Functions of Biblical Miracles

The function(s) of a miracle can be identified by several categories, including:

• instrumental—such as the heavenly manna (Exod 16:11–21), which serves to provide nourishment for the Israelites;

• communicative—for example, the hand that writes on the wall of Belshazzar’s palace (Dan 5; Collins, Daniel, 250);

• punitive—like the tumors that afflict the Philistines while they possess the ark of the covenant (1 Sam 5:6–12; Culley, “Themes and Variations,” 9);

• sociopolitical—as when God confirms that Elijah is the superior prophet by sending fire from the sky to consume his water-soaked offering (1 Kgs 18; compare Theissen, Miracle Stories, 231–64);

• theological—which can be divided further into four primary functions:

• validation of God—for example, the consumption of Elijah’s offering (1 Kgs 18) validates the superiority of the Hebrew God over Baal and questions Baal’s existence, and the heavenly voice and descending Spirit at Jesus’ baptism confirm His status as God’s Son (Kee, Medicine, Miracle and Magic, 80, 86);

• validation of God’s message—such as Moses’ miracles before Pharaoh (Exod 7–12; Woods, “Evidential Value of Miracles,” 21–22);

• signal of God’s activity—such as Jesus’ miracles in Matthew and Mark (Glasswell, “Miracles in Mark,” 154–55);

• divine act of salvation—the miracles in Acts, for example, are themselves are saving acts, not just signs of salvation (Lampe, “Miracles in Acts,” 171–78).