ESCHATOLOGICAL JUDAISM: THE APOCALYPTIC CURRENT
The term ‘eschatology’ refers to the concept of the ‘last things’: the end of life, the end of the world, final judgement, life after death. Death has always been a part of life, and there is much said about it in the OT. Yet the idea that there was life after death seems to have developed only very late in the OT literature. It is generally agreed that for much of the OT writings, death brought the end of the individual as a person. Something survived in Sheol, but the shadowy existence there was not life as such and the shade (nefeš) was not the person.
Alongside the ‘official’ teaching of the literature, though, there may have been other more popular beliefs. The exact form of these beliefs is not entirely clear; indeed, one should probably think of a variety of beliefs rather than a unified doctrine. The indications are that the dead were regarded as having powers and knowledge of the future in some circles. The question is currently being debated; in any case, the view that death could be survived becomes a clear view only in the Persian or Greek periods. It has been suggested that this was primarily due to Zoroastrian or Greek influence, though others have argued that it was a natural development from Israelite roots. Demonstrating the matter one way or the other is difficult, and there is no reason to rule out any of these possibilities in the light of present knowledge.
Personal survival after death is only one aspect of eschatology. The whole phenomenon of apocalypticism takes up not only personal survival and judgement of the individual but the end of the world, cosmic cataclysm, final judgement of all living, new heavens and a new earth. The idea that all human history has followed a foreordained divine plan becomes an important theme in some apocalyptic literature. Apocalypticism, with its many facets, seems to have arisen in the Persian period, though its roots may go back to a variety of antecedents in Israel and the ancient Near East.
4.2 Definition and Origins of Apocalypticism
Defining apocalypticism is not easy. The term comes from the Greek words apokaluptō, ‘to reveal’, and apokalupsis, ‘revelation’, but has been especially influenced by the contents of such books as the New Testament book of Revelation. The characteristics and imagery of Revelation have often been those taken to be the constituents of apocalypticism, but there are also other books of antiquity which have ‘apocalypse’ in their titles. There is general agreement on a core of books which can be called apocalypses: Revelation, Daniel 7–12,1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra. Within these are a number of characteristics which are widely found in apocalypses:
• Pseudepigraphical attribution
• Heavenly tour (other worldly journey)
• Revelation of divine secrets
• End of the world (cosmic cataclysm)
• Messianic figure
• Visions
• Other (angelic) worldly mediator
• Review of history (ex eventu prophecy)
The difficulty is deciding whether some characteristics are essential and some are not. What happens when you have one feature (e.g. a review of history) but not another (e.g. a heavenly journey)?
A great deal of effort has been made to define the literary genre of apocalypse; however, there is more to apocalypticism than apocalypses. Writings other than apocalypses may give us important information about apocalypticism. Therefore, we have to distinguish between the literary genre of apocalypse, which has to conform to certain formal criteria, and the phenomenon of apocalypticism whose characteristics are known from a variety of literary sources and religious and social manifestations. If we want to know about apocalypticism, we have to look at far more than just the strict apocalypses. Too often apocalypticism is discussed only as a literary entity when it can also be a social entity. It may be connected with social movements or social attitudes which go beyond a mere theoretical treatment in writing.
This is important to keep in mind, for those discussing apocalypticism have often assumed an automatic equation between literature and the social and religious aspects of the phenomenon. But this is not necessarily the case: ‘apocalyptic communities’ do not necessarily produce apocalypses. For example, Qumran has often been referred to as an apocalyptic community, yet it seems to have produced little in the way of apocalyptic literature in the strict sense. On the other hand, apocalyptic literature may be studied and believed by those who show no proclivity to form or live in an ‘apocalyptic community’.
A lot of study has also gone into the question of the origin of apocalypticism, as if its origins will help us to understand it. They may indeed, but we should not assume so. Several origins have been suggested. The first of these is to make it a foreign borrowing, usually from Iran. The assumption is that during the Persian period apocalypticism grew up under Iranian influence. Not infrequently such a view has accompanied a rather negative attitude toward apocalypticism: if it is due to foreign influence, it can more easily rejected as ‘non-Israelite’. Of course, one should then ask why it was found so useful and attractive to have been borrowed into Israel!
Apart from this particular prejudice, another problem is trying to date the Iranian sources. Much Iranian literature is post-Islamic in its present form and thus a millennium or more later than the alleged borrowing by the Jews. To what extent the Iranian apocalyptic and related literature was already in existence, even in some earlier form, in the third or fourth century BCE is debatable. On the other hand, there are resemblances between the apocalyptic writings and some of the Akkadian literature which is unquestionably earlier than apocalypticism among the Jews. So the Near Eastern connection is definitely there, if perhaps to be somewhat differently conceived than some of the earlier arguments about Iranian borrowings.
As a second suggestion, some have noted the close relationship with prophecy and have argued that apocalypticism derives from prophecy. This approach is somewhat controversial because some scholars have wanted to privilege prophecy and disassociate apocalypticism from it. Others allow a connection but think apocalypticism is a degeneration of prophecy. Both of these approaches are rather negative towards apocalypticism, but others see it in a more positive light as simply a development of prophecy. They usually put an emphasis on apocalypticism as an Israelite phenomenon, though to use this to make it more acceptable is as fallacious an argument as to reject it because it is allegedly foreign. (I have argued that it should be classified as a sub-category of prophecy, but not everyone would agree with me.)
A third approach is to derive it from wisdom. This has not received a great deal of support because, despite having some resemblances to standard wisdom, apocalyptic literature is very different from books such as Proverbs. On the other hand, some biblical passages such as the book of Daniel and the Joseph story (Genesis 37, 39–50) have a good deal in common with both apocalypticism and wisdom. This has led to the thesis that apocalypticism is connected with wisdom but a version of wisdom somewhat different from that of Proverbs: mantic wisdom. This form of wisdom emphasizes intellect, learning, observation, thought, and divine guidance just as does Proverbs, but it has to do with knowledge of the future and the spiritual world – a form of esoteric wisdom.
Other proposals have been made from time to time, such as making it a scribal or a priestly phenomenon or associating it with the Hellenistic world. It looks as if there is some truth in these suggestions as well as the three general relationships noted above. The connection with prophecy is plain but so is that with mantic wisdom; this makes us realize the overlap between prophecy and mantic wisdom. In that sense, apocalypticism is a native development. Yet the probable influence from other ancient Near East cultures can also be taken as demonstrated. In recognizing this, one must not forget that the Hellenistic world inherited a great deal from its Near Eastern predecessors (see section 1.1.3), so that apocalypticism is a broad movement in the Hellenistic world and not confined to the Jews. The apocalyptic and related writings show scribal creation and nurture, but apocalypticism was probably also cultivated in some priestly circles, including most likely the Jerusalem priesthood. To understand the phenomenon, we have to be inclusive rather than exclusive.
4.3 Apocalypses and Related Literature
It is debated as to whether some of the prophetic books of the Old Testament already represent apocalypses. For example, a number of scholars would reckon that Zechariah 1–8 was already an apocalypse. Other Old Testament sections which have certain resemblances to apocalypses are Joel, Isaiah 24–27, and portions of Isaiah 56–66. The one Old Testament book which is universally counted as an apocalypse is Daniel 7–12. It is not, however, the earliest apocalypse by any means: this part of Daniel is no earlier than about 165 BCE.
Several sections of 1 Enoch are probably a century or more older than this. The Astronomical Book is represented by 1 Enoch 72–82, but the present text of that book seems to be only a summary of its original contents; the Qumran fragments and some other comparative material indicate a much more extensive writing originally. The Astronomical Book is dated by some as early as the late fourth century, though it is not really in the form of an apocalypse. The Book of Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36), however, is an apocalypse and has been dated roughly to around 300 BCE. The Animal Apocalypse (85–90) is from roughly the time of Daniel 7–12, since it ends at the time of the Maccabaean revolt but before the temple was retaken; the Dream Visions (83–84) are probably about the same time. The Epistle of Enoch (91–107) is now dated to the early first century BCE. There has been much recent controversy over the Parables (Similitudes) of Enoch (37–71), but many scholars want to date them to the first century ce. If so, they are the latest part of the book.
The Testament of Abraham seems to be from the first century ce. In it Abraham is able to witness the judgement of the souls of the dead. I would also consider the Testament of Moses to be an apocalypse, though not everyone would agree. A good deal of it is a review of history up to the time of Herod’s sons. It is generally thought that an original version of it was written about the time of the Maccabaean revolt; this was later updated after the death of Herod the Great. The dating of 2 Enoch is also controversial, but many would also see it as written during the first century ce.
Several apocalypses come from right at the end of the first century, about 100 ce. This would include the New Testament book of Revelation and also 4 Ezra (2 Esdras) and 2 Baruch. Some of the material of 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch is very similar, suggesting a close connection between these two books, but all three of these have some interesting points in common. Revelation is written from a Christian perspective, of course, even though it has much in common with Jewish apocalypses. Both 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch address the question of why the temple should be in ruins and the Jewish people in their present state of despair. The Apocalypse of Abraham is not easy to date, but many would see it as from roughly the same time as the other three apocalypses listed here.
4.4 Ideas about Life after Death
As noted in section 4.1 most of the books of the Hebrew Bible do not seem to envisage life after death as such. Life in its proper sense ends at death, even if there is some shadowy vestige which continues to exist in Sheol. When belief in some form of afterlife began to enter Israelite thinking is not known. As indicated in section 4.1, the view that the dead could communicate with and influence the living may have been around in some parts of Israelite society from an early time, but this is a moot point. What is clear is that sometime in the Persian or early Greek period, ideas about the afterlife had entered Jewish thinking.
4.4.2 Resurrection of the Dead
It is sometimes asserted that the resurrection of the body was the characteristic Jewish belief. This is not borne out by the data. A variety of beliefs seem to be attested about the same time in Israelite history. One of these was the resurrection of the body, but there is little reason to think that it was earlier or more characteristic of Jewish thinking than the immortality of the soul or resurrection of the spirit. And it is clear that some Jews still maintained the older belief in no afterlife. The Sadducees (see section 2.7) are one group who thought so; so did Ben Sira. Writing about 190 BCE Ben Sira does not seem to think of any life beyond death, as interpreted by the vast majority of scholars. Therefore, it would be quite wrong to refer to any of these beliefs as ‘characteristically’ Jewish or the Jewish belief on the subject.
The earliest reference to the resurrection is probably found in the ‘Isaiah Apocalypse’ (Isaiah 24–27), though the dating of this passage is controversial. Here the resurrection of the dead into their previous bodily form seems to be in the mind of the author (26:19–21). Other passages of the Old Testament have been interpreted as references to the resurrection but probably did not have that original meaning. For example, Ezekiel 37 talks of the dry bones which become living human beings; however, it is clear that this is an allegory for the restoration of Israel (37:11–14), not a return of dead Israelites to life when only skeletons remained. Apart from Isaiah 24–27 which is difficult to date, the earliest datable reference to the resurrection is Daniel 12:2 from about 165 BCE. Here the resurrection is not universal but involves only some of the dead. The righteous achieve what is referred to as ‘astral immortality’; that is, they become like the stars of heaven (12:3). After this resurrection is found widely in the literature.
A good example is 2 Maccabees 7 which describes the torture and death of a mother and her seven sons because they refused to break the law:
[7:9] And when he was at his last breath, he said, ‘You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from the present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to an everlasting renewal of life, because we have died for his laws.’ After him, the third was the victim of their sport. When it was demanded, he quickly put out his tongue and courageously stretched forth his hands [to be cut off|, and said nobly, ‘I got these from Heaven, and because of his laws I disdain them, and from him I hope to get them back again.’
This seems to expect the resurrection of the body, because the parts cut off would be restored. A clear example is found 2 Baruch 49–51:
[50:2] For the earth will certainly then restore the dead it now receives so as to preserve them: it will make no changes in their form, but as it has received them, so it will restore them, and as I delivered them to it, so also will it raise them. For those who are then alive must be shown that the dead have come to life again, and that those who had departed have returned. And when they have recognized those they know now, then the judgement will begin, and what you have been told already will come to pass.
The exact form of the resurrection is not always specified, but we should not expect it always to entail resurrection of the body. Sometimes only the resurrection of the spirit is in mind, as in Jubilees 23:20–22:
And at that time the Lord will heal his servants, and they shall be exalted and prosper greatly; and they shall drive out their adversaries. And the righteous shall see it and be thankful, and rejoice with joy for ever and ever; and they shall see all the punishments and curses that had been their lot falling on their enemies. And their bones shall rest in the earth, and their spirits shall have much joy; and they shall know that the Lord is one who executes judgement, and shows mercy to hundreds, and to tens of thousands, and to all that love him.
4.4.3 The Immortality of the Soul
Belief in the immortality of the soul is known at least as early as the Book of Watchers (1 Enoch 1–36). The souls of the various sorts of people are preserved in hollow places after death (1 Enoch 22):
And from there I went to another place, and he showed me in the west a large and high mountain, and a hard rock and four beautiful places, and inside it was deep and wide and very smooth . . . Then Raphael, one of the holy angels who was with me, answered me and said to me, These beautiful places are intended for this, that the spirits, the souls of the dead, might be gathered into them; for them they were created, that here they might gather all the souls of the sons of men. And these places they made where they will keep them until the day of their judgement and until their appointed time – and that appointed time will be long – until the great judgement comes upon them.
As the rest of the passage indicates, the souls of the dead are already experiencing reward and punishment in their intermediate state. In this case, the existence of the soul after death seems to be combined with the idea of a final judgement. This may imply a general resurrection, though this is not stated explicitly. In other sections of 1 Enoch, a resurrection is mentioned (46:6; 51:1; 90:33; 91:10; 92:3–4).
Other sources give no indication of a resurrection at all, only the immortal soul. A good example is Wisdom of Solomon which speaks of the soul (e.g., 3:1–9) but does not mention the resurrection. Whether Wisdom thinks the souls of all are immortal, or only those of the righteous, is debated. Many feel that immortality is not inherent in the soul itself but is a gift given only to the righteous.
The Testament of Abraham gives the clearest picture of how the souls are judged after death (Version A 11–14; Version B 9–11). The souls are brought before a throne on which Abel sits as judge. The one who presents the souls for judgement is Enoch, the scribe of righteousness (Version B only). The judged souls go either through the strait gate which leads to life (for the righteous) or the broad gate to destruction (for the sinners). Although there is a brief indication of belief in a general resurrection in the Testament of Abraham (Version B 7:16), judgement of each individual seems to take place immediately after death, and the emphasis is on this immediate judgement of the soul while the body rests in the grave.
On the other hand, the immortal souls and the resurrection may be combined, as in 2 Baruch 29–30:
[30:2] And it shall come to pass at that time that the treasuries will be opened in which is preserved the number of the souls of the righteous, and they will come out, and the multitude of souls will appear together in one single assembly; and those who are first will rejoice, and those who are last will not be cast down. For each one of them will known that the predetermined end of the times has come. But the souls of the wicked, when they see all this, will be the more discomforted. For they will know that their torment is upon them and that their perdition has arrived.
4.5 Expectations far the End of the World
There was a widespread view that the age of the world was finite and that history was played out according to a predetermined divine plan. This is indicated by the ‘review of history’ found in many of the apocalypses and related writings. Many of these reviews seem to end just about the time the particular writing was written. It is not unusual for the review of history to follow biblical or known history fairly closely to the time of writing, then to make a genuine prediction at that point.
A good example is Daniel 11 in which the writer shows reasonable knowledge of the interaction between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties. At verse 40, however, the events described begin to differ from those known to us in historical accounts. The writer also mentions ‘the time of the end’. The clear explanation is that the writer has been describing known history up to this point but then begins to engage in genuine prediction. Unfortunately, his predictions turned out to be wrong. Antiochus did not meet his end while camped in Palestine. Similar reviews of history – vaticinia ex eventu (prophecies after the event) – are found in the Animal Apocalypse (1 Enoch 85–90), the Testament of Moses, 2 Baruch 53–74, and the Apocalypse of Weeks (1 Enoch 93:2–9 + 91:12–17).
But whether or not there is a detailed review of history, the idea of the endtime and living near that time is found in many apocalypses. This is not always expressed in a clear-cut or definite manner, and in some cases the idea of the end of the world may have been only a vaguely expected and somewhat ill-defined belief. But one of the most characteristic elements of apocalyptic and related literature is the view that the eschaton has come, either for the individual or for the whole human race. For many, it was the world itself which was in its last days.
The most frequent way of expressing this was to see the present world empire, usually expressed under a symbol, as about to be destroyed. As already discussed above, Antiochus Epiphanes’ Seleucid empire is represented in several passages in Daniel as a creature (7:19–27; 8:23–25), and is also represented as the King of the North in ch. 11. In each case, God himself intervenes to put an end to the final dominant kingdom. Another good example is the eagle vision of 4 Ezra 11–12 in which the Roman empire is symbolized by the eagle. After it is described at length, it is suddenly destroyed:
[11:33] After this I looked again and saw the head in the middle suddenly disappear, just as the wings had done. But the two heads remained, which also in like manner ruled over the earth and its inhabitants. And while I looked, I saw the head on the right side devour the one on the left. Then I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Look in front of you and consider what you see.’ When I looked, I saw what seemed to be a lion roused from the forest, roaring; and I heard how it uttered a human voice to the eagle, and spoke . . . [12:1] While the lion was saying these words to the eagle, I looked and saw that the remaining head had disappeared. The two wings that had gone over to it rose up and set themselves up to reign, and their reign was brief and full of tumult. When I looked again, they were already vanishing. The whole body of the eagle was burned, and the earth was exceedingly terrified . . . [12:31] And as for the lion whom you saw rousing up out of the forest and roaring and speaking to the eagle and reproving him for his unrighteousness, and as for all his words that you have heard, this is the Messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the offspring of David, and will come and speak with them. He will denounce them for their ungodliness and for their wickedness, and will display before them their contemptuous dealings. For first he will bring them alive before his judgment seat, and when he has reproved them, then he will destroy them. But in mercy he will set free the remnant of my people, those who have been saved throughout my borders, and he will make them joyful until the end comes, the day of judgment, of which I spoke to you at the beginning.
A similar idea is found in the New Testament book of Revelation which is roughly contemporary with 4 Ezra. Rome is represented by a beast borrowed from Daniel (Revelation 13:1–4):
And I saw a beast rising out of the sea; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. They worshipped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshipped the beast, saying ‘Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?’
Although this beast survives one mortal blow to the astonishment of the world, it is ultimately judged by the returning Christ and is ‘thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur’ (Revelation 19:20).
One view was that the approaching endtime would be heralded by a series of ‘troubles’ (sometimes referred to as the ‘Messianic woes’ or ‘birthpangs of the Messiah’). This is what the Olivet prophecy pictures in the Gospels (Mark 13; Matthew 24; Luke 21), as a brief quotation will show (Mark 13:8,19):
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birthpangs . . . For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and never will be. And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved . . .
A similar picture is given in 4 Ezra 5:1–13:
Now concerning the signs: lo, the days are coming when those who inhabit the earth shall be seized with great terror, and the way of truth shall be hidden, and the land shall be barren of faith . . . [4] and the sun shall suddenly begin to shine at night, and the moon during the day. Blood shall drip from wood, and the stone shall utter its voice; the peoples shall be troubled, and the stars shall fall. And one shall reign whom those who inhabit the earth do not expect, and the birds shall fly away together; and the Dead Sea shall cast up fish . . . [8] There shall be chaos also in many places, fire shall often break out, the wild animals shall roam beyond their haunts, and menstruous women shall bring forth monsters.
A further account of these signs is given in 4 Ezra 6; 18–28:
[20] When the seal is placed upon the age that is about to pass away, then I will show these signs: the books shall be opened before the face of the firmament, and all shall see my judgment together. Children a year old shall speak with their voices, and pregnant women shall give birth to premature children at three and four months, and these shall live and leap about . . . [24] At that time friends shall make war on friends like enemies, the earth and those who inhabit it shall be terrified, and the springs of the fountains shall stand still, so that for three hours they shall not flow.
A common theme in some of the classical historians (e.g. Herodotus) is that of ‘prodigies’ heralding important events – unusual or special happenings. In apocalypses these prodigies have their parallel in the signs preceding the endtime. A major feature of these ‘woes’ is the reversal of normality: the world is turned upside down; the expected order of society has become its opposite; nothing is the way it should be. Chaos has re-entered the cosmos. Yet even though these increase the suffering of mankind, they are welcome because God will soon intervene to bring an end to all human suffering. In some cases, the righteous escape the endtime woes, but this does not always seem to be the case.
Many of the references to the endtime are non-specific, but they often make two assumptions: the endtime was predicted by God long ago, and the writers themselves are living in or near that time. Some texts go even further than this, however; they attempt to show that the time of the end had already been calculated according to a particular schema long before. When we look at different texts, we seem to find a different basis of calculation in different texts; in other words, a variety of modes or bases of calculation has been used. Most of these seem to arise from particular texts in the Old Testament, even if the texts used were rather obscure. Some of the modes used are discussed in the next two sections.
Based on Psalm 90:4 the view developed that human history followed the plan of a thousand-year week. That is, all human history would be packed into 6000 years, followed by a millennial Sabbath. Exactly how early this developed is not clear. One of the earliest plain references to it is the early Christian writing Epistle of Barnabas from about 150 ce (15:4):
Notice, children, what is the meaning of ‘He made an end in six days.’ He means this, that the Lord will make an end of everything in six thousand years, for a day with him means a thousand years.
However, the same idea seems to lie behind 2 Peter 3:8 and especially Revelation 20:
[20:4] I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and to the word of God . . . They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and Christ, and they will reign with him a thousand years.
This model for human history then became quite widespread in early Christian writers, though in time there was a reaction against what was seen as too much emphasis on the physical ‘indulgences’ expected during the Millennium.
The question is how early the idea of a ‘world week’ arose in Judaism. Jubilees 4:30 has a statement similar to Psalm 90:4 but does not go further. From the first century the Testament of Abraham presupposes a 7000-year programme of human history, though one version is clearer than the other:
[Version A 19:7] And Death said, ‘Hear, righteous Abraham, for seven ages I ravage the world and I lead everyone down into Hades – kings and rulers, rich and poor, slaves and free I send into the depth of Hades.’
[Version B 7:15–16] And Michael said to Abraham, ‘Your son Isaac has spoken the truth; for you are [the sun], and you will be taken up into the heavens, while your body remains on the earth until seven thousand ages are fulfilled.’
Josephus mentions that the earth was about 5000 years old in his own time (Antiquities Proem. 3 §13; Against Apion 1.1 §1). In 4 Ezra there is the puzzling figure of 5042 years to the time of Ezra (14:48 Syriac version). Although this has never been satisfactorily explained before, I believe that it is to be tied in with the Messianic Age of 400 years (4 Ezra 7:28). If we assume that the 5042 years is meant to refer to the real Ezra, this would make the writing of the book (c.100 ce) close to the year 5600. If we add the 400 years of the Messiah, this gives an age of the world of 6000 years before God then brings about the cosmic regeneration. If so, then the writer seems to have believed that he was living near the time of the coming of the Messiah. A number of Christian writers (e.g. Julius Africanus) put the birth of Jesus in the year 5500 from the creation of the world. This also seems to fit in with the idea that human history would run for 6000 years before ‘God’s time’ would be introduced.
4.6.2 The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy
Daniel 9 has one of the most startling prophecies with a specific time frame. This passage explicitly asks about the prophecy of 70 years mentioned by Jeremiah (25:11–12; 29:10). It then goes on to reinterpret Jeremiah’s prophecy as a reference to seventy weeks of years (Daniel 9:24–27). What is surprising is that more explicit reference is not made to this passage, especially to speculate on its meaning. It is normally taken to refer to the death of the high priest Onias III about 170 BCE just before the Maccabaean revolt (1.1.4), but it becomes important in later Christian writings as a way of calculating the coming of the Messiah. There is some evidence that speculation about it also occurred among Jewish interpreters, but the evidence is more circumstantial.
Perhaps one of the clearer and more interesting examples is found in the Qumran scrolls. The Damascus Document 1:5–11 speaks of a figure of 390 years. This of course corresponds with the period of Israel’s punishment as stipulated in the book of Ezekiel (4:4–5), but this would not prevent the writer from also thinking of Daniel 9. The 390 years in the Damascus Document is followed by the figure of 20 years of groping until the Teacher of Righteousness comes. There are statements to the effect that a period of 40 years would elapse between the death of the Teacher and the end of the age (CD 20:14–15; 4QpPsa 2:6–8). If one allows another round figure of 40 years (= one generation) for the life of the Teacher, we come to 490 years. The two figures of 40 years are stereotyped, but stereotyping is typical of this sort of chronographical speculation:
| From Nebuchadnezzar to the first ‘groping’ | 390 |
| The period of ‘groping’ until the Teacher | 20 |
| The life of the Teacher | 40 |
| From the death of the Teacher to the endtime | 40 |
| Total | 490 |
Two further interpretations may have the 70 weeks of Daniel as their base. In his description of the siege of Jerusalem, Josephus states (War 6.5.4 §311):
Thus the Jews, after the demolition of Antonia [the fortress near the temple], reduced the temple to a square, although they had it recorded in their oracles that the city and the sanctuary would be taken when the temple should become four-square.
A second oracle is mentioned in the same context (War 6.5.4 §§312–13):
But what more than all else incited them to the war was an ambiguous oracle, likewise found in their sacred scriptures, to the effect that at that time one from their country would become ruler of the world. This they understood to mean someone of their own race, and many of their wise men went astray in their interpretation of it. The oracle, however, in reality signified the sovereignty of Vespasian, who was proclaimed Emperor on Jewish soil.
Both these oracles are somewhat unclear as to which biblical passage they refer. It is difficult to find one which seems to fit better than Daniel 9, however, which is why many scholars have connected one or both of these with the 70-weeks prophecy. This suggests that it was used as a means of trying to work out the end of the age in some circles, though the failure of such prophecies may have been the reason that clearer examples have not survived. One further example may be found in 1lQMelchizedek which is quoted in the next section.
As already noted in section 3.8, the concept of the Messiah primarily had to do with an earthly figure whose inspiration was either the Israelite king or high priest. Both were anointed figures. The idea of a heavenly figure as the Messiah is well known from the New Testament, but this was not the dominant view. Nevertheless, we have some texts which envisage a heavenly figure, though not always the same concept and certainly not corresponding to the New Testament figure. The New Testament figure was ultimately shaped by the Jesus tradition and, whatever the Jewish antecedents followed, took on its own unique configuration based on the Christological development within Christianity. It would not be surprising if the New Testament model differed from anything found in early Jewish texts.
One of the earliest texts with a heavenly Messiah is the text from Qumran called 11QMelchizedek (2:4–18):
[He said, To proclaim liberty to the, captives (Isa. lxi, 1). Its interpretation is that He] will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melchizedek; f[or He will cast] their [lot] amid the po[rtions of Melchize]dek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them [the wrong-doings] of all their iniquities.
And this thing will [occur] in the first week of the jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the e[nd of the] tenth [Ju]bilee, when all the Sons of [Light] and the men of the lot of Mel[chi]zedek will be atoned for. [And] a statute concerns them [to prov]ide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the Year of Grace for Melchizedek. [And h] e will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement as it is written . . . (Isa. lii, 7). Its interpretation; the mountains are the prophets . . . and the messenger is the Anointed one of the spirit, concerning whom Dan[iel] said, [. . .(Dan. ix, 25)]
The fragmentary nature of the text makes it difficult to interpret, but Melchizedek the Canaanite priest-king of Jerusalem in Genesis 14 has become a heavenly figure (identical with the archangel Michael) who opposes Satan. The deliverance comes at the end of ten jubilees (490 years), just as with Daniel 9. Indeed, Daniel 9:25 seems to be cited, though whether ‘the Anointed one’ is identical with Melchizedek or is a separate figure is not clear.
The Parables of Enoch (1 Enoch 37–71) also speak of a Messiah; a comparison of the various passages indicates that this Messiah is also identified with the figures called the ‘Son of Man’ and the ‘Elect One’ (cf. 45:3; 46:3; 48:2, 6; 49:2; 52:4; 53:6; 55:4). Eventually, this figure seems to be identified with Enoch himself, but that is thought by many to be a secondary development (71:14–17):
And that angel came to me, and greeted me with his voice, and said to me, You are the Son of Man who was born to righteousness, and righteousness remains over you, and the righteousness of the Head of Days will not leave you . . . And so there will be length of days with that Son of Man, and the righteous will have peace, and the righteous will have an upright way in the name of the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever.
Another text long known is from 4 Ezra 13. Although the term ‘Messiah’ is not used, a heavenly ‘man from the sea’, who is also referred to as God’s ‘son’, has characteristics to take into account:
[13:3] As I kept looking the wind made something like the figure of a man come up out of the heart of the sea. And I saw that this man flew with the clouds of heaven; and wherever he turned his face to look, everything under his gaze trembled, and whenever his voice issued from his mouth, all who heard his voice melted as wax melts when it feels the fire . . . [13:25] This is the interpretation of the vision: As for your seeing a man come up from the heart of the sea, this is he whom the Most High has been keeping for many ages, who will himself deliver his creation; and he will direct those who are left . . . [13:51] I said, ‘O sovereign Lord, explain this to me: Why did I see the man coming up from the heart of the sea?’ He said to me, ‘Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day.’
Many treatments have emphasized eschatological expectations among the Jews of the late Second Temple period. This has been especially true among those for whom the study of Judaism has been ultimately an aid to understanding the New Testament. More recent research has recognized the variety of beliefs within Judaism of the time. Some Jews had strong eschatological interests; others evidently did not. We have to be careful about generalization. The diversity of belief is the one conclusion which emerges clearly from the data.
It is plain that in some circles apocalypticism was cultivated and/ or eschatalogical speculations were important. Qumran was an example of the latter, though whether apocalypticism was important depends on how the term is defined. The existence of many Jewish apocalypses and related literature shows that there were people who were not only interested in such things but also (in some cases, at least) allowed these views to dominate their lives and thinking. Literature alone does not always tell how people actually applied such things in their daily lives, but we also have some reports of what people did about their beliefs.
When we look at eschatology in general, it is apparent that not all eschatological systems saw the endtime in apocalyptic terms. Some (for example, the book of Wisdom) seemed to see eschatology as only an individual matter – as what the person faced after death – without any expectations of a universal resurrection or other cosmic upheaval bringing this world to an end. Some believed in a resurrection of some sort, though there was not unanimity even on this point: some conceived of it in terms of a resurrection of the body, some as resurrection of the spirit, and often no details were given at all. Others believed in the immortality of the soul without any reference to a resurrection. Finally, a number of sources seem to combine belief in the immortal soul with a resurrection of some sort.
This interest in apocalypticism and eschatology could be a potent social force. Some believing in such things might well have a passivist attitude toward them: God would bring these about in his own good time, and his servants had only to stand and wait. But others saw their duty as active agents in the style of Phinehas who took direct measures to see that God’s will was realized. Such attitudes lead to millenarian movements and to bloody revolts because nothing so motivates a mindset of self-sacrifice and refusal to compromise as the conviction that one is doing the will of God. Some of the revolutionary movements described in the previous chapter may well have had such religious ideology driving and underpinning them.
Views about the cult of the dead in Israel are discussed in Grabbe, Priests, Prophets, Diviners, Sages, 5.6 (pp. 141–45). The more detailed studies include
Bloch-Smith, Elizabeth, Judahite Burial Practices and Beliefs about the Dead (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplements 123; JSOT/ASOR Monograph Series 7; Sheffield Academic Press, 1992).
Lewis, Theodore J. Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (Harvard Semitic Monographs 39; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989).
Schmidt, Brian B. Israel’s Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion and Tradition (Forschungen zum Alten Testament 11; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1994).
For general treatments of apocalypticism, see Grabbe, Priests, Prophets, Diviners, Sages, 6.5 (pp. 200-4), and the following:
Collins, John J. The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity (2nd edn, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1998).
Davies, Philip R. ‘The Social World of the Apocalyptic Writings’, in Ronald E. Clements (ed.), The World of Ancient Israel: Sociological, Anthropological and Political Perspectives, Essays by Members of the Society for Old Testament Study (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 251–71.
Grabbe, Lester L., and Robert D. Haak (eds), Knowing the End from the Beginning: The Prophetic, the Apocalyptic, and their Relationships (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplements 46; London/ New York: T & T Clark International, 2003).
Koch, Klaus, The Rediscovery of Apocalyptic (Studies in Biblical Theology, Second Series 22; London: SCM, l970).
Lambert, W. G. The Background of Jewish Apocalyptic (Ethel M. Wood Lecture, University of London, 22 Feb. l977; London: Athlone, 1978).
Rowland, Christopher, The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Judaism and Early Christianity (London: SPCK, 1982).
For a survey of apocalypses and related literature, as well as a discussion of the genre’s definition, see:
Collins, John J. (ed.), Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre (Semeia 14; Atlanta: Scholars, 1979).
Further information on the literature mentioned here can be found in Nickelsburg, Jewish Literature from the Bible to the Mishnah; Stone, Jewish Literature of the Second Temple Period; Schürer/Vermes, History of the Jewish People, vol. 3.
In addition to the discussion in Grabbe, Judaic Religion in the Second Temple Period, chs 12–13, the standard treatment about life after death and the various ways in which it was envisaged in early Judaism is:
Nickelsburg, G. W. E. Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism (Harvard Theological Studies 26; Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1972).
For a discussion of how the endtime was calculated, with bibliography to the time of writing, see:
Grabbe, Lester L. ‘Chronography in Hellenistic Jewish Historiography’, Society of Biblical Literature 1979 Seminar Papers (ed. P. J. Achtemeier; Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers Series 17; Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1979) 2.43–68.
— ‘Chronography in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch’, Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers 1981 (Society of Biblical Literature Abstracts and Seminar Papers; Chico: Scholars, 1981), 49–63.
On the 70-weeks prophecy of Daniel 9, see my article:
Grabbe, Lester L. ‘The 70-Weeks Prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) in Early Jewish Interpretation’, in Craig A. Evans and Shemaryahu Talmon (eds), The Quest for Context and Meaning: Studies in Biblical Intertextuality in Honor of James A. Sanders (Biblical Interpretation Series 28; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 595–611.