The Biblical Story of Dreams: Between God and the Subconscious

This article examines the phenomenon of dreaming in the Bible through the lens of Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich's research, moving away from contemporary psychological interpretations in favor of a historical-theological analysis. The author presents dreaming not as an intimate experience, but as a precise literary convention serving to legitimize religious power and authority. The text traces the evolution of dreaming—from direct theophanies, through a critique of ritual incubation, to processes of demythologization and skepticism regarding the epistemic fragility of the dream medium. The biblical story of dreaming appears here as an arena of negotiation between the sacred and anthropological, where revealed truth must contend with the risk of manipulation.