REVELATION 4 6 AND TRANSLATIONS T H E R E O F

RAYMOND R. BREWER
THE JAMES MILLIKIN UNIVERSITY

T may be impossible to translate και kv μέσω του θρόνου και κύκλω

I του θρόνου in a way that will win the unqualified approval of all
scholars. However, it is rather obvious that a literal translation of the
two phrases makes little sense. For example, the Authorized Version
translates these two correlative phrases as follows: "and in the midst
of the throne and round about the throne." Here "in the midst" implies
that the four "living creatures," or animals as Dr. Goodspeed calls them,
are at some point within the throne or on it as if they were an integral
part of the throne itself. However, they cannot be on the central part of
the throne because that spot is already occupied by the Ineffable One
to whom the praise of the four living creatures is sung. They cannot
be in the center of the throne because they are also around it — unless
the phrase "in the midst" is to be understood as referring to the sides of
the throne.
To avoid the awkwardness of a literal translation, recourse is had to
a free translation. The results may be divided into two groups, depending
on the translation given to kv μέσω. The first group is represented by
such distinguished scholars as Drs. Goodspeed and Moffatt and the
translation committee of the Revised Standard Version. With them kv
μέσω is taken as referring to the sides of the throne and κύκλω is under­
stood as meaning that the throne is completely encircled. 1 T h a t these
translators sense a difficulty in the translation of kv μέσω is implied by
the different treatment they give to the same phrase when it appears in
a similar context in 5 6. Here Dr. Goodspeed translated "standing in
the center of the throne and the four animals and of the elders a L a m b . "
The geometrical problem posed by this translation makes the rendering
unsatisfactory. Moffatt reads, "in the midst of the throne and the four
living Creatures and the Presbyters," while RSV gives us "between the
throne and the four living creatures and among the elders."
The second group of free translations is represented by the Twentieth
Century New Testament, the Riverside New Testament, and the trans­
lations of Fr. Spencer (The New Testament, Macmillan Co., 1935) and
1
Goodspeed: "around the throne, in the middle of each side"
Moffatt: "and on each side of the throne, all around it"
RSV: "and round the throne, on each side of the throne."
227
228 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

Dr. Weymouth. These translations take kv μέσω to refer to some point

near the throne, or between it and some more remote point. 2
As between those who take kv μέσφ to indicate a position in relation
to the four sides of the throne, and those who regard the phrase as
implying a position between the throne and some other position, such
as t h a t occupied by the twenty-four elders, I wish to express a decided
preference for the latter. My reason for this choice is based upon the
assumption, amounting to a conviction, that the visions of the Seer of
Patmos can best be understood as being portrayed by the author for his
readers against the background of an imaginary but typical Greek the­
ater. If this point can be established with a reasonable degree of proba­
bility, the reason for the unsatisfactory nature of the translations that
regard kv μέσω as equivalent to "in the middle of each side" will become
evident. By the same token, the translations that take kv μέσφ to refer
to a locale between the throne and some more remote point will appear
to be more logical.
To give plausibility to this thesis it will be necessary to make a
brief reference to the characteristic features of the Graeco-Roman the­
ater of the first century of our era. We are already familiar with the
semicircular rows of seats rising above one another and surrounding an
area technically known as the orchestra. In earlier times the orchestra
was a circular area of ground firmly trodden by the feet of dancers
around a central altar. By the first century, one segment of the circular
orchestra had been pre-empted by the ''scene building," sometimes
rising three stories in height. The front of the building contained an
unroofed stage where the more elaborate acts of the Greek drama were
performed. One story above the rear of the stage was the theologium
(OeoXoyeiov, "speaking place of the g o d s " ) — a platform for the deus
ex machina when, as was frequently the case, it was necessary to have a
god represented in the drama. T h e orchestra had originally been the
scene of all the action, but, by the time of the writing of Revelation, the
main action was confined to the stage, though the choruses still fre­
quently occupied the orchestra. Around the perimeter of the orchestra,
usually in the front row of auditorium seats, was a semicircular row of
carved stone seats, or "thrones," reserved for priests or high dignitaries
3
in attendance upon the dramatic performance.
There were twelve such marble thrones in the theater of Ephesus
which John must certainly have seen. The relevance of this datum to
the twenty-four elders seated upon their thrones should not be over­
looked. Somewhere within the orchestra usually stood the altar upon
2
Twentieth Century: "within t h e space before t h e throne and around t h e t h r o n e "
Riverside: " n e a r t h e throne and around t h e t h r o n e "
Fr. Spencer: " a n d in t h e midst before t h e throne and around t h e t h r o n e "
W e y m o u t h : " a n d round about t h e throne, between it and t h e twenty elders."
3 Müller, Lehrbuch der griechischen Bühnenaltertümert pp. 11-12, 67 η. 7, 91 ff.
 BREWER: REVELATION 4 6 AND TRANSLATIONS THEREOF 229

which the sacrifices that customarily marked the opening of the drama
were offered. John's reference to the "Lamb, standing as though it had
been slain" (5 β) may, indeed, have more than a coincidental relationship
to the altar of the Greek theater and the preliminary sacrifices. I t is, in
fact, the slain Lamb who takes the sealed book and, after receiving the
homage of the "living creatures," the elders, and cosmic choruses con­
sisting of myriads of angels and every created being, opens the seals.
This act initiates the cosmic drama in which God and His Christ finally
achieve a triumphant victory over all the personified powers of evil
and thus justify the persevering loyalty of the persecuted and martyred
Christians.
In addition to the architectural appointments of the Greek theater,
brief mention needs to be made of the choruses which played so significant
a part in stimulating the emotional tension. The comic chorus custom­
arily consisted of twenty-four members — corresponding exactly to the
number of elders in John's drama. When their roles required it, members
of the chorus wore masks typifying the dramatis personae of the play.
The chorus was usually divided into a chorus leader (choryphaeus) and
the members (chorutae) who sang a response. Sometimes there were
two choruses as in Revelation — the one singing the ode and the other
the antode. Again, like the animals and elders in John's vision, the
choruses often exhorted the spectators " t o preserve a pious attitude
toward the gods." 4 Here the similarity between the Greek chorus and
its function and the animals and elders of Revelation — not to mention
the many choruses of angels, merchants, kings, and all living beings —
is too striking to be dismissed as coincidence. For it is the function of
the animals and elders to praise God on His throne throughout the
drama unfolded in chapters 4-19 inclusive, and thus, by their example
to encourage others to do so. Even as in Greek drama these choruses
exhort the imaginary spectators to glorify God as indicated by 19 5,
where, we are told, a "voice from the throne" cries out,
"Praise our God, all you his servants,
you who fear him, small and g r e a t . " (RSV)

Since this could not have been the voice of God, it might have been the
voice of one of the "living creatures" acting as a chorus leader. At any
rate there comes the response of an answering chorus " t h e voice of a
great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of
mighty thunderpeals, crying,
'Hallelujah! for t h e Lord our God, t h e Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for t h e marriage of the Lamb has come
and his Bride has made herself ready.' " (19 6 RSV)

4
Shelley, A Study of Piety in the Greek Tragic Chorus, p. 8.
230 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

The more one reflects upon it, the more obvious it becomes that
John's description of his vision in chapter four bears a striking resem­
blance to the Greek theater and its drama. The throne of God (4 2,
passim) corresponds to the theologium of the Greek theater. The
twenty-four thrones with the elders seated upon them have their counter­
parts in the carved stone seats for dignitaries in the front row of the
auditorium. The ''glassy sea" (4 β) corresponds to the paved orchestra
only it is more resplendent. The four "living creatures" are a masked
chorus 5 to whose ode the twenty-four elders sing the antiphonal antode.
The "slain L a m b " not only suggests the sacrifices with which the Greek
drama began but it also implies the existence of an altar which is later
mentioned casually (Rev 6 9 ; 83, 5; 9 13; 11 1; 16 7), as though its exist­
ence had been understood all along. John is a spectator and he regards
his readers as imaginary spectators of a drama of cosmic proportions
and tragic significance.6 The stage may be considered the scene of
stupendous action initiated by the opening of the seven seals, the signals
of the angelic trumpeters, and the emptying of the seven bowls of God's
wrath. The action is interspersed and its emotional tension heightened
by the masked chorus of four singers and the antiphonal chorus of elders,
often supplemented by great and varied choruses made up of innumerable
voices, ascribing praise to the One seated on His throne and to the Lamb,
while from the throne come those symbols of majestic power — lightning
and thunder. As so often in the Greek drama the deus ex machina was
introduced to provide the final denouement of the play, so in Revelation
it is a great voice from the throne that proclaims the outcome of the
dramatic struggle: "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be
with them; he shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death
shall be no more, for the former things have passed away. . . . Behold I
make all things new." (Rev 21 3-5 RSV).
In an article published in the Anglican Theological Review for April,
1936, I elaborated and documented my argument for the influence of
the Greek theater and the Greek drama on the Apocalypse. This
argument assumed that John was trying to bolster the morale of Chris­
tians faced with the continuous threat of persecution and caught in what

s It may be significant t h a t in referring t o t h e first, second and fourth creatures

John uses ομοιον to suggest t h e resemblance of the face (mask?) t o t h a t of a lion, an
ox and an eagle. However, t h e third member of t h e chorus had {'έχων) t h e face of a man,
t h a t is, his natural face.
6
Professor Enslin says Revelation is "solely a product of study and reflection."
He refers t o t h e frequent use of t h e cognate forms of t h e verb " s e e " and says John's
seeing "is simply t h e conventional means of describing what he wants t o represent."
He regards t h e shift of scene and t h e reference to " a n o t h e r angel" as "simply stage
properties." (Christian Beginnings, p. 363 f.) However, he seems not to have realized
t h a t his conclusions point in t h e direction of t h e Greek theater and its influence on
John of Patmos.
 BREWER: REVELATION 4 6 AND TRANSLATIONS THEREOF 231

must often have seemed to them a losing struggle between God and
His Christ and all the powers of evil. The struggle, involving the Chris­
tians and their relation to the Roman empire, was to them of the essence
of great drama. However, the visible odds against them seemed so great
that they must naturally have been tempted to seek security through
compromise with emperor worship. To prevent this John put them, as
well as himself, in the role of spectators of a great conflict between forces
seen and unseen with the outcome withheld from the knowledge of the
spectators until the concluding climax. However, by using the dramatic
form and method, he helped them visualize the outcome of their own
apparently uneven struggle against Rome. In this article I called at­
tention to the known existence of Greek theaters in six of the seven
cities of the Apocalypse. Ephesus itself was the seat of a famous theater.
The original readers of Revelation may, therefore, be presumed to have
had at least an elementary knowledge of the appointments of a Greek
theater and the main features of Greek drama. The best evidence for
this is the book of Revelation itself.
If, therefore, we may admit the possibility, nay, even the probability,
of the influence of the Greek theater on the author of Revelation, we see
that the translations that regarded kv μέσω as referring to the four
sides of the throne fail to convey the thought of the author. Aside from
the inherent difficulty of having the chorus of four masked singers chant
praises to God from behind the throne as well as in front of it, we see
that such an arrangement of his characters would never have occurred
to the author if he related his drama to the architectural requirements
of the Greek theater. Instead, the chorus of four was at some point
between the throne and the elders, though relatively near the throne.
They were "around the throne" in a manner to conform to the lines of
the theater, that is, they were around the front of the throne, perhaps in
a semicircle. The translations of the Twentieth Century New Testament,
the Riverside New Testament, Fr. Spencer and Dr. Weymouth suggest
a similar view of the meaning of John's words.
However, more important than the translation of 4 6 and the related
passage in 5 6 is the need for recognizing the influence of Greek drama
on the book of Revelation as a whole. T h a t John was indebted to the
intellectual and literary heritage of the past is obvious. T h a t he had a
contemporary message is generally recognized. But that he used con­
temporary literary and dramatic forms as a means of conveying his
message to contemporary readers is not fully recognized. The exegetical
possibilities of Hebrew and Christian apocalyptic materials in relation
to the Apocalypse of John have been pretty well exhausted. It is my
belief that a study of John's work from the standpoint of its relation to
Greek drama would throw new light on the book and markedly heighten
our understanding and appreciation of its dramatic quality.
 ^ s
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