"And he behaved like a prophet among them." (1Sam 10:11b): The depreciative use of אבנ Hitpael and the comparative evidence of ecstatic prophecy
Many biblical scholars suggest that ecstatic prophecy is one of the oldest forms of prophetic activity in Israel. I challenge this proposition, arguing first on the basis of the verbal stem Hitpael of אבנ. The stem designates a person's (social) status or position and this is why the frequent...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2009
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| In: |
Die Welt des Orients
Year: 2009, Volume: 39, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-57 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Many biblical scholars suggest that ecstatic prophecy is one of the oldest forms of prophetic activity in Israel. I challenge this proposition, arguing first on the basis of the verbal stem Hitpael of אבנ. The stem designates a person's (social) status or position and this is why the frequently alleged meaning of ecstatic activity does not hold. Within a certain context, the writer and the reader may add the bias of pretending to be in a (social) position. With a depreciative undertone, the stem is used with other verbs, especially in prophetic narratives about deceptions, as, for instance 1Kings 14:2 (הנש); 2Sam 14:2 (לבא); 1Sam 28:8; 1Kings 20:38; (שפח); 1Kings 22:30 // 2Chr 18:29. A comparable bias can be added to the Hitpael forms of הלח, ריצ, עקב, חשב, חפי, ענש, אשנ, ררש, רכש, ףנא, לתפ, רשע. In most instances אבנ Hitpael takes a critical undertone of pretending to prophesy. It is not a neutral term for "ecstatic prophecy" nor is it referring to an archaic, well respected form of prophetic activity. Instead, in the vast majority of cases, this behaviour was considered to be an inappropriate prophetic activity. Besides considerations about the stem's meaning, in its second part (II), the present article considers the increase of high esteem for prophetic ecstasy and frenzy and the reasons for this trend in Old Testament scholarship. An evaluation of ecstasy as a (prophetic) behaviour in Mesopotamian and Greek sources follows. I suggest to put the spirit possession and the frenzy of Saul in 1Sam 18:10; 19:9 in a comparative perspective with the character of Euripides' Heracles furens (III). |
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| ISSN: | 2196-9019 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Die Welt des Orients
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