Texts in Conversation
Revelation describes names being read from the book of life during final judgment, echoing earlier traditions of divine recordkeeping such as Psalm 87, which shows God writing the names of those born in Zion. These follow ancient Near Eastern traditions such as the Tablet of Destinies, where deities record people’s lives or fates.
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Psalm 87:4
Hebrew Bible
3 People say wonderful things about you, O city of God. (Selah) 4 I mention Rahab and Babylon to my followers. Here are Philistia and Tyre, along with Ethiopia. It is said of them, “This one was born there.” 5 But it is said of Zion’s residents, “Each one of these was born in her, and the Most High makes her secure.” 6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations, “This one was born there.” (Selah) 7 As for the singers, as well as the pipers—all of them sing within your walls.
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 20:12
New Testament
11 Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The second part of the psalm has the sound of a prophetic oracle. One can imagine the pilgrim at the temple festival, as in a vision seeing people from all over the known world pass by. The pilgrim-poet overhears the divine counsel regarding God’s people, as the LORD records: “This one was born there . . . This one and that one . . . This one . . . (verses 4-6). A “book of life” was well-known in Old Testament times (Exodus 32:32; Psalm 69:28; Isaiah 4:3; Ezekiel 13:9; compare Revelation 20:12). The speaker (verses 4-5) appears to be God, probably through the voice of a prophet ..."
* 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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