Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book. The book examines the role that divination played in the first three centuries of the Roman Empire, concentrating on the role of prophets, prophecy, and oracles for the Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman cultures. These particular cultures were selected, because they provide the fullest extant evidence base, and because they have long been the subject of scholarly attention. This allows the readers to readily identify broad trends in the uses of prophecy and oracles for each group. These three cultures are also a natural choice for comparison, because divination formed a part of the religious and political relationships between them. For each culture, the book presents a brief survey of each group, with a concentration on the period of heightened activity.