Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) is widely available on the net, eg:
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Dictionaries/EastonBibleDictionary/ and
while not very deep (as contemporary Bible scholarship) it's adequate
to affirm what mvguy-ga says:
Nahum: "Consolation", the seventh of the so-called minor prophets, an
Elkoshite. All we know of him is recorded in the book of his
prophecies. He was probably a native of Galilee, and after the
deportation of the ten tribes took up his residence in Jerusalem.
Others think that Elkosh was the name of a place on the east bank of
the Tigris, and that Nahum dwelt there.
Habakkuk: "Embrace", the eighth of the twelve minor prophets. Of his
personal history we have no reliable information. He was probably a
member of the Levitical choir. He was contemporary with Jeremiah and
Zephaniah.
Zephaniah: "Jehovah has concealed, or Jehovah of darkness."
The son of Cushi, and great-grandson of Hezekiah, and the ninth in the
order of the minor prophets. He prophesied in the days of Josiah, king
of Judah (B.C. 641) and was contemporary with Jeremiah, with whom he
had much in common.
Haggai: "Festive", one of the twelve so-called minor prophets. He was
the first of the three (Zechariah, his contemporary, and Malachi, who
was about one hundred years later, being the other two) whose ministry
belonged to the period of Jewish history which began after the return
from captivity in Babylon. Scarcely anything is known of his personal
history. He may have been one of the captives taken to Babylon by
Nebuchadnezzar. He began his ministry about sixteen years after the
Return. The work of rebuilding the temple had been put a stop to
through the intrigues of the Samaritans. After having been suspended
for fifteen years, the work was resumed through the efforts of Haggai
and Zechariah (Ezra 6:14) who by their exhortations roused the people
from their lethargy, and induced them to take advantage of the
favourable opportunity that had arisen in a change in the policy of
the Persian government.
Zechariah: "Jehovah is renowned or remembered." A prophet of Judah,
the eleventh of the twelve minor prophets. Like Ezekiel, he was of
priestly extraction. He describes himself (Zechariah 1:1) as "the son
of Berechiah." In (Ezra 5:1 6:14) he is called "the son of Iddo," who
was properly his grandfather. His prophetical career began in the
second year of Darius (B.C. 520) about sixteen years after the return
of the first company from exile. He was contemporary with Haggai (Ezra
5:1)
Malachi: "Messenger or angel," the last of the minor prophets, and the
writer of the last book of the Old Testament canon (Malachi 4:4,5,6)
Nothing is known of him beyond what is contained in his book of
prophecies. Some have supposed that the name is simply a title
descriptive of his character as a messenger of Jehovah, and not a
proper name. There is reason, however, to conclude that Malachi was
the ordinary name of the prophet. He was contemporary with Nehemiah.
PS: Since these are prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and lived before the
time of Jesus, they are not usually called "Christian prophets." |
