The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (The Biblical Resource Series) [Paperback]

John Joseph Collins (Author)

Book Description

Series: The Biblical Resource Series | Publication Date: April 1998

This book evokes an imaginative world that is set in deliberate counterpoint to the experiential world of the present. Apocalypticism thrives especially in times of crisis, and it functions by offering a resolution of the relevant crisis, not in practical terms but in terms of imagination and faith. And this second edition of Collins study represents a complete updating and rewriting of the original work. Especially noteworthy is the chapter on the Dead Sea Scrolls, which now takes into account all of the recently published texts. Other chapters discuss apocalypse as a literary genre, explore the phenomenon and function of apocalyptism in the ancient world, study a wide range of individual apocalyptic texts, and examine the apocalyptic character of early Christianity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 337 pages
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co; Revised edition (April 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802843719
• ISBN-13: 978-0802843715
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,881 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #4 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Jewish
  • #36 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Bible & Other Sacred Texts > Jewish Texts

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expanding Parameters, July 5, 2004

By 

Virgil Brown (White Oak, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (The Biblical Resource Series) (Paperback)

John Collins is probably the foremost scholar on apocalyptic literature today. Quite rightly Collins begins his book with a definition of this genre. Apocalypticism is "revelatory liturature in a which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient." Is that all? No, there's more that Collins has in mind. This revelation discloses a transcendent reality which envisages eschatological salvation (temporal) and another supernatural world (spatial).

With this definition in mind, Collins excludes much which had been called apocalyptic literature. He excludes Akkadian literature and the more modern political apocalypticism (see
Zimbaro's _Enc of Apoc Lit_) and discounts Persian apocalypticism. Then Collins begins a survey of apocalypticism as he knows it, beginning with the Book of Enoch. The reader is then taken through the Book of Daniel and other 2nd Temple, Diaspora, and Qumran literature until one arrives at early Christianity.

Along the way, what had seemed to be the parameters of a well-defined genre of literature have expanded. When Collins begins to discuss Christian literature, it becomes apparent that that book which had lent its name to Collins' genre of literature was not a pure form of that genre. On page 269 Collins must concede that the Revelation of John is not just an apocalypse but revelation _and_ prophecy.

Collins concludes that apocalypticism was not just the work of one group or movement, but different groups during different situations aand time, and maybe there was no group or movement behind a particular piece of literature at all (p 281).

22 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great book for those interested in Second Temple Judaism, April 20, 2000

By 

"not_emo_nick" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (The Biblical Resource Series) (Paperback)

I thought Collins did an excellent job at covering how Jewish eschatology came to be. He asserts that apocalypticism did not form in a vacuum, but was instead part of tradition of biblical prophetic and wisdom literature. Collins does good work also in including the apocryphal books of 1 Enoch and 2 Esdras.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars classic introduction to a much misunderstood genre, July 4, 2008

By 

Wes Howard-Brook (Issaquah, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic Literature (The Biblical Resource Series) (Paperback)

As mentioned by others, John Collins is probably the leading scholar of apocalyptic literature, as well as other intertestamental Jewish writings. This volume remains the best, basic introduction to the scope of the vast literature and how it developed over several hundred years. Collins takes just enough of a close-up to intrigue those who want to know more, but not overwhelm those who are just beginning.

As I was doing my initial research on what became my own "Unveiling Empire: Reading Revelation Then and Now" (1999) this book was a steady guide.

I'd also highly recommend Collins' Between Athens and Jerusalem: Jewish Identity in the Hellenistic Diaspora (The Biblical Resource Series) as well as his Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age (Old Testament Library). Collins is a master of the introductory overview!