Susannah McBay explores the mythological tradition behind the cosmic catastrophe language - the fall of the stars, the darkening of the heavens and the shaking of powers - in Mk 13.24-5. Situating this imagery within the Second Temple period, where Jewish and Graeco-Roman traditions converge, she traces the development of Divine Warrior mythology and cosmic catastrophe language through a fresh analysis of key texts, focusing in particular on Sibylline Oracles 3-5.
McBay first maps out the interpretative landscape of Mk 13.24-25, situating these approaches within the development of the Divine Warrior Tradition. She further establishes a conceptual and methodological framework by engaging scholarship on cosmic catastrophe language and Stoic cosmological imagery in New Testament studies, drawing on Lucan's Pharsalia to refine how such language functions in Judaeo-Christian texts. McBay consequently analyses thirteen key passages from Sibylline Oracles 3-5, tracing the development of Divine Warrior mythology within the Second Temple period and assessing its wider implications. On this basis, she re-evaluates the Markan verses, offering a fresh reading of Mark 13 and reframing their significance for contemporary scholarship.
