Introduction to Twelve Minor Prophets – Trei Asar

Our Rabbis taught: The order of the Prophets is: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah* and the Twelve Minor Prophets. Let us examine this. Hosea came first, as it is written "G-d spoke first to Hosea" (Hosea 1:2). But did G-d speak first to Hosea? Were there not many prophets between Moses and Hosea? R. Johanan, however, has explained that [what it means is] he was the first of the four prophets who prophesied at the period, namely, Hosea, Isaiah, Amos and Micah.

Should not then Hosea come first [that is, before Jeremiah and the other prophets]? Since his prophecy is written along with those of Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, and Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi came at the end of the prophets, he is reckoned with them. But why should he not be written separately and placed first? Since his book is so small, it might be lost.

*Note that the order of the three major prophets in the Masoretic text is Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. The Talmud here refers to a different ordering (and gives reasoning for it later in this passage).

It has been taught [in a baraita]: Many prophets stood for Israel, double the number of those who left Egypt, but prophecies that were necessary for the generations were written down, and those that weren’t necessary, were not written down.