Biblical Prophecy From A Near Eastern Perspective: The Cases Of Kingship And Divine Possession

Abstract

The concept of prophecy has biblical roots: it is an integral part of the long-developed language of biblical scholarship, which has resulted in the status of biblical prophets as the model of prophecy in general. The Near Eastern prophetic texts have often played an ancillary role as a comparative material to the study of biblical prophecy. This chapter looks at biblical prophecy from the perspective of the Near Eastern prophetic phenomena as represented by the available documents. Ancient Near Eastern texts may, for instance, be used as a means of controlling the authenticity and historical accuracy of biblical prophetic texts, or they can be presented as hard evidence against attempts at dehistoricizing the biblical prophets or dismantling the prophetic books. The chapter discusses the relation of prophets to kings, and the network of prophecy, music, lament, and divine possession. Keywords: biblical prophecy; divine possession; Eastern prophetic texts; kingship