Peter S Perry

The People of God in the Book of Revelation

The Oxford Handbook of the Book of Revelation

This chapter analyzes how John describes and transforms the people of God as audiences, assemblie... more This chapter analyzes how John describes and transforms the people of God as audiences, assemblies, slaves of God, saints, those who are clothed in white, and witnesses. John moves them from being audiences of a reader to audiences in the divine court, where they are transformed from ignorance to knowledge of Rome’s violence and idolatrous economy. As assemblies, they receive messages from their true ruler asking them to deliberate on disengaging from the imperial economy and becoming an alternate society. As slaves of God, they are freed to publicly identify as God’s people, protected for service, and separate from those who serve the empire. As saints, God gives new status to the people of God and they move from passivity to activity on behalf of others who suffer at the hands of imperial consumption. As those who are metaphorically clothed in white, they exchange literal luxury for status in God’s court. As witnesses, they are moved to speak the truth about the One-Who-Sits-on-th...

The Rhetoric of Digressions: Revelation 7:1-17 and 10:1-11:13 and Ancient Communication

Disputing Enoch: Reading Matthew 24:36-44 with Enochic Judaism

“Do not harm the trees!” Ecology, Empire, and Translation in the Book of Revelation

The Bible Translator, 2019

The book of Revelation shows an unexpected interest in trees, and not only for their symbolic or ... more The book of Revelation shows an unexpected interest in trees, and not only for their symbolic or anthropocentric value. Relevance theory helps compare various interpretive options an audience might consider. An audience’s understanding of the warning to “not harm the trees” will be affected by their awareness of the effects of storms, locust plagues, imperial deforestation, siege tactics, and prophetic use of these topics to expose the effects of human sin against creation. Paratextual aids in the translation of these passages will help modern audiences become more aware of these cognitive effects. Using different words to translate the Greek terms δένδρον (used to refer to earthly trees that other creatures are dependent on) and ξύλον (used for the symbolic “Tree” of Life) further emphasizes the earthly and ecological concern of the Seer’s visions.

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Relevance Theory in the Performance of Revelation 17–19

The Bible Translator, 2015

Relevance theory (RT) describes human communication as a cognitive process that tends to maximize... more Relevance theory (RT) describes human communication as a cognitive process that tends to maximize contextual effects while minimizing processing effort. From an RT perspective, translation is a communication event in which a speaker/writer selects some contextual effects of a prior communication event to replicate with an acceptable amount of processing effort by new hearers in a different language. Performance is translation in that it shares the goal of replication of contextual effects; but while translators may desire verisimilitude above other goals, performers may have differently prioritized communicative objectives. Performance of a text provides Bible translators an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal cues to maximize contextual effects and minimize processing effort for a specific audience. The performance of Revelation 17–19 offers a unique window into the cognitive effects of ambiguity and delayed processing, emotion and tone, space and distance that guide word choice, syntax, and visual formatting of a written translation. The non-verbal cues of performance correlate to the visual cues of a text in maximizing desired contextual effects while minimizing processing effort.

Insights from Performance Criticism

Insights from Performance Criticism, 2016

Critiquing the Excess of Empire: A Synkrisis of John of Patmos and Dio of Prusa

Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2007

Despite their many differences, John the Seer of Patmos and Dio the rhetorphilosopher of Prusa sh... more Despite their many differences, John the Seer of Patmos and Dio the rhetorphilosopher of Prusa share a basic critique of the Roman Empire. Limiting the comparison to Rev. 18 and Dio's twelfth Olympic Oration (with an important reference to Dio's thirteenth Oration), this essay concludes that John and Dio critique the violence, exploitation and luxury of Rome, grounding their analysis in divine sovereignty over earthly rulers. This common critique suggests that John's message may have been sympathetically heard by a wider audience than simply a few Christian communities, and that Revelation should be reevaluated in this light.

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Making Fear Personal: Hebrews 5.11--6.12 and the Argument from Shame

Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2009

The author of Hebrews directly shames his audience in 5.11-12: ‘you have become νωθρoί in hearing... more The author of Hebrews directly shames his audience in 5.11-12: ‘you have become νωθρoί in hearing ... you need someone to teach you ... You need milk not solid food’. Taking into account occurrences in other literature, νωθρoί in Heb. 5.11 and 6.12 is best translated as ‘unambitious’, connoting a shameful failure to recognize and act on advantages. Mapping the use of emotion in Hebrews with Aristotle’s definitions reveals that this direct shaming is unique and critical to the argument of the epistle. The hearers may dismiss warnings of God’s wrath as relevant to others but not themselves. Shame in 5.11—6.12 makes this fear personal.

Book Review: A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John. By Edmondo Lupieri. Translated by Maria Poggi Johnson & Adam Kamesar. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2006. Pp. xxx + 395. Paper, $36.00

Biblical Theology Bulletin: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 2008

50 50 er confession of Jesus as the Son of God, the exclusive and true broker (256–57). Brown res... more 50 50 er confession of Jesus as the Son of God, the exclusive and true broker (256–57). Brown resolves the conflict by redefining the term Paraclete as a broker. Brown’s argument makes sense of a number of difficult spirit sayings in the Gospel. One example is the seeming contradiction in John 6:63: “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless,” a phrase immediately following Jesus’ claim that believers must consume his flesh. When read through the lens of brokerage, however, the dichotomy of the spirit and flesh is seen to refer to brokers who come from the spiritual or earthly realm. From this perspective, the fleshly brokers are useless, but Jesus’ spiritual brokerage gives life (146–49). Brown’s book extends recent social– scientific studies on the Fourth Gospel and benefits the discussion of Johannine Pneumatology. Jane S. Webster Barton College Wilson NC 27893

The People of God in the Book of Revelation

The Oxford Handbook on the Book of Revelation, 2020

This chapter analyzes how John describes and transforms the people of God as audiences, assemblie... more This chapter analyzes how John describes and transforms the people of God as audiences, assemblies, slaves of God, saints, those who are clothed in white, and witnesses. John moves them from being audiences of a reader to audiences in the divine court, where they are transformed from ignorance to knowledge of Rome's violence and idolatrous economy. As assemblies, they receive messages from their true ruler asking them to deliberate on disengaging from the imperial economy and becoming an alternate society. As slaves of God, they are freed to publicly identify as God's people, protected for service, and separate from those who serve the empire. As saints, God gives new status to the people of God and they move from passivity to activity on behalf of others who suffer at the hands of imperial consumption. As those who are metaphorically clothed in white, they exchange literal luxury for status in God's court. As witnesses, they are moved to speak the truth about the One-Who-Sits-on-the-Throne and expose the lies that deceive people to participate in the imperial economy.

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Biblical Performance Criticism: Survey and Prospects

Religions

Biblical Performance Criticism (BPC) analyzes communication events of biblical traditions for aud... more Biblical Performance Criticism (BPC) analyzes communication events of biblical traditions for audiences. Every communication event of a tradition has four aspects: a communicator, traditions re-expressed, an audience, and a social situation. This essay surveys the history of BPC and its current prospects and points to the future work of developing a fine-grained theoretical foundation for its work. In the analytical mode, a scholar gathers and examines data from a past performance event to describe it, and its effects, in detail. In the heuristic mode, a performer presents a tradition to an audience in order to better understand its dynamics. In the practical mode, a person reflects on the performance of biblical traditions in daily life. In these ways, BPC reunites biblical scholarship fragmented by critical reduction, and bridges the academic and popular use of biblical traditions.

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Focus on the Book of Revelation

OUP Biblical Studies Online

What is the book of Revelation? A frightening display of human and divine violence? A step-by-ste... more What is the book of Revelation? A frightening display of human and divine violence? A step-by-step chronology of end-time events? A liberating vision of God's triumph over evil? Because the genre is hard to define, it has been read in all of these ways. Does the book itself put any limits on how it is read?

The Book of Revelation

Oxford Tools & Resources

The book of Revelation is a complex tapestry of visions woven to persuade first century audiences... more The book of Revelation is a complex tapestry of visions woven to persuade first century audiences in Asia Minor to serve God and to resist pressure to eat food sacrificed to idols, to participate in the economy of the Roman Empire, and to view Rome as a non-violent ruler. Six key themes are prophecy, thrones, slaves, wealth, exodus, and persecution.

Relevance Theory and Intertextuality

Peter S. Perry, "Relevance Theory and Intertextuality," pp. 207-221 in Exploring Intertextuality:... more

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'Things Having Lives': Ecology, Allusion, and Performance in Revelation 8:9

Modern translations have obscured the way Rev 8:9 values sea creatures. The phrase “things having... more Modern translations have obscured the way Rev 8:9 values sea creatures. The phrase “things having lives” is a solecism that alludes to the creation narrative in Gen 1. The allusion emphasizes that these sea creatures have value apart from humans because they have psychai, translated as “lives” or “souls.” This is surprising given that psychē is used in Revelation primarily for believers who have been slaughtered by idolatrous powers. As a result, humans are invited to identify with sea creatures as psychai, together praising God and the Lamb. When speaking Rev 8:9 in performance, the abruptness of the phrase “the things having lives” suggests John’s emotion over the death of the valued sea creatures. Translations of Rev 8:9 should preserve the abrupt syntax to highlight the value of sea creatures.

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Making Fear Personal: Hebrews 5.11-6.12 and the Argument from Shame

The author of Hebrews directly shames his audience in 5.11-12: 'you have become νωθροί in hearing... more The author of Hebrews directly shames his audience in 5.11-12: 'you have become νωθροί in hearing ... you need someone to teach you ... You need milk not solid food'. Taking into account occurrences in other literature, νωθροί in Heb. 5.11 and 6.12 is best translated as 'unambitious', connoting a shameful failure to recognize and act on advantages. Mapping the use of emotion in Hebrews with Aristotle's definitions reveals that this direct shaming is unique and critical to the argument of the epistle. The hearers may dismiss warnings of God's wrath as relevant to others but not themselves. Shame in 5.11-6.12 makes this fear personal.

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Revelation 7:1--17 and 10:1--11:13 and the rhetoric of digressions

Relevance Theory in the Performance of Revelation 17–19

Relevance theory (RT) describes human communication as a cognitive process that tends to maximize... more Relevance theory (RT) describes human communication as a cognitive process that tends to maximize contextual effects while minimizing processing effort. From an RT perspective, translation is a communication event in which a speaker/writer selects some contextual effects of a prior communication event to replicate with an acceptable amount of processing effort by new hearers in a different language. Performance is translation in that it shares the goal of replication of contextual effects; but while translators may desire verisimilitude above other goals, performers may have differently prioritized communicative objectives. Performance of a text provides Bible translators an opportunity to explore the effectiveness of verbal and non-verbal cues to maximize contextual effects and minimize processing effort for a specific audience. The performance of Revelation 17–19 offers a unique window into the cognitive effects of ambiguity and delayed processing, emotion and tone, space and distance that guide word choice, syntax, and visual formatting of a written translation. The non-verbal cues of performance correlate to the visual cues of a text in maximizing desired contextual effects while minimizing processing effort.

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A Commentary on the Apocalypse of John.(Book review)

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Mar 22, 2008

Review of Penley, Paul T. The Common Tradition behind Synoptic Sayings of Judgment and John’s Apocalypse: An Oral Interpretive Tradition of Old Testament Prophetic Material . Library of New Testament Studies 424. London: T&T Clark, 2010. xii+185 pp. $110.00 (cloth)

The Journal of Religion, 2011

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