Jan Krans

Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology

These studies in honour of Martinus C. de Boer offer important backgrounds and new insights by leading New Testament scholars on Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology.

Johann Jakob Wettstein: New Sources, New Problems, and New Possibilities for Digital Research

Johann Jakob Wettstein (1683-1754) worked almost all his life toward the publication of his landmark 1751-52 edition of the Greek New Testament. In recent years, a large number of previously unknown sources on and by Wettstein has come to light, scattered over libraries in Europe, that provide new insights into his life and his New Testament project. This paper explores the diversity of these sources, their genres, their connections, their state of conservation and accessibility and the like. Starting from the idea that the collection offers an excellent opportunity for mapping a single scholar’s projects and international networks over time and space, it envisages a project that brings together this wealth of material. It asks what challenges and possibilities for international digital research the collection entails and formulates the desiderata concerning the necessary digital infrastructure and collaboration across traditional scholarly boundaries.

Sleepy scribes and clever critics : a classification of conjectures on the text of the New Testament

This article presents a classification of conjectures on the text of the New Testament. It focusses on the types of arguments used by conjectural critics. The argumentation for a conjecture basically comprises (1) the perception of a problem (or problems) in the transmitted text and (2) the suggestion of a cause (or causes) for the supposed scribal change. Type (or types) of perceived problems and of supposed causes are classified, and illustrated with a range of important conjectures.

Eight Kings on an Apocalyptic Animal Farm: Reflections on Revelation 17:9–11

A brief survey of recent New Testament introductions, commentaries and scholarly articles on the Book of Revelation suggests that a growing number of biblical scholars favour an early date for the books composition, shortly after the death of Nero and before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple two years later. This article reviews the evidence and suggests a more coherent reading of the text. The frequent use of symbolic numbers in the Book of Revelation surely favours such a symbolic understanding of the list of kings. Linguistic conventions and metaphorical language would admit of such a collective-figurative understanding: in ancient thinking a king, after all, represents a kingdom. The recent history of Rome and its rulers the Christian community could know what to expect of the immediate future. Keywords:animal farm; christian community; eight kings; kingdoms; revelation; Rome; symbolic

How Antichrist Defeated Death. The Development of Christian Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Early Church

This chapter first summarizes Martinus C. de Boers analysis of Paul from the perspective of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology in the early Church. Then, it looks at the scenarios depicted in 1 Cor 15 and the Book of Revelation. It also looks at a slant within the development of early Christian eschatology by looking at a number of key authors from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It becomes clear that originally distinct scenarios of the final period of history gradually merged into a harmonization of texts in the period under consideration, a development in which 1 Cor 15 gave way to 2 Thess 2, and death was ultimately defeated by Antichrist. Keywords:Antichrist; christian apocalyptic eschatology; church; Jewish; Paul

Patristic and Text-Critical Studies

William L. ( Bill ) Petersen (1950-2006) was a prominent Diatessaron scholar and New Testament textual critic. This collection brings together thirty-two of his essays, enabling an overview of his impressive and wide-ranging scholarship on Romanos the Melodist, Tatian and his Diatessaron, Patristic studies, and New Testament textual criticism. It will be of value for all those interested in the state and method of these fields of study, on which it offers engaging and sometimes provocative perspectives.