With the first of the canonical prophets whose words were preserved in writing in the books which bear their names, an important stage in the development of the Hebrew Scriptures is reached. In the previous chapters of this book we have traced the essential characteristics of a true prophet of Yahweh and we should be clear that the canonical prophets follow on-in the tradition which began with Moses, whom we can describe as the prototype of the true prophet of the Old Testament. The message of the canonical prophets is rooted in what has been taught before about Israel's election, the Exodus and the Covenant, although from that foundation new understanding, often radical, develops.

We have been prepared for the message of Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel by what we have already seen in Moses, Samuel, Nathan, Elijah and Elisha. The difference between the study of the very early prophets and the canonical prophets is in the fact that we have the prophetic utterances of the latter in special individual collections which take their names, and in the case of the very early prophets, the traditions of their activities and utterances are preserved alongside many other accounts of events, rulers and matters of significance. It is apparent that in the case of the canonical prophets either the prophets themselves or those around them who took them seriously, considered it important to write down their utterances whilst they were still remembered in the contemporary situation, and to attach the names of the prophets to what was written. This meant that later generations, including ourselves, can study closely what was said by these prophets, relating it to their immediate situation as well as to future times. And this raises an important question as to why, when the prophets were essentially men who spoke and acted for their God, it was considered important to preserve their words in writing. The prophets were not authors, but preachers. Although writing was a very ancient skill in the Middle East, it was not a very common thing for written records to be maintained without some good reason. What was written was of real significance.