Beale, Use of the OT

Beale, Gregory K. John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series, no. 166. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999. 443 pp.

A standard-setting study published in the early 1999. The volume includes the following chapters that, for some parts, are reprints or revisions of earlier publications. With this volume, one has ready access to several of Beale’s important contributions to the problem of John’s Use of the OT. Unfortunately, this volume is out of print.

1. Introduction: Recent Discussion and Debate about the Use of the Old Testament in Revelation (pp. 13-59)
2. The Various Ways John Uses the Old Testament (pp. 60-128)
3. The Influence of the Old Testament upon the Eschatology of Revelation (The chapter covers: the ‘already and not yet-eschatology; the interpretation of Rev 1:19; the temporal scope of the sevenfold series of trumpets and bowls; the use of mustêrion in Revelation and elsewhere; and the OT background of Rev 3:14) (pp. 129-294)
4. The Influence of the Old Testament upon the Symbolism of Revelation [The chapter covers: symbolism as the predominate mode of communication, and the hearing formula]
5. The Influence of the Old Testament on the Grammar of Revelation: Solecisms in Revelation as Signals for the Presence of Old Testament Allusions (A Selective Analysis of Revelation 1-22] (pp. 318-355; this chapter is a revision of Beale’s contribution in Evans & Sanders, Early Christian Interpretation)
6. The Bearing of the Old Testament on the Interpretation of the Millennium in Revelation 20:1-7 (pp. 356-393)

The back matters consist of bibliography and indices of References and Authors. The front matters include a list of abbreviations and information about the relationship to Beale’s earlier publications.

Kenneth Newport, review of G. K. Beale, John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation, Review of Biblical Literature [http://www.bookreviews.org] (2000) and

James E. West, review of G. K. Beale, John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation, Review of Biblical Literature [http://www.bookreviews.org] (2000).