Why are books in Bible from Hosea to Malaci called minor prophets?

Answer 1

"Minor" in this case refers to the length of their books, it has nothing to do with their importance. In fact, it doesn't actually refer to the prophet (the person) but to the prophetic book that bears their name.

In the Hebrew Bible there were twelve smaller books bundled as one called the "Twelve". The Christian Bible presents these twelve as separate books and calls them the "Minor Prophets". The longer prophetic books of the Old Testament are called "Major Prophets" and are considerably more lengthy writings.

The concept of major and minor prophets is Christian and is not a concept used by Jews.

Answer 2

The 12 minor prophet books in The Bible are labeled as such because of the short length of each book. "Minor" label in this context was never meant to be less important than the "major" prophet books such as Isaiah, only shorter in length.

Note that the 12 minor prophet books were originally included as a single book simply called "Twelve" in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. The major and minor prophet distinction does not exist in the Hebrew Bible.

Answer 3

The difference between "major" and "minor" prophets arises only from how much they prophesied, not how important their prophecies were.

Answer 4

The distinction is entirely in the AMOUNT of their writings preserved in the Bible. The "minor" prophets are no less important or significant than the "major" prophets.

Answer 5

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