A Postcolonial Reading of Apocalyptic Literature

Postcolonial analysis is a promising approach to the study of ancient history in general and biblical texts in particular. It addresses questions of the construction of cultural identity, particularly the concept of “hybridity.” Of particular interest in postcolonial analysis is the impact of unequal power within societies of mixed backgrounds. This chapter examines Jewish apocalyptic literature based on particular aspects of postcolonial analysis and considers a specific aspect of apocalyptic imagery that has received somewhat limited attention in the literature: the appearance of strange mixed species creatures dubbed “mixed monsters” in a number of apocalyptic visions. It discusses how monster theory is related to postcolonial analysis, mixed monsters in Jewish apocalypticism, and whether the lexicography of the monstrous in the Bible sheds light on the significance of the mixed monsters.