Jewish Apocalyptic literature
![The word Apocalypse is taken from John’s Book of Revelation and applied retroactively to other works exhibiting similar features. The Hebrew root is kalah (to finish), and one of the ancient Hebrew symbols in kalah stood for “to reveal.” In Greek, Apocalypse means “disclosure” or “revelation.”
Apocalyptic as Literary Form originated during the Maccabean War. The Jewish people had lost hope in fulfillment of messianic promise and could not make sense of their continued hardships even though they were keeping the Law. The Apocalypses gave hope that justice would come in the next age, though they did not hope for any in the current age.
Apocalyptic literature has it roots in Palestine, often in Hebrew or Aramaic, but it spread quickly to Hellenistic Alexandria in Greek. The literature was apparently highly prized by Qumran community. There have been many fragments of several apocalypses found with the scrolls recently discovered in that area. The literature does exhibit similarities and differences with other Qumran literature, so it is still uncertain whether the Apocalypses originated with this community or not.
Now I’d like to show you some of the uses in the Septuagint of the Greek word for “apocalypse” as it was translated from the Hebrew “kalah.” One of the uses was to mean “uncover the eyes” or “reveal” as in Numbers22:31: “Yahweh then opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. . . .”
Another means “to reveal a secret” as in Proverbs 11:13: “A tittle-tattler lets secrets out, the trustworthy keeps things hidden,” and in Ecclesiasticus 4:18: “Wisdom then comes back to him on the straight road, makes him happy and reveals her secrets to him.” It was also used to indicate future events disclosed by God as in Amos 3:7: “No indeed, Lord Yahweh does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.”
This Old Testament usage prepared for New Testament usage. When St. Paul used the word in 1 Corinthians 14:6, his audience would have been familiar with it: “Now suppose, brothers, I come to you and speak in tongues, what good shall I do you if my speaking provides no revelation or knowledge or prophecy or instruction?” Similarly in the Nunc Dimmitis at Luke 2:31, the Hellenist audience would have seen “. . .a light of revelation for the gentiles. . . .” as a revelation from the God of the Jews to the gentiles.
Here is a table that gives a comparison of Apocalyptic eschatology with the eschatology of the Old Testament prophets.
Prophetic Eschatology
Apocalyptic Eschatology
Expected earthly kingdom of God within history
Key Function: Despairing of the earthly kingdom, hoped for God to intervene in history via cosmic catastrophe and new transcendent kingdom.
Earthly Davidic Messiah
Heavenly Son of Man
Revelation of God’s will for a transformed present behavior
Revelation of God’s action in the future
Living Word of the Lord
Dreams, visions and journeys reveal the hidden secrets, the reasons for injustice, and the manner of the ultimate coming of the Kingdom of God
Subjective experiences of contact with God
Revelatory visions are often literary fictions, although some may be genuine.
Real prophets as authors
Prophetic era was over, so authors attributed their works to OT patriarchs. (Daniel is an exception.)
There were also other differences between the eschatology of the prophets and the apocalypticists. Symbolism was used by both groups, but in different ways. For instance in Jeremiah 13:1-11, a ruined waistcloth is a symbol for the way that God will break the arrogance of Israel. Zechariah 1 through 6 also contains elaborate symbolism, mostly used to depict something that God will accomplish on earth. Daniel, which is apocalyptic, uses symbolism to represent historical events and persons, which is seen again in Revelation. So in the prophets, the symbolism is generally very specific and clear, while in apocalyptic literature, it has a broader meaning.
Now I’ll discuss some more features of Jewish Eschatology. There is a distinct dualism between “this age” and “the age to come” which is first seen in 1 Enoch and further developed in Fourth Ezra and New Testament: “This age the Most High has made for many, but the age to come for few” (4 Ezra 8:1). Since evil is so prevalent in the world, only the direct action of God in the world will liberate God’s people.
There is also a sense of ethical passivity in Jewish Apocalypses. The reason for this is the Jewish conception of righteousness which is based on strict observation of the Mosaic Law. They saw no need for ethical reform, and they had a lack of a sense of sinfulness. One notable exception is the canonical Book of Daniel. Daniel indeed realizes his sinfulness and that of the Israelites, so while it is an apocalypse, it does have prophetic import; that is, it not only looks to the future age, but looks for a change in the current age.
Thus, it is clear that Jewish Apocalyptic Eschatology had a distinct historical outlook. It breaks from the prophetic notion that God will work through history to cleanse his people of their sins and restore them to the land. “For look, I shall give the command and shall shake out the House of Israel among all nations. . . . [Then] I shall restore the fortunes of my people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them, they will plant vineyards and drink their wine, they will lay out gardens and eat their produce” (Amos 9:9, 14).
The Jewish apocalypses are, for the most part, pessimistic about history. There is no relationship between the present and the future. In the era after Ezra and the rebuilding of the temple, the Israelites were faithful to the Law under scribes and Pharisees. But there was continued oppression and suffering for their people, including temple destruction in A.D. 70, must not be God’s doing.
They weren’t seeing the blessings that God promised. “Has another nation known you besides Israel? Or what tribes have so believed the covenants as these tribes of Jacob? Yet their reward has not appeared and their labour has borne no fruit. For I have travelled widely among the nations and have seen that they abound in wealth, though they are unmindful of your commandments” (4 Ezra 3:32-33). Also in 4 Ezra, the angel Uriel tells Ezra in a series of dreams what will happen, when “evil shall be blotted out, and deceit shall be quenched; faithfulness shall flourish, and corruption shall be overcome, and the truth, which has been so long without fruit, shall be revealed” (4 Ezra 6: 27-28). Thus they were hopeful in the justice of the age to come, but not of earthly history. And many of them were convinced that fixed ages of history have run their necessary course and the end of time was about to come.
New Testament apocalyptic eschatology retains some features of the Jewish apocalypses but has a significantly changed tone. It retains the dualism between “this age” and “the age to come” but also stands in the prophetic tradition of God’s judgment and deeds within history. It also rejects apocalyptic pessimism while retaining the view that the present world is evil. This revision of eschatology goes hand in hand with the Good News preached by Christ and his disciples. Indeed, Christians believe that God blesses his people in history due to their faith and deeds, independent of material conditions: “So stay awake, because you do not know the day your master is coming” (Matthew 24:42).
Here are the names of some Jewish apocalyptic writings, a brief note about each, and a link that will take you to the text of the work. It is important to note that some works may have apocalyptic content but not be apocalyptic in their overall form.
Daniel (167-64 B.C.) is an early example, perhaps the first, of apocalyptic writing. It was written during persecutions under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. (Since Daniel can be easily found in your Bible, I haven’t attached a link to it.)
Ethiopic or 1 Enoch (Book of Enoch) was written in sections from some time around 200 B.C. and about 70 B.C. This is a captivating text that is also important for angelology, its description of successive periods of history, the identity of its Son of Man (apparently a midrash of the Son of Man in Daniel), and its depiction of Sheol. The parchment fragment from the beginning of 1 Enoch pictured below was found in Qumran Cave 4. It is in the original Aramaic and is estimated to have been copied around 200 to 150 B.C.
The Book of Jubilees (The Book of Jubilees), most likely written in the 2nd Century B.C., is written as if it is the revelation of God to Moses on Mt. Saini. Among other things, it contains retellings and expansions of stories in Genesis. It is an apocalyptic text without much eschatology.
Psalms of Solomon (Psalms of Solomon or Septuagint (Greek)) were written in the middle of the first century B.C. They are not apocalyptic, but they contain important eschatological material, regarding the coming of a human, but divinely empowered, Davidic king.
4 Ezra (2 Ezra) was written originally in Hebrew or Aramaic, shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D. The link above takes you to 2 Ezra: Chapters 1-2 are also called 5 Ezra; chapters 3-14 are also called 4 Ezra; Chapters 15-16 are also called 6 Ezra.
Apocalypse of Baruch (The Apocalypse of Baruch) is imitative of 4 Ezra.
Note: For an alternative view on the relationship between current cosmic realities and our relationship with God, see Matthew Darrow’s presentation on Divine Retribution.
Sources:
• Moses Buttenwieser, “Apocalyptic Literature, Neo-Hebraic” at JewishEncyclopedia.com.
• John J. Collins, “Early Jewish Apocalypticism” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 1, 282-88.
• G.E. Ladd, “Apocalyptic Literature” in The International Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, 151-61.
• Charles C. Torrey, “Apocalypse” at JewishEncyclopedia.com.
• http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/deadsea.scrolls.exhibit/Library/enoch.html](Jewish%20Apocalyptic%20Literature_files/shapeimage_2.png)
