prophecy to Jehoram, asked for a harp, and was unable to perceive the Divine
purpose till he had been recreated by its music; then, indeed, he prophesied
to Jehoram and to his allies glad tidings, which previously he had been
unable to attain to because he was angry with the king, and these who are
angry with anyone can imagine evil of him, but not good. (43) The theory
that God does not reveal Himself to the angry or the sad, is a mere dream:
for God revealed to Moses while angry, the terrible slaughter of the
firstborn, and did so without the intervention of a harp. (44) To Cain in
his rage, God was revealed, and to Ezekiel, impatient with anger, was
revealed the contumacy and wretchedness of the Jews. (45) Jeremiah,
miserable and weary of life, prophesied the disasters of the Hebrews, so
that Josiah would not consult him, but inquired of a woman, inasmuch as it
was more in accordance with womanly nature that God should reveal His mercy
thereto. (46) So, Micaiah never prophesied good to Ahab, though other true
prophets had done so, but invariably evil. (46) Thus we see that individual
prophets were by temperament more fitted for one sort of revelation than
another.

(47) The style of the prophecy also varied according to the eloquence of the
individual prophet. (48) The prophecies of Ezekiel and Amos are not written
in a cultivated style like those of Isaiah and Nahum, but more rudely. (49)
Any Hebrew scholar who wishes to inquire into this point more closely, and
compares chapters of the different prophets treating of the same subject,
will find great dissimilarity of style. (50) Compare, for instance, chap. i.
of the courtly Isaiah, verse 11 to verse 20, with chap. v. of the countryman
Amos, verses 21-24. (51) Compare also the order and reasoning of the
prophecies of Jeremiah, written in Idumaea (chap. xhx.), with the order and
reasoning of Obadiah. (52) Compare, lastly, Isa. xl:19, 20, and xliv:8, with
Hosea viii:6, and xiii:2. And so on.