A Concealed Claudian: The Meaning of 666 in Revelation

ABSTRACT Various suggestions were made in Antiquity and the Middle Ages to explain the 666 of Revelation 13:18. Few of them are satisfactory, except perhaps for a neglected allusion to Sarapis, and the modern communis opinio is that it refers to Nero. After presenting an extensive survey and evaluation of previous guesses, I propose instead that 666 concerns an unknown heir to the imperial Claudian family, as the sum of the values of each letter in the name Κλαυδίας.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Journal of Theological Studies
Published
2025-02-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/jts/flaf015
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Historical and Religious Studies of Rome
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
38.00
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article

A Concealed Claudian: The Meaning of 666 in Revelation

Max Nelson
1 citations
The Journal of Theological Studies
Historical and Religious Studies of Rome
38.00
article

A Concealed Claudian: The Meaning of 666 in Revelation

Max Nelson
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Various suggestions were made in Antiquity and the Middle Ages to explain the 666 of Revelation 13:18. Few of them are satisfactory, except perhaps for a neglected allusion to Sarapis, and the modern communis opinio is that it refers to Nero. After presenting an extensive survey and evaluation of previous guesses, I propose instead that 666 concerns an unknown heir to the imperial Claudian family, as the sum of the values of each letter in the name Κλαυδίας.

The Journal of Theological StudiesVol. 76(1)
University of Windsor (CA)
Peace, Justice and strong institutions
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Historical and Religious Studies of Rome
38.00
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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A Concealed Claudian: The Meaning of 666 in Revelation — Max Nelson · The Journal of Theological Studies (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS