Monday, December 29, 2014

Prophetic Gifts during the Intertestamental Period

Some claim that, during the intertestamental period, there was no divine inspiration (Roger Beckwith et al. make this claim, usually in attempts to “counter” the canonicity of the Apocrypha books canonised at Trent in 1546; see his 1985 book, The Old Testament Canon of the New Testament Church). However, at best, one could argue that within some quarters of Judaism, there was a belief in the cessation of the prophetic gift, as it is rather demonstrable that prophetic gifts were (at least claimed to be) in the possession of certain individuals and writers. For instance, in the book of Sirach, we read the following:

I will again pour out teaching like prophecy, and leave it to all future generations. (Sirach 24:33 [NRSV])

If the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with the spirit of understanding; he will pour forth words of wisdom of his own and give thanks to the Lord in his prayer. (Sirach 39:6 [NRSV])


As an aside, for a recent book that interacts with Beckwith's (errant) claims on this and other issues, see Timothy H. Lim, The Formation of the Jewish Canon (Yale University Press, 2013). Others, such as Lee Martin McDonald, have previously interacted with Beckwith's 1985 tome.