Original Research - Public Discourse
The origin of prophetism in the Ancient Near East
Gerda de Villiers
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 66, No 1 (2010), 6 pages. doi: 10.4102/hts.v66i1.795
Submitted: 31 January 2010
Published: 08 October 2010
Abstract
This article aimed to give an overview of the early attestations to prophecy in the Ancient Near East (ANE) in order to stimulate reflection on what could be understood by ‘prophetism’. The most extant sources for prophetic oracles in the ANE were uncovered at the royal archives of Mari and Nineveh, therefore some evidence of these sites has been indicated. Consequently the distinction between ‘inductive’ and ‘non-inductive’ forms of divination was also discussed. Furthermore it was questioned whether the critique against ANE-prophecy as ‘Heilsprophetie’ (‘salvation’) as opposed to the ‘Unheilsprophetie’ (‘doom’) of Old Testament can still be upheld. Finally some notes of caution were raised with regard to the careless appropriation of the term ‘prophetism’ in the 21st century.
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Author affiliations
Gerda de Villiers, University of Pretoria, South Africa Metrics
Total abstract views: 1112 Total article views: 4679
Cited-By
1. The office of prophets as an emergency measure
Joseph J. De Bruyn
In die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi vol: 47 issue: 1 year: 2013
doi: 10.4102/ids.v47i1.673
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