prophecies of
the prophet Obadiah. It is believed that he
preached around the time Judah was overthrown
around 586 B.C.
The Book of Jonah is unique in that is not full of
visions, but records a small portion of the life of
Jonah who is known as the reluctant missionary.
We learn from 2 Kings14:25 that Jonah preached
during the time of Jeroboam II around 749 B.C. –
790 B.C.
The Book of Micah is about the prophet Micah
who preached around the time of Isaiah and
Hosea around 740 B.C. – 700 B.C.
Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is
good; And what does the LORD require of you But
to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly
with your God?
The Book of Nahum is about the prophet Nahum
and his message to Judah. He was preaching
around 630 B.C. around the same time as
Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah.
The Book of Habakkuk is about the prophet
Habakkuk who preached to Judah around 628
B.C. to 608 B.C. He had a complaint against God.
He wanted to know why their nation should be
destroyed by a more wicked nation.
Habakkuk 2:4 … But the just shall live by his
faith. (Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).
The Book of Zephaniah is about the prophet
Zephaniah who was a descendant of King
Hezekiah. He prophesied during the reign of
Josiah in Judah around 630 B.C.
The Book of Haggai has two chapters in which the
prophet Haggai delivers a message from God to
the Jews after their return to Jerusalem by the
order of Cyrus around 520 B.C.
The Book of Zechariah is about the prophet
Zechariah who also came back with Zerubbabel,
and he worked with Haggai.
Zechariah made several prophecies about the
coming Messiah:
• His atoning death for the removal of sin (3:8-9;
13:1)
• As builder of the house of God (6:12)
• His universal reign as King and Priest (6:13;
9:10)
• His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (9:9)
• His betrayal for 30 pieces of silver (11:12)
• His Deity (12:8)
• His pierced hands (12:10; 13:6)
• A smitten shepherd (13:7)
The last book of the O.T. is Malachi. It talks about
the prophet Malachi and his message. He was the
last of the O.T. prophets who prophesied about
100 years after Haggai and Zechariah around 450
B.C. – 425 B.C.
Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written
before were written for our learning, that we
through the patience and comfort of the
Scriptures might have hope.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things
happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends
of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who
thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.