Did all prophets attend the school of the prophets?

Answer 1

A:This is unclear. Robert P. Carroll (The World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives, Prophecy and society) says the Hebrew Bible presents so many different, ambiguous and ambivalent stories and treatments of prophets that the modern reader has to admit that the ancient Israelite writers had no clear image of what a prophet was or should be. Ronald E. Clements (ibid, Israel in its historical and cultural setting) says that not all scholars believe the schools for prophets actually existed. The answer to this question therefore remains open.

Answer:

This does not appear to be so as development of a school of the prophets seems to have happened during the time of Samuel (1 Samuel 10:15). It has been said that there were 3 main 'campuses' but I only found one at Jerusalem in 2 Kings 22:14 and one that Paul attended at Tyrannus in Acts 19:9. In either case, prophets existed before that and perhaps even after Paul.

The fact that prophets governed the schools of ministry in the Old Testament system is easy to understand. They were the final authority in spiritual matters because they had "the word of the Lord." The priest could use oracles, and the King was anointed in certain areas of decision making to hear directly from God, but they were both subject to the prophet as the one who got the messages. King Saul found this truth the hard way. Many persons deliberately inquired of the Lord through the prophet.

I do recall reading once that the Torah has a 'school of Eliyahu founded in circa 1920 BC and was said to have restored 2000 years of no teachings. I cannot say how much of this memory is accurate.

Final thought: Prophets all, have a revealed message from God and do not require instructions or special training. God chooses and uses as He wills. You can read how inferior each of the noted Prophets of the Bible felt from Moses to Jeremiah and Ezekiel when spoken to by God and given their commissions. No school can match that awesome experience. No school can teach future revelation accurately.