The Hebrew nebuah (H5016) is the noun form of naba (to prophesy) and means the prophetic word itself β the utterance, message, or writing of a prophet. In 2 Chronicles 15:8, Asa took courage when he heard the nebuah (prophecy) of Azariah. The term points to the divine word mediated through the human prophet β a message that carries God's authority because it originates with Him.
The concept of nebuah is central to biblical epistemology: humanity knows God's will because God speaks through prophets. The prophetic office was God's primary instrument of revelation throughout the OT period (Hebrews 1:1: 'at many times and in various ways, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets'). The NT fulfillment is Christ Himself β the final and definitive Word (Hebrews 1:2). Yet prophecy continues in the church (1 Corinthians 12:10, 14:1) as a gift of the Spirit for building up the body in truth.