In his enumeration of the various leadership roles within the nation that would take shape after his death, Moses mentions not only the priest/judge and the king, but also the prophet:

“The Lord your God will raise up another prophet like me from among your own people. You must listen to him. (Deut. 18:15)

“The Lord your God will raise up another prophet like me from among your own people. You must listen to him. (Deut. 18:15)

Moses would not be the last of the prophets. He would have successors. Historically this was so. From the days of Samuel to the Second Temple period each generation gave rise to men and women who spoke God’s word with immense courage, unafraid to censure kings, criticise priests, or rebuke an entire generation for its lack of faith and moral integrity.

There was, however, an obvious question: How does one tell a true prophet from a false one? Unlike kings or priests, prophets did not derive authority from formal office. Their authority lay in their personality, their ability to give voice to the word of God, their self-evident inspiration. But precisely because a prophet has privileged access to the word others cannot hear, the visions others cannot see, the real possibility existed of false prophets – like those of Baal in the days of King Ahab. Charismatic authority is inherently destabilising. What was there to prevent a fraudulent – or even a sincere but mistaken – figure, able to perform signs and wonders and move the people by the power of his words, from taking the nation in a wrong direction, misleading others and perhaps even himself?

There are several dimensions to this question. One in particular is touched upon in our Torah portion, namely the prophet’s ability to foretell the future. This is how Moses puts it:

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:21-22)

You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deut. 18:21-22)

On the face of it, the test is simple: if what the prophet predicts comes to pass, he is a true prophet; if not, not. Clearly, though, it was not that simple.

The classic case is the Book of Jonah. Jonah is commanded by God to warn the people of Nineveh that their wickedness is about to bring disaster on them. Jonah attempts to flee, but fails – the famous story of the sea,........

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