Micah in Dispute With the Pseudo-Prophets

Abstract

In a number of prophetic books we are given an account of heated disputations between the canonical prophet and persons who were also prophets, albeit that they were disqualified as such already in the Septuagint by means of the term zsuaorpoqcp-aL.1) It was held against these pseudo-prophets that they prophesied by Ba'al (Jer. ii 8), that they have not stood in the council of Yahweh (Jer. xxiii 18), that they prophesied lies (Jer. xxvii 14; Zech. xxiii 3) and thereby led God's people astray (Mi. iii 5). In trying to define the motives of these pseudo-prophets,2) we encounter a number of difficulties. Usually they are mentioned only in passing and none of their own writings are known to us. The book of Nahum, in my opinion, is no exception, for it is very unlikely that this book is to be regarded as the words of a nationalistic, professional prophet resembling a figure such as Hananiah, whom Jeremiah opposed.3) Therefore, our only source of information about the pseudo-prophets is an Old Testament tradition, which displays a distinct aversion from them. This means that a measure of distortion