Revelation 21-22 in Light of Jewish and Greco-Roman Utopianism: 118 (Biblical Interpretation Series) - Tapa dura

In Revelation 21-22 in Light of Jewish and Greco-Roman Utopianism, Eric J. Gilchrest offers a creative and compelling reading of Revelation 21-22 as understood through the lens of ancient utopianism. The work is in two parts beginning with a detailed portrait of ancient utopianism based on Greco-Roman and Jewish traditions. The portrait sketches the "topography" of the utopian landscape, which includes a thorough account of various traditions using fourteen utopian topoi or motifs. The author then moves to a description of Revelation's new Jerusalem in light of these two utopian traditions. With sensitivity to how this text would have been read by each utopian perspective, the author constructs a unique reading of a classic passage that highlights the variety of ways the text originally may have been heard.

Eric J. Gilchrest, Ph.D. (2012) in Religion, Baylor University, is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Judson College (Alabama, USA). He has published and translated articles in biblical studies, and the present volume is a revision of his doctoral dissertation.