Prophecy was a wide-spread phenomenon in the ancient world - not only in ancient Israel but in
the whole Eastern Mediterranean cultural sphere. This is demonstrated by documents from the
ancient Near East that have been the object of Martti Nissinen's research for more than twenty
years. Nissinen's studies have had a formative influence on the study of the prophetic
phenomenon. The present volume presents a selection of thirty-one essays bringing together
essential aspects of prophetic divination in the ancient Near East. The first section of the
volume discusses prophecy from theoretical perspectives. The second sections contains studies
on prophecy in texts from Mari and Assyria and other cuneiform sources. The third section
discusses biblical prophecy in its ancient Near Eastern context while the fourth section
focuses on prophets and prophecy in the Hebrew Bible Old Testament. Even prophecy in the Dead
Sea Scrolls is discussed in the fifth section. The articles are essential reading for anyone
studying ancient prophetic phenomenon.
