Reference: Dreams
Hastings
Sleep impressed primitive savages as a great mystery; and they consequently attributed a peculiar significance to the dreams of sleepers, as phenomena which they could not control by their will or explain by their reason. In the lowest stage of culture all dreams were regarded as objectively real experiences; the god or spirit actually visited the dreamer, the events dreamed actually occurred. Hence any one who was subject to frequent dreaming was looked on as a special medium of Divine energy, and many sought to produce the state by artificial means, e.g. fasting or the use of drugs. In process of time dreams came to be treated rather as Divine warnings than as actual occurrences. Such admonitions could be deliberately sought, e.g. by sleeping in a sacred spot, such as the temples of Asklepios or Serapis or the grotto of Trophonius; or they could come unsought, when the gods wished either to reveal or to deceive. (Plato, however, while allowing that the gods may send dreams, denies that they can wish to deceive men). Thus, for instance, among the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Arabs, the Egyptians, a profound importance was attached to dreams; there were professional interpreters of them (cf. Ge 40:5,8; 41:1; Da 2:5), and manuals were compiled to aid the work of elucidation (cf. the Oneirocritica of Artemidorus of Ephesus). Wiser theorists might discriminate between dreams, but popular superstition tended to regard them all as omens, to be explained, as far as possible, in accordance with definite rules.
1. Among the Jews.
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Then God went in unto Abimelech, in a dream of the night, - and said to him, Behold thee dead! because of the woman whom thou hast taken, seeing that, she, is a married woman.
And he dreamed, and lo! a stairway, planted earthwards, with, its top, reaching towards the heavens, - and lo! messengers of God, ascending and descending thereon; and lo! Yahweh, standing by him, - and he said, I, am Yahweh, God of Abraham thy father and God of Isaac, - The land whereon, thou, art lying, to thee, will I give it and to thy seed; read more. And thy seed shall become as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt break forth westward and eastward, and northward and southward, - And all the families of the ground shall be blessed in thee and in thy seed. Lo! then, I, am with thee, so will I keep thee in every place whithersoever thou mayest go, and will bring thee back unto this soil, - For I will not forsake thee until I have done that of which I have spoken to thee. And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and said. Surely, Yahweh was in this place, And I, knew it not. And he feared and said, How fearful is this place! None other this, than the house of God! Nor this than the gate of the heavens So Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone which he halt lint for his pillow, and put it for a pillar, - and poured out oil upon the top thereof; and called the name of that place - Beth-el, - nevertheless, Luz, was the name of the city, aforetime.
And it came to pass in the season when the flock were in heat, then lifted I mine eyes and beheld in a dream, - and lo! the he-goats that were leaping upon the flock, were ring-straked speckled and dappled.
And he said unto them, Hear ye I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Then dreamed he, yet another, dream, and related it to his brethren, and said: - Lo! I have dreamed a dream, yet again, Lo! then, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, were bowing themselves down to me.
And they dreamed a dream they two, each man, his dream in one night, each man, according to the interpretation of his dream, - the butler and the baker who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were imprisoned in the prison.
And they said unto him, A dream, have we dreamed, but there is none, to interpret, it. Then said Joseph unto them - Is it not unto God, that interpretations belong? Relate it. I pray you, to me.
And they said unto him, A dream, have we dreamed, but there is none, to interpret, it. Then said Joseph unto them - Is it not unto God, that interpretations belong? Relate it. I pray you, to me.
And it came to pass at the end of two years of days, that, Pharaoh, was dreaming, when lo! he was standing by the river (Nile);
Then said Joseph unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh, is, one. What God is about to do hath he announced to Pharaoh.
Then said he Hear, I beseech you my words. When ye have your prophet, As Yahweh in a vision, will I make myself known, unto him; In a dream, will I speak with him. Not so, my servant Moses, - In all my house, trusty, is he: read more. Mouth to mouth, do I speak with him And plainly - not in dark sayings, And the form of Yahweh, doth he discern, - Wherefore then, were ye not afraid to speak against my servant - against Moses?
There shall not be found in thy midst - One who causeth his son or his daughter to pass through fire, - Or who useth divination, hidden arts or enchantments Or who muttereth incantations; Or who bindeth with spells, - Or who asketh of a familiar spirit or an oracle, Or who seeketh unto the dead.
And Gideon came in, and lo! a man relating to his neighbour a dream, - and he said - Lo! a dream, have I dreamt, and lo! a round cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came as far as the tent - and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, and the tent lay along.
And Samuel said unto Saul, Wherefore hast thou disquieted me, by bringing me up? And Saul said - I am in sore distress, for, the Philistines, are making war against me, and, God, hath turned away from me, and answereth me no more - either by means of the prophets, or by dreams, therefore have I even called for thee, to let me know, what I am to do.
In Gibeon, Yahweh appeared unto Solomon, in a dream by night, - and God said, Ask, what I shall give thee.
In a dream, a vision of the night, when a deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed,
For it was done amidst a multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words, - but, towards God, be thou reverent.
I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy in my name falsely, saying, - I have dreamed! I have dreamed!
The prophet with whom is a dream, Let him relate it as a dream, And he with whom is my word, Let him speak my word as truth, - What is the chaff to the wheat? Demandeth Yahweh:
Behold me! against such as prophesy the dreams of falsehood, Declareth Yahweh, who have related them and led astray my people, with their falsehoods and with their recklessness, - whereas, I, had not sent them nor commanded them, so that they could be of no, profit, to this people, Declareth Yahweh.
Ye, therefore do not ye hearken unto your prophets, nor unto your diviners, nor unto your dreams, nor unto your users of hidden arts nor unto your mutterers of incantations, - in that, they, are speaking unto you saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;
For Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts God of Israel, Let not your prophets that are in your midst nor your diviners beguile you, - Neither hearken ye unto your dreams which ye are dreaming;
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word from me, is unalterable: If ye shall not make known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and, your houses, into a dunghill, shall be turned;
but there is a God in the heavens, who revealeth secrets, and hath made known to King Nebuchadnezzar, what shall come to pass, in the afterpart of the days: Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are, these: -
In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel, beheld, a dream, and visions of his head upon his bed, - then, the dream, he wrote, the sum of the matters, he told.
For, the household gods, have spoken vanity, and, the diviners, have had vision of falsehood, and, deceitful dreams, do they relate, vainly, do they console, - for this reason, have they moved about like a flock, they suffer ill, because there is no shepherd.
But, when, these things, he had pondered, lo! a messenger of the Lord, by dream, appeared to him, saying, - Joseph, son of David! do not fear to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for, that which, in her, hath been begotten, is of the , Holy, Spirit.
Now, when they had retired, lo! a messenger of the Lord, appeareth by dream unto Joseph, saying, Arise, take unto thee the child and its mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there, until I tell thee, - for Herod is about to seek the child, to destroy it.
saying - Arise! and take unto thee the child and its mother, and be journeying into the land of Israel, - for they are dead, who were seeking the life of the child.
But, on the following night, the Lord, standing over him, said - Be of good courage! for, as thou hast fully borne witness of the things concerning me in Jerusalem, so must thou, in Rome also, bear witness.
For there stood by me this night, belonging unto the God whose I am, unto whom also I am doing divine service, a messenger,
Morish
Though associated in some passages with trifles and vanities, Job 7:14; Ec 5:7, there is yet abundant evidence in the scriptures that God often conveyed His mind to people by means of dreams, and this not only to those who obeyed Him, but also to the heathen. Ge 20:3,6; Jg 7:13. "God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed: then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction, that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man." Job 33:14-17. God said that He would instruct His prophets in dreams. Nu 12:6. He also used dreams in the case of Nebuchadnezzar and of Daniel in order to reveal His will and purpose concerning, the future.
Joseph, the reputed father of the Lord, was directed several times by means of dreams; and Pilate was warned by his wife to have nothing to do with that just man because of what she had suffered in a dream. Mt 1:20; 2:12-22; 27:19. It is to be remarked that in the last days when God pours out His Spirit on all flesh the sons and daughters will prophesy, and the young men shall see visions, and the old men shall dream dreams. Joe 2:28; Ac 2:17. This will be the way that God will make known His mind in those days.
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Then God went in unto Abimelech, in a dream of the night, - and said to him, Behold thee dead! because of the woman whom thou hast taken, seeing that, she, is a married woman.
And God said unto him in a dream, I, also, knew, that in the integrity of thy heart, thou didst this, so then, even I myself, withheld thee from sinning against me, for this reason, have I not suffered thee to touch her.
Then said he Hear, I beseech you my words. When ye have your prophet, As Yahweh in a vision, will I make myself known, unto him; In a dream, will I speak with him.
And Gideon came in, and lo! a man relating to his neighbour a dream, - and he said - Lo! a dream, have I dreamt, and lo! a round cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came as far as the tent - and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, and the tent lay along.
Then thou scarest me with dreams, and, by visions, dost thou terrify me:
For, in one way, GOD may speak, - and, in a second way, one may not heed it: - In a dream, a vision of the night, when a deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed, read more. Then, uncovereth he the ear of men, and, on their correction, affixeth a seal; To turn a son of earth from his deed, while yet, pride, from man he concealeth:
For it was done amidst a multitude of dreams, and vanities, and many words, - but, towards God, be thou reverent.
And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters, shall prophesy, - your old men, shall dream, dreams, your young men, shall see, visions;
But, when, these things, he had pondered, lo! a messenger of the Lord, by dream, appeared to him, saying, - Joseph, son of David! do not fear to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for, that which, in her, hath been begotten, is of the , Holy, Spirit.
and, being instructed by dream, not to return unto Herod, by another way, retired they unto their own country. Now, when they had retired, lo! a messenger of the Lord, appeareth by dream unto Joseph, saying, Arise, take unto thee the child and its mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there, until I tell thee, - for Herod is about to seek the child, to destroy it. read more. And, he, arising, took unto him the child and its mother, by night, and retired into Egypt; and was there, until the death of Herod, - that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt, called I my son. Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly enraged, - and sent and slew all the male children that were in Bethlehem, and in all its bounds, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men. Then was fulfilled, that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying: A voice, in Ramah, was heard, weeping and great mourning, - Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, - because they are not. But, when Herod was, dead, lo! a messenger of the Lord, appeareth by dream unto Joseph in Egypt; saying - Arise! and take unto thee the child and its mother, and be journeying into the land of Israel, - for they are dead, who were seeking the life of the child. And, he, arising, took unto him the child and its mother, and entered into the land of Israel. Hearing, however, that, Archelaus, was reigning over Judaea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid, thither, to go, - and so, being instructed by dream, he retired into the parts of Galilee;
And, as he was sitting upon the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that righteous man, for, many things, have I suffered this day, by dream, because of him.
And it shall be, in the last days saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and, your young men, visions shall see and, your elders, in dreams shall dream, -
Smith
Dreams.
The Scripture declares that the influence of the Spirit of God upon the soul extends to its sleeping as well as its waking thoughts. But, in accordance with the principle enunciated by St. Paul in
dreams, in which the understanding is asleep, are placed below the visions of prophecy, in which the understanding plays its part. Under the Christian dispensation, while we read frequently of trances and vision, dreams are never referred to as vehicles of divine revelation. In exact accordance with this principle are the actual records of the dreams sent by God. The greater number of such dreams were granted, for prediction or for warning, to those who were aliens to the Jewish covenant. And where dreams are recorded as means of God's revelation to his chosen servants, they are almost always referred to the periods of their earliest and most imperfect knowledge of him. Among the Jews, "if any person dreamed a dream which was peculiarly striking and significant, he was permitted to go to the high priest in a peculiar way, and see if it had any special import. But the observance of ordinary dreams and the consulting of those who pretend to skill in their interpretation are repeatedly forbidden.
De 13:1-5; 18:9-14
Schaff.
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When there shall arise in thy midst - a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, - and he shall give unto thee a sign or a wonder; and the sign or the wonder shall come in, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, - Let us go after other gods, which ye know not and let us serve them read more. thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams, - for Yahweh your God, is putting you to the proof, to know whether ye do love Yahweh your God, with all your heart and with all your soul. After Yahweh your God, shall ye walk And him, shall ye revere, - And his commandments, shall ye observe. And unto his voice, shall ye hearken, And him, shall ye serve And unto him, shall ye cleave. And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death because he hath spoken revolt against Yahweh your God, - who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt and redeemed thee out of the house of servants, to seduce thee out of the way wherein Yahweh shy God hath commanded thee to walk, - so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst.
When thou art coming into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominable doings of those nations. There shall not be found in thy midst - One who causeth his son or his daughter to pass through fire, - Or who useth divination, hidden arts or enchantments Or who muttereth incantations; read more. Or who bindeth with spells, - Or who asketh of a familiar spirit or an oracle, Or who seeketh unto the dead. For, an abomination unto Yahweh, is everyone who doeth these things, - and on account of these abominations, is Yahweh thy God dispossessing them from before thee. Blameless, shalt thou be with, Yahweh thy God; for, these nations whom thou art dispossessing, unto them who use hidden arts and unto diviners, do hearken, but as for thee, not so, doth Yahweh thy God suffer thee.
What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray also with the mind, - I will strike the strings with the spirit, butI will strike the strings also with the mind.
Watsons
DREAMS. The easterns, in particular the Jews, greatly regarded dreams, and applied for their interpretation to those who undertook to explain them. The ancient Greeks and Romans had the same opinion of them, as appears from their most eminent writers. We see the antiquity of this attention to dreams in the history of Pharaoh's butler and baker, Genesis 40. Pharaoh himself, and Nebuchadnezzar, are instances. God expressly condemned to death all who pretended to have prophetic dreams, and to foretel futurities, even though what they foretold came to pass, if they had any tendency to promote idolatry, De 13:1-3. But the people were not forbidden, when they thought they had a significative dream, to address the prophets of the Lord, or the high priest in his ephod, to have it explained. Saul, before the battle of Gilboa, consulted a woman who had a familiar spirit, "because the Lord would not answer him by dreams, nor by prophets," 1Sa 28:6-7. The Lord himself sometimes discovered his will in dreams, and enabled persons to explain them. He informed Abimelech in a dream, that Sarah was the wife of Abraham, Ge 20:3,6. He showed Jacob the mysterious ladder in a dream, Ge 28:12-13; and in a dream an angel suggested to him a means of multiplying his flocks, Ge 31:11-12, &c. Joseph was favoured very early with prophetic dreams, whose signification was easily discovered by Jacob, Ge 37:5. God said, that he spake to other prophets in dreams, but to Moses face to face. The Midianites gave credit to dreams, as appears from that which a Midianite related to his companion; and from whose interpretation Gideon took a happy omen, Jg 7:13,15. The Prophet Jeremiah exclaims against impostors who pretended to have had dreams, and abused the credulity of the people: "They prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed. The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him tell it faithfully, saith the Lord," Jer 23:25,28-29. The Prophet Joel promises from God, that in the reign of the Messiah, the effusion of the Holy Spirit should be so copious, that the old men should have prophetic dreams, and the young men should receive visions, Joe 2:28.
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Then God went in unto Abimelech, in a dream of the night, - and said to him, Behold thee dead! because of the woman whom thou hast taken, seeing that, she, is a married woman.
And God said unto him in a dream, I, also, knew, that in the integrity of thy heart, thou didst this, so then, even I myself, withheld thee from sinning against me, for this reason, have I not suffered thee to touch her.
And he dreamed, and lo! a stairway, planted earthwards, with, its top, reaching towards the heavens, - and lo! messengers of God, ascending and descending thereon; and lo! Yahweh, standing by him, - and he said, I, am Yahweh, God of Abraham thy father and God of Isaac, - The land whereon, thou, art lying, to thee, will I give it and to thy seed;
And the messenger of God said unto me in a dream, Jacob! and I said, Behold me! Then he said Lift, I pray thee, thine eyes and behold All, the he-goats that are leaping upon the flock are ring-straked, speckled, and dappled, - for I have seen all that Laban, has been doing to thee.
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brethren, and they went on yet more to hate him.
When there shall arise in thy midst - a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, - and he shall give unto thee a sign or a wonder; and the sign or the wonder shall come in, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, - Let us go after other gods, which ye know not and let us serve them read more. thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams, - for Yahweh your God, is putting you to the proof, to know whether ye do love Yahweh your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.
And Gideon came in, and lo! a man relating to his neighbour a dream, - and he said - Lo! a dream, have I dreamt, and lo! a round cake of barley bread tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came as far as the tent - and smote it that it fell, and turned it upside down, and the tent lay along.
And it was so, when Gideon heard the story of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he bowed himself down, - and returned unto the camp of Israel, and said - Arise! for Yahweh hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.
Then Saul enquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh answered him not, - neither by Dreams, nor by the Lights, nor by prophets. Then said Saul unto his servants - Seek me out a woman that owneth a familiar spirit, that I may even go unto her, and enquire of her. And his servants said unto him, Lo! there is a woman that owneth a familiar spirit in En-dor.
I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy in my name falsely, saying, - I have dreamed! I have dreamed!
The prophet with whom is a dream, Let him relate it as a dream, And he with whom is my word, Let him speak my word as truth, - What is the chaff to the wheat? Demandeth Yahweh: Is not my word, like this, Like fire? Demandeth Yahweh, - And like a hammer, that breaketh in pieces a cliff?
And it shall come to pass, afterwards, I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters, shall prophesy, - your old men, shall dream, dreams, your young men, shall see, visions;