The Bible records a number of true prophets and prophetesses as well
as several false prophets and prophetesses. Certainly not all of those

who spoke for God or pretended to speak for God are specifically men-
tioned in the Bible. However, the following is a tabulation or list of

those who are set forth in the pages of Scripture as false and true speak-
ers for God.

Old Testament Pre-Monarchy Prophets
1. Abel (Luke 11:49-51)
2. Enoch (Jude 1:14)

3. Noah (Gen. 9:24-27)
4. Abraham (Gen. 20:7)
5. Jacob (Gen. 48–49)
6. Aaron (Exod. 7:1)
7. Moses (Deut. 18:15; 34:10)
8. An anonymous prophet (Judg. 6:7-10)
9. An anonymous prophet who predicted the death of Eli’s sons (1 Sam.
2:27-36)
10. Samuel (1 Sam. 3:20)
11. A band of prophets (1 Sam. 10:5-10; 19:18-20)
Old Testament Monarchy Prophets (Nonwriting Prophets)
1. Nathan (2 Sam. 7:2; 12:25)
2. Gad (2 Sam. 24:11)
3. Zadok the priest (2 Sam. 15:27)
4. Heman and fourteen of his sons (1 Chron. 25:1-5)
5. Asaph and four of his sons (1 Chron. 25:1-5)
6. Jeduthun and six of his sons (1 Chron. 25:1-5)
7. Ahijah (1 Kings 11:29; 14:2-8)
8. A man of God who spoke against Jeroboam’s altar (1 Kings 13:1-10)
9. An old prophet in Bethel (1 Kings 13:11-32)
10. Shemaiah (2 Chron. 11:2-4; 12:5-15)
11. Iddo (2 Chron. 9:29; 12:15; 13:22)
12. Azariah (2 Chron. 15:1-8)
13. Hanani (2 Chron. 16:7; 19:2)
14. Jehu, son of Hanani (1 Kings 16:1-12)
15. Jahaziel (2 Chron. 20:14)
16. Eliezer (2 Chron. 20:37)
17. Elijah (1 Kings 17–19)
18. Elisha (1 Kings 19:19-21)
19. An unnamed prophet (1 Kings 20:13-28)
20. Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8-28)
21. Zechariah (2 Chron. 24:20-22; Luke 11:49-51)
22. An unnamed prophet (2 Chron. 25:15)
23. Uriah (Jer. 26:20)
24. Oded (2 Chron. 28:9-11)
25. King Saul, who prophesied on two occasions (1 Sam. 10:1-13;
19:18-24)
26. King David (Pss. 2; 16; 22; 110; Acts 2:30-35)
Old Testament Monarchy Prophets (Writing Prophets)
Preexilic Prophets (Ninth Century B.C.)
1. Obadiah
2. Joel
(Eighth Century B.C.)
1. Amos
2. Hosea
3. Isaiah

4. Micah
5. Jonah
(Seventh Century B.C.)
1. Nahum
2. Jeremiah
3. Zephaniah
4. Habakkuk
Exilic Prophets
1. Daniel
2. Ezekiel
Postexilic Prophets
1. Haggai
2. Zechariah
3. Malachi
Old Testament Prophetesses
1. Deborah (Judg. 4:4)
2. Miriam (Exod. 15:20)
3. Huldah (2 Kings (22:14-17)
4. Isaiah’s wife (Isa. 8:2-3, KJV)
Old Testament False Prophets and Prophetesses
1. Balaam (Num. 22–24)
2. Zedekiah (1 Kings 22:11-24)
3. Hananiah (Jer. 28:1-17)
4. Shemaiah (Jer. 29:24-32)
5. Ahab (Jer. 29:21)
6. Zedekiah (Jer. 29:21)
7. Noadiah (Neh. 6:14)
8. A group of false prophets (Ezek. 13:1-16)
9. A group of false prophetesses (Ezek. 13:17-23)
New Testament Prophets and Prophetesses
1. John the Baptist (Matt. 11:9)
2. Anna (Luke 2:36)
3. Agabus (Acts 11:28; 21:10)
4. Judas Barsabbas (Acts 15:32)
5. Silas (Acts 15:32)
6. The four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8-9)
7. The two witnesses of the last days (Rev. 11:4, 10)
8. John the apostle (Rev. 22:6-18)
9. Jesus Christ (Matt. 24–25; John 4:19, 44; 7:40; 9:17)
New Testament False Prophets and Prophetesses
1. Elymas (Acts 13:6-8)
2. Jezebel (Rev. 2:20)
3. A parade of false prophets in the last days (Matt. 24:24)
4. The false prophets (Rev. 13:11-18)

FOCUS ON THE FUTURE
As we have seen, the prophet often spoke a divine message for his or her
own day. The message was always closely tied to a prediction of future
judgment or future blessing, depending on how the audience
responded to the message. Many of these prophecies have already

been fulfilled. In addition, the hundreds of messianic prophecies asso-
ciated with the first coming of Christ have also been fulfilled. This book

will not focus on prophecies that have already been fulfilled but on the
currently unfulfilled prophecies commonly referred to as the last days
or end times.
1
According to the calculations of J. Barton Payne (Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy. New York: Harper and Row,
1973, pp. 631–82), there are 8,352 verses (out of a total of 31,124 for the whole Bible) that contain predictive
material. This means that 27 percent of the Bible is prophecy. In the Old Testament, 6,641 out of 23,210 verses
contain predictive material (28.5 percent), while 1,711 of the New Testament’s 7,914 verses include predictive
material (21.5 percent). These verses discuss 737 separate prophetic topics.
2
This chart was taken from Dr. Charles Dyer, “Preexilic and Exilic Prophets,” unpublished class notes, Dallas
Theological Seminary.
3
Leon J. Wood, The Prophets of Israel (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), 16.
4
Hobart E. Freeman, An Introduction to the Old Testament Prophets (Chicago: Moody Press, 1968), 14.
5
These marks were adapted from Wood, 109–13 and Freeman, 102–17.