Symbolic Actions of the Prophets

Symbolic actions of the prophets are physical acts by which a prophet, at God's command, conveyed a divine message visibly. The expression itself does not appear in the biblical text. It is a label scholars use to group together accounts of such acts.

Occurrences in Scripture

• Isaiah: For three years he walked naked and barefoot as a sign that Egypt and Ethiopia would be led away captive by Assyria (Isaiah 20:1-6). His naming of his son Maher-shalal-hash-baz is regarded as an act of the same kind (Isaiah 8:1-4).
• Jeremiah: He hid a linen girdle in a hole of a rock until it was marred (Jeremiah 13:1-11). He broke a potter's earthen bottle before the people (ch. 19), and he wore a yoke on his neck while calling for submission to Babylon (chs. 27-28). While Jerusalem was under siege, he bought a field in Anathoth as a sign that the land would be restored (ch. 32).
• Ezekiel: He portrayed the siege of Jerusalem on a tile and lay on his side for an appointed number of days (Ezekiel 4). He shaved his head and beard and divided the hair into three parts (ch. 5), and he packed an exile's baggage and went out through a hole dug in the wall (ch. 12). When his wife died, he was commanded not to mourn (24:15-24), and he joined two sticks into one to signify the restoration of the northern and southern kingdoms (37:15-28).
• Hosea: He married Gomer, a woman of whoredoms, and gave his three children names signifying judgment. Later he was commanded to love the woman again (Hosea 1-3).
• Other examples: The prophet Ahijah tore a new garment into twelve pieces and gave ten of them to Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:29-31). Elisha had the king of Israel shoot an arrow and strike the ground (2 Kings 13:14-19).

Background and Meaning

Such actions usually begin with a command from God and are followed by an explanation in the form "This is …." Scripture calls them a "sign" or a "wonder" (Isaiah 20:3; Ezekiel 12:6). The Hebrew terms used include 'ot (sign) and mopet (wonder, portent). A visible action remained in memory longer than words and served as a forceful means of delivering a message to a people who refused to listen. These acts appear especially often during the period of the Assyrian and Babylonian threats and around the time of the Babylonian exile.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

In the New Testament, the prophet Agabus bound his own hands and feet with Paul's girdle to announce that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem (Acts 21:10-11). Many interpreters also read Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, cleansing of the temple, and cursing of the fig tree in light of this tradition. The breaking of bread and sharing of the cup at the Last Supper are likewise read in this context. Denominations differ, however, on the sense in which the bread and cup of Communion are symbols (see Eucharistic controversies).

Interpretation and Points of Debate

• Actual deeds or visions? Interpreters differ on whether Ezekiel's prolonged lying on his side, Jeremiah's journeys to the distant Euphrates, and Hosea's marriage actually took place. Some take them as literal events, while others regard them as visions or parables. One view reads "Euphrates" in Jeremiah 13 as a nearby place with a similar name.
• What kind of woman was Gomer? Opinions are divided over whether she was unchaste before the marriage or became so afterward. Views also differ on whether the woman in chapter 3 is Gomer.
• Distinction from magic: Some scholars compare these acts to ancient magic, which holds that the action itself brings about the result. Many interpreters, by contrast, hold that the efficacy of a symbolic action lies not in the action itself but in the word of God, who commanded it.
• May they be imitated today? Some charismatic circles take these actions as models and practice them as "prophetic acts." Various other denominations and theologians regard them as one-time commands given to particular prophets and caution against treating them as a general pattern.

In Korean Churches

In Korean churches, the story of Hosea and Gomer is frequently used as a sermon text illustrating God's steadfast love for a faithless people.