Early Prophetic Tradition: Refers to the prophets that were used by God to pronounce judgement on Israel for forsaking the covenant, and encourage Israel to turn back to God as He will one day deliver them. The prophets of that day included Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos, Hosea, and much more. They came as messengers of God and served as "the spiritual antennae of Isreal, monitoring its fidelity to the covenant" (Novak, 191). This not only included Israel's repeated return to idolatry, but also their lack of social justice in the community, both in which God hates (Novak, 192). The Prophets encouraged and call Israel to come into repentance before they were seized by foreign nations, but Israel would not repent, but rather give lip service to God and continue on their path of wickedness (Hosea 6:4-10). Eventually, Israel was handed over to Babylon, and along with that, the temple was destroyed in Jerusalem.
"...King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon--Nebuzaradan the caption of the bodyguard, who served the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down" Jeremiah 52:12-13
