A Note on the Foundation Stones in Revelation 21.14,19-20

Abstract

In John’s vision of the New Jerusalem the foundation stones in Rev. 21.14, 19-20 form part of the material makeup of the heavenly city. Yet some critical assessment of these verses has called into question their suitability in John’s vision, and so has suggested an interpolation of these verses by a later ‘Christian hand’. However, this article endeavors to show that structurally and especially intertextually, the foundation stones in 21.14, 19-20 are an integral and original part of John’s climactic vision of the New Jerusalem. Verses 14, 19-20 find coherence in John’s allusion to Isa. 54.11-12, which provides the scriptural model for the lithic features of John’s depiction of the New Jerusalem. More specifically, the author depends on an interpretive tradition of Isa. 54.11-12 similar to that found in 4QpIsaiah^d, where the precious stones of restored Jerusalem are allegorically linked with founding members of the sectarian community and are linked with the stones on the breastplate of the high priest. However, in contrast to Jewish tradition, such as 4QpIsaiah^d, the founding stones of the New Jerusalem in Rev. 21.14, 19-20 are identified with the apostles. Thus, for John the consummated community is founded on the apostolic witness of the church to the Lamb, rather than on leading Jewish figures.