In the

Abrahamic religions The Abrahamic religions are a group of religions centered around worship of the God of Abraham. Abraham, a Hebrew patriarch, is extensively mentioned throughout Abrahamic religious scriptures such as the Bible and the Quran. Jewish tradition ...

, the voice of God is a communication from God to human beings, heard by humans as a sound with no apparent physical source. In rabbinic Judaism, such a voice was known as a ''bat kol'' ( he, בַּת⁠ קוֹל ''baṯ qōl'', literally "daughter of voice"), and was a "heavenly or divine voice which proclaims God's will or judgment."The Jewish Encyclopedia:
BAT ḲOL
': It differed from

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a '' prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pr ...

in that God had a close relationship with the prophet, while the ''bat kol'' could be heard by any individual or group regardless of their level of connection to God.

Hebrew Bible

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 087

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' mass revelation on Sinai was given in that way: "Ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice" (). In this account, God reveals himself to man through the organs of hearing, not through those of sight. Even the prophet Ezekiel, who saw many visions, "heard a voice of one that spoke"; similarly,

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

recognized God by a "still, small voice," and a voice addressed him. Sometimes God's voice rang from the heights, from

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, or from Zion; and God's voice was heard in the thunder and in the roar of the sea.

In later Jewish sources

The phrase ''bat kol'' appears in many Talmudic stories to represent a heavenly or divine voice to human beings. It proclaims God's will or judgment, His deeds and His commandments to individuals or to a number of persons, to rulers, communities, and even to whole nations.

Origin of the name

The phrase ''bat kol'' literally means "daughter of voice" – that is, a small voice – in order to distinguish it from the usual voice. The meaning of the word is "sound," "resonance." In this sense it appears in a secular context: "As oil has no ''bat kol'' hat is, gives no sound so Israel is not heard of in this world..." Similarly, in one passage Divine revelation is said to lack a ''bat kol'' or echo: :Johanan said, 'When God revealed the Torah, no sparrow chirped, no bird flew, no ox lowed;'... 'These words,' says Simeon ben Lakish, 'are to be taken as follows: If one man calls to another, his voice has a ''bat kol''; but the voice proceeding from God has no ''bat kol''... For if a sound had been heard, the priests would have said: 'Baal has answered us.' On Sinai God caused the whole world to be silent, in order that mankind might know there is none besides Him. Originally, however, such Divine communication was also in the Hebrew called ''kol'' (voice) as is shown by the Biblical phrase "There fell a voice from heaven" ( . V. 31; and occasionally in the Talmud it is briefly given as ''kol'' (voice). In the Aramaic versions of the Bible, in the Midrash and Talmud, heavenly revelation is usually introduced with the formula: "A voice fell from heaven," "came from heaven," "was heard," or "proceeded from heaven."

Its nature

The ''bat kol'' was considered to be Divine in origin. In the course of the narrative in Berachot 3a, "God" is put instead of "bat kol"; and not infrequently God, when using the ''bat kol'', is represented as speaking in the first person. Sometimes ''bat kol'' is identified with the Holy Spirit. Despite being identified with the Holy Spirit or even with God, the ''bat kol'' differed essentially from

. The Holy Spirit rested upon the prophets, and the conversations between them were personal and intimate; while those that heard the ''bat kol'' had no relation whatever to the Holy Spirit. The Prophets possessed the Holy Spirit; but the ''bat kol'' could not be possessed: God spoke through it as He did through the Prophets. For this reason, the ''bat kol'' addressed not only righteous individuals, but sinners, common people, or multitudes, both in the Holy Land and abroad. Prophecy was a gift of which not only the prophet but his generation had to be worthy. From this point of view the ''bat kol'' was explained as a lesser gift to Israel than prophecy, but not, as some said, as a lower degree of prophecy.

Content and examples

The ''bat kol'' revealed the Divine will in perfectly intelligible words, usually in the form of a passage from the Bible. According to rabbinical tradition, the ''bat kol'' coexisted with prophecy; that is, at a time when the Holy Spirit rested upon Israel, as well as at other times. Thus the ''bat kol'' spoke to Abraham, Esau, the Israelites at the Sea of Reeds, Moses and Aaron, Saul, David, Solomon, King Manasseh, Nebuchadnezzar, the inhabitants of Sheol, the

Rechabite The Rechabites () are a biblical clan, the descendants of Rechab through Jehonadab. Biblical sources The Rechabites belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the Israelites into the Holy Land and dwelt among them. The main body of the Kenites dwe ...

s, Haman, and those feasting with Ahasuerus. The ''bat kol'' is frequently connected with Moses' death. Rabbinic sources state that "after the death of the last three prophets – Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi – the Holy Spirit departed from Israel; but the ''bat kol'' was still heard." Many stories of its later appearance appear in rabbinic literature. A ''bat kol'' decided between the

Houses of Hillel and Shammai The House of Hillel (Beit Hillel) and House of Shammai (Beit Shammai) were, among Jewish scholars, two schools of thought during the period of tannaim, named after the sages Hillel and Shammai (of the last century BCE and the early 1st century CE) ...

in favor of the House of Hillel.

Shimon bar Yochai Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...

emerged from his stay in a cave only after receiving permission from a ''bat kol''. In the Oven of Akhnai story, a ''bat kol'' declared that the

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

was in accordance with Rabbi Eliezer, yet the other rabbis rejected this declaration on the grounds that the Torah is Not in Heaven. It was said that whenever there is no law, no high-priesthood, and no

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

, a ''bat kol'' cries: "Strengthen ye the weak hands". It is noteworthy that the rabbinical conception of ''bat kol'' sprang up in the period of the decline of Jewish

and flourished in the period of extreme traditionalism. Where the gift of prophecy was believed to be lacking – perhaps even because of this lack – there grew up an inordinate desire for special divine manifestations. Often a voice from heaven was looked for to clear up matters of doubt and even to decide between conflicting interpretations of the law. So strong had this tendency become that Rabbi Joshua (''c''. 100 CE) felt it to be necessary to oppose it and to insist upon the supremacy and the sufficiency of the written law.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

relates that

John Hyrcanus John Hyrcanus (; ''Yōḥānān Hurqanōs''; grc, Ἰωάννης Ὑρκανός, Iōánnēs Hurkanós) was a Hasmonean ( Maccabean) leader and Jewish high priest of the 2nd century BCE (born 164 BCE, reigned from 134 BCE until his death in ...

(135–104 BCE) heard a voice while offering a burnt sacrifice in the

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

, which Josephus expressly interprets as the voice of God.

In Christianity

In the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

mention of “a voice from heaven” occurs in the following passages: ; ; (at the

baptism of Jesus The baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist is a major event in the life of Jesus which is described in the three synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark and Luke). It is considered to have taken place at Al-Maghtas (also called Bet ...

); ; ; (at the transfiguration); (shortly before the Passion); ; ; (

conversion of Paul Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

), and , (instruction of Peter concerning the clean and unclean). It is clear that we have here to do with a conception of the nature and means of divine revelation that is distinctly inferior to the Biblical view. For even in the Biblical passages where mention is made of the voice from heaven, all that is really essential to the revelation is already present, at least in principle, without the audible voice. Christian scholars interpreted Bath Kol as the Jews' replacement for the great prophets when, "after the death of Malachi, the spirit of prophecy wholly ceased in Israel" (taking the name to refer to its being "the daughter" of the main prophetic "voice").

Other media

The generic term "voice of God" is commonly used in theatrical productions and staging, and refers to any anonymous, disembodied voice used to deliver general messages to the audience. Examples may include speaker introductions, audience directions and performer substitutions. The origin of the "Voice of God" narration style was most probably in

Time Inc Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Il ...

's " March of Time" news-radio and news-film series, for which Orson Welles was an occasional voice-over actor, and was subsequently duplicated in Welles' " Citizen Kane" ''News On The March'' sequence (the first reel of the film), much to the delight of Henry R. Luce, Time's president. *

Thomas Szasz Thomas Stephen Szasz ( ; hu, Szász Tamás István ; 15 April 1920 – 8 September 2012) was a Hungarian-American academic and psychiatrist. He served for most of his career as professor of psychiatry at the State University of New York Upstate M ...

Psychiatrist wrote "If you talk to God, you are praying; if God talks to you, you have schizophrenia. If the dead talk to you, you are a spiritualist; if God talks to you, you are a schizophrenic." Book title "The Second Sin" (1973)

People called the "Voice of God"

* Bob Sheppard, public-address announcer for New York Yankees baseball games from 1951 to 2007 and for New York Giants football games from 1956 to 2005 *

Don LaFontaine Donald Leroy LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008) was an American voice actor who recorded more than 5,000 film trailers and hundreds of thousands of television advertisements, network promotions, and video game trailers over four ...

, narrator of many film trailers *

John Facenda John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda ( ; August 8, 1913September 26, 1984) was an American broadcaster and sports announcer. He was a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, and achieved national fame as a narrator for N ...

, Philadelphia newscaster who narrated several

NFL Films NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...

Productions from 1966 to 1984 * Morgan Freeman, actor, narrator of films and a portrayer of God in '' Bruce Almighty'' and '' Evan Almighty'' *

Don Pardo Dominick George "Don" Pardo (February 22, 1918 – August 18, 2014) was an American radio and television announcer whose career spanned more than seven decades. A member of the Television Hall of Fame, Pardo was noted for his 70-year tenure with ...

, television personality and former announcer on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

References

Sources

*''This page draws text fro
'The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction', Vol. 10, Issue 273, September 15, 1827
a text now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

.'' *

Humphrey Prideaux Humphrey Prideaux (3 May 1648 – 1 November 1724) was a Cornish churchman and orientalist, Dean of Norwich from 1702. His sympathies inclined to Low Churchism in religion and to Whiggism in politics. Life The third son of Edmond Prideaux, he wa ...

''The Old and New Testament connected in the history of the Jews''
1851. *

Thomas de Quincey Thomas Penson De Quincey (; 15 August 17858 December 1859) was an English writer, essayist, and literary critic, best known for his '' Confessions of an English Opium-Eater'' (1821). Many scholars suggest that in publishing this work De Quinc ...

Narrative And Miscellaneous Papers, Vol. II.
* Free Prophecy
The Voice of God
* {{ISBE, article=Bath Kol Revelation Jewish mysticism Jewish theology