[Avodah] How did the Neviim Write their Sefarim?

[Arie Folger]

The Abarbanel remarks in his introductions to Yehishu'ah and to
Shemuel, how - in his opinion - the neviim wrote Sifrei Neviim:
"And I already mentioned in my introduction to the Book of Joshua,
folio 20, 3, end of second column (side? What did teh first printing
of his commentary look like?) how the prophets composed these books,
====>>>> and that they found things and stories written  in those
[earlier] times at the hands of the Shofetim or kings, or other pious
ones of those generations and their authors, in the books of histories
of the monarchies of Israel and Judah, which are mentioned in the Book
of Kings.

"And I said that that the Spirit of G"d came to the prophets and
commanded them to compose and write  in a book those stories,
faithfully and truthfully (bishleimut uve-emet) and they [the
prophets] took from them [the earlier sources] and left out [other]
things, according to how the Divine Wisdom, which guided them, showed
them [the selected stories] to be of importance and necessary
according to the point/reason/thesis of the book."

Thus, according to Abarbanel, we could say that one major difference
between the Pentateuch and Nakh is that the former was not based on
earlier sources, but on a direct and complete prophecy from HQBH to
Moshe, while the latter is the product of a prophecy to include a
selection of preexisting stories coming from several disparate sources
(at least twO. the annals of Israel and those of Judah).

When I first saw this, I gasped.

Having digested what Rabbenu Yitz'haq Abarbanel writes, I wonder
whether we know of other commentators from premodern times, who
addressed this issue and either stated that the text of Neviim is word
for word from prophecy, is from the prophet's own inspired expansion
upon his prophecy, or is based on preexisting sources, selected and
elaborated upon through prophecy (the latter being Abarbanel's idea).

IOW, do we have either a tanna demesaye'a lei, or one who refutes? Or
is Abarbanel alone in even approaching this issue altogether?
-- 
Arie Folger
http://ariefolger.wordpress.com/
http://www.ariefolger.googlepages.com