Oracles as Artefacts : The Material Aspect of Prophecy

Abstract

The written object is the primary context of every text, and the study of the material object may disclose things that the literary form of the text is unable to reveal, such as the social preconditions of the transmission of the text, the social status and function of a prophetic message, reasons why it was once written down, and the use and afterlife of a prophetic oracle as the object of interpretation, sometimes even as a visible monument. This is demonstrated with the help of four examples: an oracle collection from Nineveh; the Deir Alla inscription; the compilation of inscriptions from the Phrygian Hierapolis; and the scrolls containing “biblical” texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Main attention is paid to the artefacts, their context and probable function. Each source exemplifies a different kind of interplay between the text, the artefact, and social agency.