THE ANCHOR YALE BIBLE

Revelation

A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary

CRAIG R. KOESTER

the anchor yale bible

Yale university press

New Haven & London

Published with assistance from the Mary Cady Tew Memorial Fund.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bible. Revelation. English. Koester. 2014.

Revelation: a new translation with introduction and commentary / Craig R. Koester.

pages cm.— (The Anchor Yale Bible; volume 38A)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-300-14488-8 (alk. paper)

1. Bible. Revelation—Commentaries. I. Koester, Craig R., 1953– II. Title.

BS192.2.A1 2008 .N46 vol. 38A

[BS2823]

228′.077—dc23

2013041226

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

the anchor yale bible is a project of international and interfaith scope in which Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars from many countries contribute individual volumes. The project is not sponsored by any ecclesiastical organization and is not intended to reflect any particular theological doctrine.

the anchor yale bible is committed to producing commentaries in the tradition established half a century ago by the founders of the series, William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman. It aims to present the best contemporary scholarship in a way that is accessible not only to scholars, but also to the educated nonspecialist. Its approach is grounded in exact translation of the ancient languages and an appreciation of the historical and cultural context in which the biblical books were written, supplemented by insights from modern methods, such as sociological and literary criticism.

John J. Collins

General Editor

I am the Alpha and the Omega,

the first and the last,

the beginning and the end.

—Rev 22:13

Of the Father’s love begotten, ere the worlds began to be,

He is Alpha and Omega, he the source the ending he,

Of the things that are, that have been,

And that future years shall see, evermore and evermore.

—Prudentius (ca. 400 CE)

The end is not an event but a person.

—G. B. Caird

Contents

Preface

List of Illustrations, Maps, and Tables

List of Abbreviations

Secondary Sources

Greek and Latin Authors

Jewish and Early Christian Texts

Inscriptions and Papyri

REVELATION: A TRANSLATION

INTRODUCTION

I. History of Interpretation and Influence

A. Revelation from 100 to 500 CE

1. The West to 350

2. The East ...