Appropriating Ancient Authorities: Toward Understanding How Second Temple Authors Established Authority in Apocalyptic Literature (GlossaHouse Dissertation Series)

by Christian A. Wilder

Publisher:

GlossaHouse

, 2019

Overview

For almost two hundred years, scholars have been assigning the roots of apocalyptic literature to Ancient near Eastern, Egyptian, or Hellenistic literature and traditions. Still, other scholars have explored links to the prophetic, priestly, and wisdom movements for the roots of apocalyptic writing. But, the question remains: Why start with an assumption that apocalyptic literature is rooted singularly in another movement or culture? This book considers whether such links exist based upon the apocalyptic author’s use of authority. The research begins with an assessment of authoritative topoi—i.e., places where an author may have borrowed authority from an earlier text—in Jewish apocalyptic literature. The second step searches the external ancient world (EAW) literature and the texts now known as the Tanakh for possible connections called parent-child relationships. A parent-child relationship occurs when three points of verbal contact exist between an EAW or Tanakh passage and the topoi of authority in the apocalyptic text. Using this research, Wilder next presents the nine topoi of authority most likely to garner a parent-child relationship and thus most-likely revealing the roots of apocalyptic literature. Wilder concludes by positing that no parent-child relationships existed between authoritative topoi in Second Temple apocalyptic literature and EAW or Hebraic material. As a result, this research suggests the roots of Jewish apocalyptic literature are not in literature from the surrounding cultures, nor are they in the priestly, prophetic, or wisdom movements of Israel. Instead, they lay in the historical and political milieu of Second Temple Judaism.

Key Features

• Provides an understanding of how Second Temple authors established authority in apocalyptic literature
• Compares authoritative topoi utilized in over two thousand ancient Near East (ANE) documents—including the Tanakh—with similar topoi found in the Jewish apocalyptic material
• Determines that while Jewish apocalyptic authors drew broadly from the literary milieu of their day, they did not rely on texts from a specific culture or ancient literary genre

Contents

• Understanding and Studying Ancient Authority
• Developing the Study: Scholarship, History, and Methods
• Preliminary Research
• Possible Prima Facie Derivation of Authoritative Topoi According to Preliminary Results: EAW Literature
• Possible Prima Facie Derivation of Authoritative Topoi According to Preliminary Results: EAW or Tanakh Literature
• Possible Prima Facie Derivation of Authoritative Topoi According to Preliminary Results: Tanakh Literature

Product Details

• Title: Appropriating Ancient Authorities: Toward Understanding How Second Temple Authors Established Authority in Apocalyptic Literature (GlossaHouse Dissertation Series)
• Author: Christian A. Wilder
• Series: GlossaHouse Dissertation Series
• Publisher: GlossaHouse
• Print Publication Date: 2019
• Pages: 328
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• ISBNs: 9781942697954, 1942697953
• Resource ID: LLS:PPRPRTNGNCTHRTY
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T02:19:35Z