. . . prophecy never
ceased at all, although it often functioned in the late period as a more
scribal form of activity . . . the lack of prophecy referred to in Ps 74:9
appears episodic and does not provide any indication that the absence of prophecy
to which it refers occurred on a permanent basis. To the contrary, the absence
of prophecy in Ps 74 is tied to the destruction of God’s sanctuary and land by
Israel’s enemies, whose eventual defeat promises to restore the institutions
only presently endangered (Ps 74:9). The ‘cessation’ of prophecy in the context
is thus clearly temporary. Moreover, the exilic ‘cessation’ of prophecy is evenly
matched within the canon by a similar cessation of תורה (Lam 2:9), something
usually overlooked by those making the case for Torah pre-eminence.
In Zech 13:2-6, the
cessation of prophecy is characterized as permanent, but not yet accomplished.
In this passage, the ‘end’ of prophecy is thoroughly eschatologized (Zech
13:2), reflecting the belief that at the time of Jerusalem’s cataclysmic battle
with the nations (Zech 12-14) and Jerusalem’s eschatological purification (Zech
13:1) prophecy will no longer be necessary, perhaps because all Israel will
have then received the prophetic gift (cf. Joel 3:1-2 [2:28-29]). In this way
prophecy is also no different than the law, which will be internalized and
democratized at the eschaton (Jer 31:31-34), no longer requiring
official representation or admonition.
The passages in
Maccabees do relate a more enduring, dogmatic judgment about prophecy. While
this viewpoint might reflect a real lack of prophetic activity in the Hasmonean
period, it certainly does not reflect a devaluation of prophetic revelation,
whether as a ‘living’ tradition or as scripture. The canonical authority of the
Prophets is clear (2 Mac 15:9; 4 Mac 18:10-19). In fact, the dogmatic position
that prophecy has ‘ceased’ actually serves to consign prophecy to a single,
unique era in Israel’s Heilsgeschichte as a means of grounding and
protecting its authority. ‘Cessation’ statements probably operate within the general
conception of a succession of mosaic prophecy which is intermittent and
therefore only currently absent. Right alongside direct statements of cessation
within this tradition (e.g., 1 Mac 9:27) exists the view that prophecy not only
may but will revive, and that at its reappearance it will resume its
precedence over the high priest (1 Mac 4:46; 14:41: note the qualification ‘until’!)
Also, even if those
responsible for the books of Maccabees believed that prophecy had ceased in the
Hasmonean period, other (roughly) coterminous traditions clearly differed.
Thus, Wisdom 7:27 insists: “ . . . in every generation [wisdom] passes
into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets . . . “ (cf. Sir
36:20-21). Similarly, prophecy continues to play a major role in the works of
Josephus.
In sum, although
there may be indications of a transformation of prophecy in the post-exilic
period, there is no persuasive evidence that this transformation resulted from
or contributed to a dogmatic elevation of the Torah qua Pentateuch over
the Prophets. (Stephen B. Chapman, The Law and the Prophets: A Study in Old
Testament Canon Formation [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2020], 264-66)
