Bible Review

The names of the Dead Sea Scrolls incorporate the number of the cave in which they were discovered. 2QJer is the only copy of Jeremiah found in Qumran Cave 2; 4QJer^a, 4QJer^b, 4QJer^c and 4QJer^d are the first through fourth copies of the book from Cave 4.

The most significant structural difference involves the position of the so-called Oracles Against the Foreign Nations. See Steve Delamarter, “Thus Far the Words of Jeremiah,” BR 15:05.

John routinely borrows imagery from the Old Testament prophets, including Zechariah. For example, both Zechariah (6:1–8) and John (Revelation 6:1–8) have visions of four horses of different colors, and John’s account of the last battle in Jerusalem (Revelation 20:9) seems to have been influenced by Zechariah 14.

As Egypt and Babylon vied for control of Palestine, Jehoiakim switched loyalties, serving both empires in turn as vassal king. When he died in about 598/597 B.C.E., during one of Nebuchadnezzar’s campaigns in Palestine, Jehoiachin came to the throne. Within a year, Jehoiachin was exiled to Babylon, and Zedekiah, the last puppet king of Judah, was placed on the throne. Zedekiah, too, would rebel against Babylon—probably under Egypt’s influence. His reign ended in 586 B.C., when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.

See William Phipps, “A Woman Was the First to Declare Scripture Holy,” BR 06:02; and Moshe Weinfeld, “Deuteronomy’s Theological Revolution,” BR 12:01.

See Israel Finkelstein and David Ussishkin, “Back to Megiddo,” BAR 20:01.

On the significance of thousand-year intervals in Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions, see James Tabor, “Why 2K?: The Jewish Roots of Millennialism,” BR 15:06.

Although Armageddon is mentioned only this once, Megiddo appears 12 times in the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, and once in the Apocrypha; it is not mentioned in the New Testament.

See Gary Anderson, “Torah Before Sinai: The Do’s and Dont’s Before the Ten Commandments,” BR 12:03.