The Notion of Inspiration in Classical, Hellenistic Jewish, and Early Christianity

This paper will begin with an understanding of the meaning of inspiration in biblical and ancient non-biblical texts and whether or to what extent Jewish and Christian authors depended on classical Greek notions of inspiration. There are several parallels but also differences in how ancient Jewish and Christian authors understood divine and human participation in the production of their sacred texts. Were the human authors of those texts writing what was dictated by God or was their styles, grammars, and inadequacies also a part of the production? The most cited classical authors include Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch noting parallels in Philo and Josephus and in early Christian authors such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Augustine. While early Christians widely believed that God was involved in the origin of their sacred scriptures, they often differed on the involvement of human activity in their production. Allegory was often employed to harmonize or clarify those sacred texts and deal with difficulties in them. This raises questions also about the translation of inspired sacred texts and whether they were also inspired by God.