810
VOICE
VOWS
was being critically regarded by God, and neglected, through ignorance of this inspection, to display those features of national character which would have redeemed it in God's eyes ; or the time of spiritual opportunity, afforded by the presence of ' God manifest in the flesh,' in which it might have known and sought ' the things which belonged unto its peace.' In the latter sense, the ' time of visita- tion ' Avould be equivalent to ' this thy day ' in v.^-.
S. J. Ramsay Sibbald. VOICE. — 1. Introductory. — The Gr. wordof which ' voice ' is a rendering in the NT is (piav-q. In the AV other renderings are sometimes given : as ' sound ' (Jn 38) and 'noise' (Rev 6') [but cf. RV where this inconsistency is generally removed *]. The Gr. word is sometimes used of inarticulate utterance ( = ' sound'), e.g. of trumpet, Mt 24^1, 1 Co W ('things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp,' etc., AV 'sound' here), Rev 14^ ('voice of many waters,' AV and RV), Jn 3^ of the wind ('thou hearest the voice thereof,' RV), etc.; some- times of articulate utterance, ascribed to God (Mt 3" etc.), and, naturally, to men (Mt 3* e.g.).
(fuvii is often used in such combinations as t/jv (puvYiv aipuv (£!r«/>!;v)='to lift up the voice' (e.g. Lk 17i3 1127), with the general meaning ' to cry out,' ' call ' ; (pmri fj.iya.Xyi,' with a great (loud) voice,' is often added to verbs ; see' the Lexx. and cf. art. Crv.
The ' voice ' of God and the ' voice ' of Christ are referred to in various connexions (some eschato- logical). Jesus compares the call which He makes to that of the shepherd to his sheep ( Jn 10^'^ ' the sheep hear his voice ' ; cf. 10^®- ^^ 18^'') ; in an eschato- logical connexion, Rev 3^" (' Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him, and he with me'); of the resurrection cry, 1 Th 4}^ (the voice of the archangel awakening the dead ; cf. Jn 5'^- ^, the voice of Christ awakening the spiritually dead). The voice of God is spoken of as admonishing in the OT Scriptures (Jn 5^, He 3^- 15 4^), and as ' shaking the earth ' (He 1226).
An antithesis is drawn by Gr. writers (esp. Plutarch) between <?4ini and koyo;, and this was afterwards transferred by the Fathers (Origen, Augustine) to John the Baptist and Christ, ' the first claiming for himself no more than to be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness " (Jn l^S), the other emphatically declared to be the Word which was with God and was God (Jn 11).' See, further, Trench, NT Synonyms, § Ixxxix., where Augustine's interesting disquisition on this contrast is sum- marized.
2. The Voice from Heaven.— (a) hi the NT.— A ' voice from heaven ' is mentioned in the Synoptics in Mt 31'' II ((puvr) iK rwv ovpavCov), in the narrative of the Baptism ( ' And lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased'), and again in Mt 17' II in the narrative of the Transfiguration a 'voice out of the cloud' is spoken of ('And behold, a voice out of the cloud, saying,' etc.). In both cases, as Dalman (Words of Jesus, p. 204) has pointed out, the mention of the heavens and the cloud is derived from the context, and both representations are due ' to the Evangelic narrative and not to the words of Jesus.' In the Fourth Gospel one reference occurs, viz. in Jn 122"* ' There came therefore a voice out of heaven, saying,' etc. ; and it is mentioned several times in the Apocalypse (Rev 10*-^ 14^ 18* etc.) — in all these passages introducing a heavenly revelation.
(6) In Rabbinical literature.— The ' Heavenly Voice' is fre- quently met with in Rabbinical literature under the designation Bath K.0I (' daughter-voice '). Here also it often introduces a Divine revelation. The Bath Kol was one of the means used by God for imparting a revelation.' It was heard all through Biblical times, and, in fact, oftenest during the classical period of Israel's history before prophecy was extinguished, and while the Holy Spirit was abiding in its fulness among the people (symbolized by the Temple). Thus at the death of Moses a Bath Kol was heard saying : ' Fear thou not, Moses I I myself will care for thy burial ' (Deut. R. on xxxiv.). But it also survived beyond the
* Cf., however, Mt 2431 (' sound ' both in AV and RV)!
Biblical period, and was regarded as the only means of Divine revelation then operative (Bab. Sola, 486 ; Voma, 96). In time, however, it fell into disrepute, owing, perhaps, to the assiduous way in which it came to be looked for and appealed to by certain teachers as a means of further revelations ; and by the Rabbis of the 2nd cent, it was decided that ' no attention is to be paid to it when arrogating to decide against the moral conviction of the majority. The Torah is not in heaven. Its interpretation is left to the conscience of catholic Israel.' *