Texts in Conversation
In the Report of Wenamun, a god seizes a young man at the court of Byblos, and in his frenzy he orders the prince to receive the Egyptian envoy. 1 Samuel 10 describes a similar frenzy when the Spirit of God rushes on Saul and he prophesies.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Report of Wenamun 1:18
Papyrus Moscow 120
Ancient Near East
I spent nineteen days in his [harbor], and he continually sent to me daily, saying: “Take yourself away from my harbor.” Now, when he sacrificed to his gods ..., the god seized one of his noble youths, making him frenzied, so that he said: “Bring [the god] here! Bring the messenger of Amon who has him. Send him, and let him go.” Now, while the frenzied (youth) continued in frenzy during this night, I found a ship bound for Egypt, and I loaded all my belongings into it. I waited for the darkness, saying: “When it descends I will embark the god also, in order that no other eye may see him.”
1 Samuel 10:10
Hebrew Bible
5 Afterward you will go to Gibeah of God, where there are Philistine officials. When you enter the town, you will meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place. They will have harps, tambourines, flutes, and lyres, and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you and you will prophesy with them. You will be changed into a different person. 7 “When these signs have taken place, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God will be with you. 8 You will go down to Gilgal before me. I am going to join you there to offer burnt offerings and to make peace offerings. You should wait for seven days until I arrive and tell you what to do.” 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed his inmost person. All these signs happened on that very day. 10 When Saul and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a company of prophets was coming out to meet him. Then the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul and he prophesied among them. 11 When everyone who had known him previously saw him prophesying with the prophets, the people asked one another, “What on earth has happened to the son of Kish? Does even Saul belong with the prophets?”
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Notes and References
“... The reduction of Egypt’s international influence is reflected in the story of Wenamun, a messenger sent to Byblos near the end of Ramesses XI’s reign (ca. 1080–1070 B.C.E.) to obtain a supply of lumber. Despite his official mission, he was robbed along the way and treated rudely by Zerkarbaal, the king of Byblos, who ordered him to leave with the retort, “I am not the servant of the one who sent you.” This episode is a far cry from that of earlier days when Egyptian officials were feared and honored. Wen-amun was successful only after his god, Amun, took possession of a court seer and ordered the king to receive Wen-amun. This ecstatic prophet parallels both Israelite and non-Israelite ecstatics in the biblical literature, including Balaam (Num 24:3-4, 15-16), Baal’s prophets (1 Kings 18:21), Saul and two groups of ecstatic prophets, the second of which was led by Samuel (1 Sam 10:5-13; 19:18-24), Elisha (2 Kings 3:15), and perhaps Jeremiah (cf. Jer 20:9; 23:9). In short, this phenomenon was not unique to biblical Israel, and as we will see in Chapter 6, it was found elsewhere as well. ...”
* 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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