To this special function of the Babylonian temple ollicials we have reference in Dn 2^, where they are summoned by Nebuchadnezzar to discharge the per[)lexing ta.sk of not only interprei inj; but also of first recalling a dream which the monarch had forgotten (cf. Gn 41*''-). iris is the proper word in Hell, for interpreter of dreams.
Divine revelation through dreams constantly meets us in the OT (Gn 2U»-» SI'"- " 37' 40"^- 41'*- 42", 1 K 3»'», Dn 2'» "', Nu 12«, Job 33", Jg 7'», and in NT Mt l-» 2", Ac 23" 27=^). Dreams were a legitimate mode of Divine manifestation, though we lind warnings against the dreams of false pro- phets, as against magic and soothsaying (Jer 23^-^^ 2'A Zee 10-, Sir 34'- =• »• '). It is worthy of note that among the Hebrews, as among the Egyptians, im- portance was attached to the dreams « hich came to a man w ho slept in a sanctuary or sacred spot. The dream of Jacob might be included among such visions (Gn 28'-'"), since the scene was at Bethel, tlie renowned sanctuary. The dream recorded in 1 IC S*-" was vouchsafed to Solomon at the high place of Gibeon, where lie had olTered saerilices.
Just as among the Arabs the art of soothsaying began to decline after tlie advent of Mohammed and the monotliei-sm which he taught,* so among the ancient Helirews the prophetic teacliing from the 8th cent, onwards constantly declaimed against the arts of the soothsaj'er, and the burden of this prcohetic TOrah became embodied in legislation ,:••'" IS""-, cf. Lv 20»- -''). In Is 2« we find mention of c^iij^"] among the other modes of foreign Eastern superstition with wliicli Judali by the time of Isaiah had become familiar. But in tliis special case the original source probably lay at Israel's doors, and the tradition was borrowed from the Canaanites. Of this we have clear evidence in Dt 18'*, and in the 'terebinth (oak) of diviners' (D'3:'iyo Meo- NKNl.M) mentioned as a well-known sacred spot with a 8acre<l tree (Jg SF). There is a similar • sootlisayer's tree '+ (see MoREH) mentioned in Gn 12« (.Tiio pSx). To this we may find a parallel in the oaks of Dodona, sacred to Zeus, whose rustling branches were supposed to utter oracles (Odijss. xiv. 328) ; of. 2 S sK In Dt 18'» the p'y? stands in close conjunction with the ' diviner of divinations' (O'CJp ccp) and the pnjo. The Greek equivalent of 'v^ is KXitSon^biuvot, meaning one who judges from omens (K\-qbuv) ; cf. Is 2*. The ety- mology of the Hebrew Poel form [jiy is not easy to determine. To connect it with ;}!( ' cloud ' has no foundation in the known practices of the ancient Israelites. More probable is the etymology which
eonnecta it with the root which In in Arabic ^i
• For demonolofo^ and Boothaaying were closely interwoven (as in the caae of ma^fic). Now, occordini; to .Mulminmedan Idt-'aa, the devils after Mohammed's advent were prevent*-'! (roin minKJiiii; with the sons of Uod and learning; the s'.'creU of heaven (f'f. 8ATAII and ref. to Hook of Enoch) When mo dett-cted, the aiiKels pelt them with meteorites and drive them away : ice Sur. S31 ad fin., 37"- ; and cf. Wellhausen, Jifjilf^, p. 138.
t It Is by no means certain that the Beb. .n^K, [<?K may not to used genenlly lor ■ tree,' llk« Sjr. ]Aj:>-t|, | 1 \ » |
' to snuffle ' (cf. the use of the Heb. O'cscss Is 8" 29*) ; scarcely probable is the suggestion o^ Well- hausen to regard this Poel form as a denominative from the subst. py 'eye.' Cf. Nowack, Beb. Arch. ii. 274 footnote. The form of soothsaying which the word [ino represents may have been akin to that which was practised by the Roman augur.i or /uiriis/iices. In fact it is diflicult to say how far the [j'lyE dill'ered from the int or primitive llebrew ' seer,' or from the Dcp. As to the lirst, we do not know what was his mode of procedure, whether it con- sisted in the examination of the entrails or general appearance of the victim in the saerilices, as was done by the Assyrian priests (Jasirow, I.e. p. 337) and the Roman hartispiccs or extUjihcs. Or it may have taken the form of observing closely the move- ments of animals, as w'as done by the Philistine diviners (o-ppp) in the case of the two cows yoked to the cart on which the ark of God was ]ilaced (1 S &"■) ; or it may have consisted in observing the sounds produceil by wind (as the sound amon^ the tops of the balsam trees in 2 S o'-*) or the special action of rain or dew upon objects (cf. .Ig C"-).
The 8th cent., as well as the 7tli, wit icssed the wide prevalence of these arts as well as that of necromancy (Is S""-)- Probably the Assyrian in- vasions and the disasters which they entailed drove the panic-stricken people to resort to abnormal practices of magic and sooths.aj'ing.* From Is 3- we learn that the soothsayer held an important place in national life, and was regarded as one of the props of the social fabric. He takes his place by tlie side of the judge, prophet, and elder. The attitude of prophecy towards soothsayinjj was uni- formly uncompromisiu"; and hostile (Mic 5", cf. Jer 27" and Is 57^ this last passage bting descrip- tive of the degenerate practices that still went on in Palestine alter the return from the Exile). In l'"zk 21-"'- we have a vi\id description of the king of Babylon standing at the crossways, shaking the arrows {^cXo/iavrela). We may assume that there were two arrows in the quiver, one bearinj' the name Jerusalem and the otlier Rabbali, and the result was determined by the particular arrow that was drawn out by the right hand or shaken out. lie also inquires of the teraphim and looks into the liver. The reference to the teraphim is a Pales- tinian trait (the LXX yXwroU suggests D'3sv rather than c'D-in). When we compare this with Is 47*"" with its closing references to the soothsaying, we can clearly see that the latter writer had become yet more familiar with the practices in divination carried on in Babylonia, and portrays tliem with remarkable vividness :^ 'Thou art wearied with thy counsels ; yes, let them stand by and save you, they who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, announcing month by month whence they {i.e. the events) are to come upon you.' The account given in the earlier portion of this article of tlie omen- tablets of Babylonia and the calendars of the days of the month, with its lucky and unlucky days, clearly illustrates the accurate delineation given us in Deutero- Isaiah. The phrase 'dividers of the lu'avens ' (C'~V "izh Kt'n') <:i)ntains a reference to the custom of the Baliyhmian astrologers of divid- ing the heavens into districts to take a horoscojie (cf. Jastrow, Rdigian uf liahylunia, p. 309 11.). See also art. DIVINATION.