Image Details

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana/Photo by Microfoto, Firenze

The prophet Jeremiah literally points toward Jesus in this illumination from a tenth-century manuscript of the Books of the Prophets. The image emphasizes the role the prophets play in Christian thought, where the prophets’ words are interpreted as predictions of the coming of Jesus. This understanding of the prophets is related to the placement of the Books of the Prophets at the end of the Old Testament, where they are immediately followed by the gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth and ministry.

In the Hebrew Bible, however, the Prophets immediately follow the books of Samuel and Kings, and the prophets’ words are interpreted as explications of the historical events recorded in these books.