Because of who they were, the message they proclaimed, and their effect on the spiritual development of their world and ours, the prophets have been described both as "some of the most disturbing people who have ever lived" and as "the men whose inspiration brought the Bible into being—the men whose image is our refuge in distress, and whose voice and vision sustain our faith" (Abraham Heschel, The Prophets) .
Originally called "seers" (I Sam. 9:9), the prophets proclaimed the divine viewpoint, putting human experience into perspective on the basis of God's purpose and activity. In a sense the Scriptures taken as a whole are largely the prophetic interpretation of history as it unfolded for the Biblical peoples. While more accurately "forth-tellers" of divine revelation than foretellers of human history, the prophets—proclaiming divine truth as they did—often served both ends.
We are most familiar with a handful of towering figures such as Elijah and Elisha, and the so-called "literary prophets" whose writings constitute a major part of the OT. But these are only a few of the prophets of Israel. The great majority are not even known to us by name (see, for example, Num. 11:24-29; I Kings 18:4).
