Session 1: Panel on the Editio Critica Maior of the Book of Revelation
With Prof. Dr. Martin Karrer and Dr. Darius Müller
- Overview of the Editio Critica Maior
- Textual History and Textual Changes
- Textual Structure and Punctuation
- General Discussion
- Examples
- Consequences for the Interpretation of Revelation
- General Discussion
Session 2: Textual Criticism of the Book of Revelation
Aly Abd El Kadermaria, University of Milan “La Statale”, ‘The Theologumenon of the Throne in Rev: A Textual Criticism Investigation of an Issue of Early-Christian Royal Theology’.
This paper delves into the reception and use of the lemma «θρόνος (throne)» in Rev, of whose lexicon this term represents a peculiar character (47/62 occurrences in NT), worth investigating for two main reasons:
- It is absent from the other Johannine writings (de Boer, 2018).
- The textual transmission of Rev repeatedly displays peculiar variant readings (e.g., «στόμα [mouth]» [Rev 22:1]) of this word.
The reception of θρόνος from the LXX and the Second Temple Jewish literature to the NT and the early-Christian writings (I-IV CE) will be evaluated to deepen the comprehension of the Wirkungsgeschichte of these Rev “θρόνος-verses,” particularly comparing their usage before and after Constantine’s age. This research intersects also the debate about the text types of Rev (e.g., the “Western” one), challenging their traditional definition (Parker, 2008) and emphasizing the need to broaden the range of their potential witnesses (e.g., allusions to Rev 22:1 in Acts Thom.) to understand the text of Rev and its significance in the early-Christian communities.
Erica Leonardi, University of Milan “La Statale”, ‘“And you have tried those saying themselves to be apostles and are not, and have found them liars” (Rev 2:2). Between “apostles” and “jews”, the Sitz im Leben and textual tradition of Rev 2:2’.
Given the textual weakness of Rev 2:2, affected by significant variants, e.g. “Jews” instead of “apostles” within the Latin and Armenian tradition, this contribution aims to reconsider the constitutio textus of this verse. The scarcity of direct pre-4th century witnesses for Revelation suggests surveying the secondary tradition of Rev 2:2. After a synoptical comparison of the “seven letters” (Rev 2 – 3) to define the context of Rev 2:2, a lexical and form critical analysis will be promoted to discuss its Sitz im Leben and its possible references to overlapping Early Christian traditions, namely the Pauline and Lukan ones (e.g. Acts 19:1). The survey of the textual tradition of Rev 2:2 will also allow to evaluate if its variant readings harmonise to 2:9 and 3:9, highlight a layered redaction or preserve an earlier text. The case study of Rev 2:2 both aims to a methodological discussion of the philological approach to Rev textual tradition and suggests rediscussing the core relevance of the Sitz im Leben of these difficult NT loci.
Andrea Riccardo Rossi, University of Milan “La Statale”, ‘Textual Criticism on the Book of Revelation and the Earliest Quotations from the Latin Christian Authors (III-IV cent.). The “Thousand Years Pericope” (Rev 20:1-10) as Case Study’.
This paper aims to contribute to the critical discussion on the constitutio textus of Rev 20:1-10. Its edited text mostly relies on uncials Sinaiticus and Alexandrinus: the complete loss of pre-4th cent. manuscripts witnessing this pericope and the politico-theological dismissal of chiliasm under Constantine suggest re-examining the earliest (indirect) textual transmission of this passage. The analysis will be held in two stages:
- First, the quotations from Rev 20:1-10 up to the 4th century will be systematically gathered and examined.
- Second, the variant readings found therein will be discussed, focusing on the peculiar lectiones found in the Early Christian Latin authors – notably, the earliest textual witnesses to this pericope.
At last, the relationship between the textus receptus of Rev 20:1-10 and its “Vetus latina” text (cf. Geigenfeind 2020) will be discussed. Indeed, the pre-4th cent. Latin quotations from this passage display a distinctive, uniform text (cf. the septenary theologoumenon [Rev 20:7]): they might therefore preserve an ancient step in the textual tradition of Rev 20:1-10, distinct from that of the later Greek manuscripts.
Session 3: Receptions of the Book of Revelation
Mark W. Elliott, University of the Highlands and Islands, ‘Ambrose and the Apocalypse of John: the value of his interpretation’.
The Apocalypse of John was used, albeit not well used by Ambrose of Milan: there was no commentary on it by him. However, it can be argued that the ecclesiological interpretation by Augustine was prepared for not only by Tyconius the Donatist, but by the bishop-mentor of the future author of the City of God. For in a sample of Ambrose’s ‘spiritualising’ interpretation we learn: there is a future resurrection but we prepare for it by getting the soul lighter. The threat of judgement like a coming storm is viewed as an encouragement to correction, to a ‘penitentiary’ lifestyle—cf. his positive interpretation of 1 Jn5:16 (‘the sin that leads to death’). One can see Ambrose’s ‘spin’ of the text of the Apocalypse as a case of application to his own ecclesial situation. Or one could also view it from the angle of ‘biblical theology’ or the analogia fidei (as it came to be known in the Early Modern period), where texts were read in the light of other, clearer biblical texts. Or, lastly, Ambrose’s approach can be seen partly as apologetic or possibly taking account of understanding of reality with a fair amount of speculation, which could yet be defended on the ground of (as his forerunner Origen would disclaim): ‘has the reader got any better ideas?’
Olga Vasiloglou, University of Aberdeen, ‘Reading the Apocalypse of John in the Context of Asia Minor Shavuot Practices’.
The Apocalypse of John has rarely been read as evidence of Jewish liturgy taking place in Asia Minor in the first and second centuries. Although different parts of the book have been read as drawing on Jewish festival imagery, like the heavy use of Yom Kippur symbols in chapters four and five, such analysis usually has at its center the symbolic language of the book, drawing mainly from the OT for its own purposes. In this paper, I will attempt to demonstrate how the language of the book specifically points to the festival of Shavuot, a connection that has been generally overlooked. I will place these symbols alongside reconstructed Shavuot practices in Asia Minor and will attempt to envision what kind of liturgy this would have looked like. This will require some imagination, since I will deal with both textual materials, like Origen’s 1st Homily on Ezekiel, and non-textual material from, for example, the city of Magdala.
Luise Rössel, University of Glasgow, ‘Imagining futures in post-apocalyptic speculative fiction: reading Revelation with Octavia Butler’.
Biblical reception history, focusing on the cultural, artistic, and social influence and use of the biblical texts, is particularly drawn to the Book of Revelation because of the text’s visual nature and drastic imagery which have continuously inspired artists of all kinds. When looking at literary engagements with Revelation, most scholars focus on explicitly (evangelical) Christian literature such as The Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins (1995-2007) or The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey (1970). In this paper, I pay attention to a genre that is largely overlooked by biblical reception historians, speculative fiction. I will look at Octavia Butler’s post-apocalyptic Parables duology, comprised of Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998). I argue that Butler directly engages with Christian faith and the Christian Bible in general and with Revelation in particular to ask how Christian societies imagined their future in the past, how this might have influenced the ongoing present, and what can be learned from it for the future going forward.