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  • From: "Harold R. Holmyard III" <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] 'Prophesying' 1 Samuel 18:10
  • Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 11:17:54 -0500

Dear Peter,

HH: This is the verb NB) in the Hithpael. Here below are the places where it occurs. You can look at them yourself. The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew gives "rave" as the meaning for the verb at 1 Sam 18:10. Note the possible association of the verb with madness:

Jer. 29:26 'The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge of the house of the LORD; you should put any madman who acts like a prophet into the stocks and neck-irons.

HH: The Hebrew in Jer 29:26 for "madman who acts like a prophet" is two participles linked by the waw conjunction. There is some legitimate prophecy in the list below, but there is also a good deal of false prophecy, which sometimes involves raving type activities:

1Kings 18:29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

HH: There are also a considerable number of one-time prophetic activities that resemble being possessed more than normal prophecy. Since NB) in the Qal is the normal word for prophesy, the Hithpael may carry some special flavor to it. "The Hithpael may denote esteeming or presenting oneself in a state, sometimes without regard to the question of truthfulness" (Waltke and O'Connor, _Biblical Hebrew Syntax_, 26.2f). So somebody may pretend to be something. He may present himself as something either truthfully or not truthfully.

Harold, I have reviewed your list of references and I am left far from convinced that there is anything inherently wrong in this kind of prophecy.

HH: I agree with you. I never said there was something inherently wrong implied by the Hithpael use of NB). Remember, I said: "There is some legitimate prophecy in the list below, but there is also a good deal of false prophecy, which sometimes involves raving type activities."

HH: All that you wrote seems good to me. Yet if one is possessed by an evil spirit, he is not prophesying in the normal sense. So "rave" or "act like a prophet" might be the way to translate. I said that the Hithpael can suggest: "He may present himself as something either truthfully or not truthfully." Specifically Waltke and O'Connor said that one esteems or presents "oneself in a state, sometimes without regard to the question of truthfulness."

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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