The aim of this study is to describe the traditional Biblical and patristic Amharic commentary material of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and to present in translation a sufficient sample of the Amharic, and also the Geez, commentary material, that its character can be clearly seen. Accordingly, the study is divided into three parts - a general introduction, an annotated translation of a Geez commentary, and an annotated translation of an Amharic commentary. The book chosen for parts II and III is the Apocalypse of John.

This ground-breaking commentary on The Revelation to John (the Apocalypse) reveals its far-reaching influence on society and culture, and its impact on the church through the ages. Explores the far-reaching influence of the Apocalypse on society and culture. Shows the book's impact on the Christian church through the ages. Looks at interpretations of the Apocalypse by theologians, ranging from Augustine to late twentieth century liberation theologians. Considers the book's effects on writers, artists, musicians, political figures, visionaries, and others, including Dante, Hildegard of Bingen, Milton, Newton, the English Civil war radicals, Turner, Blake, Handel, and Franz Schmidt. Provides access to material not readily available elsewhere. Will appeal to students and scholars across a wide range of disciplines, as well as to general readers. More information about this series is available from the Blackwell Bible Commentaries website at http://www.bbibcomm.net/

Since its publication in English translation in 1821, the book of Enoch has enjoyed immense popularity in Western culture as a variety of religious groups, interested historians, and academics have sought to illuminate the Jewish context of Christian beginnings two thousand years ago. Taking the quotation of 1 Enoch in Jude 14 as its point of departure, the present study explores the significance of Enochic tradition within the context of Christian tradition in the Horn of Africa, where it continues to play a vital role in shaping the diverse yet interrelated self-understanding of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant churches. As discussions on the importance of 1 Enoch from antiquity to the present take on new dimensions among increasingly global and diverse voices, 1 Enoch as Christian Scripture offers a rare orientation into a rich culture in which the reception of the book is “at home” as a living tradition more than anywhere else in the world today. The present work argues that serious attention to 1 Enoch holds forth an opportunity for church traditions in Ethiopia—and, indeed, around the world—to embrace some of their indigenous roots and has the capacity to breathe life into time-worn expressions of faith.

Both the introduction and the prophecy are saturated with allusions to Hebrew Scripture, which has been applied typologically to the situation at the time the documents were composed. Knowing the scripture involved is basic to understanding the message of the Book of Revelation. Buchanan shows the text of Revelation in one column and the relevant passages to Hebrew Scripture in a parallel column. He calls it redemption literatureÓ rather than apocalypticÓ and compares it to Jewish redemption literature composed during the period from the Bar Cochba Revolt to the end of the Crusades, and with redemption literature found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Haggai, Daniel, and some of the Psalms.

The first publication in a new series—Christian Arabic Texts in Translation, edited by Stephen Davis—this book presents English-language excerpts from thirteenth-century commentaries on the Apocalypse of John by two Egyptian authors, Būlus al-Būshī and Ibn Kātib Qas.ar. Accompanied by scholarly introductions and critical annotations, this edition will provide a valuable entry-point to important but understudied theological work taking place at the at the meeting-points of the medieval Christian and Muslim worlds.

How do we begin to carry out such a vast task-the examination of three millennia of diverse uses and influences of the biblical texts? Where can the interested scholar find information on methods and techniques applicable to the many and varied ways in which these have happened? Through a series of examples of reception history practitioners at work and of their reflections this volume sets the agenda for biblical reception, as it begins to chart the near-infinite series of complex interpretive 'events' that have been generated by the journey of the biblical texts down through the centuries. The chapters consider aspects as diverse as political and economic factors, cultural location, the discipline of Biblical Studies, and the impact of scholarly preconceptions, upon reception history. Topics covered include biblical figures and concepts, contemporary music, paintings, children's Bibles, and interpreters as diverse as Calvin, Lenin, and Nick Cave.

This volume brings together a set of contributions, many appearing in English for the first time, together with a new introduction, covering the history of the Ethiopian Christian civilization in its formative period (300-1500 AD). Rooted in the late antique kingdom of Aksum (present day Northern Ethiopia and Eritrea), and lying between Byzantium, Africa and the Near East, this civilization is presented in a series of case studies. At a time when philological and linguistic investigations are being challenged by new approaches in Ethiopian studies, this volume emphasizes the necessity of basic research, while avoiding the reduction of cultural questions to matters of fact and detail.