Daniel - Introduction and Chapter 1DANIEL – The Writing on The Wall The Hebrew Bible is divided into three portions. The first division is the Law, containing the five Books of Moses. The second is the Prophets, which includes Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel (in Heb. 1 and 2 Sam. are one book), 1 and 2 Kings (also counted as one book), Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the 12 Minor Prophets (which are counted as one book). The third classification is called the Writings. It contains 12 books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles (the latter two counted as one book). There are 3 main pre-occupations with the book of Daniel. 1.Those who concern themselves with merely historical questions about the accuracy or otherwise of its presentation of sixth- and second century history, as if the solving of such questions constituted the interpretation of the book. 2. Those who have turned Daniel into children’s stories (the young men in the fiery furnace/Daniel in the lion’s den), when the stories are of such deadly seriousness about problems facing adult believers living their lives in a strange land that they almost require protecting from use in a children’s context because of the trivializing this leads to. 3. Those who treat the visions as mere coded preview of events to unfold in the Middle East, threatening to deprive them of their power to speak to situations when people are not merely exiled in a strange land but faced with the total dissolution of faith and hope. AUTHORSHIP Some scholars say Daniel was written in the later period of the Maccabeans, not by Daniel. However: 1. Jesus specifically quotes the book as by Daniel (Matt. 24:15). 2. The book sparkles with the local colour and customs of ancient Babylon and Medo- Persia, not Maccabean Palestine. 3. A manuscript of Daniel found in Qumran Cave 1 is believed to have been copied during or before the Maccabean era, which fact demands that the original has to be older yet. The arguments against the authenticity of Daniel are 3: linguistic, historical, and theological. The linguistic argumentis that Daniel could not have been written in the sixth century because the book contains Persian and even Greek words, and the Aramaic is alleged to be a variety from a later date. Since, however, Daniel lived and served into the Medo-Persian period (530’s bc) the presence of Persian words indicates quite the opposite of the liberal contention. The chances of a second century forger in Palestine knowing Persian are dim. As to the Greek words, there are only three—and all names for musical instruments! It is a well-known fact that the names of objects from a culture often go into another language long before there is heavy intercultural involvement. While the Greek Empire was still in the future when Daniel wrote, Greek culture and inventiveness were already spreading in the ancient world. As to the Aramaic, scholars Kitchen and Kutscher have demonstrated that it does indeed fit the Imperial Period of Daniel. The historical argumentsagainst the orthodox position on authorship include the contention that the Jews put Daniel in the third section of the Old Testament (“The Writings”) and not among the Prophets because that section of the canon was already closed when “Daniel” wrote. It is simpler to realize that Daniel was a prophet not by calling, but by ministry. By vocation he was a statesman. Hence, he was not put with the professional prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. The theological argumentagainst Daniel is that the book has too “advanced” views on angels, the life hereafter (resurrection), and the Messiah. The real protest against Daniel, as a few liberal scholars, such as R. Pfeiffer (Old Testament Introduction, p. 755), are honest enough to admit, is prejudice against the supernatural. There are too many miracles, too much precise prediction in Daniel to suit rationalistic criticism. Again objection is made to Daniel’s authorship because the writer refers in 1:21 to the time of Daniel’s death. However, 1:21 does not state when Daniel died; it states that he ”remained there“ (in Babylon) till Cyrus’ first year. Cyrus’ decree liberated the Jews from their exile in Babylon, thus bringing the 70-year Captivity to a near end. Daniel 1:21 is simply pointing out that Daniel lived through the span of the Captivity. The verse does not specify the time of his death. In fact he lived on into at least Cyrus’ third year (10:1).
DATE Scholars range all the way from the 6th century to the 2nd century BC in dating Daniel. Some date the book in its present form as being from the Maccabean era. They generally view it as an attempt to encourage the Jews during the horrible anti-Semitic excesses of Antiochus Epiphanes. The Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, was translated before the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and it contains the Book of Daniel. Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Vol. 1, p. 388) also records an incident during the time of Alexander the Great which supports the early authorship of Daniel. When Alexander’s invasion reached the Near East, Jaddua, the high priest, went out to meet him and showed him a copy of the Book of Daniel in which Alexander was clearly mentioned. Alexander was so impressed by this that, instead of destroying Jerusalem, he entered the city peaceably and worshiped at the temple. Critics reject an early date for the writing of Daniel mainly because they reject predictive prophecy. The book unfolds details concerning the history of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Details recorded in Daniel 11:5-35 were fulfilled in the fourth to the second centuries bc. Skeptics insist that Daniel could not have foreknown those details but must have written them after the events transpired and cast them in the form of prophecy to give credence to his writing. (Or they maintain that someone other than the Prophet Daniel wrote the book in the second century bc.. and used his name.) Such a view of course denies the power of God to reveal what He has predetermined. Those who believe that God can inspire not only general prophecies of kingdoms not as yet well-known (Greece and Rome) but also minute details of the Grecian period several centuries before they happen (chap. 11), have no trouble accepting that Daniel wrote his prophecy in the sixth century, probably about 530 BC Even with their “late” date the critics have not escaped Daniel’s insight into the future: It must be remembered that even if the latest date assigned to the composition of the book of Daniel were proved correct, the prophecy yet displays knowledge of the future which can only be ascribed to divine inspiration. The events which culminated in the fall of Jerusalem and Judah in 586 bc were neither sudden nor unannounced. Judah was threatened repeatedly by the Assyrians, and escaped these oppressors only to fall to the Babylonian Empire. In 605 bc Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, descended upon Jerusalem. Daniel and a few others of noble extraction were taken to Babylon to serve in the king’s court. In 597 bc, King Jehoiachin, the royal family, and the young priest Ezekiel, together with the treasures of the temple, were deported. Finally, 586 bc marked the awesome destruction of the temple and nation. Events contained in Daniel’s prophecy span the time period from 605 bc to the third year of the reign of Cyrus, 536 bc While portions of the book may have been committed to writing at earlier times, Daniel’s final writing of the treatise was probably done about 530 bc. The fact that manuscript fragments from the Book of Daniel were found in Qumran, written perhaps in the second century bc, preclude the notion that Daniel was written in 165 bc, as many critics suggest. Not enough time would have been available for the book to have reached the Essene community in Qumran and for it to have been copied there. Also the fact that the Book of Daniel was accepted by the Jews into the canon of Scripture bears witness to its authenticity. Some argue that the several Persian and Greek words in the book indicate that it must have been written much later than the sixth century bc. However, archeology has revealed that commerce existed between Greece and Babylon even before Daniel’s day. This would explain the presence of Greek words. And the Persian words in the book were from an official or literary form of the Persian language which was in wide use throughout the Near East. (Cf. D.J. Wiseman, Notes on Some Problems in the Book of Daniel, pages 23-7, 35-50.) Further objection is made to an early date because of the advanced theology in the book. Critics claim that frequent references to angels and a reference to the resurrection of the dead (12:2) necessitates a late postexilic date for the book. This, however, overlooks the fact that angels are frequently referred to throughout Israel’s long history and that resurrection is mentioned in passages such as Psalm 16:10 and Isaiah 26:19, which certainly predate the time of Daniel. Some have objected to Daniel’s authorship because of supposed historical errors found in the book. Some have asserted, for instance, that Nebuchadnezzar was not the father of Belshazzar, as indicated in Daniel 5:2, 11, 13, 18 (cf v22). They argue that if Daniel had written the book, he would not have made such an error. However, it has been demonstrated that a royal successor to the throne was called a ”son“ (5:22) even if he had no blood relationship to an earlier king. (See the chart ”Kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.“) Setting The story’s motifs and concerns point toward a setting in the dispersion, in a context where Jew and pagan could live together, where the question of service in a foreign court was a significant one (cf. Nehemiah), and where the tension between that possibility and the demands of Jewish faith would be a pressing religious question. The story suggests the aspirations and concerns of upper-class Jews in the eastern dispersion, wanting to succeed in their pagan environment but aware of their calling to remain faithful to their roots. Since the close of the story (v 21) presupposes the Persian period and the story itself makes key use of Persian words, the story was evidently composed not before the Persian period. There are no specific pointers to the (pre-Maccabean) Greek period, but neither can this be excluded. Persian culture continued to be very significant then; the period saw a revival of cuneiform learning in Babylon. Nor does the story contain specific pointers to the Maccabean era. The concern with assimilation to pagan practices and with dietary defilement could fit that period, but no better than any other time from the exile onward. The story’s openness to serving in the pagan court, to learning from pagan culture, and to finding favour with the imperial authorities, and its lack of reference to persecution, do not suggest one written with second-century Jerusalem in mind. “The issue is not persecution but the search for a viable life-style amid competing political and religious claims” that the stories in Daniel concern themselves with the problems of the individual, whereas the visions focus on the corporate experience and crisis). (The acceptance of pagan names does not clash with a second-century date, as this practice was not controversial even then). The story has a setting in the actual book of Daniel; indeed, it provides the setting for it, almost constituting an anticipatory Midrash on it. THEME - Context, Daniel’s first six chapters are largely narrative with prophetic themes subordinated. The last six chapters are largely prophetic with narrative subordinated. The book features the providence of God among His faithful people, even in exile. It also contains a series of apocalyptic (prophetic) visions, through which future events are revealed to the statesman-prophet. The theme of God’s providence is shown in Daniel’s rise to prominence in Nebuchadnezzar’s court (cf. ch. 2), in the dramatic intervention of one “like the Son of God” in the fiery-furnace trial (cf. 3:25), in Nebuchadnezzar’s temporary insanity (cf. ch. 4), in Daniel’s role as interpreter during Babylon’s “last night of glory” (cf. ch. 5), and in the marvelous delivery of Daniel from the ravenous lions under Darius (cf. ch. 6). The apocalyptic segment is devoted to a series of visions concerning the four great empires of antiquity (cf. chs. 7; 8), the prophecy of Israel’s Seventy Weeks (cf. ch. 9), more visions concerning world governments (cf. ch. 10), visions depicting the course of events in the kingdoms of the Ptolemies and the Seleucids (cf. ch. 11), and a prophecy of Israel’s ultimate deliverance from tribulations (ch. 12). 1. Daniel’s personal dedication to God (Dan. 1) would have been an example to the deportees on how they should live in a heathen society. Daniel served as an outstanding example of godliness to the exiles. 2. God’s sovereign authority over Gentile nations, how He establishes and deposes kings and empires to serve His purpose. It was this great truth that Nebuchadnezzar came to understand (4:35). 3. God’s faithfulness to His covenant people in protecting and preserving them even though they were under divine discipline for their disobedience. God does not cast off His covenant people; He deals patiently with them to bring them to blessing. 4. “The times of the Gentiles“ (Luke 21:24). The book of Daniel marks the course of Gentile history through that extended period in which Israel was and is being disciplined by Gentiles. Also the consummation of God’s program for the Gentiles will come to its conclusion in the coming Tribulation period. The book carefully and in detail shows the effect the Gentile nations will have on Israel while she is waiting for God’s covenants to her to be fulfilled under the Messiah’s reign. 5. The Golden Age. Israel’s future deliverance and the blessings she will enjoy in the coming Golden Age. As God covenanted with Abraham, his descendants will occupy the land God promised them. Even though the nation must be disciplined because of her disobedience, she will be brought to repentance, confession, and restoration. God remains faithful. He preserves His covenant people and guarantees them ultimate blessing in their covenanted kingdom on this earth. LITERARY FORM. The prophecy of Daniel is the first great book of apocalyptic literature in the Bible. The Greek word apokalypsis, from which comes the English ”apocalypse,“ means an unveiling, a disclosing, or a revelation. In addition to Daniel and Revelation, apocalyptic literature is found in Ezekiel 37-48 and Zechariah 1:7-7:8. Apocalyptic literature in the Bible has several characteristics: (1) In apocalyptic literature a person who received God’s truths in visions recorded what he saw. (2) Apocalyptic literature makes extensive use of symbols or signs. (3) Such literature normally gives revelation concerning God’s program for the future of His people Israel. (4) Prose was usually employed in apocalyptic literature, rather than the poetic style which was normal in most prophetic literature. Languages.The Book of Daniel is unusual in that it is written in two languages: 1:1-2:4a and chapters 8-12 are in Hebrew, and 2:4b-7:28 is in Aramaic, the lingua franca of the prophet’s day. Unity - Some scholars have questioned the unity of the Book of Daniel. They point out that chapters 1-6 record historical incidents in Daniel’s lifetime, and that chapters 7-12 record prophetic visions given to Daniel. This observation, coupled with Daniel’s use of two languages, has led some to infer there was more than one author. Though the Book of Daniel is a single literary work, it has 2 major emphases. One has to do with God’s program for the Gentile nations. This is contained in 2:4b-7:28. It was fitting that this prophecy concerning the Gentiles should be in their language. Hence the prophet used Aramaic in that portion of the book. The second major emphasis is on the nation Israel and the influence or effect of the Gentiles on Israel. This theme is developed in 1:1-2:4a and chapters 8-12. Therefore it was fitting that Daniel wrote those portions in Hebrew, the language of the Jews. The unity of Daniel’s book is further supported by the interdependence of its two portions. The revelation in chapter 2 parallels closely the revelation in chapter 7. Further, some of the terms and theological concepts in the first half are similar to those in the second half. ”Dream(s) and visions“ are mentioned in 1:17; 2:28; 7:1. Lying ”on (in) . . . bed“ is referred to in 2:28; 4:10; 7:1. God’s ”kingdom“ is eternal is spoken of four times in the first half (2:44; 4:3, 34; 6:26) and three times in the second half (7:14, 18, 27). God’s eternal ”dominion“ is extolled in 4:3, 34; 6:26; 7:14. God is called ”the Most High“ or ”the Most High God“ nine times in the first half (3:26; 4:2, 17, 24-25, 32, 34; 5:18, 21) and four times in the second half (7:18, 22, 25, 27). Furthermore the message of the book is the same in both halves of the book. God is sovereign, rules over the nations, and controls them so that they fulfill His will. He is sovereignly preserving the nation Israel and bringing her to the fulfillment of the covenant He made with Abraham. DANIEL THE PERSON
We know more about Daniel the man than we do of any other prophet. He gives us a personal account of his life from the time he was carried captive to Babylon in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim until the first year of King Cyrus. Daniel’s life and ministry bridge the entire seventy years of captivity. Daniel was one of the intelligent and attractive young Jewish captives carried off to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar when Jehoiakim was king of Judah (about 604 bc). His name means “God is my Judge.” Daniel was born into the royal family and was of noble birth (Dan. 1:3, 6). He was physically attractive and mentally sharp (1:4). He lived at least until the third year of Cyrus, that is, till 536 bc (10:1). Therefore he must have been a young man when he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar (In 1:4 Daniel was one of the ”young“ men of Israel.) If he were 16 when captured, he was 85 in Cyrus’ third year. From the testimony of his contemporaries he was known for his righteousness (Ezek. 14:14, 20) and his wisdom (Ezek. 28:3). Office, Daniel was a statesman high up in the administration of Nebuchadnezzar’s and Belshazzar’s courts. When Medo-Persia conquered Babylon, Daniel was made the first of three presidents under Darius. He also served under Cyrus. This is probably why the Hebrew Old Testament has Daniel in the section known as “The Writings,” and not with “The Prophets,” as in English. Daniel and his three compatriots, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were forced into exile in 605 BC when Nebuchadnezzar descended for the first time upon Jehoiakim’s kingdom of Judah. Daniel was of the royal house, and there is some suggestion that he, together with his friends, was made a eunuch at the time of his deportation (cf. 2 Kin. 20:18). This is based on: (1) the mention of the master of the eunuchs (1:3) and the chief of the eunuchs (1:7–11, 18), to whom the four Hebrews were committed for preparation for service in the courts; (2) the absence of any mention of family life or offspring for Daniel; and (3) the prophecy of Is. 39:6, 7 However, that the term here translated “eunuch,” saris, Heb., may probably means simply “official,” as in Gen. 37:36; 39:1; 40:2, 7; 1 Kin. 22:9; 1 Chr. 28:1; Jer. 52:25). Ministry, was that of a prophet, and Jesus so labelled him (Matt. 24:15 and Mark 13:14). Since so much of the book has to do with Gentile world powers, it should not surprise us that Daniel 2:4 through chapter 7 is in Aramaic. This is a Gentile tongue related to Hebrew but widely used in international communication in Daniel’s time in much the same way that English is today. Some scholars outline Daniel’s prophecy by these changes in language. 1. Daniel was a man of purpose (Dan. 1:8; 6:10). 2. Daniel was a man of prayer (Dan. 2:17–23; 6:10; 9:3–19; 10). 3. Daniel was a man of prophecy. ARCHAEOLOGY Daniel 4: The walls of the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BC) in Kalhu (modern Nimrud) were covered with more than 400 representations of the sacred tree. In both Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, it is expressed allegorically with the image of a tree planted upon earth by the mother goddess, Inanna/Ishtar. A cosmic tree growing in the middle of the world and connecting heaven with earth was the best imaginable visual symbol for the king’s pivotal position as the focal point of the imperial system and the sole representative of god upon earth.
This idea is implicit in the fourth chapter of the biblical Book of Daniel, in which the king of Babylon dreams of a huge tree growing in the middle of the earth, its top reaching the sky, and is told by the prophet: “That tree, O king, is you” (Daniel 4:10–22). Daniel, dreamed of a beast that was “like a lion and had eagle’s wings” (Daniel 7:4). Perhaps Daniel was describing the very first colossus that Layard had discovered at Nimrud. Layard tells us that when he saw some of the sculptures being uncovered, he was reminded of biblical passages. In his first book on the excavations, Nineveh and Its Remains (1849), Layard makes numerous references to biblical passages. RAS SHAMRA On the Syrian coast at the point nearest the easternmost tip of Cyprus is a deserted mound known as Ras Shamra. In 1928 a Syrian peasant while digging on his land at the ancient port, discovered a vaulted tomb containing some objects of gold. The matter was reported to the Antiquities Department of Syria, the following year excavations were begun by the French, directed by C.F.A. Schaeffer. During the first season’s excavation a discovery was made which has proven to be the most important archaeological “find” for Biblical students made in the last century. The uncovering of a scribal school and library, adjoining a temple, which was found to contain a store of clay tablets. The library in Ras Shamra is a point of contact between the Ugaritic texts and the Old Testament. The hero of one of the legends is Daniel (or Danel), who “decides the suit of the widow and judges the case of the orphan” DEADSEASCROLLS The Qumran community believed that the visions in Daniel, which had patently not been completely fulfilled in the downfall of Antiochus Epiphanes, were about to be fulfilled in their day, and saw themselves as the embodiment of the discerning teachers and the holy ones on high in Daniel. In keeping with their general expository method, they applied prophecies from Daniel to themselves; the Damascus Rule offers “the first of a long line of commentaries” on Dan 9:24–27. Partly on the basis of Dan 9 the Essenes were actually expecting the messiah between 3 BC and AD 2. Daniel’s portrait of Antiochus as the embodiment of godless wickedness also furnishes them with a portrait of their enemies, especially the Wicked Priest: the framework of the War Scroll draws its inspiration from Daniel 11. 40–12. Dan 10–12 seems to promise the coming of the End in connection with the Antiochene crisis. OUTLINE
Chapters
A. Greece’s Conquest of Medo-Persia (11:1–3) B. The Decay of the Greek Empire (11:4–35) 1. The Wars Between Egypt and Syria (11:4–20) 2. The Reign of Wicked Antiochus Epiphanes (11:21–35) The End Times (11:36–12:13) The Antichrist (11:36–45)
THE STEADFAST FIDELITY OF DANIEL AND HIS COMPANIONS (Chapter 1) The story’s central question is “How could these four famous young men have gained such success in the pagan court, without being tainted by it?” And the chapter as a whole thus endorses the lifestyle of the royal courtier and his wisdom, yet assures us that Daniel and his friends in exile gained success in a way that avoided losing holiness; they proved that holiness was the source of health, and that God was the source of wisdom and the power behind history. The book in set in the context of the seventy years of exile covered by the sequence of stories and visions, from the Babylonian kings via Darius the Mede to Cyrus the Persian. It anticipates Daniel’s functioning through this whole period. It introduces Shinar (1:2), the home of idolatry (Zech 5) (cf. chap. 3) and the location of the proud owner of Babel (Gen 11) (cf. chap. 4), explains how articles from the Jerusalem temple came to be available for Belshazzar’s idolatrous revelry (chap. 5), and lays the foundation for considering when Jeremiah’s promise of Jerusalem’s restoration would be fulfilled (chap. 9). For the self-understanding of what we call the postexilic period, the experience of exile continued to shape the questions that faith had to address. Daniel thus begins from the moment when that exile began, and in anticipation looks to the moment when the seventy years “ended.” The whole period is set within the sovereignty of God. Chapter 1explains how the central figures in the book came to be serving in the palace of Babylon, sometimes using Babylonian names, sometimes Israelite ones, associated with the Babylonian sages but possessing wisdom far more impressive than theirs, and how Daniel in particular gained his expertise in visions and dreams. As men of discernment (v 4, cf. v 17), they model the wisdom of the discerning teachers of the time of final pressure (11:33, 35; 12:3, 10). The section holds the four young men together yet gives Daniel special prominence, and thus answers questions raised by the way they function largely separately in later stories. Like section 1B (v 21), section 2B (vv 17–20) looks beyond the occasion of the immediately following stories: v 17 applies to the book as a whole, vv 18–19a describes the end of their training, vv 19b–20 refers to their position at court through the rest of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign. It contains the material that makes chap. 1 a story in its own right, it relates less explicitly to the other stories in the book, though Daniel’s insistence on avoiding being tainted through serving in the pagan court answers a question possibly raised by chaps. 2, 4, and 5, while his willingness to stand up to the test in order to maintain his faithfulness introduces the theme of chaps. 3 and 6. 1:1–7 The scene is the court of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon following his attack on Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign. Nebuchadnezzar ordered several Jewish young men to be prepared to serve him as men of wisdom and knowledge. Among these were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Their Chaldean names were Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. As part of their preparation, they were to eat of the king’s delicacies and drink of his wine. These foods probably included meats that were unclean, according to the Old Testament law, or perhaps they were connected with idol worship. There is a seeming discrepancy between verse 1 and Jeremiah 25:1. Here Nebuchadnezzar is said to have besieged Jerusalemin the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign. The Jeremiah passage says that the fourth year of Jehoiakim was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. This may be explained by the difference between Jewish and Babylonian reckoning. 1:8–12 Daniel nobly refused to eat them. He asked if he and his friends could eat vegetables and drink ... water instead. Ashpenaz, the chief of the eunuchs (not understanding Jewish customs nor their God), was horrified at this idea, noting that his own head would be endangered if the plan didn’t work! After all, he was responsible for them. 1:13–21 Daniel’s request was nonetheless granted. At the end of the probationary period of ten days, they stood before ... the king and proved to be ten times better than all the wise men of Babylon. They were therefore accepted by the king. God graciously gifted them with knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom, and to Daniel he granted understanding in all visions and dreams. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When seated on his throne, the king, from the viewpoint of the people present in the throne room, merged with the tree, thus becoming, as it were, its human incarnation. The sacred tree, usually represented in the form of a stylized palm tree growing on a mountain, is the most common decorative motif in Assyrian royal iconography.