There is a terrible dichotomy in this passage about false prophets. Don Isaac Abravanel (15th century Spain) puts the dilemma this way: "If the prophet is a false prophet, since he called on Israel to serve other gods, and is therefore put to death, why then do his signs and wonders come to pass? But if, on the other hand, he is a true prophet, and simply arose to test the loyalty of the people, then why should he be put to death? Surely he was only carrying out the Divine will to know whether the people truly loved the Lord their God!"

We seem to have a classic Catch-22 here. If the prophet referred to in the text is a false prophet, than how can he perform signs and wonders? Is this not a skill reserved for true prophets? If, on the other hand, he is indeed a true prophet sent to test us, then isn't his death at the hands of the people a terrible miscarriage of justice?

Most of the traditional rabbinic commentators cannot seriously entertain the possibility that the individual referred to in this passage is a true prophet. He must be a false prophet, in which case we ask how and why his prophecy came to pass. Here is a sampling of several traditional answers to this theological question:

"See how far the verse goes to meet the intentions of the idolaters and grant them dominion. Even if they halt the sun, moon, stars and constellations in their courses, hearken not to them! Why? `Because the Lord your God is putting you to the test to discover whether you love Him.´" --Rabbi Yose (2nd century rabbinic sage)

"God forbid that the Holy One, blessed be He, should halt the sun, moon, stars and constellations for the sake of the idol worshippers. Rather, this text deals with one who was formerly a true prophet, but turned into a false one." --Rabbi Akiba (2nd century rabbinic sage)

"Even if it seems to people that he is capable of performing miracles and that he is a true prophet (which is impossible), if he summons you to idolatry, hearken not to him." --Don Isaac Abravanel

Three rabbis—three opinions! Rabbi Yose suggests that the false prophet can indeed work wonders, but is only allowed to do so as a Divine test of our faith. Rabbi Akiba posits that the false prophet is in reality a true prophet gone astray, and his residual prophetic powers enable him to perform signs and miracles. Don Isaac Abravanel argues that the signs and wonders done by the false prophet only appear genuine to us. In reality, they are nothing special and should not lead us astray.

Our discussion of the "false prophet" would not be complete without a few words about the role of prophecy in ancient Israel. The prophet's job description focused less on predicting the future and much more on analyzing the present. The great prophets of Israel spent minimal time with their Ouija boards, and most of their time preaching the evils of their respective societies. Their ability to produce miracles and alter the course of nature was only one relatively minor skill in their repertoire.

Tragically, the world has known far more false prophets than true ones. In our own day and age, it sometimes seems as if false prophets appear on every street corner. What we desperately need in our society are a few true prophets--men and women who will restore the ancient prophetic vision of a world of peace, justice and harmony.