Content provided in partnership with
Revelation of John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse, The
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Dec 2006 by Percer, Leo
The Revelation of John: A Commentary on the Greek Text of the Apocalypse. By Stephen S. Smalley. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2005, xvii + 633 pp., $52.00.
Why another book on Revelation and its symbolic world? In light of the numerous recent works on the Apocalypse, the casual reader may think that every possible angle has already been examined with regard to the last book of the NT. While it is true that there is a literal storehouse of materials in existence dealing with Revelation, the fact remains that the Apocalypse is an amazing book whose notoriety arises from an almost chaotic diversity of interpretations. Into this cacophony of voices Stephen Smalley offers a balanced treatment of Revelation as a cosmic drama. Smalley's treatment enlarges on his earlier introduction to the Apocalypse (Thunder and Love [Milton Keynes: Word, 1994]) and interacts with the works of other scholars from G. B. Caird through G. Beale. In fact, these works (and others) are constantly referenced throughout this new effort to explain the book of Revelation.
Smalley introduces his discussion with a brief twenty-two page treatment of his views on the origin, date, situation, character, and structure of Revelation. The introduction offers an explanation of the approach used in this new commentary, which involves a synchronic method in which the Apocalypse is treated as a unified narrative with special emphasis on its dramatic nature. The reader also finds here a view for the date of Revelation; the work came from the hand of John the beloved disciple sometime between AD 64 and 70. In fact, this commentary presents the Apocalypse as the first work of the disciple, followed by his writing (or influence on) the Epistles and the Gospel of John.
After this interesting introduction, the bulk of the work discusses Revelation as two "acts" comprising seven "scenes" sandwiched between a prologue (Rev 1:1-18) and an epilogue (Rev 22:18-21). Act 1 ("Creation, and Salvation through Judgment") comprises Rev 1:19-11:19, while Act 2 ("Salvation through Judgment, and New Creation") encompasses Rev 12:1-22:17. Simply stated, each "Act" contains several "scenes" and intervals (e.g. Act 1 contains the first three scenes and three intervals of the apocalyptic drama). There are few surprises in Smalley's discussion of structure of the book, but the interesting (almost chiasmic) titles offered to each act provide the reader a foreshadowing for the content that follows. Each chapter of the commentary works with a particular section or "scene" of the Apocalypse by presenting the author's translation of the text, a textual analysis of the Greek, a discussion of the literary setting, a commentary, and a discussion of the theology of that section. The commentary also contains informative excurses scattered among the various chapters.
The most distinguishing aspect of this new commentary is the location of Revelation within the genre of Greek drama. Smalley's treatment here is not novel and in fact represents a variation of other attempts to treat Revelation as a drama. The author even references works such as E. W. Benson's The Apocalypse (London: Macmillan, 1900) and J. W. Bowman's work on the dramatic structure of Revelation (Int 9 [1955] 436-53). Ironically missing is the more recent discussion on Revelation as drama found in the works of James L. Blevins (especially his book Revelation as Drama (Nashville: Broadman, 1984]). Drawing somewhat on the work of Ray Summers (Worthy is the Lamb [Nashville: Broadman, 1951]), Blevins offers a full-fledged treatment of Revelation as a drama intended for the Greek theatre of Ephesus. In fact, Blevins contends that the author of the Apocalypse expected the work to be acted out. Given Smalley's contentions regarding the dramatic genre of the Apocalypse, it is a bit surprising that he ignores the wealth of material to be mined from Blevins's work.
Nevertheless, Smalley's treatment of Revelation tends a bit in a different direction from his predecessors. Utilizing the elements of Greek drama as a means of analyzing the author's intent, Smalley notes that Revelation, like some forms of Greek tragedy, is meant to be heard, experienced, or even seen, not just read. In this approach he agrees somewhat with the view of David Barr (see especially Barr's treatment of Revelation as "oral enactment" in Int 38 [1984] 39-50 and Int 40 [1986] 243-56 and his work in the early 1990s on the readers/hearers of Revelation). In other words, the text of the Apocalypse is aural by nature, i.e. meant to be heard and read aloud as one would act out a role in a play. In an excursus on "Graeco-Roman Drama and Revelation" (pp. 109-12), Smalley offers some description of his understanding of the dramatic nature of Revelation as well as some discussion of ancient Jewish literary forms related to a dramatic presentation. No clear definition of the genre is given, however, and little discussion is presented regarding some of the basic elements of Greek drama and whether or not they appear in Revelation.
Find Research Guides for:
Find Featured Titles for: Technology
Most Popular Articles in Reference
- The importance of understanding organizational culture
- Credit card attitudes and behaviors of college students
- What factors attract foreign direct investment?
- Libraries Need Relationship Marketing - mutual interest marketing concept, ...
- How to set performance goals: employee reviews are more than annual critiques
- More »