inspiration, the filling with or domination
by spirit.
This concept first appears in biblical
materials as a way of describing and understanding certain types of oral
discourse. In ancient Israel, prophecy was understood as being uttered
under the influence of God’s Spirit (e.g., Num. 24:2) or spirits
(1 Kings 22:19-23). Sometimes this was evident in peculiar behavior by
the prophets (e.g., 1 Sam. 10:6); at other times, it appears simply as
a claim to divine authorization (e.g., Isa. 61:1).
The experience of prophetic inspiration apparently declined in Israel
along with the prophetic institution itself (see Zech. 13:2-6), and the
early rabbis did not approve of claims to special inspiration on the part
of their contemporaries. Such claims were revived, however, among the
early Christians. They understood the giving of the Spirit as a sign of
the last times (Acts 2:16-18), as a mark of full assimilation into the
Christian community (e.g., Heb. 6:4), and as a source not only of prophecy
but of other functions vital to or common in the life of the churches
(1 Cor. 12:4-11). As in the earlier tradition, the nt writings are not
uniform as to whether there is one spirit involved or several (1 John
4:1-3; 1 Cor. 14:32).
The concept of inspiration is applied to written documents in 2 Tim. 3:16.
The same idea may also be implied in Heb. 3:7 and 9:8, which describe
the Spirit as speaking through the words or provisions of Scripture. As
in earlier references to the inspiration of oral discourse, the inspiration
of written works is seen as evidenced in the authority and utility of
the results.
The idea of an inspired text was perhaps implicit even earlier. Some of
the translators who produced the Old Greek Version of the Jewish scriptures
(the lxx) made an effort to find an equivalent Greek term for every Hebrew
word, even at the expense of making sense in Greek. This tendency was
carried still further by a later redactor, Aquila—sometimes to the
point of complete absurdity. Ancient commentators also proceeded at times
as if the most minute details of the biblical text were fraught with meaning.
On the other hand, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest library of biblical
manuscripts we have, show a certain indifference to exact preservation
of texts, and biblical interpreters at Qumran and in the nt sometimes
cite their texts very loosely.
Speculation about modes and effects of inspiration continued and expanded
in later Christianity. The Spirit’s work has been described by a
variety of metaphors, such as playing on a musical instrument or giving
dictation to a secretary. Inspiration was understood to constitute the
inspired utterance, even in its written form, as the Word of God, but
this expression could mean a variety of things to different interpreters.
There has often been a sense that the biblical interpreter as well as
the original author stands in need of inspiration, and this continues
the original oral context of the whole notion of inspiration. See also
Holy Spirit, The; Prophet; Revelation; Scrolls, The Dead Sea; Septuagint;
Spiritual Gifts. L.W.C.
Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society
of Biblical Literature. (1985). Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index.
(1st ed.) (Pages 422-423). San Francisco: Harper & Row.