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Ecstatic prophecy in the Old Testament

Gunnel André

Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis January 16, 2019 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67139 (opens in new tab)

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Altered states of consciousness MDMA
Keywords Bible, old testament
Key points Argues that the distinction between ecstatic and classical prophets in the Old Testament is likely overstated and was not as sharp in ancient times as it is in modern scholarship.

Abstract

When speaking of prophets in our culture, we usually have the Old Testament classical prophets in mind. At the mention of prophetic ecstasy the immediate reaction is often, "That would be Saul and the asses or Elijah and the prophets of Baal". A sharp distinction is often made between the so-called primitive prophets and the classical prophets. Bearing in mind that the Chronicles mention chronicles, prophesies, visions and narratives of various non-classical prophets there is a certain danger that we make a distinction between different prophetic types more sharply than was done in Old Testament times. In this paper ecstasy is treated purely in its own terms.

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