Jesus the Seer: The Progress of Prophecy

by Ben Witherington III

Increasingly, scholars recognize that prophetic traditions, expressions, and experiences stand at the heart of most religions in the ancient Mediterranean world. This is no less true for the world of Judaism and Jesus. Ben Witherington III offers an extensive, cross-cultural survey of the broader expressions of prophecy in its ancient Mediterranean context, beginning with Mari, moving to biblical figures not often regarded as prophets‒‒Balaam, Deborah, Moses, and Aaron‒‒and to the apocalyptic seer in postexilic prophecy, showing that no single pattern describes all prophetic figures. The consequence is that different aspects of Jesus’s activity touch upon prophetic his miracles, on Elijah and Elisha; his self-understanding as the Son of Man, on Daniel and 1 Enoch; his warnings of woe and judgment, on the “writing prophets” in Judean tradition; and his messianic entry into Jerusalem, on Zechariah 9. Witherington also surveys the phenomenon of apocalyptic prophecy in early Christianity, including Paul, Revelation, the Didache, Hermas, and the Montanist movement. Jesus the Seer is a worthy complement to Witherington’s other volume on Jesus, Jesus the Sage (Fortress Press, 2000).

Genres: Biblical Studies

447 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and is on the doctoral faculty at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He is the author or coauthor of more than thirty books, including The Jesus Quest, The Paul Quest, and The New York Times bestseller The Brother of Jesus. He has appeared on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, and CNN.

Reviews

[Alan Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ben Witherington is a historical-critical scholar. He compares the ideas of modern scholars about prophecy and apocalyptic, including ideas about the historical Jesus.

"The question is whether there is a way to construe Jesus as an eschatological prophet without making the errors of either Schweitzer, reducing Jesus to an end-time fanatic who was convinced he knew exactly when the end would come, or of Caird, reducing Jesus to never having spoken of the end at all."
Loc. 7556, Kindle Edition.

"Yahweh and Yahweh’s will are known through his word and actions in history." Loc. 2535

Witherington correctly notes that distinctions in metaphor are a modern idea.

"Meshalim were metaphorical forms of speech that could make one or several points in an indirect manner. It needs to be recognized that the making of a hard and fast distinction between parable and allegory is a modern obsession..." Loc. 3325

He compares some of the symbols in Revelation to political cartoons.

"In this respect, these symbols are very much like some modern political cartoons." Loc. 10036.

Conversely, he points out that apocalyptic is a mixture of prophetic and wisdom literature, but denies NT Wright's idea that apocalyptic provides the closest parallel to the parables.

[J. Robin Whitley · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the book is good in talking about the "progress of prophecy", I was disappointed that there wasn't more about Jesus as a seer since that is the title.