2. Prophets strictly and properly called, not only expounding Divine mysteries, but also future things, especially announcing beforehand the sufferings and glories of Christ,[1] Foretellers, as it were, because they declare at a distance, and predict truths concerning future things, as Isidore[2] says in his Etymologies, book 7:8. By the Hebrews they are called נביאים אחרונים, the Latter Prophets. And they are:
a. The Major, גדולים, not because they are great with respect to authority, but in the size of their books. And they are:
α. Isaiah, whose Prophecies partly concern the Jewish people (Isaiah 1-12), partly were directed against various nations, exhibiting hostile spirits toward the Church of God (Isaiah 13-28), partly delivered concerning the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, with the history of Hezekiah mixed in (Isaiah 29-39), and partly, finally, prophesy concerning the redemption of humanity by Christ, with its type repeated mixed in, liberation from Babylonian captivity, and also concerning the Kingdom of Christ (Isaiah 40-66), in the Book of Isaiah in sixty-six chapters.
β. Jeremiah, whose Prophecies and histories concern partly the Jewish people (Jeremiah 1-36), partly the captivity and ruin of the same (Jeremiah 37-44); contain partly the word to Baruch (Jeremiah 45), partly prophecies against the nations (Jeremiah 45-52), partly, finally, the anakephalaiosis[3] of the history of Zekekiah, etc. (Jeremiah 52), in the Book of Jeremiah in fifty-two chapters.
Connected to the same are the Lamentations of Jeremiah, including partly the lamentations of Jeremiah and the people on account of the destruction of the city and the captivity of the people (Lamentations 1-4), partly the humble petition of the Church (Lamentations 5), in the Book of Lamentations in five chapters.
γ. Ezekiel, in which are related his calling to attend upon the Prophetic office among the captives in Babylon (Ezekiel 1:1-3:15), visions concerning the ruin of the Jewish people (Ezekiel 3:16-24:27), against various nations, and again against the Israelite people (Ezekiel 25-39), finally concerning the restoration of the Church, Kingdom, and people, through Christ (Ezekiel 40-48), in the Book of Ezekiel in forty-eight chapters.
δ. Daniel, in which are described the history of Daniel and his companions under Kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius (Daniel 1-6), and also the visions of the same under Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus, embracing the futures of the entire Church subsequent, and especially of Christ and His Kingdom (Daniel 7-12), in the Book of Daniel in twelve chapters.
b. The Minor, קטנים. And they are the שני עשר, Twelve, whence by the Greeks they are called the δωδεκαπρόφητον, and at length gathered into one book, lest they be pulled apart for their smallness, or perish. And they are:
α. Hosea, in which are contained partly Prophecies wrapped in types, in which also are the corruption of the people, the impending punishments, and the promises thereupon (Hosea 1-3), partly simple Prophecies concerning the corruption of the Church, the judgments of God, and His grace toward the same (Hosea 4-14), in the Book of Hosea in fourteen chapters.
β. Joel, who, upon occasion of hunger and thirst threatening the land, proclaims beforehand the day of the Lord (Joel 1:1-2:17), publishes corporal and spiritual promises (Joel 2:17-32), and denounces judgment upon the nations (Joel 3), in the Book of Joel in three chapters.
γ. Amos, who both denounces the judgments of God against the nations (Amos 1:1-2:4) and the tribe of Judah and the ten of Israel (Amos 2:4-9:11): and declares the Evangelical Promise concerning the erection of the Kingdom of David in Christ, and its blessing (Amos 9:10-15), in the Book of Amos in nine chapters.
δ. Obadiah, who with God as witness (Obadiah 1) sets forth the judgment of God toward Edom, and all nations, and His grace toward His elect people (Obadiah 2-21), in the Book of Obadiah in one chapter.
ε. Jonah, in which are set forth both Jonah’s former calling to preach to the Ninevites, and its ineffectual outcome (Jonah 1, 2), and his latter calling, and its more felicitous outcome (Jonah 3, 4), in the Book of Jonah in four chapters.
ζ. Micah, embracing the judgments of God against the tribe of Judah and Israel, and His grace toward His elect (Micah 1, 2), the punishment of the people and the choice of a better Kingdom (Micah 3:1-4:7), God’s judgments against Jerusalem and the promise of the Kingdom of Christ (Micah 4:8-13), and God’s disputation with the people of Israel (Micah 5-7), in the Book of Micah in seven chapters.
η. Nahum, who declares the judgment of God against Nineveh (Nahum 1, 2), and the causes of judgment (Nahum 3), in the Book of Nahum in three chapters.
θ. Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:1-11), redoubling the promises of God to believers (Habakkuk 1:12-2:20), sealing the Prophecy with a pathetic prayer (Habakkuk 3), in the Book of Habakkuk in three chapters.
ι. Zephaniah, who describes the sins of the people of Israel, and the punishments threatening him and the nations (Zephaniah 1:1-3:9), and explains the promises made to the Church concerning the Kingdom of Christ (Zephaniah 3:9-20), in the Book of Zephaniah in three chapters.
κ. Haggai, in which are narrated his first vision (Haggai 1), his second (Haggai 2:1-9), his third (Haggai 2:10-19), and his fourth (Haggai 2:20-23), in which the people, having been negligent, is aroused to the restoration of the Temple, and promises concerning the manifestation of the Kingdom of Christ are published, in the Book of Haggai in two chapters.
λ. Zechariah, of whom five sermons are extant, in which repentance is urged upon the people (Zechariah 1:1-6), in nine emblems the edification of the typical Temple, and the Kingdom of Christ, are adumbrated (Zechariah 1-7), the Divine blessing and joy of the people is promised (Zechariah 7, 8), the gathering of the Church from various nations is described (Zechariah 9-11), and the preceding Prophecies are briefly repeated, etc. (Zechariah 12), in the Book of Zechariah in twelve chapters.
μ. Malachi, rebuking the people of Israel on account of their want of zeal for the honor of God (Malachi 1:1-4:4), and urging the observance of the Law, with Elijah promised (Malachi 4:4-6), in the Book of Malachi in four chapters.
[1] See Luke 24:25, 26.
[2] Isidore (c. 560-636) was Archbishop of Seville and a bright and shining light of learning in the intellectual darkness of his age. He presided over the Second Council of Seville (619), which ruled against Arianism, and the Fourth Council of Toledo, which required bishops to establish seminaries in their principal cities.
[3] That is, the concluding recapitulation.