Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,
These verses clearly distinguish, by the way, between the divine author and the human writers of Scripture. The prophets were not merely religious geniuses. They were people through whom God spoke (2 Peter 1:21). At times they knew that they did not fully comprehend what they were communicating. At other times they probably thought they understood but did not completely realize the full significance of what they communicated (cf. Daniel 9; Daniel 12:5-13; Habakkuk 2:1-4). They did not know the time when many Messianic prophecies would be fulfilled either.