Oracle

An oracle in the biblical context is a divine communication — a word spoken by God, mediated by a prophet, and delivered to human recipients. The Hebrew massa (translated burden or oracle) often introduces the prophetic speeches of the writing prophets (Isaiah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Malachi), carrying the sense of a weighty divine declaration. In the New Testament, the Greek logia (oracles, sayings) is used for the body of God's revealed word: Romans 3:2 describes the Jews as entrusted with the oracles of God; Hebrews 5:12 speaks of the first principles of the oracles of God; and Acts 7:38 uses it for the law given through Moses.

In 1 Kings 6:5, 16, 19–23, the inner sanctuary of Solomon's temple — the Holy of Holies — is called the oracle (devir in Hebrew, from the root dabar, word/speak), the place where God's presence spoke. The term thus bridges the localized divine dwelling and the verbally mediated divine communication.