Texts in Conversation
Judges 7 follows a pattern based on Babylonian omen-dreams, where ordinary people receive divine omens in dreams and have them interpreted by others, often affecting the outcome of important battles or other events.
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ARM 26
The Mari Archives
Ancient Near East
On the very day I send this tablet of mine to my lord, Malik-Dagan of Šakka came here to tell me, “In my dream I, along with a man accompanying me, was set to go from the Saggaratum district, through the upper district, to Mari. Ahead of me, I entered Terqa. As I was entering, I entered the temple of Dagan and I went prostrate before Dagan. During my prostration, Dagan opened his mouth to say this, ‘Have the Yaminite kings and their troops made peace with the troops of Zimrilim who has come up?’ I said, ‘They did not.’ Just before I left, he said, ‘Why are Zimrilim’s messengers not before me on a regular basis? Why is he not setting before me full reports? Had it been otherwise, long ago, I would have delivered the Yaminite kings into Zimrilim’s hand. Now go! I am sending you to Zimrilim and you are to tell him, ‘Send your messengers to me and set a full report before me and I will set before you the Yaminite kings, having them wriggle in a fisherman’s wooden casket.’” This is what the man saw in his dream, revealing it to me. I am now writing this report to my lord. My lord should look into this dream. Another matter: If it pleases my lord, he should set a full report before Dagan. Messengers from my lord should be regular. Because the man who told this dream is to make a pagrûm-offering to Dagan, I have not sent him to my lord. Moreover, because this man is reliable, I have not taken from his hair or the fringe of his garment.
Date: 1800 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Judges 7:13
Hebrew Bible
12 Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east covered the valley like a swarm of locusts. Their camels could not be counted; they were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore. 13 When Gideon arrived, he heard a man telling another man about a dream he had. The man said, “Look! I had a dream. I saw a stale cake of barley bread rolling into the Midianite camp. It hit a tent so hard it knocked it over and turned it upside down. The tent just collapsed.” 14 The other man said, “Without a doubt this symbolizes the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God is handing Midian and all the army over to him.” 15 When Gideon heard the report of the dream and its interpretation, he praised God. Then he went back to the Israelite camp and said, “Get up, for the Lord is handing the Midianite army over to you!”
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Notes and References
"... Against all these dreams which were dreamt by kings, concern mighty peoples, and require god-inspired interpreters, the dream incident reported in Judges 7:13 forms a marked and interesting contrast. Here, a “symbolic” dream of a more primitive nature, yet endowed with the persuasiveness of a genuine experience, is told by a common soldier and promptly interpreted by another. The entire episode, the dream and its interpretation, occurs in the camp of the enemy for whom the dream portends evil. However, through a direct intervention of the Lord, Gideon, the leader of the Israelites, is made to overhear the relation of the dream as well as its interpretation. He gladly “accepts” the prediction it contains as an encouraging omen given to him by his god ..."
Oppenheim, A. Leo
The Interpretation of dreams in the Ancient Near East
(p. 210) American Philosophical Society, 1956
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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