The filling with or domination by spirit. This concept first appears in biblical materials as a way of describing and understanding certain types of oral discourse. In ancient Israel, prophecy was understood as being uttered under the influence of God’s Spirit (Num 24:2) or spirits (1Kgs 22:19-23). Sometimes this was evident in peculiar behavior by the prophets (1Sam 10:6); at other times, it appears simply as a claim to divine authorization (Isa 61:1). Such claims were revived among the early Christians, who understood the giving of the Spirit as a sign of the last times (Acts 2:16-18) and as a source not only of prophecy, but of other functions vital to or common in the life of the churches (1Cor 12:4-11). The concept of inspiration is applied to written documents in (2Tim 3:16). The same idea may also be implied in (Heb 3:7 and Heb 9:8), which describe the Spirit as speaking through the words or provisions of scripture.
