There is a longstanding scholarly debate on the nature of prophecy in ancient Israel. Until now, no study has based itself on the semantics of the Hebrew lexeme nābîʾ (‘prophet’). In this investigation, I discuss the nature and function of prophecy in the corpus of the Hebrew book of Jeremiah. I analyse all occurrences of nābîʾ in Jeremiah and perform a close reading of three primary texts, Jeremiah 1.4–19, 23.9–40 and 27.1–28.17. The result is a detailed explanation of how prophecy works, and what it meant to call someone a nābîʾ in ancient Israel. Chapter one introduces the work and surveys the main trends in the research literature on prophecy. First I describe scholarly constructs and definitions of the phenomenon of prophecy. I then survey contemporary debates over the meaning of nābîʾ and the problem of ‘false’ prophecy. I also describe the methods, structure, corpus and aims of the investigation. In part one, I take all the occurrences of the lexeme nābîʾ in Jeremiah and analyse its relations to other words (syntagmatics and paradigmatics). For nābîʾ, the conceptual fields of communication and worship are significant. There is also a close semantic relation between nābîʾ and kōhēn (‘priest’). Part two analyses prophecy in the literary context of three key texts. Chapter three is a close reading of Jeremiah 1.4–19. Chapter four is a close reading of Jeremiah 23.9–40. Chapter five is a close reading of Jeremiah 27.1–28.17. In my analysis I situate these passages in the wider context of an ancient cultural worldview on divine communication. This brings to light the importance of legitimacy and authority as themes in prophecy. Chapter six concludes the work. I combine the results of the semantic analysis and close readings with conclusions for six main areas of study: (1) the function and nature of prophecy; (2) dreams and visions; (3) being sent; (4) prophets, priests and cult; (5) salvation and doom; and (6) legitimacy and authority. These conclusions explain the conceptual categories related to nābîʾ in the corpus. I then situate these findings in two current debates, one on the definition of nābîʾ and one on cultic prophecy. This thesis contributes to critical scholarship on prophecy in the ancient world, on the book of Jeremiah, and on prophets in ancient Israel. It is the first major study to ana-

How prophecy works: a study of the semantic field of נביא and a close reading of Jeremiah 1.4–19, 23.9–40 and 27.1–28.17

Comparative studies of ancient Near Eastern prophecy in recent years have focussed on the distinction between inductive forms of divination, such as extispicy and astrology, which involve the so-called “scholarly” interpretation of natural phenomena and non-inductive, or mediumistic, forms of divination, usually associated with various forms of shamanism, including prophecy. Using Isaiah 14:28-32 as a test case, this article questions the epistemological distinction between inductive and intuitive divination in the ancient Near East on the basis of recent anthropological theory that claims a combination of inductive, intuitive, and interpretive techniques wherever divination is practiced.

Old Testament prophecy as divination : the case of Isaiah 14:28-32

Is 30 -8 forms a single literary unit. After the reconstruction of the text, it displays in its content and meter a clear structure and is in agreement with the secondary superscription in v. eaa, which may be understood, according to the Interpretation of the LXX, äs a threat of Isaiah against Egypt, attached to it between 714 and 701 B.C. In this Isaiah uses for the first time the name of Rahab, up to then known only äs a mythical monster, äs a symbolic designation for Egypt. The threat is, therefore, in its form, really a report on a symbolic action.

Georg Sauer

Papers

Mandelzweig und Kessel in Jer 1 11ff.