Can a man be trained for the office of a prophet? Was there a school or institution for this purpose? Every one could certainly be trained in the primary conditions of a prophet, in the exercise of all human virtues, and in the acquisition of all available knowledge; and it was the duty and the aim of the prophets to encourage all their brethren to such training by their own example. But the principal element in prophecy the Divine communication, depended solely on the Will of God. “The sons of the prophets” are generally believed to be the pupils of the prophets; they formed “the schools of the prophets.” These schools, however, could not have been schools or colleges in the ordinary sense of the word. The sons of the prophets were instructed by the prophets, but not with the purpose of training them as prophets. It seems that the sons of the prophets served as agents for promulgating the inspired messages of their chief. Most probably they led a simple, pious life, were God-fearing, and spent their time when meeting together in music and song, repeating hymns and lessons taught by their master. An account of some of the messages and deeds of the prophets is given in the Biblical books; some of their speeches also are preserved, in the section of the Bible called “Latter Prophets,” ‏נביאים אחרונים‎. The speeches of the prophets were in some cases prepared and written down before they were spoken, in others delivered ex tempore without preparation, and were written down afterwards from memory, either by the prophet himself or by one of his hearers, or were handed down vivâ voce from generation to generation before they were committed to writing. There is another kind of Divine revelation which did not find expression in any message to the Israelites or to mankind, but in a certain supernatural impulse given to the thought or will of a person as regards his words and actions. Such an impulse is called inspiration, and the inspired person is moved to speak or act by the ‏רוח יי‎ “spirit of the Lord.” It was the spirit of the Lord that moved Samson to heroic deeds against the enemies of his people; David likewise felt that Divine impulse when pouring forth his heart before the Lord in his Psalms. He says: “The spirit of the Lord spake in me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. xxiii. 2). It was the spirit of the Lord that filled the hearts of those who collected and sifted the Holy Writings containing law, history, prophecies, and poetry, and gave them the form in which we possess them now. We are not quite certain as to the form of the letters in the original copies of the Holy Writings; but from the way in which the Pentateuch is written now in the Synagogue scrolls, we may infer with certainty that the ancient copies of the Torah contained no vowels or accents, and that these have come down to us by oral tradition.