On the Lives and Deaths of the Prophets

1Concerning the life and death of the prophets, written by Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, regarding the prophets, how they died and where they lie. Nathan the prophet came to be in the days of David from the tribe of Ephraim. He was from Gabath, and he is the one who taught David the law of the Lord. Nathan knew that King David had passed by Bathsheba. While he was rushing to come from Gabath to Jerusalem to prevent David from this lawlessness, Belial prevented him, because on the road he found a dead man lying naked; he persisted in burying him there so that he would not be consumed by beasts. On that night he knew that David had committed the sin, and he returned to Gabath in mourning. As David killed Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, God sent Nathan and rebuked David concerning his sin. David feared the Lord because what he had done was rebuked; David knew that the Holy Spirit of God was upon Nathan the prophet, and he honored him as a holy man of God. Having become very old, he himself died, and he was buried in Gabath in his own land.

Then there was Ahijah the Shilonite; he was from Shiloh of the tribe of Judah, where the tent of the ark was of old, from the town of Ramathaim-Zophim, the son of Eli the priest. This prophet spoke concerning Solomon, the son of David, saying that he would stumble against God; he also rebuked Jeroboam, saying that if he were to reign, he would follow the Lord with deceit; for he had seen a vision of a pair of oxen lowing, trampling the people and charging against the priests. He also said to Solomon that women would cause him to stray from the Lord. To Jeroboam he said that through your two she-calves you will stumble against the Lord, and your race shall be for slavery. Ahijah died and was buried near the oak that is in Shiloh.

Joam the prophet was born in Samaria; he is the one whom the lion struck in the road and died, because he rebuked Jeroboam concerning the golden she-calves.

Regarding his actions, which he performed when he offered the sacrifice at the altar, and when he stretched out his hand to harm him, the hand of Jeroboam withered. After these things, he was deceived by the false prophet and was compelled to eat bread and drink water. When he went out, a lion struck him, yet it did not harm his donkey. He was buried in Bethel near the false prophet. Later, as the false prophet was dying, he swore to the priests, saying, 'Bury me after Joash the prophet,' because he said, 'I deceived him, and in the resurrection we shall receive vengeance.' Thus, both lie in a single tomb.

D. Azariah the prophet; he was from Symbath. He is the one who, through prayers, turned back the captivity of Judah to Israel. Having prophesied many things concerning the coming of Christ, he fell asleep in his own country.

E. Elijah the prophet. He was from Tishbe, from the land of the Arabs, of the tribe of Aaron, dwelling in Gilead; for Tishbe was a house given to the priests. When his mother gave birth, his father Sheba saw a vision, for bright-faced men were announcing to him; and when they were roasting him in fire, they gave him a flame of fire to eat. Having come to Jerusalem, he announced this to the priests. The oracle said to him, 'Do not be afraid, for the house of your son shall be a light, and his word shall be a decree, and he shall judge Israel with a sword and with fire.' This is Elijah, who brought down fire a third time from heaven, who brought up the rain by his own tongue, who raised the dead, and who was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind of fire.

F. Elisha the prophet. He was from Abel-meholah, from the land of Reuben. A great thing occurred because of this. When the golden heifer was born in Galgal, the one in Shiloh cried out so sharply that it was heard in Jerusalem. The priest said, through the signs, 'A prophet was born today, who breaks the stones and crushes the...'

2God performed many wonders through the hand of Elisha; and having died, he was buried in Samaria in Sebaste. This man prophesied concerning the coming of the Lord. And the waters of Jericho, being barren, he made to heal by making them salty, saying: Thus says the Lord: Let these waters be healed. And they were healed until this very day. He also raised the dead, and Naaman the Syrian, being a leper, he cleansed of his leprosy, and made Gehazi his servant a leper. And being dead, he raised one dead.

8. Isaiah the prophet; indeed he was born in Jerusalem from the tribe of Judah; but he dies by Manasseh the king of Judah, being cut in two, and was placed under a tree, Rogelim, near the crossing of the waters which Hezekiah the king destroyed in anger. But God made the Siloam through the prophet, because before dying, having thirsted, he prayed to drink water; and immediately living water was sent to him from it. Because of this, the name Siloam was called, which is interpreted 'sent'.

And in the time of Hezekiah the king, before he made the pits and the cisterns, a little water came out by the prayer of the prophet Isaiah, because the people were in a siege by the foreigners and so that the city might not be destroyed as not having water. For the enemies were asking, 'From where do they drink?' for they remained unaware. Having the city, they sat by the Siloam; so when the Jews were coming, water used to go out to them and they were watered, but the foreigners did not find it. For the water used to flee. Therefore also until this day it comes out suddenly, so that the mystery might be shown. And since this happened through Isaiah, for the sake of memory, the people near him buried him carefully and gloriously, so that through his prayers they might have the enjoyment of the water until the end. For an oracle was given to them concerning him. And the tomb of Isaiah the prophet is located behind the tomb of the lions, after the tomb of the priests, toward the part...

Toward the south. For while Solomon was building Jerusalem, he made the tombs of the kings of David after marking them out; and they are east of Zion, which has an entrance from Gaboth, four stadia from the city. He also made a winding, complex, and unperceived path, which remains unknown to many even until today.

8. The prophet Jeremiah was from Anathoth, and he ended his life in Tafnis in Egypt, having been stoned by the people. He lies in the place of Pharaoh's habitation, because the Egyptians honored him, having been benefited by him. For the hunters of both the asp and the waters—whom the Egyptians call Nephoth, but the Greeks call crocodiles, which were killing them—were present; and after the prophet Jeremiah prayed, the wrath of the asps was restrained from that land, and likewise the habitat of the beasts was restrained from the river. And as many as are faithful even until today pray in that place, and by taking the skin of an asp, they heal, and the very beasts of the water flee.

This prophet gave a sign to the priests of Egypt, saying that all their idols must be shaken and all things made by hands must fall, when a virgin in labor in Egypt shall come with a child, divinely sent, which also happened to them. This prophet, before the capture of the temple, snatched away the ark of the law and all things in it, and caused them to be laid down in a rock; and he said to the priests of the people and to the elders standing by: 'The Lord has departed from Sinai into the heavens, and again he will come in holy power. And this shall be a sign of his presence, when all the nations shall worship wood.' He said to them that no priest or prophet shall ever open this ark, except Moses, the chosen of God, and no one shall refloat the tablets in it except Aaron. And in the resurrection, first the ark shall be raised, and it shall come out from the...

3A rock shall be set upon Mount Sinai, and all the saints shall be gathered toward it, awaiting the Lord there and fleeing the enemy who desires to strike them. The name of the Lord sealed the rock, and the type became like an engraving of iron. A cloud covered the rock so that no one perceives that place, nor can anyone read the name until this day and until the completion of this age. The rock is in the wilderness where the ark first came to be, between the mountains in which Moses and Aaron lie; and in the nights a cloud like fire becomes present in that place according to the ancient type, for the glory of God from His law shall not cease.

Ezekiel the prophet: he was from the land of Sarira among the sons of the priests, but he died in the land of the Chaldeans during the captivity, having prophesied much concerning the return of the people, concerning the return of the sons of Israel, and concerning the presence of the Lord. But the leader of the people killed him in his dwelling in Babylon, being rebuked by him concerning the worship of idols. And they buried him in the field of Maoor in the tomb of Shem and Arphaxad, the fathers of Abraham; and the tomb is to this day a double cave; for Abraham in Hebron made the tomb of his wife Sarah in its likeness. It is called double because it is dug and hidden from the level, and it is hanging above the earth upon a rock.

This prophet, therefore, gave a sign to the people so that they would pay attention to the river Kebar: that when its water fails, they should hope for the sickle of desolation to the end of the earth; and when its water overflows, it signifies the return of Jerusalem, which indeed has happened. For the holy one lies in the land of the Assyrians, and many were turning toward his tomb for prayer and supplication.

When the Chaldeans gathered there to prevent the Jews from returning to his memory, intending to come upon them and destroy them, the prophet caused the river water to stand still so that the sons of Israel might escape to the other side. Those who dared to pursue the people after them were struck down. Because of prayer, this prophet was automatically provided with an abundant food of fish, for they were wasting away from hunger; they were nourished from the multitude of fish, and he entreated God to come to the many who were lacking life. As the people were perishing by the enemies, this prophet stood before their leaders and troubled them. Because of great wonders, the enemies ceased, having been terrified.

Then Ezekiel said to the people, 'We are shouted down; our hope is lost.' And through the wonders of the bones of the dead, he persuaded them that there is hope for Israel both here and in the age to come. While there in the land of the Chaldeans, he testified to the people about all things occurring in Jerusalem and in the temple. This prophet was snatched from the land of the Chaldeans and was carried to Jerusalem for the reproof of the unfaithful. This Ezekiel saw, according to Moses, the place of the temple of the Lord, the wall being wide, just as Daniel also said that it would be built.

In Babylon, he judged the tribe of Dan and Gad because they were ungodly toward the Lord, persecuting those who believed in the law, and he performed a great wonder for them, for snakes were consuming their infants and all their cattle. He was saying that because of them the people would not return to Jerusalem, but would remain in isolation until the completion of their wandering; for from them was also the one who brought him up. He stood against them until the day of his end. 10. The prophet Daniel. This one was of the tribe of Judah, from the race of the distinguished of the royal service; but while still an infant, he was carried to Babylon from Judea.

4He was born in Upper Beth Horon near Jerusalem. He was a sober man, so that the Jews seemed to think him a scoffer. This man grieved much for Jerusalem and practiced fasting from all desirable food, and he was a man very dry in thought; but he was beautiful in the grace of God. This man prayed much concerning Nebuchadnezzar, that he might not be lost, because he had become a beast and a cattle. For his front was like an ox with the head, and his feet were with the hind parts like a lion. For the rulers possess these things in their youth: becoming as oxen under the yoke of Belial because of loves of pleasure, and becoming beasts at the end, snatching, destroying, trampling, and despoiling. Therefore this holy man knew that he ate grass like an ox and human nature became food to him.

Because of this, also Nebuchadnezzar, after the sending of his scourge, having become in a human heart, wept and deservedly called upon the God of Behemoth, which is the God of Israel, forty times every day and night. For a spirit of Satan came upon him and deceived him, because he had become a man. His tongue was bound from speaking, and a beast's voice was given to him; and passing through his grief he wept immediately, and his eyes became like flesh from the weeping. And many rulers and citizens going out of the city saw him.

But Daniel alone did not wish to see him; for all the time of his alteration he was in prayer for him, and he said, 'Another man shall be born and shall hold his kingdom.' And they did not believe him, that he would be praying for him for seven months to become seven years, unto the Lord. The mystery of the seven times was fulfilled in him, that he established seven mediators. Therefore six years and six months he fell before the Lord God and confessed his impiety.

After his lawlessness was forgiven, God restored the kingdom to him once more. He neither ate meat nor drank wine, confessing to God that Daniel had commanded him to appease the Lord with legumes, or green things, or moist things. For this reason, Nebuchadnezzor called Daniel Belshazzar after the name of his only son, desiring to make him a co-heir with his own children; but the holy man said, 'Let me appease, so that I may receive the inheritance of my fathers and be joined to the inheritance of the uncircumcised.' And during the reigns of the Persian kings, he performed many wonders, as many as we have not recorded in this book, though they are written in the book of Daniel.

This prophet gave a sign upon the high mountains of Babylon, saying: 'When you see the mountain from the pit smoking, the end of Babylon shall come; when you see it as if burning in fire, the end of all the earth shall come; if the mountain in the south pours out waters, the people shall return to their land; Jerusalem shall be built wide and spacious, just as it came to pass through Jesus the high priest and Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel. If blood flows from the mountain, there shall be the slaughter of Belial in all the land, and the Lord shall come upon the earth having become man.' There, therefore, the holy Daniel slept in Babylon in peace and was buried gloriously in the royal cave; and his tomb is known to all in Babylon even until this day.

14. Hosea the prophet, son of Beeri. He was born in Velumoth from the tribe of Issachar. He gave a sign that the Lord would come from heaven upon the earth; and this is the sign of his presence: when the oak in Shiloh is divided by itself into twelve parts and becomes twelve oaks; so it came to pass. And having prophesied much concerning the fornication of his people, he died in peace and was buried in his own land.

5Amos the prophet. He was born in Theku from the land of Zebulun. He is the father of Isaiah the prophet. However, Amaziah the priest of Bethel often beat him with a drum and mocked him in a seat; but finally, the son of Amaziah struck him down with a club upon the temple, because he was rebuking him concerning the two golden calves in the seat. Still breathing, he came to his own land; and he died and was buried there with his fathers.

Micaiah the prophet. He was born in Morath from the tribe of Ephraim. This man did much for Ahab, the king of Judah; but he is violently killed by Jehoram his son, having been struck down, because he rebuked him concerning his own ungodliness and that of his fathers which they had done. Having died, he was buried in Morath in his land alone, near the mighty man; and his tomb is well-known even to this present day.

Joel the prophet. He was from the village of Beth-hem in the land of Reuben; and he prophesied much concerning Jerusalem and the end of the nations. Seeing death, he died in peace and was buried gloriously in Beth-hem in his own land.

Abdiiah the prophet. He was from Sychem, from the village of Beth-hacchemam. He is the third fifty-man whom Elijah the Thespian appointed, and he went down and came to the king. After these things, having left his royal rank, he attached himself to the prophet Elijah and became his disciple; and he was saved through him by enduring much. Having died, he was buried in the village of Beth-hacchemam with his fathers.

Jonah the prophet. He was therefore from the land of Kiriath-jearim near the Greek city of Azotus by the sea. At that time, Elijah the prophet was rebuking Ahab the king of Samaria, and having called a great famine upon the land, he fled into the wilderness; and he was fed by the ravens, and he drank water from the brook. When the brook dried up, he thirsted. He went to Sarepta of the Sidonians to a poor widow, who was the mother of Jonah, and he entered her house; and he did to her as she commanded him. He ate and blessed her with grain and oil, and he stayed with her. For he was unable to stay, and having died the son, God raised Jonah alive through Elijah and gave him back living to his mother because of her hospitality.

When Jonah reached manhood, he was sent to Nineveh to the Assyrians. Jonah sought to depart from the Lord and was overcome by the desire to go to Tarshish; but having come out of the ship, he proclaimed the destruction of Nineveh. And the Ninevites repented toward God and received mercy. Jonah was grieved, and having turned back, he did not stay in his own land, but taking his mother...

6He sojourned in the land of Shur belonging to the other nations. For he said, 'In this way I have cast off the reproach, because I lied in prophesying concerning Nineveh.' Having lived in the land of Saar, he died there and was buried in the cave of Kenaz the Cretan. He prophesied thus: when they see in Jerusalem many nations coming from the west, it shall be destroyed even to the ground.

14. But Nahum the prophet. This man was from Elkesin beyond the Jordan to Bethagbar, of the tribe of Simeon. After Jonah, he gave a sign against Nineveh, declaring that it would be destroyed by sweet waters and by fire from the earth, which indeed happened. For the lake surrounding it was consumed, its higher parts being set ablaze by an earthquake and by fire coming from the wilderness. Nahum died in peace and was buried in his own land, Bethagbar.

15. Ambackum the prophet. This man was from the countryside of Byzzuchar, of the tribe of Simeon. Before the captivity, regarding the capture of Jerusalem, he saw it and grieved greatly for the city and the people. When Nebuchadnezzar came into Jerusalem to seize it, he fled to Ostrakine and lived there as a sojourner in the land of Ishmael. As the Chaldeans returned to their own land after making Jerusalem a spoil, the survivors remaining in Jerusalem went down to Egypt. He himself, however, went up to his own land. He was serving the reapers of his own field, for he was sowing barley. When the grain was ripe for them, he prophesied to his own people, saying, 'I am going to a distant land, but I shall return quickly. If I am delayed, carry it away so the reapers may eat.' Having been in Babylon and having provided a meal for Daniel in the lions' den, he returned and stood among the reapers while they were eating, yet he said nothing of what had occurred. But the prophet understood that the people would quickly return from Babylon to Jerusalem. He gave a sign to those in Judea, that they would see a great light shining in the temple, so that they might see the glory of God. Concerning the destruction of the temple, he foretold that the entrance of the temple of Jerusalem would come from a western nation; then the throne of David would be split into two parts, and the capitals of the two pillars would be removed. No one will know where they are. They shall be carried away into the wilderness by angels, to the place where the tent of the testimony was originally pitched. And in them, the Lord shall be known at the end, because they shall shine.

7Regarding those persecuted by the serpent as from the beginning, the Lord will save them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and they shall be in a holy tabernacle. This prophet prophesied much concerning the coming of the Lord; two years before the return of the people from Babylon, he died, and he was buried gloriously in his own field.

13. Sophonias the prophet. This one, therefore, from the tribe of Simeon from Mount Sarabatha, prophesied concerning the city of Jerusalem, that it would be built up better in length and breadth, and concerning the end of the nations and the shame of the ungodly, and concerning the presence of the Lord. He died in the covering of the Lord, and was buried in his field alone.

14. Haggai the prophet. While still young, he returned from Babylon to Jerusalem and clearly prophesied concerning the return of the people, and he saw the building of the temple of Jerusalem, and he himself first sang alleluias there, which is interpreted: 'Let us praise the living God'; amen, which is: 'let it be, let it be.' There then he died and was buried gloriously near the priests; therefore we say alleluias, which is the hymn of Haggai and Zechariah.

15. Zechariah the prophet. This one was the son of Berechiah. This one came from the Chaldeans having already advanced, and while there he prophesied much to the people and gave many wonders as a demonstration. This one said to Joshedek that he would beget a son and serve as priest to the Lord in Jerusalem. This one also blessed Salathiel upon a son, saying that he would beget a son and call his name Zerubbabel. And during the time of Cyrus the king of the Persians, he gave a wonder for the victory concerning Croesus the king of the Lydians and concerning Astyages the king of the Medes, and he prophesied concerning his service, which Cyrus would perform upon Jerusalem, and he blessed him greatly. But his prophecy concerning Jerusalem, and concerning the end of the nations, and concerning the building of the temple of Jerusalem, and the idleness of prophets and priests, and the double judgment, he set forth. He died in Judea in long age and was buried near Haggai the prophet.

22. Malachias the prophet was from the tribe of Zebulun. This one, after the return of the people from Babylon, was born in Sophia in the land of Zebulun. And while still young he had a good life, and he prophesied much concerning the visitation of the Lord.

8And concerning the judgment of the dead, and that the customs of Moses shall be fulfilled and changed. Since all the people honored him as holy and pure, Malachi called him, a name interpreted as an angel. For he was exceedingly beautiful in appearance, and also whatever he himself spoke in prophecy, an angel appearing on that very day confirmed his prophecy, just as it happened in the days of anarchy, as it is written in Zephaniah, that is, in the book of Chronicles. And the prophet, being young, died and was added to his fathers in his field.

23. Zechariah, another prophet and priest. He was the son of Jehoiada the priest, and the father of John the Baptist. This one was killed by Herod the king, while standing by the altar and the house of the Lord. He was from Jerusalem, from the house of David, in the midst of Elam from the house of the Lord. He prophesied concerning the generation of Christ. There, therefore, they buried him in the house of God, standing by the temple of the Lord. From that time, many wonders and apparitions occurred in the temple, and the priests were no longer able to see the vision of angels, nor to give oracles to the people in David, nor to inquire by the Urim, nor to answer through the lot, until the time, until that day.

24. Simeon the priest; he was from the tribe of Aaron. He was signaled by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he should see the Christ in the flesh. He bore the Lord into his own arms. And he glorified God, saying: My eyes have seen your salvation. Now, Lord, you release your servant, according to your word, in peace. He died and was buried near the priests, an elder full of days.

26. John the Baptist, son of Zechariah and Elisabeth. He was from the tribe of Levi. He showed to us the Lamb of God, the Son of the Father, the one who takes away the sin of the world. He became for us an entrance to the kingdom of God. For no one among those born of women is greater than John the Baptist. He died, having his head cut off by Herod, because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother. And other prophets came to be, whose names are written in their own genealogies in the book of the names of Israel, whom we did not mention.