What a prophet is
The Old Testament is written in Hebrew. In the Hebrew language the word for prophet is “nabhi”. Modern scholars argue over what the word means. Some say it means the guy was called or chosen, others say it means the guy calls out or speaks. A very old translation of the Old Testament into Greek called the Septuagint (A commonly used translation in Jesus’ day) uses the Greek word “prophetes” for the Hebrew word “nabhi”. “Prophetes” means to speak for someone else. That is probably what the word “nabhi” or prophet means in the Old Testament. These guys were spokesmen for God, they spoke for Him. Jeremiah 1:7 and Amos 3:8 are two examples that support the idea that a prophet was a person who spoke for God.
Some other terms or words used to describe a prophet in the Old Testament are: Man of God (1 Samuel 9:6), Servant of the Lord (1 Kings 14:18), Messenger of the Lord (Haggai 1:13) and Seer (1 Samuel 9:9). While the idea behind prophet seems to be that they spoke for God, the idea behind this last title, “Seer”, gives us an idea of how they knew what to speak. These men often times had visions of and from God that they went and told to the people.
What a prophet is not
There were prophets in neighboring countries during Old Testament times but they were completely different from the prophets of Israel. In Numbers 22:2-19 we see the story of a prophet named Balaam. In that story the king of Moab sent messengers to Balaam and offered to pay him if he would curse the Israelites. Balaam refused telling the king that he could only speak the words that God instructed him to speak. From this story we learn that the people of that time thought that a prophet was a person who could get the god’s to do things.
In 1 Kings 18:1, 22-39 we see another example where prophets try to manipulate the gods. In that story the prophets of Baal (a Cananite god or idol from that time) dance, beat, and cut themselves to try to get Baal to act. In contrast, according to verse 1, Elijah had been sent on a mission by Yahweh (the personal name of God, that God revealed to Moses usually written as LORD in all capitals in many Bibles). Elijah was following orders not giving them. Eventually he does set the scene for God to act and prays to God to make himself know. But that was probably so there would be no confusion once God did act..
Because there were prophets in other lands some scholars who do not particularly believe in the Bible think that the Israelites were just copying the nations around them. Some even say that the prophets of Israel were like the prophets of Baal in this story. Men who played religious games to control others. There is no evidence that the prophets of Israel beat themselves or did other things to get a message from God. In fact they were not to be like the prophets of the nations who served themselves and whoever might hire them. In Deuteronomy 18:9-11,14-15,18-22 the Israelites were warned against imitating the nations around them. They were not to participate in witchcraft, spells, divination, consulting with the dead, or interpreting signs.
More of what a prophet is?
According to Deuteronomy 18:14-15, 18-22 the Israelites were to listen to the prophets which spoke from God. These prophets got their messages from God who would put the words in the prophets’ mouths.
More of what a prophet is not?
According to Leviticus 20:27 a person who was a medium or diviner or spiritist was to be executed. In the Old Testaments God’s prophets were men who God spoke to. They were men with a specific message from God for His people. According to Luke 11:49-51 prophets were a part of God’s work from the beginning, starting with Able. From the beginning God has had a plan and purpose for His creation. According to 2 Peter 3:8-15 God’s purpose and plan for His creation is for men to be saved and be with Him forever. But it takes time for people to get saved.
Conclusion
The time that has gone by since Creation is history, and God is acting in history. You will see as you explore various prophets in the Bible that they were men who were given a clear vision of God’s work in history. Sometimes the vision they received included information about “history” yet to come. This is called foretelling and helped show that their message was coming from God. They were also men who applied God’s word to the “history” which various people were living. Their goal was to see people live for God. This is called forthtelling and helped accomplish God’s plan of seeing men saved and living for Him. And that is the profit we get from the prophet.