Hvad Abram så

Historical and social origin(s) of apocalyipticismHow and where did apocalyptic literature originate? What is the relation between apocalyptic literature on the one hand, and prophesy and wisdom literature on the other? Should apocalyptic literature be regarded as a deviation from prophetic literature, or is it a linear development thereof? Wherein lies the difference between prophetic and apocalyptic eschatology? In this artcle a literary study is done to find answers to these questions and it is concluded that apocalypticism does not have a single dominant origin, but that its origins lie in a complexity of factors. The researcher can find a description of these factors only in each unique apocalyptic work. Many historical and cultural factors played a role in the origin of apocalyptic works. A single social background cannot be posited for apocalyptic literature either. The worldview expressed by apocalyptic works does not necessarily represent that of marginalized groups as apocalypticism is rather a way of thinking which permeated the entire Jewish community.

This chapter sketches the psychological setting of Hebrew prophecy, and outlines the tension between the conflicting trends and feelings which make for the dynamic character of prophetic consciousness. It first deals with a short historical survey of the problem. The chapter emphasizes that the author's discussion on ecstasy and sympathy, far from exhausting the prophetic phenomenon, pertains only to its psychological infrastructure. It examines four basic forms of ecstasy. The first is the ecstasy of mass hysteria known from Dionysian and Corybantic cults as described in classical literature. The second kind is the individual oracular ecstasy, aiming at trance, which was auto-suggestively induced by ritual acts like bathing, drinking from a sacred spring, inhaling of vapours. The author calls the third form as integrative ecstasy, or the ecstasy of the integrated personality. In fourth kind, the introverted ecstasy is the second psychological variation in prophetic and apocalyptic literature. Keywords: apocalyptic literature; Corybantic cults; Hebrew prophecy; integrative ecstasy; oracular ecstasy; prophetic literature

Apocalyptic literature is seldom discussed in the context of world literature, and apocalyptic writings are rarely, if ever considered part of its content. This is surprising, since apocalyptic literature is able to cross linguistic, social, and cultural boundaries with ease, while several premodern apocalyptic texts and perhaps twice as many modern ones merit inclusion in the canon. Some apocalyptic works are admitted because of their cultural influence and global readership. Others qualify as world literature by virtue of their literary excellence and ability to speak to the human condition in a way that transcends their original social and cultural contexts.

A common occurrence in apocalyptic literature is the heavenly ascent of a revered figure, followed by a theophany. The divine image the seer beholds is often described as the ‘glory of God'. The Apocalypse of Baruch ( 3 Baruch) is unique among apocalyptic literature in that Baruch, the main character and heavenly sojourner, receives no vision of God, despite all signs within the narrative pointing to a theophanic climax. The most significant indication is an oft-repeated promise by his angelic guide that he would ‘see the glory of God'. Scholars are divided as to how to explain this unfulfilled expectation in the narrative. In this essay, it is argued that the ‘glory of God’ concept is broader and more multi-faceted in 3 Baruch than in other apocalyptic works. In this regard, Baruch does see the glory of God even without experiencing a theophany.

Reviewed by: The Prophets of Israel: Walking the Ancient Paths by James K. Hoffmeier John A. Beck james k. hoffmeier, The Prophets of Israel: Walking the Ancient Paths (Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2021). Pp. 398. $49.99. James K. Hoffmeier's experiences as a field archaeologist couple with forty years of teaching Hebrew exegesis and the prophets to deliver this masterly treatment of prophecy and prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible. Hoffmeier sees the prophets of the Hebrew Bible as divinely sent guides who superintend the spiritual health of the Lord's people by measuring conformity with the directions found in the Sinai covenant. The goal of this publication is to lay the foundation for a sound understanding of biblical prophets and a sound reading of the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible. Such competent reading requires an understanding of the various contexts of the communication event. Consequently, the author links the prophets and prophetic texts with the geopolitical realities that reside behind the texts, offers cultural insights derived from literary and archaeological sources, and attends to the role that geography plays in making the texts of the prophets meaningful. This includes sensitivity to the connotations that become linked to places—the way people think and feel about a place given what happened there before. Hoffmeier develops his discussion of the prophets and their literature over eight chapters, most averaging sixty pages in length. Chapter 1 animates the study with a general introduction to the idea of prophecy and prophets as conceived in the ancient Near East and evidenced in the language of the OT. For readers of the Bible, the prophet was a "proclaimer of divine revelations" (p. 23). Many were "personal chaplains to the rulers" putting them in "an ideal position to record the acts of the kings and comment on their fidelity to God's law" (p. 21). They were intercessors whose task was "to bring people back to a right relationship with God vis-à-vis the covenant" (p. 43). In chap. 2, H. offers a wonderful overview of the prophets of the OT who are not depicted as writing or whose writings have not survived. These are the so-called nonliterary prophets. We find such prophets active in most OT eras. They include Deborah, Samuel, Gad, Nathan, Ahijah, Shemaiah, Elijah, Elisha, Micaiah, Zechariah son of Jehoiada, and a host of male and female prophets whose names are not preserved in the texts. With the idea of prophets and prophecy firmly placed before the reader, H. moves chronologically and geographically, treating the writing prophets who share a given era and context. Chapter 3 treats the eighth-century prophets of Israel; chap. 4, the eighth-century prophets of Judah; chap. 5, the seventh- and sixth-century prophets of Judah; chap. 6, the prophets of the Babylonian exile; chap. 7, the postexilic prophets; and chap. 8, the prophets [End Page 339] of the NT. In each of these chapters, H. identifies the key issue or issues that need attention, provides copious quotations of the prophetic texts to illustrate how such issues are raised and addressed by the language of the book itself, illustrates the organization of the book and its movement of thought, all the while addressing the various types of historical, cultural, and geographical background that sharpen understanding of the messaging. Each chapter includes sidebars that offer insight on topics like the use of the bow and arrow as symbol, NT citations from Isaiah, Jeremiah's travels to Egypt, and apocalyptic literature. Finally, each chapter closes with a set of discussion questions that invite the reader to recall key elements of the chapter's presentation and solicits thought beyond the bounds of what the author said. This publication stands apart from others in a variety of ways. Given H.'s scholarly credentials, this book could have been written with a depth that made it inaccessible to the nonspecialist. That is not the case. The book has a narrative-like quality, written in clear prose that flows logically throughout. Page-spreads are beautifully composed with photographs, maps, and illustrations that further illustrate the insights the author is delivering. In short, this is a highly accessible book. I can see...

New Croatian fantastic prose (which was constituted as a genre at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, and reached its peak in the 1970s after which, in different variations of the genre, it has kept appearing until today) is often called the literature of “subversion”. Fantastic writers consciously take a step away from poetic and social norms of their time thus creating a discourse which pronouncedly corresponds to mythical in expressing ideas which are often contrary or strongly destabilizing for the ruling social ideology. This objective makes them reach into the treasury of mythical motives, symbols and techniques whose source lies in (also subversive) medieval literary genre – apocalyptic literature. All of these texts (canonic and apocryphal) are listed in literature under one common denominator – apocalyptic literature – and their purpose is to teach people about future things (i.e. ones that come after death). In medieval apocalyptic texts, especially apocryphal, a man – in ruling ideology raised to the pedestal of the peak of God’s creation – is seen as a sinner who, regardless of his social status, needs to be righteously punished for his sins. Apocalyptic writers with special enthusiasm describe the tortures awaiting high social classes and rulers, as well as priests. Mythical “revenge” for earthly evil done to their subjects often comes in the form of punishment which animals, otherwise inferior, but now after death and God’s final judgement, dominant and allied with God’s anger, will perform over them. Monsters and beasts destabilize the commonly accepted, ideologized image of a man, ruler of animals according to the Book of Genesis because after death animals rule over man and the greatest punishment for his earthly sins is the dehumanization the animals will perform.

Animosity in apocalyptic literature – the Book of Daniel What is reflected in apocalyptic literature about the subject of animosity? Apocalyptic literature is limited in this article to the Book of Daniel, because it is the most extended apocalyptic text in the Old Testament. Before an apocalyptic work can be discussed, it is important to answer several preliminary questions: what is apocalyptic literature, and what is the phenomenon of apocalypticism? What are the characteristics of this genre? And what are the socio-historical origins of apocalyptic movements? To understand the Book of Daniel, it is imperative to discuss the two “Sitze im Leben” present in the development of the book. These “Sitze” are the supposed sixth-century BCE exile of Judah, and the second-century BCE Jewish persecution under the Syrian king, Antiochus. The patterns of animosity in the Book of Daniel are discussed in terms of the relationship between God and people; Jews and a foreign king; Jews and their neighbours; and two groups operating in the Jewish community according to apocalyptic perception, believing and compromising Jews. The story of Daniel in the lion’s den (Dan. 6) is used as a case study to demonstrate these patterns. The conclusion of the study is that the tales (Dan. 1-6) and visions (Dan. 7-12) can only be understood properly in terms of the patterns of animosity present in the different plots behind the texts.

The apocalyptic texts often portray ancient inspired figures as experiencing revelation through the divine transfer of knowledge. To be sure, many of the recipients of revelation in apocalyptic literature are not generally understood as prophets within the biblical framework. This chapter examines the appearance of sapiential revelation in two central apocalyptic texts that are each featured prominently among the Qumran manuscripts - Daniel and 1 Enoch. 1 Enoch and Daniel represent well the heritage of apocalyptic literature from the late Second Temple period as well as the apocalyptic proclivity of the Qumran sectarian community. Recent scholarship on 1 Enoch has argued that 1 Enoch is the product of a distinct social group within Second Temple Judaism, usually identified as Enochic Judaism.Keywords: 1 Enoch; apocalyptic literature; biblical prophets; Daniel; Qumran manuscripts; sapiential revelation; Second Temple Judaism

Marvin A. Sweeney, Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature

Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature. By MARVIN A. SWEENEY.

Thomas Wagner reviews Marvin A. Sweeney, Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature (Forschungen zum Alten Testament, 45; Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2005).

The transhumanist venture brings dramatically to the forefront the matter of Christian responsibility in a techno-scientific age. From the beginning, Christians have struggled to determine the roles they are expected to play in the divine–human narrative. This tension is palpable through the refrains of prophetic and apocalyptic literature, calling for a change of heart and action on the one hand but professing on the other that, without divine intervention, no meaningful transformation is possible. If the church is to fulfill its mission, it cannot be via “business as usual,” following historic trends merely to react to exigencies of the moment. Recognizing that we are never where we are meant to be, the church has a significant opportunity to lead the way forward.

The Interpreting Angel Motif in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature

Review of Marvin A. Sweeney, Form and Intertextuality in Prophetic and Apocalyptic Literature

Part I Rhetoric defined: historical survey of rhetoric, George A. Kennedy the genres of rhetoric, George A. Kennedy arrangement, Wilhelm Wuellner invention, Malcolm Heath style, Galen O. Rowe delivery and memory, Thomas H. Albright. Part II Rhetoric in practice: the Epistle, Jeffrey T. Reed philosophical prose, Dirk M. Schenkeveld, historical prose, Stefan Rebenich poetry and rhetoric, Ruth Webb biography, Richard A. Burridge oratory and declamation homily and panegyrical sermon, Folker Siegert the rhetoric of romance, Ronald F. Hock apocalyptic and prophetic literature, Jonathan M. Knight drama and rhetoric, Ruth Scodel. Part III Individual writers and the rhetorical tradition: the Gospel and Acts, Richard A. Burridge Paul of Tarsus and his letter, Stanley E. Porter the general New Testament writings, Lauri Thuren the Johannine writings, Dennis L. Stamps the Greek Christian writers, Wolfram Kinzig the Latin church fathers, Philip E. Satterthwaite Philo of Alexandria, Thomas M. Conley Plutarch, Hubert M. Martin Jr the rhetoric of Josephus, Donna R. Runnalls cynics and rhetoric, Ronald F. Hock translations of the Old Testament - Greek, John A.L. Lee translations of the Old Testament - Latin, Kevin H. Lee rhetoric in the Christian Apocrypha, Richard I. Pervo the rhetoric of inscriptions, Edwin A. Judge.