Bahman Yasht
,
a
zand
or interpretation of a lost book of the Avesta, is presented as a revelation
to Zarathustra.
23
He sees a tree with four branches, of gold, silver, steel and
mixed iron. These are interpreted as four kingdoms, and the fourth kingdom
is said to coincide with the tenth millennium. (There is also a vision in which
the tree has seven branches.) The work goes on to speak of the signs of the
tenth millennium, the coming of a saviour and the resurrection. The sequence
of four kingdoms, each associated with a metal and the fourth partly of clay,
is so similar to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in Daniel chapter
that we must
assume some common tradition.
24
The relation of the Persian material to
Jewish apocalypticism is obscured by problems of dating, since the Pahlavi
literature in which these traditions are preserved dates from the early Middle
Ages. Nevertheless, it is remarkable that some prominent features of Jewish
apocalypses, such as the division of history into numbered periods (e.g. the
four kingdoms in Daniel
and
) and the belief in resurrection, were in-
novations in Judaism and seem to have an integral role in Persian tradition.
It would be too simple to think that Jewish apocalypticism was simply derived
from Persian models, but it is reasonable to suppose that there was some
influence. A specific case of Persian influence on Jewish apocalyptic ideas can
be found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, which envision humanity divided between
Spirits of Light and Darkness, in a manner reminiscent of Zoroastrianism.
25
The Novel Features of Jewish Apocalypticism
Several features distinguish the Jewish apocalyptic writings from biblical
prophecy and earlier Jewish tradition. Some of these concern the manner in
which revelation is conveyed, and some concern its content. The recipients
of apocalyptic revelation are typically pseudonymous figures of considerable
antiquity. Enoch supposedly lived before the flood and had been taken up to
heaven, so he was especially qualified to reveal heavenly mysteries. Daniel was
a legendary figure, who had supposedly been taken captive to Babylon, and
was skilled in the interpretation of dreams. Pseudonymity was widespread in
the ancient world, and in the Hebrew Bible – witness the attribution of
73
Eschatological Dynamics in Early Judaism
Deuteronomy to Moses, of Psalms to David and of Proverbs to Solomon.
But the use of the device in Enoch and Daniel was novel over against the
prophetic tradition. These ancient sages were not the ultimate guarantors of
the revelation. They in turn had received it from angelic mediators, who
explained their visions, or, in the case of Enoch, served as tour guides beyond
the realm of ordinary human experience. Angelic mediators were known in
the prophetic tradition, and figure prominently in the post-exilic book of
Zechariah and in Ezekiel
–
. The difference here is only one of degree;
the angelic figures appear more consistently in apocalyptic writings, and
individual angels are given names (e.g. Michael and Gabriel in the Book of
Daniel). Their role is to underline the otherworldly character of the revelation.
The content of the apocalypses is not supposed to be accessible to unaided
human reason, but is avowedly out of this world.
More important than these formal differences are the differences in content
over against the prophets. Two features seem to me to be crucial: the increased
prominence of angelic and demonic figures and the expectation of the
judgment of the dead.
The Italian scholar Paolo Sacchi has argued at length that the wellspring
of apocalypticism is the problem of evil or theodicy, and that the apocalyptic
response is to explain this problem by appeal to angelic or demonic agency.
26
The paradigmatic case of such an explanation is found in the Enochic
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