The Scriptures in the Book of Revelation and Apocalyptic Literature: Essays in Honour of Steve Moyise (The Library of New Testament Studies)

This volume addresses one of the key issues in the study of the Book of Revelation and the apocalyptic genre more broadly – the re-use within these texts of the Jewish Scriptures. A range of expert contributors analyse specific themes and passages, and also explore wider methodological questions, aiming particularly to engage with the ground-breaking work in this field of Steve Moyise. Divided into three sections, the book first focuses on hermeneutical questions, such as the role of ‘typology’ in interpretation, and the relationship between the ‘original meaning’ of a scriptural text and the sense it acquires in a new literary context. In the following section, a series of chapters offers detailed exegetical engagement with the Book of Revelation. These probe the scriptural background of some of its major theological themes (e.g. time, sounds and silence) and significant passages (e.g. the Song of the Lamb and other hymns), and highlight fresh aspects of its reception by both ancient and modern audiences. The final section considers the place of scripture and its interpretation in a selection of other early Jewish and early Christian apocalyptic writings (including 1 Enoch, Paul’s Letters and the First Apocryphal Apocalypse of John).

Susan Docherty is Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism at Newman University Birmingham, UK.

Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.

Sir Steve Smith is Professor of International Studies and Vice Chancellor of the University of Exeter, UK.