Bibliography

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Nancy Persons

Prophecy An oral, divine message mediated through an individual that is directed at a person or people group and intended to elicit a specific response.

Prophecy Defined

In the Old Testament and ancient Near East, prophecy was one among many forms of divination. Examples of prophecy contemporaneous with the Old Testament have been found from the Mesopotamian city of Mari (second millennium bc) and the Neo-Assyrian Empire (seventh century bc). Israel’s belief in Yahweh’s exclusive authority seems to have precluded the use of all but prophecy as an acceptable form of divine communication. Several of the writing prophets deride the court prophets who oppose them by lumping them together with “diviners” (קסמים, qsmym; Mic 3:6, 11; Isa 3:2; Jer 27:9; 29:8; Zech 10:2; Ezek 13:9, 23; 22:28; Ruppert, “קָסַם, qasam”).

Prophecy differs from other forms of divine-human interaction in that a deity speaks directly to the audience. Other ancient Near Eastern forms of divination (e.g., the examination of entrails or the casting of lots) were fundamentally interpretive enterprises undertaken by priests. Although the deity could be described as “speaking” through such forms of divination, the human interpreter neither heard nor proclaimed a direct, oral message. Prophecy can also be distinguished from visions or message-dreams, which were primarily visual. However, the categories of visionary and prophet often overlap (e.g., the prophet Gad; Müller, “נָבִיא, navi'”). Although the role of the prophet is often defined by the act of prophecy, it also involves a variety of actions done on behalf of a deity or in accordance with the deity’s will.

(For further information on the possible distinctions and overlap between the concepts of prophecy, dreams, and visions, see these articles: Vision; Dream.)