Difference between "Major" prophets and "Minor"

[MarcoPolo]

???
Got my Navarre study Bible finally…complete set!
So why are the prophets broken down as major or minor? What is the criteria in tradition for those labels?

 

[Lazerlike42]

???
Got my Navarre study Bible finally…complete set!
So why are the prophets broken down as major or minor? What is the criteria in tradition for those labels?

Major prophets put forth what are considered to be more significant messages in the course of Sacred history and are generally simply longer.

Minor prophets tend to be a few pages.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

There is a story of a Jewish lad who prepared for an exam on Judaism. Every year they asked the names of the kings of Judea and Israel. He had them memorized cold.

To his horror they changed the question and asked the names of the major and minor prophets. Thinking fast he wrote: “Who am I to decided which prophets were major and which were minor? That is a judgement for the Lord. Therefore, I will give the names of the kings of Judea and Israel.”

I have on a few occasions used a similar strategy in reports where I didn’t have the requested results and had to meet a deadline.

 

[bpbasilphx]

Generally, the major prophets’ books are longer than the others.

Also, all the minor prophets could be written on one scroll.

 

[dmcavine]

???
Got my Navarre study Bible finally…complete set!
So why are the prophets broken down as major or minor? What is the criteria in tradition for those labels?

 

[Shin]

lol. That was a good one!

 

[Fidelis]

Generally, the major prophets’ books are longer than the others.

Also, all the minor prophets could be written on one scroll.

That’s right. This scroll was called “The Book of the Twelve.”

There’s that number again!

 

[NotWorthy]

That’s right. This scroll was called “The Book of the Twelve.”

There’s that number again!

That’s interesting!!! And all their prophecies (well… most of them) deal with the what? The unification of the Twelve Tribes. Maybe the “Book of the Twelve” was more about the restored Israel than the number of minor prophets.

 

[Fidelis]

That’s interesting!!! And all their prophecies (well… most of them) deal with the what? The unification of the Twelve Tribes. Maybe the “Book of the Twelve” was more about the restored Israel than the number of minor prophets.

:yup: Yup; I think that running all through the entire Old Testament (but especially the Prophets) is an undercurrent of yearning for the full restoration of Israel.