Transformationen von Volk-Gottes-Vorstellungen. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung apokalyptischer Schriften aus der Zeit nach der Zerstörung des Zweiten Tempels (2 Bar und Apk)

2 Bar and Rev are works that were written after the destruction of the Second Temple and can both be located within the Jewish apocalyptic movement. Both works are deeply rooted in the writings of Israel and Jewish tradition; they presuppose God's faithfulness to the covenant with Israel as his people. However, Acts and 2 Bar do not stop there; the authors and their communities of understanding wrestle with how to redefine Israel in the face of historical challenges (e.g. the destruction of the Temple). In a first step, I examine how both works define the concept of Israel on a literary level. In doing so, a narrative approach is pursued and Rev and 2 Bar are read as a story of the people of God. The motif of the twelve-tribed Israel is central to both works, with John defining this eschatological Israel Christologically and the author of 2 Bar as through the Torah. In addition, the figure of the people of God is examined in its relationship to the nations. In addition to the semantic-motif-historical comparison, a comparison of form and genre will be carried out, whereby both apocalypses will be defined more precisely as "epistolary apocalypses". In both works, the vision corpus is literarily combined with the communication form of the letter in order to encourage the addressees in their people-God identity on a pragmatic level. The work is situated within the study of Jewish apocalypticism, which began with Friedrich Lücke (1832) and in which the Apocalypse of John is understood as part of this movement. A comparison between 2 Bar and Rev has not yet been made and highlights the innovative potential of the work both with regard to the question of Israel and with regard to form and genre-critical contexts.