Research Foci
- Apokalytische Literatur im antiken Judentum und frühen Christentum (4Esra/ 2Bar/ Apk)
- Josephus
- Hellenistisches Judentum
- Christlich-jüdische Beziehungen
Doctoral AbstractThesis
Transformationen von Volk-Gottes-Vorstellungen. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung apokalyptischer Schriften aus der Zeit nach der Zerstörung des Zweiten Tempels (2 Bar und Apk)
- Supervisor
- Professor Dr. Lutz Doering
- Doctoral Subject
- Theologische und religionsbezogene Forschung
- Doctoral Degree
- Dr. phil.
- Awarded by
- Department 01 – Protestant Theology
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.CV
Academic Education
- Disputatio der Doktorarbeit an der Theologisch-Evangelischen Fakultät der Universität Münster (summa cum laude)
- Studium der Fächer Alte Geschichte und ev. Religionslehre an der WWU (Münster)
- Studienaufenthalt an der Hebräisch Universität in Jerusalem mit den Schwerpunkten Talmud und Ivrit (Studium in Israel)
- Studium der Fächer Geschichte und Anglistik
Positions
- Research Visiting Fellow at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
- Wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am IJD in Münster
External Functions
- Mitglied in der Franz-Delitzsch-Gesellschaft
- Mitglied im Zentrum für Geschichte und Kultur des östlichen Mittelmeerraumes (GKM)
Teaching
- Proseminar: Introductory seminar:Introduction to historical critical exegesis of the New Testament [016087]
- Practice: John´s Apocalypse: its historical setting and its reception (with or without Greek) [014141]
- Practice: Reading and understanding central texts of rabbnic Judaism [014140]
- Proseminar: Proseminar: Introduction into the historical-critical study of the New Testament (without Greek) [012224]
- Practice: Flavius Josephus and the New Testament [012225]
- Practice: The New Testament from a Jewish Perspective [010146]
- Practice: Reading the Gospel of Matthew in Greek [010145]
- Proseminar: Proseminar (without Greek): Introduction into the historical-critical study of the New Testament, [018030]
- Übung: Apokalyptische Texte im Antiken Judentum und frühen Christentum [018031]
- Proseminar: Proseminar: Einführung in die historisch-kritische Exegese des Neuen Testaments (ohne Griechisch) [016065]
- Hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur und das NT [016080]
- Übung: Die Texte von Qumran und das NT [014097]
- Jewish Cemeteries (with Hebrew) [012066]
- Proseminar: Introductory seminar: Introduction to the Exegesis of the New Testament (with Greek) [010170]
- Reading course: Jewish-Christian Apocalypticism in Antiquity [018284]
- Reading course: Josephus Flavius as apologist and historian [016110]
- Augustinus und die Juden [084248]
Publications
- .. ‘Apocalyptic Letter Writing in Early Christianity: The Letter of Lyon and Vienne and its Reception of the Apocalypse of John .’ Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum . [submitted / under review]
- .. ‘Reception and Transformation of Ezekiel’s Throne-Vison in the Apocalypse of John.’ In Scriptural Allusions and Exegetical Techniques in the Book of Revelation, edited by . [submitted / under review]
- .. ‘Remembering and Imagining the Temple-City in 2 Baruch and Contemporary Apocalyptic Writings.’ In 2 Baruch, edited by . [submitted / under review]
- .. ‘The Reception of Ezekiel’s Throne Vision in the Apocalypse of Abraham and its Manuscript Tradition.’ Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha . [accepted / in Press (not yet published)]
- . . ‘Die Johannesapokalypse als prophetische Vision für Kirchen im Kontext der römischen Provinz Asia Minor. Ein Beitrag aus exegetisch-historischer Perspektive.’ In Apokalypse – ja bitte. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven zur Bedeutung christlicher Endzeitvorstellungen für Kirche und Praktische Theologie. , edited by , 119–128. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt.
- . . ‘Israel and the Nations: Proselytes and Apostates in 2 Baruch.’ Journal for the Study of Judaism 54: 1–19.
Scientific Talks
- Dik, John : “Creating Divine Presence through Heavenly Cult. Jewish and Christian Apocalypses in Greco-Roman Contexts. ”. Jewish Apocalypticism in the Ancient World. Transcultural Perspectives. , Münster, .
- Dik, John : “Constitution and Transformation of God’s People in Apocalyptic Writings after the Fall (2 Baruch and Revelation)”. Enoch Graduate Seminar, Toronto, .
- John Dik : “The Reception of Ezekiel’s Throne Vision in the Apocalypse of Abraham and its Manuscript Tradition”. Aarhus - Oslo - Münster - New Testament Meeting 2023, Münster, .
- John Dik : „Die Johannesapokalypse im Kontext der jüdischen Apokalyptik: Johannes (Apk) und Baruch (2 Bar) als briefschreibende Visionäre“. Colloquium Iohanneum XII/ 2023, Zoom, .
- John Dik : „Rezeption der Johannesapokalypse in dem Märtyrerbrief von Lyon.“ Forschungskolloquium Neues Testament und Antikes Judentum, Münster, .
- John Dik : „Israel in apokalyptischer Schau. Vergleichende Überlegungen zu 2 Bar und Apk..“ English-German Colloquium for New Testament, Tübingen, .
- John Dik : “Letter-Writing in John’s (Rev) and Baruch’s (2 Bar) Apocalypse ”. Aarhus-Münster-Oslo New Testament PhD Seminar, Online, .
- John Dik : „Die Johannesapokalypse als prophetische Vision für Kirchen im Kontext der römischen Provinz Asia Minor. Ein Beitrag aus exegetisch-historischer Perspektive.“ Augustana-Hochschule, Eine interdisziplinäre Tagung zur aktuellen Bedeutung der christlichen Endzeitvorstellungen für Kirche und Praktische Theologie., Neuendettelsau, .
- John Dik : „Images of the Roman Empire and the Call for Resistance in John’s Apocalypse“. European Academy of Religion, WWU Münster, .
- John Dik : „Die Volk-Gottes-Konzeption in der Johannesapokalypse anhand der 12 Stämme in Apk 7,4–8“. Colloquium Iohanneum X/2021, , WWU Münster, .
- John Dik : „Das Volk Gottes und die Völker in der Johannesapokalypse“. Forschungskolloquium Antikes Judentum und Neues Testament , WWU Münster, .
- John Dik : „Israel and the Nations in 2 Baruch“. Aarhus-Münster-Oslo New Testament PhD Seminar, WWU Münster, .
- John Dik : „Die Volk-Gottes-Thematik in der Apokalyptischen Literatur um 100 unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von 2 Baruch“. Forschungskolloquium Antikes Judentum und Neues Testament, WWU Münster, .
Dr. John Dik, M.A., M.Ed.
