Hebrew Synonyms of Greek Apocalupsis

The short title by which we know the last book of the Bible is: “The revelation of John.”

            The Greek title ApokaluyiV Iwannou is translated as follows:

                        KJV     The Revelation of St. John the Divine

                        RSV     The Revelation to John

                        NIV     Revelation.

            This title may not have been a part of the original Hebrew text of the book, but may have been given by an editor or translator at a later time.  However, it would shed some light on the translation if we considered the Hebrew words that might have been appropriately used for this short title of the book.

            Five Hebrew words present themselves as the possible source of the Greek word apokalupsis:  Massa, galah, ‘eduth, chizzayon and mar’eh for the short title and Urim ve Thummim and ‘uwth for the long title which is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”  All of these words are found to be translated ‘revelation’ in the Septuagint.  I believe the words ‘massa,’ ‘galah’, ‘eduth’, ‘chizzayon’, and ‘mar’eh’ may have been appropriate for the title “The Revelation of John.”  The other words: ‘urim ve thummim’ and ‘uwth’ may have been used in the phrase “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”  (See WS and Commentary at 1:1 “Revelation: Hebrew”).

            The word massa seems the most appropriate for it is often used as the title word to introduce the prophetic writings: Isaiah 1:1; Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Malachi 1:1. 

            The word is sometimes translated ‘burden’ and sometimes ‘oracle’ or ‘vision’:  KJV translates it ‘burden’ in Isaiah 13:1; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1; 21:1, 11, 13; 22:1; 23:1.  Also in Nahum 1:1; Habakkuk 1:1; Zechariah 9:l; 12:1; Malachi 1:1.  RSV translates these instances as ‘oracle.’ In Isaiah 1:1 the word is translated ‘vision’ by both KJV and RSV.  The word massa is translated ‘prophecy’ in KJV Proverbs 31:1 where the RSV translates it ‘oracle.’

            Thus we see that nothing could be more natural to the Biblical literature than to introduce the book of Revelation as the massa, ‘Revelation’, of John.

            The Hebrew word which may have been used in the title is the word galah, kindred to the root galach.  Galah means ‘to reveal, disclose’ in the sense of taking away the veil which covers a thing.  It is the word most often translated from the Old Testament Hebrew into the Greek apokalupsis in the Septuagint.[1]

            This word would fit well as the source of the Greek translation apokalupsis in the title.  In Old Testament usage it is used of a land which is made naked because of the exile of its inhabitants.  A form of the word, (golah) means ‘one emigrating’ or in the plural, ‘a company of exiles.’  It is used of taking away a woman’s veil, shamefully, as a harlot, Isaiah 47:3, and/or as having intercourse with her, Leviticus 18:8, (seq.).  The lifting of the veil also was used of the act of consummating a marriage.

            If this word were used in the title of the book it would have carried multiple meanings as all well selected titles do.  It suggests the exile which was fulfilled in AD 70 upon the entire nation, and the exposure of the backslidden harlot, Israel.  It would at the same time suggest the consummation of the marriage of the Lamb as depicted in the latter part of the book.  It would also have served as a title for the oracle that called out the Christian community of Jerusalem before the destruction of the city.  (See Commentary at 1:3 “Blessed” note 3.)

            It is also used as: galah sefer, to disclose, unfold a book, (Jer. 32:11, 14).  In Job 20:27, Proverbs 11:13 and in Amos 3:7 it is used of revealing a secret.  A form of the word is used of man and of God in the sense of to be revealed, or to appear, (Gen. 35:7, and 1 Sam. 14:8, 11), which would suggest the appearing or second coming of Christ.  It is used of something which is to be manifested which was before concealed, (Isaiah 49:9), or something which is to be declared, (Isaiah 23:l).  Any and all of these meanings would have made the word appropriate for the title of the book, suggesting its contents and carrying the possibility of several ambiguous but legitimate interpretations.

            The same consonants with another vowel pointing, (note that in the Hebrew Bible of that era there were only consonants), galah is related to the root galal and means a fountain, spring, suggesting the river of life pictured in chapter 22.  It also means a bowl, reservoir, which would suggest the seven bowls of judgment (ibid.).

            If the short title were The Exile of John, it would suggest his exile on the isle of Patmos.  But this may also be further translated, for the name ‘John’ is a Hebrew word meaning ‘beloved.’  That would make the title The Exile of the Beloved.  It might therefore suggest the exile of the beloved nation, Israel of the flesh, who had rejected the love of God and was therefore being cast out or divorced.  The book then would be to show the resolution of the long-standing unrequited love affair God had with the fleshly nation, the account of the final “putting away” and death of the Old Israel as foretold by the prophets and foreshadowed by the captivity in Babylon.

 The Modern ‘Hebrew’ Translation

            Another possible source of the word translated ‘revelation’ is that selected by the translators of the New Testament for the readers of “Modern Hebrew.”  The word is chizzayon, meaning ‘a vision.’[2]  This word’s lexical meaning in Biblical Hebrew is:  l. ‘vision, in the ecstatic state; 2. vision, in the night; 3. a divine communication in a vision, oracle, and prophecy’ (BDB).

            This word is a safe one for a translation to be read by the adherents of modern Judaism, for it says nothing about the contents of the book.  As history records, the book of Revelation was so hated by the Jews of the first century that every effort was made to destroy it.  The reason that it was so hated was that they believed it to be an account of the fall of Jerusalem and the consequent dispersion of the nation as a result of their sins and rejection by God.  This they could not endure.  Modern Judaism, as a religion, has descended from the doctrine of the Pharisees of the New Testament era.  They are, therefore, no friendlier to this interpretation than were those Pharisees of the first century.

            The word chizzayon is not incorrect, unless, of course, an original Hebrew manuscript should be found showing that another word was used.  Indeed the word is quite appropriate for the title sentence of a prophecy as it was used in Habakkuk 1:1, Isaiah 1:1; and Amos 1:1.  We do know that chizzayon is also translated by the Greek word ο̒rasεiV in Acts 2:17 which quotes Joel 2:28.  It is to be hoped that an ancient manuscript of the Hebrew text will soon be found and resolve any uncertainty concerning the exact words of the original.

            The word eduth means ‘a revealed Psalm‘ as in titles of Psalms 60 and 80.

            The word mar’eh means ‘a vision or revelation’ as in Ezekiel 8:4; 11:24; 43:3; Daniel 8:16, 27.