Minor Prophets

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In the originally inspired order of the Old Testament, established by Ezra the prophet, the manuscripts considered inspired were divided into three major divisions. The Prophets are one of these divisions, with the other two being the Law and the Writings.

There are three sections (a number of completeness) within the Prophets. The first is called the Former and has two parts: 1) Joshua and Judges, which is counted as one book and 2) the Book of the Kingdoms, made up of 1 and 2Samuel and 1 and 2Kings - which is also reckoned as one book. The second section is called the Latter or Major Prophets and is composed of three books: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Their books have sixty-six (66), fifty-two (52) and forty-eight (48) chapters, respectively. The third section is designated as The Twelve because it contains twelve short books from twelve different men of God. They are also referred to as the Minor Prophets. The longest of these books are Hosea and Zechariah, with each having fourteen (14) chapters. The shortest prophetic book in this series is Obadiah, with only one chapter, followed by Haggai, who has two.

The designation of a prophet's writings as MAJOR or MINOR is based on the length of their book in relation to other Old Testament prophetic writings. If all the minor prophets were combined they would be only two-thirds of the size of the book of Isaiah.

The Book of Daniel, although it contains important prophecies from Daniel’s time to the end of the age and Christ’s return, is not included as part of the writings of the prophets. This is because Daniel wrote in Babylon during the Jews’ 70-year exile in captivity due to their sins.

The second and third sections of the Prophets are filled with major prophecies regarding the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, and the world-ruling kingdom He will establish when He returns. However, a majority of these prophecies cannot be properly interpreted without the New Testament.