of the
prophets begin to represent Him from the time of Jeroboam II. onwards.

This change of view in regard to the Being of Jahveh coincided with a no
less marked alteration in the character of His prophets. At first they
had taken an active part in public affairs; they had thrown themselves
into the political movements of the time, and had often directed their
course,* by persuasion when persuasion sufficed, by violence when
violence was the only means that was left to them of enforcing the
decrees of the Most High. Not long before this, we find Elisha secretly
conspiring against the successors of Ahab, and taking a decisive part
in the revolution which set the house of Jehu on the throne in place of
that of Omri; but during the half-century which had elapsed since his
death, the revival in the fortunes of Israel and its growing prosperity
under the rule of an energetic king had furnished the prophets with but
few pretexts for interfering in the conduct of state affairs.

* Cf. the part taken by Nathan in the conspiracy which
raised Solomon to the throne (1 Kings i. 8, et seq.), and
previous to this in the story of David's amour with
Bathsheba (2 Sam. xii. 1-25). Similarly, we find prophets
such as Ahijah in the reign of Jeroboam I. (1 Kings xi. 29-
39; cf. xiv. 1-18; xv. 29, 30), and Shemaiah in the reign of
Rehoboam (1 Kings xii. 22-24), Jehu son of Hananiah under
Baasha (1 Kings xvi. 1-4, 7, 12, 13), Micaiah son of Imla,
and Zedekiah under Ahab (1 Kings xxii. 5-28), not to speak
of those mentioned in the Chronicles, e.g. Azariah son of
Oded (2 Ghron. xv. 1-8), and Hanani under Asa (2 Ghron. xvi.
7-10), Jahaziel (2 Ghron. xx. 14-19), and Eliezer, son of
Dodavahu (2 Ghron. xx. 37), in the time of Johoshaphat. No
trace of any writings composed by these prophets is found
until a very late date; but in Chronicles, in addition to a
letter from Elijah to Jehoram of Juda (2 Ghron. xxi. 12-15),
we find a reference to the commentary of the prophet Iddo in
the time of Abijah (2 Ghron. xiii. 22), and to the "History
of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of
the kings of Israel" (2 Chron. xx. 34), in the time of
Jehoshaphat.

They no longer occupied themselves in resisting the king, but addressed
themselves to the people, pointed out the heinousness of their sins,
and threatened them with the wrath of