What is a prophet? What role did the prophets play in ancient Israel, and what essential features characterized their prophecy? How do we approach their writings today? David Petersen pre sents an anthology of classic and competing perspectives on the Identity of the prophet and the meaning of Israelite prophetic liter- ature. The essays he has chosen represent the best of contempor- ary work on kraelite prophecy, ranging from the 1920s to the 1980s, including the two great classical positions of Hermann Gunkel and Sigmund Mowinckel, translated here for the first time. The final essay is a provocative article by Gene Tucker, which considers the essential purpose of prophecy, both in ancient times and in the world today. The other contributions are by Max Weber, James Ross, John Flolladay and James Mays, and the editor sets all seven essays in context with a comprehensive introduction