Schools of the Prophets

The schools of the prophets were communities of prophetic apprentices or disciples organized in the period of Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha for the purpose of training young men for prophetic and priestly service. The first such gathering appears in 1 Samuel 19:18–24, where a company of prophets at Naioth in Ramah prophesied under Samuel's leadership, drawing in Saul's messengers and eventually Saul himself. By Elijah's time, established companies of "sons of the prophets" were located at Bethel, Jericho, and Gilgal (2 Kings 2:3, 5; 4:38; 6:1). Elisha became the dominant leader of these communities after Elijah's translation, performing miracles on their behalf and instructing them. The communities appear to have been residential, as 2 Kings 6:1–2 records the sons of the prophets seeking to build larger quarters at the Jordan. Their activities included communal worship, prophetic utterance, and transmission of the prophetic tradition. They represent an early form of organized religious education and prophetic guilds in ancient Israel.