At a later time references to the sjiirit again recur, particularly in lizekiel. How far the trances of Ezekiel were real, being jjartly due to a natural constitutional temperament, and how far thej' are mere literary embodiment of an idea, may be disputed. In the latter ca.se the idea they express would be the one running through all his pro- pliei ies, the transcendent majesty and jjower of God, and the nothingness of the 'child of man,' who is a mere instrument in the hand of God. In this late age various idcius of the spirit i)revail. A prophet like Joel goes buck to the early forms of piojilicey, and reproduces the ancient idea of the spirit (2-"" [lleb. 3'"]). In other passages the spirit a]ii)ear8 a iiermaneut possession, being like tlie gift bestowed on one when consecrated to an ollice (Is 61') ; while in others still the spirit seems generalized into the Divine enlightenment and guidance given to Israel through its leaders and prophets all down its history (Is 5!)-' 03'", Hag 2'). But amidst some variety of coiicei>tion certain ideas of the spirit always remain : the .si)irit is
•Some scholars repnrtl the phnue by the tpirit of J" 08 ftn •xplanntory glnwi O^el'-. Xowock, etc.). The sense of nn ia uncrrUIn ; it may mean mlh, Inj Ihe aid o/, On 41, Job ;(!', or It muy be accua. si^n : ' lull ol power, even the spirit of J",' KVm.
t Oiewbrechl, Die BeruJeUj/abung dtr atUcit. J'rojtli.
something external to man, something Divine, something bestowed by God on man.
Taking into account what has been said above of the ' spirit,' it ai)pears that what has been called the prophetic state varied at dill'erent times. Two periods can be distinguished, though not separated from one another by any sharp line of demarcation : the early prophetic period, and the period of the literary prophets. (1) In the early period mental excitation was common, though the excitation might be of various degrees ; seff-eon- .sciousness was not lost, and memory of what was experienced remained ; the NT rule that ' the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets ' was in most cases verified. The revelation in this period often took the form of dream and vision. The OT couples these two together (Xu 12", Jl 2^ [Heb. 3']). Dream and vision are not identical, but they differ chiefly in degTee — the degree to which the senses are dormant, and the conscious ness of what is external is lost, and reflective control over the operations of the mind is sus- jiended. The pro^iliets regard their dreams and visions as something objective in the sense that they are caused by God (Am 7"^-). But in attempt- ing to analj'ze the prophetic uiiud we must remember that dreaming and seeing a vision are forms of thinking ; the contents of the dream and vision are not objective, as things seen with the bodily eye are objective, they are creations of the mind itself. Perhaps the best idea of the pro- phetic mind in this period or in this condition might be got by reflecting on the phenomena of the dream. Now, it is in this period that the jiliraseology current all down the prophetic age originated, and it is the phenomena of tliis period that it describes — sucn phra.seulogy as ' see,' ' vision,' ' hear,' ' the word of the Lord,' and such like. In this early time prophets did 'see' and had 'visions'; lliey did 'hear' the 'word of the Lord,' just as one sees persons and things, and hears words audibly in a areani. The terms truly de- scribe the mental experiences of the prophet, and are not mere figures of s[ieecli. But in the time of the canonical prophets visions and dreams virtually ceased, though the pioi)lietie language still remained in use. It is quite possible that in some eases the literary propliets still had visions and ' heard ' words, but certainly they use the ancient phraseology in a multitude of instances when they bad no such experience. Jer. alludes with aversion to the 'dreams' of the false proidiets. It is possible that these dreams were in .some cases real, being due to the agitations produced by the political crises of the time. If so, it is another evidence that these prophets still occupied a position which the true prophecy had long aban- doned. (2) Perhaps the bust idea of the mental slate of the prophet in the purest stage of prophecy would be got by considering the condition of the religious mind in earnest devotion or rapt spiritual communion with God. Even the earliest prophets intercede with God (Am 7, cf. Kx 32") ; and Oehler has drawn attention to the fact that the com- munication of a revelation to them is often called 'answering" them — the same expression as is used in regard to prayer (Mic 3', Uab 2"^-, J. r 23"). The [irophets as.severate very strongly that it is the word of God which tliev speak. But it is doubtful if any psychological conclusions can be drawn from their language. I'or it is to the contents of their prophecies that they refer; and though it might seem strange that they do not alluile to any mental operations of their own, the analogy of the devout worshipper suggests an ex- planation. A person in earnest prayer to God and communion with Him, though his mind will certainly be profoundly exercised, when light