Parables of War: Reading John's Jewish Apocalypse Contributor(s): Marshall, John W. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0889203741 ISBN-13: 9780889203747 Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press OUR PRICE: $42.74 Product Type: Paperback Published: November 2001 |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Religion | Biblical Studies - Prophecy - Religion | Christian Theology - Eschatology - Religion | Judaism - Sacred Writings |
Dewey: 228.06 |
Series: Studies in Christianity and Judaism |
Physical Information: 0.4" H x 5.9" W x 9" (0.70 lbs) 265 pages |
Themes: - Religious Orientation - Christian - Religious Orientation - Jewish |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: What makes the Book of Revelation so hard to understand? How does the Book of Revelation fit into Judaism and the beginning of Christianity? John W. Marshall proposes a radical reinterpretation of the Book of Revelation of John, viewing it as a document of the Jewish diaspora during the Judean War. He contends that categorizing the Book as Christian has been an impediment in interpreting the Apocalypse. By suspending that category, solutions to several persistent problems in contemporary exegesis of the Apocalypse are facilitated. The author thus undertakes a rereading of the Book of Revelation that does not merely enumerate elements of a Jewish background but understands the Book of Revelation as an integral whole and a thoroughly Jewish text. Marshall carefully scrutinizes the problems that plague contemporary interpretations of the Book of Revelation, and how the category of Christian relates to such problems. He employs the works of Mieke Bal, Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Jean FranĀ+ois Lyotard, and Jonathan Z. Smith as theoretical resources. In the second half of his study, he provides detailed descriptions of the social and cultural context of the diaspora during the Judean War, and constructive rereadings of four key text complexes. The result is a portrait of the Apocalypse of John that envisions the document as deeply invested in the Judaism of its time, pursuing rhetorical objectives that are not defined by the issues that scholars use to differentiate Judaism from Christianity. |
Contributor Bio(s): Marshall, John W.: - John W. Marshall teaches early Christianity and Second Temple Judaism in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto. |