You do not have to be a biblical scholar to notice the disjointed manner in which the books of the prophets were edited. Topic after topic is introduced with no rhyme or reason apparent in the ordering of material, with prophecies moving from place to place and time to time and back again.

      Spinoza made note of this practice in his book 'A Theological-Political Treatise.' Writing of the book of Jeremiah he commented:

      The prophecies of Jeremiah, which are related historically are also taken from various chronicles; for not only are they heaped together confusedly, without any account being taken of dates, but also the same story is told in them differently in different passages. For instance, in chapter 21 we are told that the cause of Jeremiah's arrest was that he had prophesied the destruction of the city to Zedekiah who consulted him. This narrative suddenly passes, in chapter 22., to the prophet's remonstrances to Jehoiakim (Zedekiah's predecessor), and the prediction he made of that king's captivity; then, in chapter 25, come the revelations granted to the prophet previously, that is in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and, further on still, the revelations received in the first year of the same reign. The continuator of Jeremiah goes on heaping prophecy upon prophecy without any regard to dates, until at last, in chapter 38 (as if the intervening chapters had been a parenthesis), he takes up the thread dropped in chapter 21.

      In fact, the conjunction with which chapter 38 begins, refers to the 8th, 9th, and 10th verses of chapter 21. Jeremiah's last arrest is then very differently described, and a totally separate cause is given for his daily retention in the court of the prison.

      We may thus clearly see that these portions of the book have been compiled from various sources, and are only from this point of view comprehensible. The prophecies contained in the remaining chapters, where Jeremiah speaks in the first person, seem to be taken from a book written by Baruch, at Jeremiah's dictation. These, however, only comprise (as appears from chapter 36:2) the prophecies revealed to the prophet from the time of Josiah to the fourth year of Jehoiakim, at which period the book begins.

      As Spinoza pointed out the book begins during the reign of Josiah, and jumps from one point in time to another, returning once again to the reign of Zedekiah, and then ends where it begins in the reign of Josiah. The beginning of the book are in the first person and there are first person prophecies at the end, and a jumble of third person material compromises the middle. For example the book opens as follows:

"The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin to whom the word of YAHWEH came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign." (Jeremiah Chapter 1 verse 1)

      The book concludes where it began, showing that there is no chronological ordering evident in the manner it was edited.

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from YAHWEH, saying, "Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day."" (Jeremiah Chapter 36 verse 1)

      As noted above the material found between these two sections are from a later date and are composed of fragments edited together with no apparent purpose in the order. For example, the prophecy is cut off at Jeremiah 21:10 and then resumes at Jeremiah 38:1.

"The word which came to Jeremiah from YAHWEH when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah..." (Jeremiah Chapter 21 verse 1)

      The prophecy of destruction by Babylon continues to verse 10 and then a new prophecy to the Royal house concerning doing justice to the poor begins at verse eleven. The thread dropped at verse 10 is then picked up again in chapter 38.

"Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, ... This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'" (Jeremiah Chapter 38 verse 1)

      After the narrative breaks the prophecies are addressed to earlier kings, to Shallum, and to Jehoiakim and Coniah.

"For thus says YAHWEH in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, "He will never return there."" (Jeremiah Chapter 22 verse 11)

""As I live," declares YAHWEH, "even though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off."" (Jeremiah Chapter 22 verse 24)

"Therefore thus says YAHWEH in regard to Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, "They will not lament for him: ‘Alas, my brother!' or, ‘Alas, sister!' They will not lament for him: ‘Alas for the master!' or, ‘Alas for his splendor!' "He will be buried with a donkey's burial, Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem." (Jeremiah Chapter 22 verse 18)

      In the above passages we are given two conflicting versions of history in the Bible. Josiah was followed on the throne by either Shallum (Jeremiah Chapter 22 verse 11) or Jehoahaz (2 Chronicles Chapter 36 verse 1). The book of Chronicles follows the account in the book of Kings on this matter, and neither book mentions Shallum coming to the throne, and certainly not after his father Josiah. This tradition is unique to the book of Jeremiah. Indeed, as Chronicles describes the succession, Shallum was last in line, being the youngest of four brothers.

"The sons of Josiah were Johanan the firstborn, and the second was Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum." (1 Chronicles Chapter 3 verse 15)

      In chapter 23 the topic changes to that of scolding the prophets of Jerusalem. This is followed by a mixed bag of prophecies from various places and times before the narrative picks up in chapter 38 where it left off in chapter 21.

"After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah..." (Jeremiah Chapter 24 verse 1)

"In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from YAHWEH, saying..." (Jeremiah Chapter 27 verse 1)

"...the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month..." (Jeremiah Chapter 28 verse 1)

"The word which came to Jeremiah from YAHWEH, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying..." (Jeremiah Chapter 34 verse 1)

      The same disjointed chronological arrangement is found in both the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel. Spinoza noted:

      That the book of Ezekiel is only a fragment, is clearly indicated by the first verse. For anyone may see that the conjunction with which it begins, refers to something already said, and connects what follows therewith. However, not only this conjunction, but the whole text of the discourse implies other writings. The fact of the present work beginning the thirtieth year shows that the prophet is continuing, not commencing a discourse; and this is confirmed by the writer, who parenthetically states in verse 3, "The word of YAHWEH came often unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans," as if to say that the prophecies which he is about to relate are the sequel to revelations formerly received by Ezekiel from God. Furthermore, Josephus, 11 Antiq. x:9, says that Ezekiel prophesied that Zedekiah should not see Babylon, whereas the book we now have not only contains no such statement, but contrariwise asserts in chapter 17. that he should be taken to Babylon as a captive.

      The book of Ezekiel opens with the following line:

"Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God." (Ezekiel Chapter 1 verse 1)

      This introductory statement is followed by the famous story of Ezekiel seeing 'the wheel within the wheel' and receiving from God a commission to prophecy. As Spinoza notes, in the Hebrew the book opens with a conjunction, and then a comment is made that Ezekiel often received prophecies over the course of time. The reason for the insertion of this comment becomes obvious when the chronological contradictions are examined. The introduction to the book has led to a belief that Ezekiel was 'a prophet of the exile' in that the opening of the book portrays him receiving his commission during the exile. However, in later sections of the book, Ezekiel is in Jerusalem, before the exile, prophesying matters concerning idolatrous practices that were taking place in the temple, and also prophesying a coming exile. The editors of the material were aware of this conflict, and resolve it by having Ezekiel leave the Babylonian captivity and travel ‘back in time' to see ‘visions' of what had been taking place in the temple before the exile, and thus we also have Ezekiel prophesying the coming exile in visions, visions that took place after the exile, and thus were hardly ‘prophetic'. It seems likely that the book was edited in stages, and after assuming a certain form it became necessary to edit in prophecies delivered before the exile, and the invention of the ‘visions of the time before the exile' can then be seen to function as a kind of literary device allowing these early prophecies to be woven into the manuscript without violating the scenario presented in the opening chapters (which would have required re-editing the entire book). Spinoza is correct to state that the book is obviously composed of fragments, and it would seem that all of the fragments were not composed by one individual, as the manuscript also contains internal inconsistencies and contradictions..

      Like the book of Jeremiah, the book of Ezekiel is edited together without regard to chronological arrangement, and skips about in time. The opening of the book portrays Ezekiel seeing ‘the wheel within the wheel' and receiving his commission to prophecy well into the time of the Babylonian exile.

"NOW IT came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity," (Ezekiel Chapter 1 verse 1)

      The chronological arrangement of the book is as follows:

Ezekiel Chapter 8 verse 1 And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of YAHWEH GOD fell there upon me.
Ezekiel Chapter 20 verse 1 And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month, that certain of the elders of Israel came to inquire of YAHWEH, and sat before me.
Ezekiel Chapter 24 verse 1 And the word of YAHWEH came unto me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 26 verse 1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the month, that the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 29 verse 1 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, in the twelfth day of the month, the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 29 verse 17 And it came to pass in the seven and twentieth year, in the first month, in the first day of the month, the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 30 verse 20 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first month, in the seventh day of the month, that the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 31 verse 1 And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the third month, in the first day of the month, that the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 32 verse 1 And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 32 verse 17 It came to pass also in the twelfth year, in the fifteenth day of the month, that the word of YAHWEH came unto me, saying:
Ezekiel Chapter 33 verse 21 And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying: ‘The city is smitten.'
Ezekiel Chapter 40 verse 1 In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was smitten, in the selfsame day, the hand of YAHWEH was upon me, and He brought me thither.

      It would appear, as Spinoza suggested, that the book of Ezekiel was composed of fragments gathered over time, and that originally Ezekiel was a prophet of the exile (as described in the opening of the book) and then later earlier prophecies were woven into the text, with various devices employed, such as having Ezekiel visit earlier times ‘in visions' (hardly then prophetic since these things would have already happened) or such as the parenthetical statement at the beginning of the manuscript (as the manuscript evolved to incorporate earlier elements it became necessary to add later an explanation that said that ‘Ezekiel often received such visions').

      According to the chronology of the book Ezekiel prophesied from 592-570 B.C.E. The fall of Jerusalem took place in 586 B.C.E. The book states that he received his call In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day. The exact meaning of ‘thirtieth year' remains obscure (this cannot refer to the age of the prophet, for in that case he would have been prophesying at the age of eight, according to other references, and it cannot refer to ‘the thirtieth year of the exile' because this conflicts with the statement which follows which says that it was ‘which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity'. There are two sets of prophecies found in the book, which might suggest two sources (there are internal inconsistencies and conflicts within the manuscript which suggest different sources). The first period covers the time from 592 to 585 B.C.E. (These are the prophecies of the coming exile, and there are internal inconsistencies here, in that when Ezekiel receives his call he is already in exile, and then later he is at home living in Jerusalem, and prophesying its exile.) There is a thirteen year gap lasting from 585 to 572 in which there are no prophesies and then for two years the prophet is heard from again (from 572 to 570, the last oracle). All of this covers a period of 22 years.

      The book of Isaiah is found to be edited in a similar fashion as the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, with prophecies concerning Babylon mixed in with prophecies concerning Assyria which were delivered centuries earlier by another prophet.

Isaiah Chapter 11 verse 11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that YAHWEH will set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people, that shall remain from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isaiah Chapter 13 verse 1 The burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.
Isaiah Chapter 19 verse 23 In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the Egyptian into Assyria; and the Egyptians shall worship with the Assyrians.
Isaiah Chapter 21 verse 9 And, behold, there came a troop of men, horsemen by pairs. And he spoke and said: ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon; and all the graven images of her gods are broken unto the ground.'
Isaiah Chapter 27 verse 13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great horn shall be blown; and they shall come that were lost in the land of Assyria, and they that were dispersed in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship YAHWEH in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Isaiah Chapter 43 verse 14 Thus saith YAHWEH, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and I will bring down all of them as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships of their shouting."