Abstract
The appearance of apocalyptic symbols is common in NT narratives, including in the Gospel of Matthew. But the identification and interpretation of such symbols is frequently allusive, indeterminate, and even contradictory in scholarly discussion. The purpose of this article is to offer some methodological controls for interpreting these texts. Drawing on seminal work done on apocalypses as a genre and their constituent features, this article posits that the employment of symbols is a defining element of apocalypses that provides an important point of entry for the identification and interpretation of apocalyptic symbols in the Gospel of Matthew. These symbols can be interpreted in a manner similar to that employed for formal apocalypses, in which interpreters seek to determine the referent of the symbol employed. Yet the distinction in genre between an apocalypse and a bios warrants careful attention to the function of the apocalyptic symbol in the Gospel narrative. This method is demonstrated on a text frequently described as "apocalyptic" (Matt 27:51–54).
