Quotes from Willem A. Vangemeren

If Moses is the fountainhead and Samuel the rapids of the prophetic stream, then Elijah shaped the course of the classical prophets.

In spite of the variety of prophetic phenomenon in space (north, south, exile) and in time (premonarchial, monarchial, exilic, and postexilic), the prophets enjoyed the common bond with the past (the Mosaic revelation) and the future acts of God: the new era of God's coming, the transformation of all things, the judgment of the wicked, and the vindication of the righteous.

The postexilic people were no saints, but they did respond to the challenges of the prophets and the theocratic leaders. The prophetic works (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, and Joel) together with Chronicles and Ezra—Nehemiah attest to the radical transformation of God's people after the Exile.

The false prophets belonged to the socially and religiously acceptable institution of "professional" prophets who responded to the needs of their time. They operated from within the limited perspectives of their contemporaries: Realpolitik and vox populi.