27

THE SOCIAL SETTING OF EARLY JEWISH APOCALYPTICISM 1 Lester L. Carabbe

The

Department of Theology University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX, England

scholarly world is no longer, in the words of Klaus Koch, ratlos der Apokalyptik.2 the last twenty years have seen not only a renaissance of interest in and study of individual apocalyptic writings but also significant attempts to resolve some of the broader problems relating to apocalypticism: definition, origin, development, Sitz im Leben. Concurrently, there has been a developing interest in applying the insights of the social sciences to Israelite and Judean history and institutions. Although a number of studies have appeared which relate sociological study to prophecy, little has been done so far in the context of apocalypticism. However, there have been a few discussions, some of which explicitly draw on sociological and anthropological study3 while others, although placing less explicit 4 emphasis on sociology, still make certain sociological assumptions. Since relatively little has been done on the question of the social setting of apocalypticism, my aim in writing on so broad a front is necessarily programmatic and takes the form of a series of proposals or theses. In some cases, these proposals come out of the previous study of apocalypticism; in others, they arise from recent sociological study or even from a critique of certain common assumptions in the light of sociological researches. In particular I will be drawing on studies of what are commonly referred to as millennial or millenarian
The
vor

groups or movements.s At this point it is important to make some general comments about studies of millennialism and problems associated with their use for the comparisons made below. As will soon be clear, one of the problems with using anthropological studies to focus on some of the problems of apocalypticism is that of terminology. Apocalyptic and its derivatives are not widely used by anthropologists. Instead they

28

(or similar terminology) by which is that expect imminent, total, usually religious ultimate, this-worldly collective salvation. It is important to
to
meant movements

refer

millennial movements

understand that this definition embraces a great many historical religious movements and not just Third-World movements such as cargo cults. This-worldly in the definition may also be misleading in that it might suggest the setting up of Gods kingdom on earth by the followers of the movement. On the contrary, this-worldly means that it offers not an other-worldly hope, nor a purely spiritual salvation but the fulfilment of the divine purpose in a new universe and a new social order/ 7 often the changes are envisaged as being brought about by the deity rather than man and may well constitute a reordering of the social order to produce new heavens and a new earth. The term apocalyptic community is also widely used among scholars of Judaism. By this term, we should probably think of a group or community dominated by apocalyptic eschatology. It seems to me that most communities labeled apocalyptic are also millenarian, which would make apocalyptic community normally a subdivision of millennial movement. A second problem is that anthropological reports seldom provide data in a format to compare directly with apocalyptic literature. That is, much of the teaching or preaching in millenarian contexts is done orally without producing any written texts. Anthropological reports usually provide only a summary of what is taught but seldom a transcript quoting the exact words of the teacher or prophet. One could say that this entails a transfer of genre by the anthropologist in most cases, from the original genre (sermon, recital of vision, etc.) to a new one, the genre of anthropological report. The number of major anthropological studies which provide narrative texts taken down word for word is surprisingly small.8 This makes the necessary task of comparison much more difficult and uncertain.

Proposals
1. Apocalypticism is a complex phenomenon with both social aspects which should not be confused.
Recent

literary

and

study has rightly made a distinction between apocalypse and apocalypticism. Although some would wish to make further distinctions or, conversely, to abandon the use of these terms

29

altogether, there is general agreement on at least the meaning of and difference between these two terms: apocalypse is a literary genre whereas apocalypticism9 refers to a broader religious phenomenon which is characterized in particular by the imminent expectation of the end which will involve both individual judgment and salvation and cosmic cataclysm and renewal, all brought about by divine intervention (that is, characterized by what many would designate apocalyptic eschatology).10 What is surprising is that scholars who wholeheartedly accept the distinction just noted often go on to confuse the two. That is, they seem tacitly to assume that the data of apocalypticism are to be derived mainly or wholly from apocalypses and that the apocalypse is the primary or only literary product of apocalypticism. But this is too simplistic as Proposal #2 argues.
no necessary connection between apocalypses and apocalyptic communities.11i A common assumption often associated with the confusion between apocalypses and apocalypticism just noted is that apocalypses are the products of apocalyptic communities. The problem with evaluating this assumption is that we know little or nothing about the background of most ancient Jewish apocalypses. Normally, all that is preserved is the writing itself without any clear indication of its authorship; indeed, the author is usually disguised behind the figure of an ancient patriarch such as Enoch or Moses. The only Jewish apocalyptic community commonly identified is that of Qumran, but whether any of the extant apocalypses originated within that community is a moot point; certainly none of the writings widely regarded as products of the community (e.g., 1QM) belong to the genre apocalypse. 12 Perhaps the most reasonable connection is the NT book of Revelation with a Christian community expecting the imminent return of Christ. But the Christian church was probably quite diverse at this time, with many different streams of thought making it difficult to know what precise community to associate with the Revelation of John.
I

2. There is

What we do find from modern studies is that those communities which we would label millennial or even apocalyptic do not necessarily produce the genre of apocalypse. As already noted, it is difficult to make comparisons because of the nature of the presentation of evidence in many anthropological studies. Nevertheless, the extant studies indicate that a variety of genres (often oral)

30
are produced by the prophets and preachers who lead: recitation of myths; parenetic material, including exhortation and social or political criticism (which may compare closely with prophetic material of the OT); narration and interpretation of dreams and auditions; and various sorts of predictions. In most cases, these do not clearly fit the genre of apocalypse. 14 For example, Handsome Lake, the prophet among the Seneca Indians who founded a new religion (called Gaimiio good word) about 1800, received his message by means of visions. 15 One of these describes how he was taken on a heavenly journey by three men who continually explained what he was seeing and experiencing (including a meeting with Jesus); part of his experience was being given the particular message which he was later to teach.16 From the preserved accounts, this seems to fit well the genre of apocalypse, but his later visions and his teachings in general do not seem to conform to this genre nor does the work produced as the Bible of his religious

movement.

give another example: at different times since the coming of the Portuguese, certain Indian tribes of Brazil have undertaken migrations in search of The Land of No Evil in anticipation of the destruction and renewal of the world. 1 In the recorded instances this has been in
To
response to the exhortations of medicine men; however, the basis of their message is a cosmological myth about the creation of the world and the events which will lead to its destruction. 18

Apocalypticism does not necessarily arise in times of crisis nor is it always a product of the oppressed, the marginalized, and the powerless.
3.

studies are commendable in taking the emphasis away literary development Of apocalypses and pointing toward the social conditions which give rise to apocalypticism. In the words of Robert Wilson, First, apocalyptic groups are made up of people who are on the periphery of society. They lack political, religious, and social power and have little social status.19 This is an important and necessary correction to seeing apocalypticism only from the perspective of the literature. No doubt many of those who turn to apocalypticism do so in times of crisis and represent the powerless and the marginalized of society. The question is whether this is anything more than a tendency rather than a rule. Indeed, there are many exceptions. As Kenneth Burridge has noted, By and large, the
recent

Some

from the

31

apocalyptic, charismatic, and prophetic deprivations, frustrations, etc., so beloved by so many of the students of the phenomena Also, the leaders of millenarian movements are generally not from the lower or poorer classes but are usually educated and from the middle or upper classes.21 Further, certain groups have been primarily middle or upper class in character, such as the medieval movements of Joachimite Spirituals and the Free Spirit, or the 18th/19th-century

participants

in Californian

movements do not reveal those relative

Russian
As
an

sect

of the

Skoptsi.22

contemporary example we should consider the belief in apocalyptic eschatology among conservative general Christians. evangelical Many such individuals are from the middle class and there is not an inconsiderable number of fervent evangelicals among the wealthy oilmen and millionaires of the American Bible belt. Apocalypticism in the form of belief in an eschatological endtime and the return of Christ is widespread as attested by the popularity of the book, The Late Great Planet Earth, some years ago in North America. 23 While this book does not qualify as an apocalypse in literary genre, it nevertheless represents the general apocalyptic world-view characteristic of a particular stratum of Christianity. But this stratum is not a minority or marginal group in many areas, as both the British and American religious scenes show. The size and influence of this approach to Christianity was demonstrated in the election of Ronald Reagan as the U.S. President, in which such religious organizations as the Moral Majority were an important factor. This shows that an apocalyptic outlook may have little relation to the social or economic status of those who are part of the movement. It is also further evidence for Proposal #2 by illustrating how apocalypticism can be a broad movement rather than a small, tightly knit community or group. An explanation which is often proffered to take care of these exceptions is that ofrelative deprivation; in other words, individuals

important

or groups which seek expression through apocalypticism may not be badly off but only perceive themselves as inferior or deprived in comparison with others.24 Again, this is often true and can explain certain of such movements.25 The problem is that this is an explanation which can easily lead to circular reasoning because it cannot easily be falsified: one can always say that members of an apocalyptic group are experiencing relative deprivation when no

clear cause is found. As

this
as a

result, there have been recent criticisms of

thesis.26

32

Apocalypses may be produced by figures within the scribal or priestly establishment(s). It has now become common to recognize the scribal origin of most apocalypses. 27 That is, they are literary compositions on the whole rather than being oral in origin (even though portions of them could have originated in actual visionary or related experiences). But since
4.

various groups had their scribes, one could still argue that even apocalypses which were clearly scribal in origin were produced by marginal groups. Thus, in addition to assuming that apocalypses are produced by an apocalyptic community, scholars have often then gone on to see such a community as a marginalized one and one opposed to the establishment. This has been argued in particular by Paul Hanson in his book, The Dawn of ApocalyptiC.28 Hanson uses the church-sect or

ideological-utopian model, appealing specifically

establishment:
Modem

to

Weber, Troeltsch,

and Mannheim. 21 This leads him to take the a prion. position that apocalypticism could not have arisen in the context of the priestly

sociologists like Mannheim and Weber have demonstrated convincingly that powerful officials ruling over the religious or political structures of a society do not dream apocalyptic visions of the revolutionary overthrow of the existing order of things. Temple priests are not likely candidates for apocalyptic seers, not, that is, so long as they are in control of their temples. 30
This is blatant misuse of a

sociological

model and should be

firmly

challenged. 31
First, Hanson appears to be unaware of the critical discussion of the church-sect model which has long taken place among sociologists and others.32 Secondly, he seems to have misunderstood and misused Webers concept of ideal types of which the church-sect model is One.33 Thirdly, it is not universally true that a priestly or political establishment is immune to otherworldly or eschatological views, as already noted above under Proposal #3. Finally, one must keep in mind that the priestly hierarchy in charge of the Jerusalem temple in the early Persian period existed in a time of immense political, economic, and social pressures. According to Hansons own theory, it would only have been natural in such circumstances to have visionary views and experiences; indeed, the prophecies of Zechariah and Haggai represent just such an outlook .31 The position of those in

33

charge of the temple was still very tenuous since their authority and station could be abolished at any time by the Persian authorities. Even if Hansons model was generally valid, one could still see the Jerusalem priesthood as the sect (utopia) over against the church

(ideology) of the Persian government. Far from being powerful officials ruling over the religious structures of Judah, members of the temple hierarchy could well have seen themselves as powerless pawns caught .between the caprice of the distant Persian courtand the definite opposition of the local Persian administration which was in the hands of enemies. From the perspective of Hansons hypothesis of an inner Jewish power struggle, the ones in control of the cult could still have perceived themselves as struggling to establish a toehold of true worship in a hostile environment, facing enemies both within and without. In such circumstances, even given Hansons model, the priests may well have had reasons to dream
apocalyptic visions in which their enemies were destroyed and their authority confirmed by supernatural means. Many apocalyptic writings have been used in support of the political or religious establishment. This is especially true of medieval works which were frequently produced in the service of the dominant church or to promote the political ends of the establishment. Indeed, there are examples of apocalyptic-type writings being used by the established church against an apocalyptic sect!35
cultic 5. From the point of view of social function, apocalypticism, prophecy, mantic wisdom, and the priesthood may be and often are closely associated. Only a contracted discussion will be given here since the subject has been dealt with at greater length elsewhere.36 To take the question of relationship to prophecy first, even those who have seen apocalypticism as a development from prophecy have still usually made a clear distinction between prophecy and apocalypticism. Is this sharp differentiation really as justified as it seems? The terms prophet and prophecy are used in sociological and anthropological writings to refer to a somewhat broad phenomenon, including what might be called apocalypticist/apocalypticism in OT scholarship. The reason is that the social place and function of the two cannot be easily separated. The distinction between apocalypticism and prophecy is of course
a

useful

one

in certain

contexts

and should be maintained where

34

appropriate-it is certainly not my aim to criticize the general view scholarship. Nevertheless, there are still some problems from this differentiation.3~ For one thing, it has tended to arising all judge prophecy by what is perhaps a peculiar manifestation at a certain time in Israels history, the 250 years from about 750 to 500 BCE. Why must the touchstone for defining prophecy for all time be the narrow perspective of a few Israelite prophets at a certain short period of history? It is important to realize that Israelite prophecy during these two and a half centuries was conditioned by several factors, including the general lack of belief in an afterlife and the existence of a functioning monarchy. As it happens, the idea of an afterlife is important in most apocalypses (though not all); also, some have considered the loss of the monarchy a significant factor in the development of Jewish apocalypticism.38 In addition, post-exilic and even some pre-exilic prophecy contains visions and other items characteristic of apocalypses; and certain prophetic passages of the OT have been labeled proto-apocalyptic or even apocalyptic by
in OT
some

writers.39

Thus, the problem seems not to do with apocalyptic but with prophecy. If the artificial theological canalizing is removed, apocalypses and related oracular writings can be seen as a type of prophecy. That is, they are presented as a divine message received by a human intermediary to be passed on to a larger audience. Of
course, when there is no longer a king and court and the country is under foreign domination, it is hardly surprising that prophecies may announce a divine restoration of these, or something even greater, such as Gods direct rule on a purified earth; alternatively, the idea of a personal afterlife may obviate particular concern for a restored monarchy. In either case, such prophecies may take the form of an apocalypse or a related genre. 40 As for the relationship between mantic wisdom and prophecy, the recent study by VanderKam has shown that the two cannot always be sharply differentiated.41 But one can go beyond that to assert an even broader area of social function: prophecy, mantic wisdom, and the priesthood are all closely associated in many modem pre-industrial societies as well as ancient cultures, and two or more of these activities may be carried out by the same individual. To take some brief examples: Although anthropologists (often under the influence of. opt scholarship) have made a distinction between prophecy and priesthood, recent studies have shown that the two are not always

35
kept separate.42 In ancient Egypt divine oracles were closely associated with temple ceremonies,43 while in Mesopotamia oracles were in the hands of specialists who were part of the temple establishment.44 In early Israel the officially sanctioned forms of divination (the ephod and the Urim and Thummim) were also in the hands of priests.45 The equivalents of apocalypses in the Zoroastrian
tradition have been preserved by the priests and were probably originated by members of the priesthood.*46 Part of the reason that they are closely associated is that they all share an important core: each i3 an attempt to gain esoteric knowledge from supernatural sources. But each is also often associated with a tradition of learned wisdom, a jealously guarded closed shop in which the secrets of the trade are passed on only after a considerable apprenticeship. Even prophetic circles not infrequently maintain a tradition of discipleship and long apprenticeship before a new individual is recognized as having the supernatural gifts. This has been only a short discussion of a complex subject. Further detail and discussion is found in my other study.
.

Implications
None of the foregoing points is completely new. Nevertheless, it has been important to make them for two reasons: First, they are derived from a study of historical movements rather than from hypothetical reconstructions based primarily on apocalyptic literature. Secondly, even though most of the points made can be found somewhere or other in the collective scholarly writing over the past few years, it is still true that a thorough acceptance of them would considerably change the direction of much current study. What these proposals do in essence is call into question some standard assumptions about the relationship between apocalypses and social movements. It is not argued that no such connection exists but that is much more complicated than often assumed. From the proposals just outlined, as well as from a survey of various millennial and other religious movements, a number of implications can be drawn. A couple of the following are widely accepted, but it is interesting to see that sociological study tends to confirm them:
1. The expression of apocalyptic and related movements usually makes use of a wide range of resources in the cultural environment.

36

apocalyptic movements seem to make use of the elements of their symbolic repertory: native myths, important borrowed elements from the colonial culture (if there is one), artistic expressions, religious symbolism of all sorts. In short, they very much reflect the cultural heritage of the environment in which they grow up. In some cases they contain extensive incorporation of the imported culture, but other examples may show mainly elements of the native culture. 47 Even when the message focuses on a return to the old paths, it often masks what is really a mixture of old and new. Borrowed elements may not even be recognized as originally foreign but may be taken as native elements which foreigners now
most

Millenarian and

claimed. 48
Handsome Lakes preaching is an example of this last point. While elements of his preaching were traditional (e.g., the dangers of witchcraft and the calendrical ceremonies), others were actually quite new. His message represented a synthesis of traditional Seneca cultural elements, parenetic elements addressed to the current problems, and Christian and other borrowings (though these were sometimes easily fitted into Seneca myth and traditional culture).49 Native myths are often an important constituent in the expression of apocalyptic movements. But the mythical heritage is particularly important in some movements and may even be the main impetus for the movement or for its recrudescence in a particular area. For example, myth seems to be the driving force behind the South American migration movements and certain of the Melanesian cargo cults which spring up periodically.so
some

2.

Apocalyptic and related messages that which has already become community.

frequently confirm or a widespread view

express in the

A useful illustration of this is found in the apocalyptic vision of Handsome Lake which affirmed the dangers of alcohol for the Indians. This was not a new message but one which Cornplanter, Handsome Lakes brother and the major leader of the Seneca, had already been attempting to press onto his fellows. 51

apocalypse or related form may not represent the thinking of a tightly knit community but rather reflect attitudes found much more broadly in society.
3. An

37

already noted under Proposal #3 that apocalyptic attitudes can widespread in a certain stratum of society, such as among conservative evangelicals. The truth of this point is also indicated by the presence of certain themes and concepts runing through a good many of the Jewish apocalypses.
It was

be

4. Apocalypses and related forms may well be the product of a single individual and not necessarily of a whole community. This illustrates the complexity of the problem. While many apocalypses no doubt have been connected in some way with social movements, we cannot affirm that this is necessarily the case. The fact that they are literary compositions, often showing knowledge of cosmic speculation or historical events (in the case of Jewish apocalypses), indicates that many of them are learned works. Their authors were likely to have been educated people, often scribes and priests. Such educated individuals are not usually completely alien in thinking from the society around them, suggesting that they frequently incorporate the ideas, ideals, and expectations of many of their contemporaries (even if perhaps only a minority). On the other hand, this type of person is most likely to be innovative in thought, with independent ideas which are new to a lesser or greater extent. For this reason, many apocalypses are likely to express primarily the thoughts and views of a single individual, even if these correspond more or less to those of many of their fellows in the broader community. Two examples are given below. 5. An apocalypse or related form, once in existence (however it originated), may serve to fuel and drive a movement. This is true of two apocalypses of known historical authorship. One is that of Handsome Lake whose visions (one at least in apocalyptic form) were a key to the founding of the Gcaiwiio movement. A similar situation applies to the movement of Shabbatai $vi, the Jewish messianic figure of the seventeenth century. His prophet was Rabbi Nathan of Gaza. After hearing Shabbatai speak, Nathan had a vision which revealed Shabbatais role to him, on the basis of which Nathan convinced Shabbatai that the latter was the Messiah. Not long afterward Nathan produced what he claimed to be an ancient prophecy from a medieval rabbi that he had discovered. This pseudepigraph (authored by Nathan himself, of course) seems to

38 the criteria of the genre apocalypse by any definition. It had an important function in fueling the movement and providing both comfort and credibility, as well as giving Shabbatai courage to lead it.52
meet

Apocalypses seem often to be the product of the intelligentsia (scribal or priestly elements) or leadership of a community, whatever the status of the general members. (See Proposal #4 above).
6.

apocalyptic community may well express itself in a variety of an apocalypse being only one of a large number of possibilities. One must not confuse the message with the medium. The apocalyptic message may be expressed in a variety of literary and oral forms. In
ways,

7. An

apocalypses, there are oracles, vision reports, parenetic discourses, testaments, to name only a few. One form becoming very popular after an authoritative body of sacred literature had been widely accepted was that of Bible commentary in various forms (including rewritten Bible). A full investigation of the social setting of apocalypticism must take into account a broad spectrum of literature, not just apocalypses.
to

addition

8. People of all social ranks and classes are susceptible to the need for transcendental meaning and experience and thus to the attractions of millennial and apocalyptic movements.
a time of crisis may well serve as a catalyst to millennial movements, and such movements may increase during times of crisis, this is no hard and fast rule. Dissatisfaction with the status quo may well lead to revolts and other forms of social protest without any overtones of millennialism. As Sylvia Thrupp has noted, In the vast majority of the many hundreds of medieval peasant revolts and urban revolutions on record there is no evidence of any millennial influence.5 Relative deprivation, dissatisfaction with material things, ideology, and more subtle factors may contribute to the cause. But it is also true that eschatological tension alone may be sufficient, without requiring the prior existence of social tensions.54 As for the question of which portions of society are affected, examples given in Proposal #3 show that anyone can become an adherent. The Shabbatian movement, in which Jews of all social ranks and educational levels embraced the messianic claims of Shabbatai $vi, is

While

an

additional instance.

39

Conclusions

Early Jewish apocalypticism presents a major problem for sociological study. Social claims have usually been made on the basis of apocalypses, yet these literary works give only a fictitious setting (i.e., a revelation from God to an ancient sage). Scholars are rightly concerned to begin with the text and work out toward the solution to broader problems, but in the case of the apocalypses, much work on the sociological level has heretofore been circular: a social situation is first hypothesized from the literature, then this hypothesized situation is used to understand and interpret the literature! Close study of the texts is still vital, but an additional source of heuristic insight is also needed. In this study I have attempted to call on the resources of sociology and anthropology to help in tackling the problem. In so doing, two broad conclusions seem in order: (a) Millenarian and related groups provide an important resource for building models to help with investigating the social setting of Jewish apocalypticism. However, it
be noted that there have been many types of millennial in ancient and modern times, and some seem more than others. For example, the cargo movements of the useful directly south Pacific have not seemed helpful for direct comparisons, but may nevertheless provide useful data for certain issues; (b) it is also clear that apocalypses have arisen in a variety of settings, not necessarily one having to do with a particular movement. One must allow for other settings (e.g., the scribe working alone). Some apocalypses may not at any point have had anything to do with a millenarian community. Others may have originated in a nonmillenarian context, but then served as an important verbal expression or sacred text for such a movement. All possibilities must be allowed for. One must also take into account that apocalyptic ideas are expressed in all sorts of literature other than apocalypses and investigate these as well: the message is more important than the medium. The aim of this article has been primarily programmatic. I have made a number of criticisms and suggestions which are yet to be worked out satisfactorily, but which, it is hoped, will stimulate further study and debate. Surprisingly, researchers on early Jewish apocalypticism have so far made little use of the many important studies of millenarian groups. Yet on the basis of such studies, this first brief sketch has been able to challenge some common
must movement

40 about apocalypticism. This is no negation of the vast amount of valuable work being done on apocalyptic literature at the present time, but rather an attempt to suggest another resource for putting questions to the data so carefully marshalled by many different scholars, especially in the past two decades. Much more needs to be done in examining actual historical societies and situations to see how apocalyptic attitudes are distributed and function, how apocalyptic movements express themselves, and how apocalyptic literature is produced. Only then can the Jewish apocalypses and related writings, whose social contexts are by and large unknown, be socially situated -with some

sociological assumptions

methodological rigor.
NOTES
1. Paper originally read before the European Association of Jewish Studies, Berlin, 30 July 1987. Professor M.E. Stone (the Hebrew University) and Professor M.A. Knibb (Kings College, London) kindly commented on an earlier draft, as did my Hull colleagues in the Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology, Dr. J.S. Boston and Dr. P.G. Forster. My sincere thanks for their suggestions and criticisms. 2. K. Koch, Ratlos vor der Apokalyptik (Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn, 1970); ET Rediscovery of Apocalyptic (SBT, Second Series 22; London: SCM,

1970). 3. E.g., see F. Raphael, Esquisse dune typologie de lapocalypse, LApocalyptique (Etudes dHistoire des Religions 3; Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1977), pp. 11-38; G.W.E. Nickelsburg, Social Aspects of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypticism, in D. Hellholm (ed.), Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World and the Near East (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1983), pp. 641-54; S.R. Isenberg, Millenarism in GrecoRoman Palestine, Religion 4 (1974), pp. 26-46; the symposium, Anthropological Perspectives on Old Testament Prophecy, published in Semeia 21 (1982); and the symposium, Early Christian Apocalypticism: Genre and Social Setting, published in Semeia 36 (1986). 4. E.g., P.D. Hanson, The Dawn of Apocalyptic (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1975).
5. The term messianic movement is sometimes also used, but this is to be avoided as a synonym for millenarian movement since many millenarian movements do not have a central figure or leader (messiah). Messianic movement should be reserved for those which do have such a figure, a criticism which applies to the definition given by J.G. Gager, Kingdom and Community: The Social World of Early Christianity (Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

41

Prentice-Hall, 1975). Following I.C. Jarvie ( The Revolution in Anthropology & Paul, [London: Routledge Kegan 1964], p. 51) but adding an additional element, Gager comes up with the following characteristic traits: the promise of heaven on earth—soon; the overthrow or reversal of the present social order; a terrific release of emotional energy; ... a brief life span of the movement itself. the central role of a messianic, prophetic, or charismatic leader (p. 21). While many movements have these traits, not all do—and they certainly do not form a useful definition of millenarian movement.
...

Gagers delineation suffers from the same problem as Kochs ( Rediscovery of Apocalyptic, pp. 23-33) list of characteristics for apocalyptic. 6. Y. Talmon, Millenarism, International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences (New York/London: Crowell Collier and Macmillan, 1968), p. 349; also her article, Millenarian Movements, Archives europeéns de sociologie 7 (1966), p. 159. The article is an expanded version of the encyclopaedia entry. N. Cohn ( The Pursuit of the Millennium [revised edn; London: Temple Smith, 1970], p. 13) gives a similar definition; see also his article, Medieval Millenarism, in S.L. Thrupp (ed.), Millennial Dreams in Action (Comparative Studies in Society and History, Supplement 2; Hague: Mouton, 1962),
pp. 31-43. On the various terms used for these movements, cf. W. La Barre, Materials for a History of Studies of Crisis Cults: A Bibliographic Essay, Current Anthropology 12 (1971), pp. 3-44, esp. p. 11; and V. Lanternari, Nativistic and Socio-religious Movements: A Reconsideration, Comparative Studies in Sociology and History 16 (1974), pp. 486-87. 7. Talmon, Millenarian Movements, p. 167. Note the comments of J.J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination: An Introduction to the Jewish Matrix of Christianity (New York: Crossroad, 1984), an important book which became available to me only after this article was finished. Collins (pp. 2930, 205-206), who expresses scepticism about the usefulness of millenarian models, observes that there is only limited overlap between the Jewish apocalyptic literature and anthropological descriptions of millenarian movements. However, he seems to be somewhat misled by the definition of millenarian movements given by Gager ( Kingdom and Community, p. 21). Of course, Collins is quite right that not every apocalypse presupposes a millenarian movement or the ideas which characterize such a movement, as I also argue in Proposal #3 below. 8. One of the few exceptions is that of R.G. Willis, Kaswa: Oral Tradition of a Fipa Prophet, Africa 40 (1970), pp. 248-56. 9. The usage is not settled even among specialists. It was once normal to use apocalyptic as a noun (on the analogy of German Apokalyptik ). This is still not uncommon in British and Continental scholarship; cf. the recent argument for retaining this usage by E.J.C. Tigchelaar, More on Apocalyptic and Apocalypses, JSJ 18 (1987), pp. 137-44, esp. p. 137 n. 2. The North American tendency has been to restrict the term apocalyptic to the adjectival usage, with the noun being apocalypticism.

42
10. See especially M.E. Stone, Lists of Revealed Things in the Apocalyptic Literature in F.M. Cross, et al. (ed.), Magnalia Dei: Essays on the Bible and Archaeology in Memory of G. Ernest Wright (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976), pp. 439-43; Apocalyptic Literature in M.E. Stone (ed.), Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period (CRINT 2/2; Assen: Van Gorcum; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), pp. 392-94; P.D. Hanson, Apocalypticism, IDBSupp, pp. 29-31; cf. Dawn of Apocalyptic, pp.11-12; F. Garcia Martinez, Encore lapocalyptique, JSJ 17 (1986), pp. 224-32, esp. p. 229-30. 11. Cf. Stone, Lists of Revealed Things, p. 442. 12. For the use of the term apocalyptic community in reference to Qumran, cf. F.M. Cross, Ancient Library of Qumran and Modern Biblical Studies (revised edn; Garden City: Doubleday, 1961), p. 87 n. 63. The question of whether Qumran produced apocalyptic literature is dealt with by M.E. Stone, Apocalyptic Literature, pp. 423-27. He notes that a couple of items bear a strong resemblance to the genre, and of course future publications may turn up more such; however, the important thing is the extreme scarcity of such literature. Also Collins, Apocalyptic Imagination, pp. 115-16, 140-41, 206. 13. See for example W. Bauer, Orthodoxy and Heresy in Earliest Christianity (ed. R. Kraft and G. Kordel; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1971). 14. The precise definition of apocalypse is still very much debated. A widely used delineation of the genre is that developed by the Society of Biblical Literature seminar whose results appeared in J.J. Collins (ed.), Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre (Semeia 14; Atlanta: Scholars, 1979); see esp. p. 9. On the other hand, it has also been challenged or modified by other scholars; e.g., E.P. Sanders, The Genre of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypses, in Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World (n. 3 above), pp. 447-59; M.A. Knibb, Prophecy and the Emergence of the Jewish Apocalypses, in R. Coggins, et al. (ed.), Israels Prophetic Tradition: Essays in Honour of Peter R. Ackroyd (Cambridge: University Press, 1982), pp. 16165 ; and J.H. Charlesworth (with J.R. Mueller), The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha: A Guide to Publications, with Excursuses on Apocalypses (Metuchen, NJ/London: Scarecrow, 1987), pp. 20-24. Both Sanders and Charlesworth want a less confining definition (but see Collinss reply [Apocalyptic Imagination, p. 8] to Sanders). The debate continues in the symposium published in Semeia 36 (1986); see especially the articles by D. Hellholm (pp. 13-64) and D.E. Aune (pp. 65-96) and the introduction by A. Yarbro Collins (pp. 1-11). It seems to me that Hellholms attempt (p. 27) to include a reference to a group in crisis is particularly unhelpful. It adds a social component to the definition of a literary genre and thus begs the question of social setting. 15. General accounts can be found in B.R. Wilson, Magic and the Millennium: A Sociological Study of Religious Movements of Protest among Tribal and Third-World Peoples (London: Heinemann, 1973), pp. 387-97;

43
A.F.C. Wallace, The Death and Rebirth

of the Seneca (New

York: Random

House, 1969).
16. Original reports of this vision can be found in A.C. Parker, The Code of Handsome Lake, the Seneca Prophet (New York State Museum, Bulletin 163; Albany: State Museum, 1913), and A.F.C. Wallace, Halliday Jacksons Journal to the Seneca Indians, 1798-1800, Pennsylvania History 19 (1952),

pp. 117-47, 325-49. Wallace has attempted to reconstruct the original vision from the various reports ( Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, pp. 242-48).
17. For a general account, see Wilson, Magic and the Millennium, pp. 20614 ; R. Ribeiro, Brazilian Messianic Movements, in Thrupp, Millennial Dreams in Action (n. 2 above), pp. 55-58. Valuable first-hand information is given by C. Nimuendajú (Unkel), Die Sagen von der Erschaffung und Vernichtung der Welt als Grundlagen der Religion der Apapocuva-Guarani, Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 46 (1914), pp. 284-403. See also Nimuendajú, The Tukuna (ed. R.H. Lowie; Univ. of Calif: Publ. in Am. Arch. and Ethnol. 45; Berkeley/Los Angeles: Univ. of California, 1952), pp. 137-40; J.H. Steward (ed.), Handbook of South American Indians (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 143; Washington, DC: Government

Printing Office, 1948), vol. 3, pp. 93-94, 131. 18. Nimuendajú, Die Sagen, pp. 393-403 (German translation of text of the myth). 19. R.R. Wilson, From Prophecy to Apocalyptic: Reflections on the Shape of Israelite Religion, Semeia 21 (1982), p. 84. Cf. also Hanson, ApocaIDBSup, 30b-31a. lypticism, 20. K.O.L. Burridge, Reflections on Prophecy and Prophetic Groups, Semeia 21 (1982), p. 102. H. Kaminsky has argued that the Taborite movement in late medieval Czechoslovakia showed only eschatological, not social, tension (referred to in Thrupp, Millennial Dreams in Action, p. 21). 21. M. Adas, Prophets of Rebellion: Millenarian Protest Movements against the European Colonial Order (Studies in Comparative World History; Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina, 1979), pp. 119-20, 184-85; Talmon, Millenarian Movements, (n. 6 above), pp. 186-87; B. Lincoln, Notes toward a Theory of Religion and Revolution, Religion, Rebellion, Revolution (London: Macmillan 1985), p. 274; B. McGinn, Visions of the End: Apocalyptic Traditions in the Middle Ages (New York: Columbia, 1979), pp. 31-32.
22. On the medieval groups,
see

N. Cohn, Medieval Millenarism, in

Thrupp, Millennial Dreams in Action, pp. 31-43; R.E. Lerner, The Heresy of the Free Spirit in the Later Middle Ages (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California: 1972); McGinn, Visions of the End. For the Skoptsi, see F.C. Conybeare, Rissian Dissenters (HTS 10; Cambridge, MA: Harvard, 1921; reprinted New York: Russell & Russell, 1962), pp. 363-70. G. Shepperson (in Thrupp, Millennial Dreams, p. 49) notes that 19th-century British millenarian
groups tended to be middle-class.

44
23. Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970). Although it was several years before the book came to the notice of the general public (cf. Newsweek 89 [Jan. 10, 1977], pp. 49ff.), it is estimated that 15,000 copies had been sold already within a decade of the books publication (S.D. Walters, Hal Lindsey: Recalculating the Second Coming, Christian Century 96 [Sept. 12, 1979], p. 839). 24. Nickelsburg, Social Aspects of Palestinian Jewish Apocalypticism (n. 3 above), pp. 646-47; Adas, Prophets of Rebellion, pp. 43-45. 25. For example, Adas thinks this is the best explanation of the revolutionary movements which he investigated ( Prophets of Rebellion,

pp. 43-45, 122-23).

26. B.R. Wilson, Religion in Sociological Perspective (Oxford/New York: OUP, 1982), pp. 115-18; R. Wallis, Salvation and Protest (London: Frances Pinter, 1979), pp. 3-6. 27. See especially J.Z. Smith, Wisdom and Apocalyptic, in B.A. Pearson (ed.), Religious Syncretism in Antiquity (Atlanta: Scholars, 1975), pp. 131-56, esp. p. 140; also W.G. Lambert, The Background of Jewish Apocalyptic (Ethel M. Wood Lecture, University of London, 22 Feb. 1977; London: Athlone, 1978); Collins, Apocalyptic Imagination, p. 30.

interpretation of their model in the following way ( D awn of Apocalyptic, p. 217): The characteristics of these two mentalities, the ideological and the utopian, together with the features of the corresponding organizational types, the Church and the sect, illumine significantly the nature of the struggle occurring in the exilic and post-exilic community. For in that struggle the lines were drawn between the Zadokitedominated priestly party ... and an alliance of dissident, alienated elements, especially those holding to the eschatological message of the prophets. 30. Dawn of Apocalyptic, pp. 232-33. 31. R.P. Carroll in his review of Hanson (Twilight of Prophecy or Dawn of Apocalyptic, JSOT 14 [1979], pp. 27-28) makes the point that Hanson may be using outdated models but he seems an exception among reviewers. Hansons response (From Prophecy to Apocalyptic: Unresolved Issues, JSOT 15 [1980], p. 6) is hardly adequate: The sociologists whose research was utilized in The Dawn of Apocalyptic offered what to my mind were the most useful categories and conceptual tools available for the study of early Jewish apocalypticism.... more recent studies have failed to reach the level of penetration and insight attained by Mannheim, Troeltsch and Weber. Exactly what more recent studies he has in mind is not stated, but one cannot help feeling that Hanson has not been particularly interested in making himself aware of the more recent studies. 32. For examples of recent discussion and criticism, see Wilson, Magic and the Millennium, pp. 11-16; Religion in Sociological Perspective, pp. 89-91; J.A. Coleman, Church-Sect Typology and Organizational Precariousness,

28. See n. 4 above. 29. He summarizes his

45
pp. 55-66; and the discussion between E. A.W. Eister, in JSSR 6 (1967), pp. 64-90, 270-77. Cf. also the criticisms of H. Schwartz, The End of the Beginning: Millenarian Studies, 1969-1975, RSR 2/3 (July 1976), p. 3. 33. The purpose of the ideal type is to serve as a heuristic device for empirical investigation, but it must be recognized from the outset that no actual example is likely to conform to it in all respects (Wilson, Religion in Sociological Perspective, pp. 95-105). Further, Hanson has constrttcted an ideal type from an amalgam of several sociological discussions and then absolutized it in such a way that no empirical data are allowed to deviate from it. For example, K. Mannheims aim in Ideology and Utopia (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1936; revision of Ideologie und Utopie [Bonn: F. Cohen, 1929]) was to develop a sociology of knowledge which challenged that of Marxism by arguing that ideology conditioned the world view of all social classes, not just that of the establishment. It seems to me questionable as to whether Hanson has properly understood his discussion. For one thing, Mannheim recognizes that his model of conservative ideology versus utopia represents two ends of a spectrum rather than an absolute dichotomy. Similarly, Troeltschs church-sect model was applied to a very specific situation in Christian Europe of his own time. Not only did it not take account of the state of Christianity elsewhere (e.g., North America) but certainly did not consider its validity for religion in a different environment or historical period. Further, it has since often been criticized as too simplistic as a description of actual religious groups even if it may still have value as a heuristic device (see references in the previous note). 34. The attempt to dissociate Zechariah and Haggai from the visionary side of things is another weak point in Hansons analysis which has already been pointed out by several reviewers: Stone, Lists of Revealed Things

Sociological Analysis 29 (1968), Goode, N.J. Demerath III, and

(n. 10 above), p. 442; Carroll, Twilight of Prophecy, pp. 24-27; Knibb, Prophecy and the Emergence of the Jewish Apocalypses (n. 14 above), pp. 172-75; Wilson, From Prophecy to Apocalyptic (n. 19 above), pp. 8283. 35. McGinn, Visions of the End, pp. 29-35. 36. See my paper, Priests, Prophets, Diviners, and Sages in Ancient Israel, read at the Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting, Sheffield, England, August 1988, which is being prepared for publication. 37. Cf. the statement of A.Yarbro Collins (Introduction: Early Christian Apocalypticism, Semeia 36 [1986], p. 5): one of the challenges in defining the genre apocalypses is to recognize the continuity of these texts with prophetic literature in the Hebrew Bible, while showing how they are distinguished from it. 38. J.Z. Smith (Wisdom and Apocalyptic [n. 27 above], p. 149) writes: I am tempted to describe apocalypticism as wisdom lacking a royal patron. 39. For example, Hanson ( Dawn of Apocalyptic, pp. 11-31, 126-32, 299-

46

315, 368) considers Deutero-Isaiah as already proto-apocalyptic, Isaiah 5666 and Zech. 9-11 as early apocalyptic, and Isaiah 24-27 and Zech. 12.113.6 as middle apocalyptic. See Knibb (Prophecy and the Emergence of the Jewish Apocalypses [n. 14 above], pp. 172-75) for a general discussion of the question. Collins ( Apocalyptic Imagination, p. 19-20, 221 nn.60-61) still maintains that Zechariah 1-8 and Isaiah 24-27 are not apocalypses. 40. Mr. David Bryan kindly called my attention to the discussion of John Barton who seems to be arguing for a similar conclusion in Oracles of God: Perceptions of Ancient Prophecy in Israel after the Exile (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1986), pp.198-210. 41. J.C. VanderKam, The Prophetic-Sapiential Origins of Apocalyptic Thought in J.D. Martin and P.R. Davies (ed.), A Word in Season: Essays in Honour of William McKane (JSOTSup 42; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1986),

important article of P. Rigby, Prophets, Diviners, and The Recent History of Kiganda Religion, Journal of Anthropological Research 31 (1975), pp. 116-48; cf. also K. Carley, Prophets Old and New, in G. Trompf (ed.), Prophets of Melanesia (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies, 1977), p. 249 n. 28. On the overlapping roles of religious specialists in general, see V.W. Turner, Religious Specialists: I Anthropological Study, International Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences 13 (1968), pp. 437-42; cf. G.W. Ahlström, (Religious) Doctrines and Dogmas: Prophecy, New Encyclopaedia Britannica (Chicago: University Press, 1985), vol. 17, pp. 397-98. 43. J. Černy, Egyptian Oracles, in R.A. Parker (ed.), A Saite Oracle Papyrus from Thebes in the Brooklyn Museum (Providence, RI: Brown University, 1962), pp. 34-48. 44. See for example the treatment of H.W.F. Saggs, The Greatness that was Babylon (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1962), pp. 345-51; The Greatness that was Assyria (London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1984), pp. 20920. 45. See 1 Sam. 23.6-9; 28.6; 30.7; Deut. 33.8; Ezra 2.63; Neh. 7.65. 46. Cf. A. Hultgärd, Forms and Origins of Iranian Apocalypticism, in Apocalypticism in the Mediterranean World (n. 3 above), p. 408. 47. Actual examples of millenarian movements in a colonial context show a wide range of examples, all the way from an extreme return to nativism to a willingness to incorporate all sorts of elements of the colonial rulers into their movements; see La Barre, Materials for a History of Studies of Crisis Cults, (n. 6 above), pp. 20-22; Lanternari, Nativistic and Socio-religious Movements, pp. 483-503. The leaders of such movements are often quite knowledgeable of the colonial culture (Adas, Prophets of Rebellion, p. 119-

pp. 163-76. 42. See the

Prophetism:

20).
48. For example, in the context of a Fijian cargo cult the cultural myth includes a deity by the name of Jehovah, and it is confidently asserted that

47
this deity had always been known and not introduced by whites! See P. Worsley, The Trumpet Shall Sound: A Study of Cargo Cults in Melanesia (2nd edn; London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1968), p. 22. 49. Wallace, Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, pp. 249-54. 50. See Proposal #3 above for the Tupi-Guarani. For the cargo cults, see M. Eliade in Thrupp, Millennial Dreams in Action, p. 139. 51. Wallace, Death and Rebirth of the Seneca, p. 228-36. 52. See G. Scholem, Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah (Bollingen Series 93; Princeton: University, 1973), esp. pp. 199-233. 53. Millennial Dreams in Action, p. 23. Cf. also the remarks of R. Ribeiro (ibid., p. 64) who notes that blacks in Brazil had never resorted to millenarianism, despite severe deprivation, but that such movements had always been among the Indians and neo-Brazilians. 54. G. Kaminsky, as quoted by S. Thrupp, Millennial Dreams in Action, p. 21. Cf. also Talmon, Millenarian Movements (n. 6 above), pp. 190-91.