# The Prophetic Practice of the Mitnabot ## Ancient Prophetic Ecstasy ### In the Ancient Near East Let us begin with some background by Martti Nissinen in his book *Ancient Prophecy - Near Eastern, Biblical and Greek Perspectives*: ![[Nissinen on Prophetic Ecstasy in Near East]] ### Ecstatic Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible We will begin our exploration of the prophetic practices of the *mitnabot* by focusing on the phenomenon of *hitnabut* (התנבאות, "prophesying" or "speaking in ecstasy") in the Hebrew Bible. *Hitnabut* is not the same as *nevuah* (נבואה), usually translated simply as prophecy. Those who engage in *hitnabut* are *mitnabim*, while those who engage in *nevuah* are *nevi'im*. These words share the same Hebrew root, נבא, and are not absolutely distinct categories. Many prophets (*nevi'im*) probably also were sometimes speakers-in-ecstacy (מתנבאים). However, the two states are at the same time distinct. *Hitnabut* , speaking in ecstasy, is associated with trancelike altered states of consciousness. These states are associated with playing music, dancing, rolling around naked in the desert and other unusual behaviors. Unlike *nevuah*, the *mitnabim* are not described as transmitting divine messages, but rather as embodying the divine spirit, which drives them out of their (regular state of) mind. In this sense, *mitnabim* are people engaged in what today would be called mystical practices, which lead them into non-ordinary states of consciousness, but not into becoming leaders and legislators like Moses and Samuel. The *mitnabim* are a decidedly more sketchy crowd, at least from a biblical perspective, than the famous prophets of whom you have heard. There is a somewhat pejorative tone in the Bible's description of them and their activities. They seem to be a somewhat marginal group in Israelite society, a bit too strange and other worldly for mainstream culture to feel fully comfortable with them. I suggest we imagine the *mitnabot* as prophetesses in the tradition of these speakers-in-ecstasy. As descendants of the *mitnabim* described above, they are a kind of counter-culture. At the same time, *hitnabut*, even if somewhat bizarre, is still about connecting with God, even being possessed by the divine spirit, so that it is an ideal held in esteem by the Israelite world. Let us dive into the biblical descriptions of the *mitnabim*. From here we derive a model of how to imagine the *mitnabot* . #### The Anointing of Saul ![[Samuel 10 JPS 1985]] Alternative Translation: [[The Anointing of Saul - Robert Alter]] **Here is the Jewish Study Bible on the selection above (Bar-Efrat and Brettler):** ![[Jewish Study Bible on the Anointing of Shaul - Shmuel 1-10]] #### The Biblical Portrayal of the Mitnabim as the Basis for Imagining the Mitnabot ![[The Biblical Portrayal of the Band of Prophets]] #### Saul's Second Prophetic Experience ![[Samuel 1 19 JPS 1985]] #### Nissinen on Saul and the Bands of Prophets ![[Nissinen on Prophetic Ecstasy among the Israelites]] #### Additional Examples of התנבאות / Speaking-in-Ecstasy in the Hebrew Bible ##### Eldad and Meidad Speaking in Ecstasy ![[Eldad and Meidad Speaking in Ecstasy]] ##### Musical Prophesying ![[Musical Prophesying in Chronicles]] ##### Saul Raves [ויתנבא] because of the Evil Spirit ![[Saul Raves because of the Evil Spirit]] ##### The Prophets of Ba'al Rave ![[The Prophets of Ba'al Rave]] ##### Prophesying before the Kings of Judah and Israel ![[Prophesying before the Kings of Judah and Israel]]