Texts in Conversation
Revelation refers to the “second death” to describe final judgment, language found only in Revelation and the Targums, such as the Aramaic translation of Isaiah. Revelation likely follows an Aramaic tradition later added to the Targums.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 65:15
Hebrew Bible
13 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look, my servants will eat, but you will be hungry. Look, my servants will drink, but you will be thirsty. Look, my servants will rejoice, but you will be humiliated. 14 Look, my servants will shout for joy as happiness fills their hearts. But you will cry out as sorrow fills your hearts; you will wail because your spirits will be crushed. 15 Your names will live on in the curse formulas of my chosen ones. The Sovereign Lord will kill you, but he will give his servants another name. 16 Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them. 17 For look, I am ready to create new heavens and a new earth! The former ones will not be remembered; no one will think about them anymore.
Jonathan Isaiah 65:15
Targum
13 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “My righteous servants will eat, but you, O wicked, will be hungry; my righteous servants will drink, but you, O wicked, will be thirsty; my righteous servants will rejoice, but you, O wicked, will be ashamed; 14 my righteous servants will sing for joy of heart, but you will cry out for sorrow of heart, and you will wail for vexation of spirit. 15 And you will leave your name for a curse to my chosen; for the Lord GOD will slay you with the second death, and call His righteous servants by another name, 16 so that he who blesses in the earth will bless by the God of the covenant, and he who swears in the earth will swear by the God of the covenant; because the former troubles will be forgotten, and because they will be hidden from before me. 17 For I am about to create new heavens and a new earth, and the former will not be remembered, nor will they come into mind.
Revelation 2:11
New Testament
10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown into prison so you may be tested, and you will experience suffering for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself. 11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will in no way be harmed by the second death.’ 12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following: “This is the solemn pronouncement of the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:
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Notes and References
"... This 'second death' is spoken of also in the Apocalypse (Revelation 2:11; 20:6), but is found nowhere in Jewish literature outside the targums. Furthermore, there are positive indications that in at least one passage where he uses the term (20:14), John has passed from the biblical text to the targumic rendering of Isaiah 65:15,17-19. This phrase 'second death' is used four times in the Apocalypse, but is found nowhere in Jewish literature outside the targums. An expression used four times (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8) must have been current coinage when the Apocalypse was being composed, in certain circles at least. Since we find the designation used in contexts speaking of such Jewish and Christian themes as the resurrection, general judgment and eternal punishment, it is evident that its origins are not to be sought in Hellenistic religion. The expression must have come from Judaism, unless it was coined by Christianity ..."
McNamara, Martin
Targum and Testament Revisited Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible: A Light on the New Testament
(p. 223) William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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