TRANCE onnin ; Sept. &Tram, Vulg.
sopor ; Gen. ii. 21, etc.), a supernatural state of body and mind, the nature of which has been well conjectured by Doddridge, who defines it—' Such a rapture of mind as gives the person who falls into it a look of astonishment, and renders him insen sible of the external objects around him, while in the meantime his imagination is agitated in an ex traordinary manner with some striking scenes which pass before it and take up all the attention.' He refers to some extraordinary instances of this kind mentioned by Gualtperius in his note on Acts x. to (Family Expositor, in loc. note g.) Stockius also describes it as A sacred ecstasy, or rapture of the mind out of itself, when the use of the external senses being suspended, God reveals something in a peculiar manner to prophets and apostles, who are then taken or transported out of themselves.' The same idea is intimated in the English word trance, from the Latin 'transit/is,' the state of being carried out of oneself. The Greek word, ZKeraaa, denotes the effect of any passion by which the thoughts are wholly absorbed. In the Sept. it corresponds to ;Irv, a wonderful thing' (Jer. v. 3o) ; and minn, astonishment' (Dent. xxviii. 28). the N. T. it represents the absorb ing effects of admiration (Mark v. 42 ; Luke v. 26; Acts iii. to) ; of terror, Mark xvi. 8. The Hebrew word is used to denote the prophetic ecstasy. Thus the deep sleep' which fell upon Adam during the creation of Eve (Gen. ii. 2t), and during which, as appears from the narrative, he was made aware of the transaction, and of the purport of the attendant circumstances (21-24) [MARRIAGE]. It is applied again to the deep sleep' which fell upon Abraham (xv. 12, eKtrracrts, sopor), during which the bondage of bis descendants in Egypt was revealed to him. Possibly all the accounts recorded in that chapter occurred in vision ' (I-12), which ultimately deepened into the trance (12-20. Compare verses 5, 12, where he is said to have seen the stars, though the sun was not gone down. The apparent objection, that Abmham was throu,ght forth abroad' to see the stars, is only of the same nature with others explained in the Art. TEMPTATION OF
OUR Loki% Some, perhaps many things recorded in Scripture, belong to this supernatural state of trance, which are not expressly referred to it. See the long list of such supposed instances in Bishop Law's Consideration of the Than), of Religion (pp. 85, 86, Lond. 1820). Elsner includes in this list the star seen by the wise mcn (COMMeld. On Matt, ii. 9, 10, etc.) In the narrative which Balaam gives of himself our translators have rightly added the words into a trance' after the word falling.' The incident of the ass speaking to him, etc., is also understood by many learned Jews and Chris tians to have occurred in a vision (Bishop Law, u. s.) To the same mode of divine communication must be referred the magnificent description in Job iv. 13-2r. Persons receiving it often fall to the earth. Abraham fell on his face, and God talked with hint' (Gen. xvii. 3, etc. ; Sam. xix, 24, Hebrew, or margin ; Ezek. 28 ; Dan. viii. 18 ; x. 15, ; Rev. i. 17). It is important to ob serve that in all these cases the visions beheld are also related. Hence such cases are' distinguished from a mere deliquium animi. Wc find cascs of prophetical trance in the N. T., as that of St. Peter : he fell into a trance' (or rather a trance fell upon him,' brerccrep by' abT6o eico-racts),duringwhich he saw a vision,' which is therefore distin,guished from the trance (Acts x. '0; comp. St. Paul's trance, xxii. 17 ; 2 Cor. xii. 2, etc.) The reality of the vision is established by the correspondence of the event. The nearest approach we can make to such a state is that in which our mind is so oc cupied in the contemplation of an object as to lose entirely the consciousness of the body—a state in which the highest order of ideas, whether belonging to the judgment or imagination, is. undoubtedly attained. Hence we can readily conceive that such a state might be supernaturally induced for the higher purpose of revelation, etc. The alleged phenomena of the Mesmeric trance and clairvoy ance, if they serve no higher purpose, may assist our conceptions of it.—J. F. D.