Prophecy and theology in ancient Israel

.....prophets influence the monarchs?

By deriving their power from divinity, prophets possessed an incredible amount of credibility and influence. They provided a divine foundation of power for monarchs, and could influence the policies of monarchs because of their prophetic power. Prophets were "closely connected with kings," part of the "royal establishment," (Coogan, 2011, p. 301).

Historically, the period of prophecy roughly overlaps the period during which the ancient monarchies arose (Coogan, 2011, p. 301). The two phenomena are therefore linked. In fact, it was not until the establishment of the monarchy that prophets started to feature prominently in the Biblical narrative. This shows the close connection between religious and political power in ancient times, as well as the direct ways prophets could influence the reputation of monarchs and the decisions that those monarchs might make. Prophets continued to influence monarchs by claiming to know the word and will of God.

2. How could prophets make or break a king?

As Coogan (2011) points out, one of the main functions of prophets was actually to designate a "divinely chosen ruler," which is why prophets are depicted as being present at coronation ceremonies (p. 302). Kings needed to have a divine basis for their leadership in order to solidify and justify their mandate. With the backing of a prophet, a king could be made, his reputation established as being a just ruler in the eyes of God.

Just as prophets could be king makers, they could also be king breakers (Coogan, 2011). The same divine power that influenced the rise and mandate of the king could determine the king's reputation and credibility. As prophets derived their power from God, their opinion of a ruler would be deemed divinely ordained, thereby influencing those who would vie for or challenge that king's power. The prophet possessed tremendous power in influencing the status of the monarchy as well as individual monarchs.

3. Explain the importance of Elijah and Elisha in the Deuteronomistic History?

Elisha and Elijah play central roles in Deuteronomistic history. They are northern prophets, first mentioned in 1 Kings 17. Elisha's death is recorded later in 2 Kings 13:20. According to Coogan (2011), the entwined stories of Elijah and Elisha were actually distinct and separate from the rest of Deuteronomistic history, as if their stories and legends were part of the local folklore that was included into the historiographic record. One of the main features of the stories of the two prophets Elisha and Elijah were the miraculous events attributed to them or associated with them, which Coogan (2011) claims were not "characteristic of the Deuteronomistic Historians," (p. 303).

Elijah serves a distinctly important function in the Deuteronomistic history because of the way he is presented as fulfilling one of Moses's promises; Elijah's presence therefore solidifies Moses's own prophetic power. In fact, Elijah's life stories mirror that of Moses, creating a distinct thematic link between the two figures. Similar phenomena and experiences are attributed to both, including the spending of forty days and forty nights in the desert and seeing a pillar of fire. Most importantly perhaps to the development of early Jewish theology was the mutual insistence by both Moses and then Elijah that there was one and only one God, distinguishing the monotheistic faith from the polytheistic ones that still remained entrenched throughout the region. Likewise, Elisha is presented as a "guardian of the faith," (Boadt, Clifford & Harrington, 2012, p. 262).

References

Boadt, L., Clifford, R. J., & Harrington, D. J. (2012). Reading the Old Testament: An introduction. New York: Paulist Press.

Coogan, D., Michael. (2011). The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures. New York: Oxford University Press