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Not to be confused with Profit.
For other senses of this word, see Prophet (disambiguation).
In religion, a prophet is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and to speak for them, serving as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people.[1][2] The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.
Claims of prophets have existed in many cultures through history, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, in Ancient Greece, Zoroaster, and many others. Traditionally, prophets are regarded as having a role in society that promotes change due to their messages and actions.
The English word prophet comes from the Greek word προφήτης (profétés) meaning advocate. In the late 20th century the appellation of prophet has been used to refer to individuals particularly successful at analysis in the field of economics, such as in the derogatory prophet of greed. Alternatively, social commentators who suggest escalating crisis are often called prophets of doom.[3][4]
Abrahamic religions
Judaism
In Hebrew, the word נָבִיא (navi), "spokesperson", traditionally translates as "prophet".[5] The second subdivision of the Hebrew Bible, TaNaKh (for "Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim"), is devoted to the Hebrew prophets. The meaning of navi is perhaps described in Deuteronomy 18:18,[6] where God said, "...and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him." Thus, the navi was thought to be the "mouth" of God. The root nun-bet-alef ("navi") is based on the two-letter root nun-bet which denotes hollowness or openness; to receive transcendental wisdom, one must make oneself "open". Cf. Rashbam's comment to Genesis 20:7.
In addition to writing and speaking messages from God, Hebrew prophets often acted out prophetic parables.[8] For example, in order to contrast the people’s disobedience