Oracle occurs in several places in the Auth. Ver. as the rendering of the Heb. "I'^^'n, debir, ordinarily de- rived from "121, in the sense to say, speak ; i. e. the re- sponse or place of the voice of (iod. But the best critics understand it to mean properly a back-chamber, a back or west room, from ^3'^, to be behind (see Gesenius, Thes., and esp. Furst, Lex. s. v.) ; hence the inner or most secret room of the Temple (1 Kings vi, passim; vii, 49; viii, 6, 8; 2 Chron. iii, 16; iv, 20; v, 7, 9; Psa. xxviii, 2), elsewhere called "?/(e Holy' of Flolies" (Heb. d'lp D'^dTiT'tl, 1 Kings vi, 16; 2 Chron. iv, 22, and often). See Temple. The Sept. in these passages simply adopts the Hebrew word {ro cajMp) ; but Jerome, followed by some modern versions, renders oraculum — the word used by the heathen to denote the places where they con^ suited their gods. In 2 Sam. xvi, 23, the Hebrew word rendered oracle is dabcir (13'^), which usually means word, and is often applied thus to the word or revelation of God (see margin, ad loc. ; so Jer. i, 4, 11). In the N. T. only the word oracles is found, in the plural (as the
ORACLE
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ORACLE
rendering of the Greek \6yia, Acts vii, 38), especially the oracles of God (ra \6yia tov Btov, Rom. iii, 2 ; comp. Heb. V, 12 ; 1 Pet. iv, 11), in reference to the divine com- munications which had been given to the Jews through- out their history. See Holy of Holies ; Urim.
The manner of such utterances among the Hebrews was various. God spake to his people of old at sundry times and in divers manners — sometimes face to face, as with Abraham and Moses — sometimes by dreams and visions, as with Joseph and Pharaoh — sometimes by signs and tokens, as with Gideon and Barak — some- times by the word of prophecy— and sometimes by a regularly organized system of communication, ashy the Urim aiid Thummim. See Priest. These last, which had a distinct locality, and were always accessible, were especially the Hebrew oracles. We have an instance in the case of David (1 Sam. xxiii, 9) ; when he desired to know whether it would be safe for him to take ref- uge with the men of Keilah, against the persecution of Saul, he inquired of Abiathar the priest. " Bring hith- er," said he, " the ephod ;" and the reply to his inquiry was that it would not be safe, for the men of Keilah would deliver him up to the king. Another similar in- stance occurs in the same book (1 Sam. xxx, 7, 8) ; and there appears no reason to doubt that such was the mode of " inquiring at the mouth of the Lord" for a considerable period. See Divination; Epiiod; In- spiration ; Eevelation. The most ancient oracle on record, probably, is that given to Ptcbekah (Gen. xxv, 22) ; but the most complete scriptural instance is that of the child Samuel (1 Sara. iii). The place was the residence of the ark, the regular station of worship. The manner was by an audible and distinct voice: " The Lord called Samuel ;" and the child mistook the voice for that of FAi (and this more than once), " for he did not yet know the word of the Lord." The subject was of high national importance ; no less than a public calamity, with the ruin of the first family in the land. Nor could the child have any inducement to deceive Eli; as in that case he would have rather invented something flattering to his venerable superior. This communicative voice, issuing from the interior of the sanctuary, was properly an oracle. See Sajiuel.
Heathen oracles are occasionally referred to in the Scriptures, and one in particular seems to have been very celebrated. This was the oracle of Baalzebub, or Baalzebul, at Ekron. Ahaziah, the son of Ahab (2 Kings i, 2), having fallen through a lattice in his upper chamber, and suffering greatly in consequence, sent to Ekron to inquire of this oracle, and his messenger was stopped by Elijah, who administered to the king of Is- rael a reproof for consulting a false god, and gave him the assurance of speedy death. The name Baalzebub, signifying " lord of a tly," has been occasionally inter- preted as a derisive appellation bestowed by the Jews on the god worshipped at Ekron ; but there is little ground for this criticism. Ekron was much infested by flies, and these were often believed to bring with them contagious disorders. The god whom the inhab- itants supposed able to deliver them from these minute but vexatious enemies might well take a title from the exploit, just as the Jupiter, or rather Zeus, of the Greeks assumed among other epithets those of MvtuiSijg and Mviaypoc. See BEEi.-ZEBun. Other oracular means in Palestine were the Teraphim, as that of Mieah (Judg. xvii, 1,5); the ephod of Gideon (viii, 27, etc.), and the false gods adored in the kingdom of Samaria, which had their false prophets, and consequently their oracles. Hosea (iv, 12) reproaches Israel with consulting wooden idols, as does the book of Wisdom (xiii, 10, 17) and the prophet Habakkuk (ii, 10). See Idolatrv. For the (temoniacal responses referred to in Acts xvi, 16, see Pythoness.