Prophets who spoke in the 8th century B.C.E. and after and whose prophecies and life
experiences were recorded in a biblical book named for them
The canonical or classical prophets include Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, and Malachi
Characteristics
Alone - while we assume that all of the canonical prophets had
disciples who passed down their words (e.g., Isa. 8:16, Jer. 36:1-32), the prophets
themselves were not the leaders of prophetic schools nor were they training others to be
prophets
Spoke in polished poetry - had and employed a gift for powerful,
beautiful language to create poetic masterpieces that have spoken through the years and
continue to speak today (see Prophetic Forms of
Speech)