The Earliest Arabic trans. of John's Revelation...

[Nathan Betz]

Greetings! A few months ago, I announced a paper that might be interesting to many here on the presence of an early Arabic translation of John's Revelation in the Arabic Apoc. of Peter. 

Just wanted to let you know that this presentation by Giovanni DRusso was recorded, and it's been posted in its entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUOiJXMw_Rs. 

The original abstract for the paper and Gio's bio is below. 

Giovanni DiRusso (Harvard)

"The Earliest Translation of Revelation into Arabic? Examining the Book of Revelation in the Arabic Apocalypse of Peter"

Originally presented: December 4, 2025 (Thursday)

Youtube recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUOiJXMw_Rs

Description: The Arabic Apocalypse of Peter (AAoP, 10th century CE) includes what may be the earliest extended translation of Revelation into Arabic, antedating the 13th-century Copto-Arabic translations and commentaries of Revelation. This talk will document the portions of Revelation found in the AAoP and explore which version of the text they may be translated from. It will also examine how images and motifs from Revelation are incorporated into the AAoP more broadly. Together, this evidence suggests that the incorporation of Revelation into the AAoP is not incidental but reflects core theological and apologetic concerns of 10th-century Christian scribes.

Bio: Giovanni DiRusso is a PhD Candidate (ABD) in the Study of Religion at Harvard University. His research broadly examines the transmission of philosophy, theology, and narratives between Greek-, Syriac-, and Arabic-speaking Christian and Muslim communities in the long late antiquity. His dissertation, provisionally entitled “Modular Textuality: Variance, Reception, and the Apostolic Past in the Arabic Apocalypse of Peter,” combines computational, historical, and philological methods to theorize textual variance and re-use in one of the most popular Christian apocalyptic writings in Arabic.

All best,

Nathan Betz
Co-director, Revelation Reception Network and Seminar