The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1673 page)

 
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Nathan
.

Hebrew biblical
prophet
. According to 2 Samuel 7, Nathan prophesied the postponement of building the
Temple
; he rebuked
David
for his behaviour with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12); and with
Zadok
the
priest
, anointed David and Bathsheba's son,
Solomon
, king.

 
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(1643–80)
. A leader of the Jewish
Shabbatean
movement and
kabbalist
. Nathan studied the kabbalah of Isaac
Luria
and in 1665 had a vision of the divine world. As a result of this, he was convinced that Shabbetai Zevi was the
messiah
and that he was his
prophet
. Many legends were told of him, and his grave became a place of
pilgrimage
. His letters were much copied and circulated, and his kabbalistic system was explained in his
Sefer ha-Beriah
, written in 1670.

 
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see
COVENANTERS
.

 
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see
KOKUGAKU
.

 
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see
ELIJAH MUHAMMAD
.

 
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Nats
.

Spirit beings (often to be propitiated) originally so-called in Burma, though the term has now spread. There are two sets of thirty-seven overlords among them, the Inner Nats (so-called because they were allowed inside sacred buildings as Hindu or Buddhist deities) and the Outer Nats, more variously listed, but also more significant, because they represent the spirits of figures in Burmese history or legend, and appear frequently in Burmese art, dance, music, and sculpture. They resemble
Yakkhas
, and permeate the world as lived and experienced.