A historical introduction to the early christian writings, remains the best source for basic information about the entire new testament. Chapter 3 deals with the function of apocalyptic literature in israels story. Apocalyptic literature encyclopedia of the bible bible. The international standard bible encyclopedia also explains that pseudepigraphic works have many features in common. Hoglund and walton 2009 gives an introduction to the historical background of zechariah. During this time, due, in large part, to the publication of the persian zendavesta. Discuss the historical background of jewish and christian apocalyptic thought and literature in late antiquity. Historical, cultural, and literary background exegetical. The prophecies of revelation are fulfilled in various historic events such as the fall of the roman empire, the protestant reformation, and the french revolution.
The books that form the apocrypha are included in some bibles between the old and new testaments. Daniel belongs to the latter group, a type of writing that in many respects sharply contrasts prophetic literature. Floyd 1999 traces shifts in the research on zechariah. It was one manifestation of the typical eschatological trends of the time and the expectation of a crisis in world history. Apocalyptic literature was written to people in need of reassurance.
Apocalyptic literature biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Historical context for matthew the core curriculum. Really, all apocalyptic literature is much more a response to a concrete set of circumstances, often political circumstances that drive this sense that we have to look for a mode of deliverance. Collins 1998a represents the standard introduction to ancient jewish apocalyptic literature, providing a survey of apocalyptic literature s historical development and the consensus definition of a literary apocalypse. Well explore the nature of apocalyptic literature first by looking at its characteristics, and second by summarizing its historical development. Hansons undertaking, as indicated by its subtitle, is ambitious. Lets begin with the characteristics of biblical apocalyptic literature. An introduction to the interpretation of apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic in history and tradition christopher rowland. In challenging both traditional and contemporary notions of the nature and history of the biblical apocalyptic literature, professor hanson begins by saying that the origins of apocalyptic cannot be explained by a method which juxtaposes seventh and second century compositions and then proceeds to account for the features of the latter by reference to its immediate environment. Collins 1998a represents the standard introduction to ancient jewish apocalyptic literature, providing a survey of apocalyptic literatures historical development and the consensus definition of a literary apocalypse. Mar 06, 2011 so here is the historical background to the book of the revelation, especially chapters and 17. Indeed, i fear that the average student would be hard put to it to give more than one or two characteristics of this kind of literature.
During the greek persecution, the popularity of apocalyptic literature. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in postexilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians apocalypse. Biblical literature biblical literature apocalyptic and eschatological works. In the bible, daniel in the old testament and revelation in the new testament are the most clear examples of apocalypses. Even though there is a dramatic contrast in genre between the two halves of the. Historical context for the new testament the core curriculum. Mar 30, 2020 all of this reading should enable you to write a 12 page section on the historical, cultural, and literary background of your passage. The first known record of apocalyptic literature is isaiah. Reviewing history in apocalyptic literature as ideological strategy enoch 8590 and 2 baruch 5671, the hi story of the world is tracked down from a point in the past to the time of the authors.
This chart shows some of the key differences between those two genres. Papias reports only that the evangelist compiled a collection of jesus sayings in hebrewaramaic, while irenaeus. An introduction to the interpretation of apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature developed as a distinctly jewish genre. Hermeneutics of old testament apocalyptic literature thd dissertation, dts, 1968. Many old testament prophets were given visions by god of what society would be like when israel and judah returned to god and the kingdom of god was established on earth. The comparatively large number of people who belonged to the poorer classes were known as the amhaaretz, or people of the land, manual laborers who performed menial tasks.
Apocalyptic writing resources american bible society. The book itself suggests that the crisis was ruthless persecution of the early church by the roman authorities. It is used throughout the hebrew bible in reference to a wide variety of individuals and objects. Prophetic literature and apocalyptic literature the bible contains both prophetic literature and apocalyptic literature.
Entry for apocalyptic literature international standard bible encyclopedia one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, the isbe is hailed for its authoritative explanations of every significant word, person and place. Apocalyptic literature depicts heavenly visions in. Apocalyptic literature is a type of writing containing symbols and visions. Of the innumerable commentaries and scholarly works dedicated to paul and his letters, exceptionally interesting and thoughtprovoking reflections can be found in. But there are many other books from the jewish and christian world that can be classified as apocalypses. Apocalyptic literature apocalyptic literature appears in both early judaism and early christianity. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post exilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians. Apocalyptic themes have formed a significant part of the jewish and christian religions. Like prophecy, apocalyptic literature may speak to the future of gods people and a coming day of judgment. Nickelsburg 2005 interprets jewish apocalyptic texts in the context of historical developments. Apocalyptic literature shows up in many places in the ancient world, and of course, it is in the bible as well. Prophetic literature apocalyptic literature examples in the bible isaiah, jeremiah, amos daniel 712, revelation period of biblical history when most.
In form, an apocalypse is an autobiographical prose narrative. And you can always recognize it because its not linear, its not straight history. The first known record of apocalyptic literature is isaiah 24. Stages of the history of apocalyptic literature first is the biblical stage of the genre.
There is no guarantee that a specific passage will have important elements in each of these categories, but there will definitely be at least general historical, cultural, or literary aspects to your passage. Intro to isaiah biblica the international bible society. Eight characteristics of apocalyptic literature apocalypse is a literary term coined by german scholar k. Apocalyptic literature, literary genre that foretells supernaturally inspired cataclysmic events that will transpire at the end of the world.
The most striking is the resemblance they all bear to the book of. Examine the historical, cultural, and literary background. Apocalyptic literature often uses symbols and highly charged language to relate the seers heavenly journey and vision of the end. They produced some of the apocalyptic literature to which paul makes reference in one of his letters to the thessalonians.
The earliest attestations of matthean authorship are recorded by papias, the secondcentury bishop of hierapolis, and irenaeus, bishop of lyons ca. How is apocalyptic literature similar to and different from typical biblical prophecy. A product of the judeochristian tradition, apocalyptic literature is characteristically pseudonymous. First published in 1919, the apocalypse of john focuses extensively on the eschatology and apocalyptic works of the old testament and late jewish writers, as well as the analysis of johns own writing in the last book of the bible. All of this reading should enable you to write a 12 page section on the historical, cultural, and literary background of your passage. The stated purpose of this dissertation was to derive and present systematically principles of hermeneutics which might be employed in the interpretation of old testament apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature frequently contains strange descriptions and bizarre imagery. According to an unsubstantiated jewish tradition the ascension of isaiah, he was sawed in half during the reign of manasseh cf. The rule of thumb with apocalyptic literature ought to be that, unlike historical, doctrinal or other literature, things should be taken figuratively, unless the context demands a literal interpretation. Jesus status as messiah also carries political overtones. John oakes taught a class on apocalyptic literature, including the book of revelation on six consecutive saturdays beginning september 28 at the mission center of hope in san diego. Also, apocalyptic literature was almost always a kind of literature for insiders, that is to say, it was written for people who already knew something of the situation and of the symbols that.
Historical background of the new testament wikipedia. Isaiah son of amoz is often thought of as the greatest of the writing prophets. Literary genre and hermeneutics of the apocalypse1 robert l. Apocalyptic literature introduction international standard. Although these books are not part of gods word, some of them such as 1 maccabees provide interesting historical details.
They look at second temple judaism, the tensions, trends, and changes in the region under the influence of hellenism and the roman occupation, and the jewish. Intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. It is hoped the student will gain a feeling for apocalyptic writings which are found in revelation. This is becoming more widely recognized, but it is the pervasiveness of such themes in art, literature and history which contributes most to this collection of essays, moving from the study of biblical apocalyptic to its role in wider culture. This is the exact reverse of historical or doctrinal literature, in which things should be taken l. Most scholars who study the historical jesus and early christianity believe that the canonical gospels and the life of jesus must be viewed within their historical and cultural context, rather than purely in terms of christian orthodoxy. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. The book is made up primarily of historical narrative found mainly in chs. Works of apocalyptic literature were mainly of jewish origin and appeared during the period between 210 bc and 200 ad the international standard bible encyclopedia, apocalyptic literature introduction. Daniel 712 in the old testament also is an apocalypse as is mark and 1 thessalonians 4. Apocalyptic literature was much concerned about sources of information about the heavenly world and about the places of the damned and saved souls.
Thomas professor of new testament the masters seminary a relatively new field of specialized nt study is a careful examination of the literary genre or style of different books. Why is some literature in this style included in the bible. Individual books are also related to others and to their historical background. Apocalyptic literature has features in common with both prophecy and poetry. It was a form usually utilized to communicate the content of a prophetic vision or dream. He was a contemporary of amos, hosea and micah, beginning his ministry in 740 b. Biblical literature apocalyptic and eschatological works. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in postexilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians.
After this period, the genre further developed after the exiles end. The book of daniel has sometimes been classified with the prophetic books of the old testament, a mistake owing largely to a failure to distinguish between the predominant characteristics of prophetic and apocalyptic writings. The latest research on the subjects of apocalyptic, the history of late antiquity and jewishchristian relations. The historicist view teaches that the book of revelation is a symbolic presentation of church history beginning in the first century ad through the end of age. Revelation has often been classified as a kind of literature called apocalyptic, but the category of. Prophecy, babylon, and 1 enoch by sarah robinson a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts department of religious studies college of arts and sciences university of south florida major professor. Apocalyptic literature international standard bible. This is the exact reverse of historical or doctrinal literature, in which things should be taken l iterally unless. It refers to works written by jews and christians between 200 b. The phrase apocalyptic literature is used to describe some of the noncanonical writings called the apocrypha. Apocalyptic literature is a specific form of prophecy, largely involving symbols and imagery and predicting disaster and destruction. The most popular has been that of john nelson darby 18001882, which is known as dispensationalism, a view made popular in england and america in.
The word apocalyptic comes from a greek word, apokalypsis, meaning revealing or unveiling. The book of revelation cannot be adequately understood except against the historical background that occasioned its writing. Apocalyptic literature is a style, or genre, of writing that was common from about 200 b. Collins debt to hanson was acknowledged by collins to me personally on november 19, 2000. The book of daniel chapters 1 to 6 describe daniels interpretation of king nebuchadnezzars dream.
In apocalyptic literature, we have more of a vision of the distant future with a succession of kingdoms and what god is going to be doing in the future. Reviewing history in apocalyptic literature as ideological. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. Like daniel and other apocalypses, it was composed as resistance literature to meet a crisis. In some ways apocalyptic literature is like parables in that it is meant to reveal and hide truth. The book of daniel is a good beginning in the study of apocalyptic literature. The themes of the prominance of angels, the last judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the establishment of the final kingdom are not themes that are limited to later apocryphal literature, but have their roots in earlier biblical literature and even zechariah 19. Like poetry, apocalyptic literature uses symbols and intense images to describe realities that cannot be communicated any other way. The origins of the new testament helsingin yliopisto. Biblical apocalyptic literature should not be regarded as a separate literary genre from fulfilled prophecy, though prophecy in general is a genre separate from other forms of biblical literature, like historical narrative or didactic literature. Apocalyptic literature is complex, and may be summarized in various ways. In later jewish and early christian apocalypses, in which the hero undertakes a heavenly trip and sees the secrets that are hidden from others, these sources of.
Chapter 2 looks at the historical background of propheticapocalyptic books in both the old and new testaments. Apocalyptic literature was meant to offer hope to a down cast people through describing the ultimate defeat of evil and victory of god for his people. Having successfully completed this module you will be able to. Apocalyptic literature seeks to make its readers aware of the very real crisis surrounding them.