Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present and briefly discuss some aspects of the work of Yuri Lotman and the Tartu School of Semiotics that may contribute to research on the interpretation of prophecy in antiquity. I argue that this approach helps us to avoid culturally insensitive evaluations of earlier practices and makes us more aware of our own limitations as observers. The discussion centres on some contemporary approaches to the hermeneutics of prophecy in the Qumran pesharim, but it is argued that the theoretical perspective presented here is applicable to both the early Jewish and the early Christian contexts.