Prophecy and Its Cultic Dimensions

Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer

• Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9783647570860
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

This collection of eight essays deals with a wide range of historical, literary, and methodological issues. First, what were the links between the cultic and the prophetic personnel? Did prophets have ritual/cultic functions in temples? Did prophetic actions and/or utterances play a role in the performance of the cult? What were the ritual aspects of divinations? Second, how do literary texts describe the interaction between prophecy and cult? Third, how can various theories (e.g. religious theory, performance theory) enable us to reach a better understanding of the interplay between divination and cultic ritual in ancient Israel and the wider ancient Near East?Marian Broida explores the ritual elements as described in the biblical accounts of intercession. Lester Grabbe revisits the important question of whether cultic prophecy existed in the Jerusalem temple in ancient Israel. Anja Klein maintains that while Psalms 81 and 95 may indirectly testify to a form of cultic prophecy, they do not themselves constitute cultic prophecy. Jonathan Stökl discusses the notion of "triggering" prophecy and suggests that enquiring of Yhwh may in itself be understood as a kind of ritualised behaviour. John Hilber considers the performance of the rituals that accompanied prophetic affirmation of victory in the Egyptian cult. Martti Nissinen looks more broadly at the question whether prophets in the ancient world functioned as ritual performers. Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer investigates the priests' mediating and predictive functions as depicted in the Deuteronomistic History. Alex Jassen argues that Jews in the Second Temple Period perceived the priests and the temple to be a new locus of prophetic activity.

Table of contents

• Prophecy and Its Cultic Dimensions
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Abbreviations
• Marian Broida: Ritualization in Prophetic Intercession
• Lester L. Grabbe: Cultic Prophecy Déjà vu
• John W. Hilber: Prophetic Ritual in the Egyptian Royal Cult
• Alex P. Jassen: Prophecy and Priests in the Second Temple Period
• Anja Klein: Poetry, Prophecy and History: Divine Speech in Psalms 81 and 95
• Martti Nissinen: The Ritual Aspect of Prophecy
• Jonathan Stökl: Ready or Not, Here I Come: Triggering Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible
• Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer: The Seer and the Priest: The Case of the So-called Linen Ephod
• Bibliography
• Author Index
• Reference Index
• List of Contributors