Emotions are an intricate part of what it means to be human. They are part of complex coping mechanisms installed by a Creator God whose own emotions are reflected in humanity’s creation in the imago Dei, the “image of God” (Gen. 1:27).1 Joy, exuberance, anticipation, pleasure, delight, and happiness, must have all been part of God’s original make-up of humanity, for they characterize our existence today. We also experience, however, anger, sadness, sorrow, fear, depression, dejection, misery, and fury—emotions that became part of our emotive repertoire following the Fall in Genesis 3.2
Unfortunately, we have traditionally ignored the study of emotions in biblical research. As Paul Kruger puts it, “Emotions were for a long time regarded as part of the irrational, uncontrollable, and subjective aspects of humankind that do not justify serious study.”3
And yet, emotions are well worth a closer look. For, ultimately, they tell us about who we are, who God is, and how He deals with us. Let us take a look at this little-explored field of emotions by focusing on a special group of individuals, namely biblical prophets. We will use the biblical text and also incorporate insights from cross-cultural psychology and the cognitive sciences as we explore the emotional world of biblical prophets. [Quotation from article
