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Ancient Near East Monographs #21
Perchance to Dream: Dream Divination in the Bible and the Ancient Near East
Essays from an international group of experts This book examines the interpretation of dreams, which were thought to contain divine messages in the ancient Near East. The essays, written by scholars specializing in different regions and bodies of literature, shed light on dream divination in the Bible, the Talmud, and in writings from Canaan, Mesopotamia, and Hittite Anatolia. Contributors include Franziska Ede, Esther J. Hamori, Koowon Kim, Christopher Metcalf, Alice Mouton, Scott B. Noegel, Andrew B. Perrin, Stephen C. Russell, Jonathan Stökl, and Haim Weiss.
228 pages, Hardcover
Published May 4, 2018
About the author
Esther J. Hamori
4 books17 followersProfessor Esther J. Hamori earned her B.A. at Sarah Lawrence College with a major in Violin Performance in 1994. She received the M.Div. at Yale Divinity School in 1997, and her Ph.D. from the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University in 2004. Before joining the Union faculty she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, and visiting faculty at Sarah Lawrence College.
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
January 31, 2026
A collection of essays regarding dream divination in ancient near eastern literature and the Bible. I wasn't overly impressed by the essays and didn't feel like I actually learned or gained much. I found some of the literary critique a bit over-reaching at times such as in Chapter 4: Maleness, Memory, and the Matter of Dream Divination - which claims dreams are connected with male sexuality. The remarks about Absalom's monument were enlightening (it was a phallic symbol) because he had no sons. But otherwise, the conclusion was unsatisfactory.
Chapter 5: Dreams in the Joseph Narrative, didn't satisfy either. The chapter was fairly redundant going through the dream narrative with a conclusion that Joseph’s ability to communicate to others the interpretations of dreams is directly related to his exceptional relation with the deity. Which wasn't anything new.
Chapter 6: Samuel’s Theophany and the Politics of Religious Dreams - This chapter was a bit more interesting when compared to the Sumerian Legend of Sargon and the difference of Samuel not knowing who was calling to him and Eli having to discern it. The chapter goes through the announcement of Eli's house being taken away and also compares it to the Kingdom being torn from Saul - though I think the connections between 1 Sam 3 and 15 might be a stretch. They could be a foreshadow, I suppose, but the author didn't really impress me with his opinion.
I wasn't impressed with Chapter 7: Daniel and the “Prophetization” of Dream Divination - as the author takes a liberal approach to the Book of Daniel as being fictitious. As a conservative Christian I do not adhere to the view of Daniel being written around 164 BC - at the time of the Maccabees. So this chapter, which was one I was originally looking forward to, fell flat and was an utter disappointment for me.
Chapter 9: “All the Dreams Follow the Mouth”: Dreamers and Interpreters in Rabbinic Literature - This chapter was interesting as it reviewed the Bar-Hedya Story. In summary, the uninterpreted dream has no effect in reality; as long as it has not been subject to the interpreter’s verbal interpretation, it is merely a potential waiting to be realized. The dream has no one intrinsic meaning to be exposed, but a constructed meaning to be fashioned in the course of the interpretive process. The interpreter does not so much mediate between dream signifiers and their real-world meaning, but creates a new reality through the magical power of speech.
I found this literary conclusion in the Rabbinic Literature of interest in consideration of Dean Radin's books regarding the power of words and Real Magic. I take it as an excellent warning and an illumination as to why interpretation belongs to God - though the author does not make these connections, whatsoever.
For the few nuggets of interest I give this book 2 stars. I'm glad I found the PDF Version of Perchance to Dream as opposed to having spent over $50 for a hardcover book. Unfortunately this is not a book I see as being useful in my library, so the free PDF viewing was a blessing for my checkbook.
Chapter 5: Dreams in the Joseph Narrative, didn't satisfy either. The chapter was fairly redundant going through the dream narrative with a conclusion that Joseph’s ability to communicate to others the interpretations of dreams is directly related to his exceptional relation with the deity. Which wasn't anything new.
Chapter 6: Samuel’s Theophany and the Politics of Religious Dreams - This chapter was a bit more interesting when compared to the Sumerian Legend of Sargon and the difference of Samuel not knowing who was calling to him and Eli having to discern it. The chapter goes through the announcement of Eli's house being taken away and also compares it to the Kingdom being torn from Saul - though I think the connections between 1 Sam 3 and 15 might be a stretch. They could be a foreshadow, I suppose, but the author didn't really impress me with his opinion.
I wasn't impressed with Chapter 7: Daniel and the “Prophetization” of Dream Divination - as the author takes a liberal approach to the Book of Daniel as being fictitious. As a conservative Christian I do not adhere to the view of Daniel being written around 164 BC - at the time of the Maccabees. So this chapter, which was one I was originally looking forward to, fell flat and was an utter disappointment for me.
Chapter 9: “All the Dreams Follow the Mouth”: Dreamers and Interpreters in Rabbinic Literature - This chapter was interesting as it reviewed the Bar-Hedya Story. In summary, the uninterpreted dream has no effect in reality; as long as it has not been subject to the interpreter’s verbal interpretation, it is merely a potential waiting to be realized. The dream has no one intrinsic meaning to be exposed, but a constructed meaning to be fashioned in the course of the interpretive process. The interpreter does not so much mediate between dream signifiers and their real-world meaning, but creates a new reality through the magical power of speech.
I found this literary conclusion in the Rabbinic Literature of interest in consideration of Dean Radin's books regarding the power of words and Real Magic. I take it as an excellent warning and an illumination as to why interpretation belongs to God - though the author does not make these connections, whatsoever.
For the few nuggets of interest I give this book 2 stars. I'm glad I found the PDF Version of Perchance to Dream as opposed to having spent over $50 for a hardcover book. Unfortunately this is not a book I see as being useful in my library, so the free PDF viewing was a blessing for my checkbook.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review