Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-373) and indexes

1. Apocalypse and prophecy. The eschatology of Zechariah -- The beginning of the end of the world in the Hebrew Bible -- Apocalypticism and the transformation of prophecy in the second temple period. 2. Variations on a genre. Enochic Judaism: An assessment -- The genre of the book of Jubilees -- The Sibyl and the Apocalypses: Generic relationships in Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity -- Gabriel and David: Some reflections on an enigmatic text -- The idea of election in 4 Ezra. 3. Themes in Jewish Apocalyptic literature. Jerusalem and the temple in Jewish Apocalyptic literature of the second temple period -- Journeys to the world beyond in ancient Judaism -- The afterlife in Apocalyptic literature. 4. Pseudepigraphy. Pseudepigraphy and group formation in Second Temple Judaism -- Enoch and Ezra -- Sybilline Discourse. 5. Ethics and politics. Ethos and identify in Jewish Apocalyptic literature -- Apocalypse and empire -- Cognitive dissonance and eschatological violence: Fantasized solutions to a theological dilemma in Second Temple Judaism -- Radical religion and the ethical dilemmas of Apocalyptic Millenarianism