The New Testament authors favor the prophets. Why?

[Wick Stick]

In Acts 2, Peter gives the sermon of his life to the assembled Jews who are at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. In verses 29-30, he says something I found peculiar - that David was a prophet.

Now, we know David as a king. And David was also a priest - he claims so in Psalm 110. But David a prophet? And that got me to thinking... WHY? David is already the most important king of Israel and one of only 3 members of the prestigious Order of Melchizedek (with Melchizedek and Jesus Himself). Why single him out as a prophet, too? Do the prophets hold some special status that would put them above kings and priests?

The answer seems to be yes.

I found a survey of places where the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament and did a little number-crunching. It turns out that the New Testament authors heavily prefer the books of prophecy:

Author	Number of Times Quoted
Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy)	68 (+27 duplicate quotations)
David (Psalms)	55
Isaiah	45
Other Books of Prophecy	33
Books of History (Joshua - Esther)	12
Solomon (Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes)	6
Job	3

Even discounting the duplicate quotations for Moses (Exodus & Deuteronomy overlap a lot), that means the New Testament authors quote the prophets nearly 10x as often as non-prophets (201 - 21).

But wait, it gets worse... I looked up those 12 citations from the non-prophetic books and... half of them are from prophets. 4 from Samuel and 2 from Elijah.

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

It seems to me that the NT authors regarded the prophets as more authoritative than the other books.

 

[marks]

It seems to me that the NT authors regarded the prophets as more authoritative than the other books.

I'd rather say that they used the quotations that were relevant to what they were writing. Do you believe in the plenary inspiration of Scripture?

Much love!

 

[Behold]

But David a prophet?

Yes, K.David was/is a prophet.

David "saw" that God was going to (in the future)not only forgive Sins, but never again again impute them (charge them to a born again believer)...

Paul actually quoted David's prophecy in Romans 4:8.

 

[marks]

And David was also a priest - he claims so in Psalm 110.

I don't think that's true.

Psalms 110:1-7 LITV
1) A Psalm of David. A declaration of Jehovah to my Lord: Sit at My right hand, until I place Your enemies as Your footstool.
2) Jehovah shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion to rule in the midst of Your enemies.
3) Your people shall have willingness in the day of Your might; in the majesties of holiness; from the womb of the dawn, to You is the dew of Your youth.
4) Jehovah has sworn and will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
5) The Lord at Your right hand shatters kings in the day of His anger.
6) He shall judge among the nations; He shall fill with dead bodies; He shall shatter heads over much land.
7) He shall drink out of the torrent on the way; therefore, He shall lift up the head.

This concerns Christ.

In my understanding only Jesus will be Priest, Prophet, and King.

Much love!

 

[Jim C]

In Acts 2, Peter gives the sermon of his life to the assembled Jews who are at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. In verses 29-30, he says something I found peculiar - that David was a prophet.

Now, we know David as a king. And David was also a priest - he claims so in Psalm 110. But David a prophet? And that got me to thinking... WHY? David is already the most important king of Israel and one of only 3 members of the prestigious Order of Melchizedek (with Melchizedek and Jesus Himself). Why single him out as a prophet, too? Do the prophets hold some special status that would put them above kings and priests?

The answer seems to be yes.

I found a survey of places where the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament and did a little number-crunching. It turns out that the New Testament authors heavily prefer the books of prophecy:

Author	Number of Times Quoted
Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy)	68 (+27 duplicate quotations)
David (Psalms)	55
Isaiah	45
Other Books of Prophecy	33
Books of History (Joshua - Esther)	12
Solomon (Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes)	6
Job	3

Even discounting the duplicate quotations for Moses (Exodus & Deuteronomy overlap a lot), that means the New Testament authors quote the prophets nearly 10x as often as non-prophets (201 - 21).

But wait, it gets worse... I looked up those 12 citations from the non-prophetic books and... half of them are from prophets. 4 from Samuel and 2 from Elijah.

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

It seems to me that the NT authors regarded the prophets as more authoritative than the other books.

Probably because the Prophets were sent by God to speak prophecy He personally dictated to them.

 

[quietthinker]

In Acts 2, Peter gives the sermon of his life to the assembled Jews who are at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. In verses 29-30, he says something I found peculiar - that David was a prophet.

Now, we know David as a king. And David was also a priest - he claims so in Psalm 110. But David a prophet? And that got me to thinking... WHY? David is already the most important king of Israel and one of only 3 members of the prestigious Order of Melchizedek (with Melchizedek and Jesus Himself). Why single him out as a prophet, too? Do the prophets hold some special status that would put them above kings and priests?

The answer seems to be yes.

I found a survey of places where the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament and did a little number-crunching. It turns out that the New Testament authors heavily prefer the books of prophecy:

Author	Number of Times Quoted
Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy)	68 (+27 duplicate quotations)
David (Psalms)	55
Isaiah	45
Other Books of Prophecy	33
Books of History (Joshua - Esther)	12
Solomon (Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes)	6
Job	3

Even discounting the duplicate quotations for Moses (Exodus & Deuteronomy overlap a lot), that means the New Testament authors quote the prophets nearly 10x as often as non-prophets (201 - 21).

But wait, it gets worse... I looked up those 12 citations from the non-prophetic books and... half of them are from prophets. 4 from Samuel and 2 from Elijah.

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

It seems to me that the NT authors regarded the prophets as more authoritative than the other books.

The purpose of God's revelation to the Prophets was to reveal himself.....even though the Prophets saw his objective through a dark glass. They interpreted God through their own bias and cultural understanding and wrote accordingly.
The New Testament authors recognised God's intent (being directed by Jesus as in the Emmaus Rd revelation) and therefore used the scriptures they had to extract this.

 

[Jericho]

Author	Number of Times Quoted
Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy)	68 (+27 duplicate quotations)
David (Psalms)	55
Isaiah	45
Other Books of Prophecy	33
Books of History (Joshua - Esther)	12
Solomon (Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes)	6
Job	3

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

As opposed to who else? The prophets spoke directly on God's behalf, so it makes sense they would reference them almost exclusively.

 

[Wick Stick]

As opposed to who else? The prophets spoke directly on God's behalf, so it makes sense they would reference them almost exclusively.

Yes.

Do you think we should give the prophets preference today for the same reason?

 

[MA2444]

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

That's a good question. Umm let's see here, because our Lord is the God which tells the end from the beginning?! Sothe NT authors were hinting to us that...we better still listen to the prophets of old.

Remember Lazarus and rich man? Oh Lord send to my family a warning so they do not come here?!! If they wont listen to Moses and the Prophets, they would still not believe. Let them read the Prophets!

So all those OT Prophets and what the said is very much for the NT church. Better listen to them and read it! My favorites are Isaiah, Daniel (where's Daniel on your list?!) and David in the Psalms is a huge one to me. Psalms is a great book to read. It is able to answer any wuestion about any situation which ay arise in life such as what is common to man. Any question. Any situation.

But dont think ask me where it talks about cell phones or scientific formulas and stuff like that, we're talking biblical principles. Psalms is more than a prophetic book, it is...the Promise book! Psalms is my goto book if I am felling spititually down. Works every time! Who needs antidepressant when we have the Psalms?! Lol!

 

[Wick Stick]

where's Daniel on your list?!

It's under "other prophets" and there weren't enough to list it separately. The list I worked from only includes quotes.

There are many allusions to Daniel in the book of Revelation, but the list didn't account for oblique references, only actual quotations. "It is written" sort of stuff. The same is true for the other major prophets. There are plenty of allusions to Ezekiel in the gospels, and Jeremiah in Paul's letters, but only a couple direct quotes from each.

Some of the minor prophets are surprisingly well-represented (Hosea, Malachi) and a couple books in the Deuterocanon are as well (Tobit, Wisdom).

 

[MA2444]

It's under "other prophets" and there weren't enough to list it separately. The list I worked from only includes quotes.

There are many allusions to Daniel in the book of Revelation, but the list didn't account for oblique references, only actual quotations. "It is written" sort of stuff. The same is true for the other major prophets. There are plenty of allusions to Ezekiel in the gospels, and Jeremiah in Paul's letters, but only a couple direct quotes from each.

Some of the minor prophets are surprisingly well-represented (Hosea, Malachi) and a couple books in the Deuterocanon are as well (Tobit, Wisdom).

I'll buy that! Good answer! I only said that because Daniel is said to be the most accurate and therefore most able to actually prove that, the Word is true because it was so precise with it's math and dates and stuff.

People say, well you can't prove the Bible, but...and that is not true because Daniel does it!

But we have to remember that Prophetical calanders are a 360 day calender, and not 365 days. May 14th 1948, wow. When you see the fig tree sprout leaves, then you know the time is near...! That was May 14th 1948.

 

[Soyeong]

In Acts 2, Peter gives the sermon of his life to the assembled Jews who are at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. In verses 29-30, he says something I found peculiar - that David was a prophet.

Now, we know David as a king. And David was also a priest - he claims so in Psalm 110. But David a prophet? And that got me to thinking... WHY? David is already the most important king of Israel and one of only 3 members of the prestigious Order of Melchizedek (with Melchizedek and Jesus Himself). Why single him out as a prophet, too? Do the prophets hold some special status that would put them above kings and priests?

The answer seems to be yes.

I found a survey of places where the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament and did a little number-crunching. It turns out that the New Testament authors heavily prefer the books of prophecy:

Author	Number of Times Quoted
Moses (Genesis - Deuteronomy)	68 (+27 duplicate quotations)
David (Psalms)	55
Isaiah	45
Other Books of Prophecy	33
Books of History (Joshua - Esther)	12
Solomon (Proverbs, Songs, Ecclesiastes)	6
Job	3

Even discounting the duplicate quotations for Moses (Exodus & Deuteronomy overlap a lot), that means the New Testament authors quote the prophets nearly 10x as often as non-prophets (201 - 21).

But wait, it gets worse... I looked up those 12 citations from the non-prophetic books and... half of them are from prophets. 4 from Samuel and 2 from Elijah.

So... why DO the New Testament authors quote the prophets almost exclusively?

It seems to me that the NT authors regarded the prophets as more authoritative than the other books.

A prophet is not necessarily someone who predicts the future, but someone who speaks the word of God, so it is an appropriate to quote more from the prophets.

 

[Deborah_]

The Jews would say that the entire Old Testament was written by prophets. The books that we call "historical", they refer to as "the former prophets". The books that we call "prophets" being "the latter prophets".

A prophet is not necessarily someone who predicts the future, but someone who speaks the word of God

A prophet is indeed someone who speaks God's word. So if it's God's word, then it was spoken (or written) by a prophet.

 

[Wick Stick]

The Jews would say that the entire Old Testament was written by prophets. The books that we call "historical", they refer to as "the former prophets". The books that we call "prophets" being "the latter prophets".

Changing the nomenclature doesn't really change the question. Why do the New Testament authors virtually ignore "the former prophets" while quoting "the latter prophets" extensively?

 

[Jericho]

Yes.

Do you think we should give the prophets preference today for the same reason?

Well, we have the New Testament prophets and apostles as well. That doesn't necessarily mean anything outside of that is not useful. Even Paul quoted from extra-biblical writers. But the Word of God is the gold standard by which we should judge all other works.

Why do the New Testament authors virtually ignore "the former prophets" while quoting "the latter prophets" extensively?

What do you mean by the former\latter prophets?