The Apocalypse of the Birds: 1 Enoch and the Jewish Revolt against Rome

Elena L. Dugan re-examines the Animal Apocalypse in 1 Enoch 85–90 and identifies within it a distinct work she calls the Apocalypse of the Birds. She argues that this material belongs to the turbulent world of the first century CE and can be read in connection with the early stages of the First Jewish Revolt against Rome.

The study combines close analysis of textual and manuscript evidence in Ge’ez, Greek, Aramaic and Hebrew with historical and numismatic material. By tracing transmission and interpretation across languages and communities, Dugan explores revolutionary optimism, the development of the Animal Apocalypse tradition and the porous boundaries between Jewish and early Jesus-following groups. It is a specialist study of apocalyptic literature grounded in the political and religious history of the Roman-period eastern Mediterranean.