Two Kinds of Prophecy? The Rabbinic Bat Kol Explored

Ask a first-century rabbi if biblical prophecy had ceased, and he'd say yes.

September 3, 2026

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Ask a first-century rabbi if biblical prophecy had ceased, and he'd say yes. Ask him if God still spoke, and he'd tell you about the Bat Kol.


ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
Josh, Michael and Michael explore the biblical case that prophecy operates at more than one level of authority. Scripture itself is uniquely inspired, infallible, and authoritative, while other genuine prophetic revelation can still occur without becoming Scripture. To explore this more, we turn to rabbinic Judaism and the fascinating concept of the Bat Kol.


Bat Kol means "daughter of a voice." It's rabbinic Judaism's term for a diminished echo of prophecy that kept showing up long after the age of the biblical prophets. This historical evidence suggests that the idea of genuine, non-canonical revelation was not foreign to ancient Jewish thought and may provide important historical support for the continuity view of prophecy.

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