Creation, nature and hope in 4 Ezra / / Jonathan A. Moo.

• Superior document: Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments ; Bd. 237
• Author: Moo, Jonathan A. 1975-
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Language: English
• Series: Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments ; 237. Heft.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (210 p.)
• Notes: Revision of author's thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cambridge, 2008.

Hauptbeschreibung This exegetical study of creation and nature in 4 Ezra argues that this first-century Jewish apocalypse's profound pessimism concerning humankind and the present age is matched by a surprisingly robust belief in the goodness of the created order. 4 Ezra presents the natural world as standing with God over and against corrupt humankind, envisions substantial elements of continuity between the ages and hints that those parts of the earth that remain unsullied by humankind still witness to God's sovereignty, love and justice and even serve as material pointers to the

Table of Contents

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Table of Contents; Body; Preface; 1. Creation, the 'Apocalyptic Outlook' and 4 Ezra; 1.1 Introduction; 1.2 Creation, History and Apocalypse; 1.3 The 'Apocalyptic Outlook' and 4 Ezra; 1.4 Situating the Present Study; 1.5 Format of the Study; 2. Hearing the Voice of 4 Ezra; 2.1 Language and Text; 2.2 Overview of the Book; 2.3 Unity, Coherence and Finding the Author's Voice; 3. Creation in the Beginning; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 The Vocabulary of Creation; 3.3 Adam and the Garden (3:4-6); 3.4 Creation and Judgement (6:1-6); 3.5 Genesis Rewritten (6:38-54)

3.6 Conclusions4. Creation Now: A World in Peril; 4.1 Introduction; 4.2 The Created Order and a Universal Law; 4.3 The Parabolic Use of the Natural Order; 4.4 Natural Law Rejected?; 4.5 A Threatened World; 4.6 A Threatening World; 4.7 Two Worlds Planned from the Beginning; 4.8 This Aging Saeculum; 4.9 Creation's Plight: Some Conclusions; 5. The Saeculum to Come; 5.1 Introduction; 5.2 Episode 1; 5.2.1 Intimations of an end; 5.2.2 Reasons for an end; 5.2.3 Signs of the end (I); 5.3 Episode 2; 5.3.1 A pre-determined end; 5.3.2 Dividing the ages; 5.3.3 Signs of the end (II); 5.4 Episode 3

5.4.1 Ways of the world to come5.4.2 The eschatological framework; 5.4.3 The renewal of creation; 5.4.4 The immortal age; 5.4.5 Eschatological rewards; 5.4.6 Signs of the end (III); 5.5 Episode 4; 5.5.1 A heavenly and earthly city; 5.5.2 Mother Zion and Mother Earth; 5.5.3 Eating the flowers of the field; 5.6 Episodes 5 and 6; 5.6.1 The deliverance of creation; 5.6.2 Another land; 5.7 Episode 7; 5.8 Conclusions: Ambiguity, Discontinuity and Hope; 6. Summary and Conclusions; 6.1 Summary of Results

6.2 Fourth Ezra's Theology of Creation, the Apocalyptic Tradition and Prospects for Future ResearchBibliography; Index; Back Cover