A prophet is anyone who speaks about, and especially as directed by,
יהוה
God... Adam was the first prophet as he told Eve the things he had learned from God during the time they spent before Eve's creation. (Gen 2:15-18) Danger: There can also be false prophets. (Deu 18:20-22; Mat 7:15)
Moses was a noted prophet of Bible record. He spoke to Pharaoh in God's name. The Bible actually says God made Moses God to Pharaoh. The Pharaoh of that time was wicked and so God could or would have no interactions with him directly. Instead, יהוה told Moses what he wanted Pharaoh to know, and Moses told his brother Aaron, and Aaron acted as prophet to Moses by giving Pharaoh God's message. (Exo 7:1-21)
When most people think of prophets, they think of the nearly constant string of prophets recorded in the Bible as living alongside the timeline of the Kings, starting with Saul.
Historical Dates!
We can know many historical BCE dates only + or - 70 years.
The people demanded Kings to rule them, like the nations around them had. יהוה warned them against a human monarchy, but they kept insisting and he relented. (1 Sam 8:4-18) So, while they suffered all the things God said they would in dealing with their kings, He used a string of prophets to help them. A righteous or good or true prophet would seem to need to be a person inclined foremost in his life to listen to יהוה.
Samuel was prophet at the time the people demanded kings. So, at יהוה's direction, he anointed Saul as first King of the Jewish Nation in 1117 BCE[1117 years before the birth of Christ]. Saul was followed by faithful King David and him by his son Solomon. Near the end of Solomon's reign in 997 BCE, the nation split into Judah and Israel during Nathan's time as prophet. Shemaiah became prophet to Judah and Ahijah became prophet to Israel. In 722 BCE, Israel was taken captive in Assyria and in 607 BCE, Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity. In 539 BCE Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the Assyrian, who was inclined toward the true God, so in 537 BCE, the Jewish exiles returned to their homeland. Jesus was born 534 years later as the seed of promise to Eve (Gen 3:15) and to the Jewish nation through Abraham. (Gen 22:15-18)
The Bible records some good and bad prophets during and outside the years of the monarchy, the Kings also made up of some good and bad men.
Remember as you read about them and what ever they did, the record of the lives of them all serve as a tutor leading us to Jesus Christ. (Gal 3:23-26) Read the Bible while following God's only later day command to focus your attention on Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; recording the words of his son. (Mat 17:5) The words of Jesus are your link to God's Holy Spirit. (John 6:63)
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