The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia have left evidence of dream interpretation dating back to at least 3100 BC.[3][4] Throughout Mesopotamian history, dreams were always held to be extremely important for divination[4][5] and Mesopotamian kings paid close attention to them.[4][3] Gudea, the king of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash (reigned c. 2144–2124 BC), rebuilt the temple of Ningirsu as the result of a dream in which he was told to do so.[4] The standard Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh contains numerous accounts of the prophetic power of dreams.[4] First, Gilgamesh himself has two dreams foretelling the arrival of Enkidu.[4] Later, Enkidu dreams about the heroes' encounter with the giant Humbaba.[4] Dreams were also sometimes seen as a means of seeing into other worlds[4] and it was thought that the soul, or some part of it, moved out of the body of the sleeping person and actually visited the places and persons the dreamer saw in his or her sleep.[6] In Tablet VII of the epic, Enkidu recounts to Gilgamesh a dream in which he saw the gods Anu, Enlil, and Shamash condemn him to death.[4] He also has a dream in which he visits the Underworld.[4]

In ancient Egypt, as far back as 2000 BC, the Egyptians wrote down their dreams on papyrus. People with vivid and significant dreams were thought to be blessed and were considered special.[8] Ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were like oracles, bringing messages from the gods. They thought that the best way to receive divine revelation was through dreaming and thus they would induce (or "incubate") dreams. Egyptians would go to sanctuaries and sleep on special "dream beds" in hope of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the gods.[9]

Dream divination was a common feature of Greek and Roman religion and literature of all genres. Aristotle and Plato discuss dreams in various works. The only surviving Greco-Roman dreambook, the Oneirocritica, was written by Artemidorus. Artemidorus cites a large number of previous authors, all of whom are now lost. These include Astrampsychos, Nikephoros, Germanos, and Manuel Palaiologos.[12][13][14][15] Seers who specialized at the interpretation of dreams were called enypniomantis (ἐνυπνιόμαντις) and brizomantis (βριζόμαντις).[16][17]

Dreams occur throughout the Bible as omens or messages from God;

• God speaks to Abram while he is in a deep sleep (Genesis 15)
• God speaks to Abimelech, the king of Gerar, in a dream concerning his intentions regarding Sarah, Abraham's wife (Genesis 20)
• Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven (Genesis 28)
• His son Joseph dreamed of his future success (Genesis 37), interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh of Egypt's cupbearer and baker while imprisoned (Genesis 40), and interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh of Egypt (Genesis 41)
• The Midianite's dream about the barley bread and his friend's interpretation of it being Gideon's army — Gideon overhears this and later defeats the Midianite army (Judges 7)
• Solomon conversed with God in his dreams (1 Kings 3)
• Daniel interpreted dreams (Book of Daniel 2 and 4)
• Joseph, when betrothed to Mary, was told in a dream not to fear taking Mary as his wife (Matthew 1)
• The Magi are told in a dream to avoid Herod on their journey home (Matthew 2)
• Joseph, now husband of Mary, was directed in a dream to flee with Mary and Jesus to Egypt (Matthew 2)
• Pilate's wife suffered in a dream because of Jesus (Matthew 27)
• Paul was told in a vision to go to Macedonia (Acts 16)