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Question 12.11:
Who were the prophets? How many?

(Note: "navi" (pl: neviim) = "prophet")

The Talmud (Megillah 14a) says that there had been twice as many prophets as the number of people who left Egypt (2*600,000), but only those whose messages were for future generations were recorded. This count was 48 male and 7 female Prophets.

The Talmud lists the 7 females as:

1. Sarah

2. Miriam

3. Devorah

4. Hannah (mother of Shmuel)

5. Avigail (who became a wife of David Hamelech)

6. Huldah (from the time of Yirmiyahu)

7. Esther

One compilation of the male prophets (based on Seder Olam) lists the following:

1. Avraham (Abraham)

2. Yitzchak (Isaac)

3. Yaakov (Jacob)

4. Moshe (Moses)

5. Aharon (Aaron)

6. Yehoshuah (Joshua)

7. Pinchas

8. Elkanah (father of Shmuel)

9. Eli

10. Shmuel (Samuel)

11. Gad

12. Nosson

13. David Hamelech (King David)

14. Shlomo Hamelech (King Soloman)

15. Aidoin the Golah

16. Micha Ben Yamla in the time of Achav

17. Ovadiah

18. Achiah Hashiloni

19. Yehu Ben Hanani in the time of Asah

20. Azaryah Ben Oded in the time of Yehoshaphat from Divrei Hayamim

21. Haziel from Bnei Masni

22. Eliezer his cousin

23. Morishah

24. Hoshea

25. Amos in the time of Yeravam Ben Yoash

26. Micha in the time of Yosam

27. Eliyahu (Elijah)

28. Elisha

29. Yonah Ben Amitai

30. Yeshayah in the time of Menashe in the time of Yoshea

31. Yoel (Joel)

32. Nachum

33. Habakuk

34. Zephaniah

35. Uriah from Kiryat Yearim

36. Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah)

37. Yehezkel

38. Daniel (second year of Darius)

39. Baruch

40. Neriah

41. Sharyah

42. Machsiyah

43. Hagai

44. Zecharyah

45. Malachi

46. Mordechai

Rashi (Megillah 3a) suggests that Daniel wasn't a Navi and is to be replaced in the list by Shemaia, who told Rehavam not to go to war with Yeravam and the northern kingdom.

Rashi closes with "two I don't know" (47 & 48).

A commentator on the side says one is Oded & one is Hanani Haroeh. When a Navi is called by his name and his fathers name it is a sign that the father is also a Navi. Azriah Ben Oded, Yehu Ben Hanani, Zechariah Ben Yehoyada are given as examples.

Rabbein Hananel and the Vilna Gaon start from Moshe and add in the sons of Korach.

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