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Reading Revelation in Context: John's Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism
Reading Revelation in Context brings together short, accessible essays that compare and contrast the visions and apocalyptic imagery of the book of Revelation with various texts from Second Temple Jewish literature. Going beyond an introduction that merely surveys historical events and theological themes, Reading Revelation in Context examines individual passages in Second Temple Jewish literature in order to illuminate the context of Revelation's theology and the meaning and potency of John's visions. Following the narrative progression of Revelation, each chapter (1) pairs a major unit of the Apocalypse with one or more sections of a thematically related Jewish text, (2) introduces and explores the historical and theological nuances of the comparator text, and (3) shows how the ideas in the comparator text illuminate those expressed in Revelation. In addition to the focused comparison provided in the essays, the book contains other student-friendly features that will help them engage broader discussions, including an introductory chapter that familiarizes students with the world and texts of Second Temple Judaism, a glossary of important terms, and a brief appendix suggesting what tools students might use to undertake their own comparative studies. At the end of each chapter there a list of other thematically relevant Second Temple Jewish texts recommended for additional study and a focused bibliography pointing students to critical editions and higher-level discussions in scholarly literature. Reading Revelation in Context brings together an international team of over 20 New Testament experts including Jamie Davies, David A. deSilva, Michael J. Gorman, Dana M. Harris, Ronald Herms, Edith M. Humphrey, Jonathan A. Moo, Elizabeth E. Shively, Cynthia Long Westfall, Archie T. Wright, and more.
208 pages, Paperback
Published September 10, 2019
51 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Zondervan
1,855 books110 followersZondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc. and has multiple imprints including Zondervan Academic, Zonderkidz, Blink, and Editorial Vida. Zondervan is the commercial rights holder for the New International Version (NIV) Bible in North America.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 9, 2020
The format of this book is brilliant. Each short chapter (usually around seven pages) begins with a quick summary of a passage in Revelation, followed by an analysis of a passage from a work of Second Temple Jewish Apocalyptic literature, and concludes with an analysis of the Revelation passage that highlights the parallels and differences between the two works. The results are often very illuminating, highlighting either imagery/motifs in Revelation that might be missed by those not familiar with the contemporary literature, or the significant departures of Revelation (and Christianity itself) from commonly-held beliefs in first century Judaism. The authors also regularly make observations on how their passage fits into the flow and message of Revelation as a whole. The chapters are written at a very accessible level, making it easy to recommend to pastors and seminary students (no scholarly background required). The end of each chapter helpfully provides a list of other primary sources that address topics covered in the chapter, available English translations for the specific Jewish Apocalyptic work discussed, and secondary resources for further research. This is a tremendously useful resource for anyone studying the book of Revelation and even a great introduction to Second Temple Jewish literature in general. Highly recommended!
February 17, 2020
“...the New Testament Apocalypse cannot be understood apart from Jewish Apocalyptic literature.” -RH Charles
I couldn't agree with the above quote, given in this book, more. However, the approach is taken that the Jewish Apocalyptic literature must be understood by the passage’s historical-cultural context. Revelation is identified as primarily a symbolic historical narrative. Theological concerns are secondary at best.
One section of a book is chosen from Second Temple Judaism and it is applied to roughly one chapter in the Book of Revelation. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't IMO. I think it is an awkward approach. For instance, there are several places in 1 Enoch where it talks about seven mountains including chapters 18 and the nature of mountains in 108 where it says:
"This place which thou seest-here are cast the spirits of sinners and blasphemers, and of those who work wickedness, and of those who pervert everything that the Lord hath spoken through the mouth of the prophets-(even) the things that shall be."
However, when it comes to interpreting Revelation 17:8 this gets no notice. Instead, the interpreter sticks with the popular academic idea that these are the seven hills of Rome. The fact that Philo of Alexandria had given a meaning to 666 (Book 42: Questions and Answers on Genesis, II) before Revelation (13:18) was written isn't mentioned either. His interpretation is very similar to the first Christian interpretation given by the church father Irenaeus (Heresies, V.XXVIII.3). Instead, the author sticks with the 1830 German interpretation of Nero.
Overall, I think more comparisons of Revelation to Second Temple literature need to be made.
Dark Sayings of the Apocalypse
I couldn't agree with the above quote, given in this book, more. However, the approach is taken that the Jewish Apocalyptic literature must be understood by the passage’s historical-cultural context. Revelation is identified as primarily a symbolic historical narrative. Theological concerns are secondary at best.
One section of a book is chosen from Second Temple Judaism and it is applied to roughly one chapter in the Book of Revelation. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn't IMO. I think it is an awkward approach. For instance, there are several places in 1 Enoch where it talks about seven mountains including chapters 18 and the nature of mountains in 108 where it says:
"This place which thou seest-here are cast the spirits of sinners and blasphemers, and of those who work wickedness, and of those who pervert everything that the Lord hath spoken through the mouth of the prophets-(even) the things that shall be."
However, when it comes to interpreting Revelation 17:8 this gets no notice. Instead, the interpreter sticks with the popular academic idea that these are the seven hills of Rome. The fact that Philo of Alexandria had given a meaning to 666 (Book 42: Questions and Answers on Genesis, II) before Revelation (13:18) was written isn't mentioned either. His interpretation is very similar to the first Christian interpretation given by the church father Irenaeus (Heresies, V.XXVIII.3). Instead, the author sticks with the 1830 German interpretation of Nero.
Overall, I think more comparisons of Revelation to Second Temple literature need to be made.
Dark Sayings of the Apocalypse
July 9, 2025
Reading Revelation in Context: John's Apocalypse and Second Temple Judaism
This is a great book to introduce a lay reader to the scholarly study of the deuterocanonical books (aka the Apocrypha), as well as to help you think more deeply about John’s intent in writing his Revelation. The introduction includes a helpful overview of most of the deuterocanonical books. The rest is is a series of essays by different authors addressing a chapter of Revelation each, comparing and contrasting a portion of the deuterocanonical work they are most familiar with.
Growing up protestant, I had fallen into this category: “Although aware of the existence of extrabiblical Jewish literature, (some) readers often consider ancient religious books lying outside of Scripture to be theologically irrelevant or even dangerous. Accordingly, they bar these works from hermeneutical consideration, basing such avoidance on their commitment to sola Scriptura or related post-Reformation doctrines on the clarity and sufficiency of Scripture” (p. 25). I think this changed for me once I realized that Jesus had celebrated the Feast of the Temple and Maccabees told the story of the struggle against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The books explain the context of first century Judaism and the works that Jews may have been reading or familiar with up to and during that time. It helps to know that the Septuagint contained several of the works and influenced the teaching of rabbis and some of the earlier works’ concepts would have been known to a wider Jewish audience including possibly John. (This shows up in books like Jude but we evangelicals sort of chose to ignore it.)
For those worried about canonicity or heresy, I found no red flags in the book and the authors are realistic about the possible dates of authorship and the number of translations the works went through before Latin. For some works, I wondered how much they were influenced by early Christians. The book is really helpful in just studying your bible and thinking about hermeneutics, identical to how scholars use other works in Greek to help understand meanings of biblical Greek words.
I found it helpful to see how other authors of apocalyptic texts had similarly drawn symbolism and meaning from texts in Leviticus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. and it helped me think more about Revelation and the author’s intent. It helped make vivid the Old Testament concepts and parallels that John included in his text. The book also helped me appreciate more the frustration of Jews in the Second Temple Period as they longed for justice and God’s kingdom while living under corrupt Jewish leaders and foreign powers. I found it interesting that many text parallels likewise include images of non-violent resistance as Revelation did, with Jesus as the image of the sacrificial lamb.
Five stars. A great primer.
This is a great book to introduce a lay reader to the scholarly study of the deuterocanonical books (aka the Apocrypha), as well as to help you think more deeply about John’s intent in writing his Revelation. The introduction includes a helpful overview of most of the deuterocanonical books. The rest is is a series of essays by different authors addressing a chapter of Revelation each, comparing and contrasting a portion of the deuterocanonical work they are most familiar with.
Growing up protestant, I had fallen into this category: “Although aware of the existence of extrabiblical Jewish literature, (some) readers often consider ancient religious books lying outside of Scripture to be theologically irrelevant or even dangerous. Accordingly, they bar these works from hermeneutical consideration, basing such avoidance on their commitment to sola Scriptura or related post-Reformation doctrines on the clarity and sufficiency of Scripture” (p. 25). I think this changed for me once I realized that Jesus had celebrated the Feast of the Temple and Maccabees told the story of the struggle against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The books explain the context of first century Judaism and the works that Jews may have been reading or familiar with up to and during that time. It helps to know that the Septuagint contained several of the works and influenced the teaching of rabbis and some of the earlier works’ concepts would have been known to a wider Jewish audience including possibly John. (This shows up in books like Jude but we evangelicals sort of chose to ignore it.)
For those worried about canonicity or heresy, I found no red flags in the book and the authors are realistic about the possible dates of authorship and the number of translations the works went through before Latin. For some works, I wondered how much they were influenced by early Christians. The book is really helpful in just studying your bible and thinking about hermeneutics, identical to how scholars use other works in Greek to help understand meanings of biblical Greek words.
I found it helpful to see how other authors of apocalyptic texts had similarly drawn symbolism and meaning from texts in Leviticus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. and it helped me think more about Revelation and the author’s intent. It helped make vivid the Old Testament concepts and parallels that John included in his text. The book also helped me appreciate more the frustration of Jews in the Second Temple Period as they longed for justice and God’s kingdom while living under corrupt Jewish leaders and foreign powers. I found it interesting that many text parallels likewise include images of non-violent resistance as Revelation did, with Jesus as the image of the sacrificial lamb.
Five stars. A great primer.
December 30, 2019
I read this interesting book as I taught through Revelation this fall. We always emphasize that Revelation is apocalyptic literature and it would not have been foreign to its original audience like it is to us. This is because they were accustomed to this kind of literature. This book pairs each chapter of Revelation with a similar section in other Jewish apocalyptic writings. It compares and contrasts the two pieces of literature to emphasize themes and language that can help us better understand Revelation. It was a great introduction to some apocalyptic Jewish texts (especially 4 Ezra and 1 Enoch). As with any volume with numerous authors, some chapters were better than others. (The middle and later chapters were better than the earlier chapters.) Sometimes there was simply not much for the author to work with and the parallels seemed stretched. This is the third of its kind. Ben Blackwell has also edited Mark in Context and Romans in Context.
October 9, 2019
This book is part of an excellent new series that is aimed at highlighting the significant parallels - and potential influences - of extracanonical Second Temple Literature on the formation of the New Testament.
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The chapters are short, the language is accessible, and yet the impact of this work is profound. It succeeds in providing an expanded view of the context behind the NT; helping the reader to imagine the NT not in a vacuum but as a living tradition that reflects its surroundings.
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Each chapter is by a different scholar and the team roster is packed. This is an excellent resource for those interested in the book Revelation, or even for those wanting an introduction to some important Second Temple Literature. Other titles in the series include Mark, and Romans.
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The chapters are short, the language is accessible, and yet the impact of this work is profound. It succeeds in providing an expanded view of the context behind the NT; helping the reader to imagine the NT not in a vacuum but as a living tradition that reflects its surroundings.
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Each chapter is by a different scholar and the team roster is packed. This is an excellent resource for those interested in the book Revelation, or even for those wanting an introduction to some important Second Temple Literature. Other titles in the series include Mark, and Romans.
January 31, 2021
Fascinating collection of Essays that really illuminate ones understanding of revelation by comparing its text to other texts written at the time of its composition and in many cases sharing the same literarry genre. Some essays are more interesting than others. Some of the essays in the middle of the book appear to be stretching things a bit in an effort to find a corrolation between texts, but overall ones understanding of the symbols and significance of revelations various scenes will be greatly enriched reading this.
Since the book deals with alot of non canonical and uninspired material it requires discernment and careful reflection on the material presented by the reader.
Since the book deals with alot of non canonical and uninspired material it requires discernment and careful reflection on the material presented by the reader.
November 13, 2019
I gained more from Reading Mark in Context. Many of the comparative texts didn't seem to add much to the study of Revelation. But perhaps that's because I've already been saturated in trying to study Revelation the way a first century reader would have read it. If you still read Revelation as though it were written about 21st century events, this book might be much more dramatic for you.
February 15, 2020
Important Insight
Great insight into the world of Jewish literature to bring out the messages of Revelation. Some articles are much more impactful than others, but the whole book is important in scope and brings much more flavor to Revelation.
Great insight into the world of Jewish literature to bring out the messages of Revelation. Some articles are much more impactful than others, but the whole book is important in scope and brings much more flavor to Revelation.
February 9, 2021
Helpful book for understanding the literary/cultural context of the book of Revelation.
October 18, 2022
Overall a great book with few really good articles. Satisfied that the authors did not try to argue for organic links between the texts.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews