When God addressed Moshe there was an accompanying miracle (and there's midrash about Avraham's case being special too), so it was pretty clear what was happening, but how did the other prophets come to know that it was God who was speaking to them -- not a delusion, not a trick, but divine communication? Was it immediate, or could there have been some period during which the prophet wasn't yet sure what was happening to him?
(This question arose out of why did Yonah run away?.)
Answer
This question was asked to R. Joseph Messas in Otzar Hamichtavim Vol. III # 1,813.
שאל כבודו איך ידעו הנביאים שהקב"ה מדבר עמהם הלא כתיב לא יראני האדם וחי ואם לא רואים את המדבר איך יודעים מי מדבר
His Honor asked how the prophets knew that the Holy-One-Blessed-be-He was speaking to them. Is it not written, "no man can see Me and survive"? And if they did not see the speaker how did they know who was speaking?
R. Messas acknowledged that this was a serious question ("שאלה גדולה שאלת") and first referred the questioner to earlier sources that discuss this topic. Then he tried to answer the question himself. Essentially, he answered that even though God has no physical form, the prophet would always see some sort of image (which would vary for different prophecies) and could sense God's voice emanating from the image.
This question was also addressed by R. Saadia Gaon in Emunot V’Deiot 3:5
I also considered the question of how the prophet could be sure that the message that he heard came from God before ascribing it to his Lord in the presence of his people, and I arrived at the conclusion that this was effected by means of some sign that would appear to him at the beginning of the colloquy and remain until its termination. This sign could take the form of a pillar of fire or a pillar of cloud or a light that did not emanate from the ordinary luminaries. When, then, the prophet saw such a sign, he was certain that the message came from God.
(Rosenblatt translation)
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