The Concept of Prophethood in Jewish Thought: A Reading in the Intertwining of the National and the Religious

Abstract

This research examines the concept of prophecy in Jewish thought as a paradigm of the interconnection between the religious and the national. In the Hebrew tradition, prophecy evolved from a purely spiritual experience aimed at moral guidance into an ideological structure that reinforced the notion of the “Chosen People”, transforming divine revelation into an ethnic privilege limited to the Israelites. The study employs a comparative analytical methodology, focusing on the Hebrew terms related to prophecy in the Old Testament (Hozé – the seer, Ro’éh – the visionary, Ish ha-Elohim – the man of God, and Navi – the prophet). Their semantic and functional development is analyzed in contrast with the Islamic understanding of prophecy as a universal message that addresses humanity as a whole, regardless of race or lineage. The findings indicate that Jewish thought infused prophecy with a nationalistic and exclusivist dimension, turning it into a theological justification for superiority and separation. In contrast, Islam liberated prophecy from ethnic boundaries, presenting it, through the Qur’anic vision, as a divine message of mercy and guidance to all mankind, founded on justice, equality, and spiritual unity. Thus, the essential difference between the two concepts lies not merely in linguistic or historical factors, but in their fundamental worldview: Judaism subordinates’ revelation to nationalism, whereas Islam subordinate’s nationalism to the universality of divine revelation.