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A'Level: Daily Divinity Questions and Answers with Dingani Witness

13 May 2016 at 09:31hrs | Views
QN. How and Why prophetic books were compiled in Ancient Israel and giving the reason why Zimbabwean prophets compile their prophecies? (25) - pt 26

COMMENT OVERVIEW
 - In order for one to answer the above question,we rely on internal and external evidence. External evidence being the old testament commentators whilst internal evidence being the biblical references.

 - One should understand that it is challenging to answer any question without explaining the KEY words ,therefore,this means that it will be injust if the writer does not shed light .
 - The Fundamental Questions will be questioned below.
 - What is a prophetic book?
 - What is a prophet?
 - How information was gathered?
 - Who was the compiler of the prophetic books?
 - Why did they compile?
 - Why are the Zimbabwean prophets compiling their messages?
 - The above fundamental questions will be fully hammered on the ongoing article.

HOW PROPHETIC BOOKS WERE COMPILED
®At this stage it is prudent for one to know how prophetic books were compiled by the later editors and I hope the writer will do enough justice on a plain language.

®>Number of old testament scholars have suggested that most of the prophetic books were compiled ,as the compilers relied on the oral tradition. The compilers will do research through the use of oral tradition. The eye witness will be normal the source ,this is true on the issue of early pre -canonical prophets for instance Samuel,Gad,Nathan, Ahijah, Elijah, Jadon to mention but few .

 - One should note that the information suffered exaggeration as the interviewed ended up exaggerating the prophetic duties of a certain prophet.

®>The prophets had secretaries, servants and disciples who might have compiled the information. This is valid to a certain degree.

For example:
 - Jeremiah had his secretary named Baruch who wrote under the dictatorship of Jeremiah when the leaders of Judah had burnt the scroll. This is recorded in Jeremiah 36:4,36:20 .

 - Isaiah of Jerusalem had his disciples .This is recorded in Isaiah 8:16 ,B.W.Anderson believes that Micah the rural prophet might be one of the disciples who compiled the book of Isaiah after his death( note that on this article I won't explain the relationship of the rural prophet with Isaiah the townsmen)

 - Elisha had his servant Gehazi ,who is believed to have been the source .

®>Sometimes the prophets themselves wrote down prophetic books for their own. This include the following prophets .

 - Moses who is believed to have written the first five books even though some scholars disqualify the view and suggesting that the Pentateuch books were not prophetic books as such but historical books .

The point is that Moses wrote something about his prophetic career ,this is supported by Exodus 17:14.(note that this doesn't make Moses as a canonical prophet, the reason won't be explained on this article).

 - The prophet of Jerusalem Isaiah is also believed to have written down some of his prophecies .This is authenticated by Isaiah 8:1 and Isaiah 30:8

®>On will be short sighted,if the writer ignore the view that sometimes the later editors collected the prophetic information and made their own additions. For instance the last Chapters of Amos which believed to have been the works of later editors, this has been further supported by Heaton who submitted that it is not Amos who wrote the last chapter of his book but the later editors as they went on to make errors.

WHY PROPHETIC BOOKS WERE COMPILED
®Number of reasons have been brought forward by different scholars why
prophetic books were compiled.For instance
 - to preserve monotheism.
 - to confirm the prophecies.
 - for future generations.
 - the death being the threat.

 - Scholar Bruce submitted that the reason why they compiled prophetic
books is that after  realising that they were at risk of loosing
information they wrote down.

N.B One should note that the compilation of prophetic books might have
started during the Babylonian exile.

REASONS WHY ZIMBABWEAN PROPHETS COMPILE PROPHETIC BOOKS
 - Zimbabwean prophets have compiled their prophetic books .This include
the following prophets.
-Emmanuel Makandiwa
-Blessing Chiza
-Walter Magaya
-Uebert Angel

 - The major reasons why they compiled is unknown but different reasons
can be brought forward inline with  their actions after authoring or
recording their prophecies.
®It can be assumed that they compile prophetic books for the following reasons,
 - To educate the church.
 - For fame.
 - To preserve it for the  future generation.
 - To prove that they are literary.
 - To get reward later as they go on to sell the compiled books .


DEMANDS OF THE QUESTION
 - The question is clear .Explaining will be waste of time.

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Source - Dingani Witness
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