thank you for the answer. two additional questions: 1. how did the married prophets prepare themselves for prophecy? 2. in which rare cases it was not necessary for a prophet to be married? thank you

Shalom, Thank you for your follow up question. The process of preparing for prophecy is two fold. Firstly there are the many years needed to reach the level where a person would be even at the level where prophesy would be even possible. During these years the prophets learnt in Yeshiva type "schools", where they both studies Torah and worked on their personal character traits and holiness (see the work Mesillat Yesharim for a good outline of this process). The second stage of preparation involved, after being on the level of a prophet, a meditative process which (as is recorded in the Tanach) could involve music and prayer. Then, if Hashem so chose, he would "speak" to the prophet in prophesy, while the prophet was in some form of deep meditation or asleep. If the prophet was married, they would purify themselves by using the mikvah before entering into the prophetic state. A woman prophet would have to wait three days after having had marital relations before this immersion (as is recorded in connection with the preparations for receiving the Torah, which was also a form of prophesy). As to your second question – I am unaware of "rare cases it was not necessary for a prophet to be married". What I wrote, that being married was " probably a spiritual prerequisite to being on the level to become a prophet in many cases – though not all", was (as I wrote) a "probability". I am unaware of a teaching that states clearly which prophets were married or not. (In fact in the source you originally quoted – "In Melachim Bais 2 Eliyyahu was not married" – I was unable to find any reference to whether he was married or not. In the writings of the son of the Rambam – Rav Avraham ben HaRambam, he writes that we do not know if Eliyahu was married or not. A major commentator on the Shulchan Aruch (Be'er HaTiv, Even HaEzer 17) states that Eliyahu's wife did not need a divorce, which indicates that he was married, but he may just be talking theoretically.) In connection to some of the prophets the Tanach states clearly that they were married, and we have Rabbinic traditions about some others, but I am not sure that we know about each and every one. That is why I wrote that is quite probable that being married is a prerequisite to prophesy (for the reasons I mentioned), though I cannot say with any certainty that this is always the case. I hope this is of some help to you – Blessings.