In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so he would save all of israel in their present oppression. Hebrew bible, collection of writings that was first compiled and preserved as the sacred books of the jewish people. The book of daniel contains the only apocalypse in the hebrew bible. The book of daniel begins shortly after the fall of the assyrian empire and the rise of the babylonian empire. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem.
Daniel s visions, received during the babylonian exile, offer glimpses into the coming history of the jewish people. Aug 03, 2017 this introductory lesson will situate the historical setting for the book of daniel and its relationship to the book of revelation. When studying events that are going to occur prior to and after the return of jesus christ to earth, many turn to the book of revelation. Strictly speaking, the book does not belong to the prophetic writings but rather to a distinctive type of literature known as apocalyptic, of which it is an early specimen. Daniel, as many other authors of the antiquity and the bible, writes of himself in the third person throughout the first part of the book. And while this last book of the bible is indeed one of the primary places to find these prophecies, many do not realize that the book of daniel is an old testament complement to this intriguing new testament book. Critics on daniel placement in canon jesus ben sirach historical issues linguistic issues indications of early date the 4 kingdoms issue video series. In the final vision, daniel sees a period of history culminating in a struggle between the king of the north and the king of the south in which. The assyrian periodwill be briefly examinedin order toreveal babylons rise topower,for it was inthe p ower struggle betweenassyria andbabylon that judahandhence daniel became involved. That puts these two famous, historical men about 4000 miles from each. Daniel and his associates are portrayed as jewish exiles in babylon during that period.
Daniel wrote the book of daniel during the sixth century b. The first comprehensive yet accessible history of the state of israel from its inception to present day, from daniel gordis, one of the most respected israel analysts the forward living and writing in jerusalem. The tales are in the voice of an anonymous narrator, except for chapter 4, which is in the form of a letter from king nebuchadnezzar. Except for a few passages in aramaic, appearing mainly in the apocalyptic book of daniel, these scriptures were written originally in hebrew during the period from 1200 to 100 bce. His book is included in the canon of sacred jewish writings. Bookstore glossary library links news publications timeline virtual israel experience. But if its inclusion in the canon had depended on its hebrew form, it would have been necessary to translate the whole into hebrew. The hero of the book of daniel in the ketuvim section of the bible is one of the jews exiled in babylonia, a soothsayer at the babylonian court under nebuchadnezzar who died in 562 b. The root means to make secure a valuable object, such.
The hebrew bible probably reached its current form about the 2nd century ce. Old testament hebrew english holy name king james version with strongs numbers. And in fact the book of revelation is largely a christian interpretation of the. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book. Introduction to daniel bible exposition commentary. The book of daniel stands as a unique mix in the old testament, for while it begins with history, it makes a strong transition at chapter 7, where it contains visions of future events significant to the jews. The story is unique in that the villains are jews instead of heathens. Daniel was a hebrew prophet whose story is told in the book of daniel in the old testament.
The story of daniel here reverts to the chaldean period, the first year of king belshazzar. The book of daniel is written in hebrewexcept for most of chapter2 and all of chapters 37. Since the book of daniel is written from the point of view of a court officer in babylon, using the babylonian system makes good sense. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a and daniel b. Daniel is composed partly in the vernacular aramaic chaldee and partly in the sacred hebrew. Biblical literature daniel britannica encyclopedia britannica. Hebrew aramaic as well as the greek editions, daniels composition history, its social. The book of daniel in the hebrew scriptures old testament. The book of daniel is divided into two major sections, the first being prophet and the second being historical. In the hebrew bible, it is found in the ketuvim, while in christian bibles. Daniel the prophet of the bible, his life and accomplishments by avrohom bergstein daniel 33043399 457362 bce was a celebrated jewish scholar and master interpreter of dreams who was exiled to babylon after the destruction of the holy temple in jerusalem. The book of daniel heavily influenced the gospels references to the son of man and to the angel gabriel. This book takes its name not from the author, who is actually unknown, but from its hero, who was allegedly among the first jews deported to babylon, where he lived at least until 538 b. Read new light on the book of daniel from the dead sea scrolls by associates for biblical research on christian blogs.
This introductory lesson will situate the historical setting for the book of daniel and its relationship to the book of revelation. Book of daniel simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. The hebrew scriptures were probably originally canonized into a twofold division. He also predicted the date of the death of the messiah to occur in ad 32, the date. Ancient book of daniel kindle edition by johnson, ken. Daniel boiled pitch, fat, and hair together and gave lumps of it to the dragon, which thereupon burst. The hebrewaramaic masoretic text of the book of daniel now has stronger support than at any other time in the history of the interpretation of the book of daniel. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a. Daniel is the most wideranging prophetic book in the old testament. Download our mobile app for onthego access to the jewish virtual library. The ancient hebrew prophet daniel lived in the fifth century bc and accurately predicted the history of the nation of israel from 536 bc to ad 1948. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon.
The book of daniel was written during the persecutions of israel by the syrian king antiochus epiphanes. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. The book of daniel is written in hebrewexcept for most of chapter 2. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. From the book, they have derived beliefs concerning the end of the world and battle of armageddon.
The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the. In its form the book shows striking differences, for while ii. First, the book of daniel has always been included in the hebrew canon of scripture. Therefore, even if daniel had attained the level of prophecy at one point in his life, it was not in relation to the book of daniel, which is therefore still considered part of the ketuvim, the writings. The book of daniel, also called the prophecy of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. The second half of the book of daniel, which is dominated by daniel s visions of the future, alludes to the early stages of the chanukah story. The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows. Because the book of daniel contains so many detailed prophecies of things that happened centuries later, some skeptics have suggested that it is a fraud, written much later in history. Just read the book of daniel, it covers over 70 years of daniels life and find out why daniel had faith in god.
The book of daniel is the apocalyptic book of the hebrew bible. Daniel the prophet of the bible, his life and accomplishments. Thus by a gradual process the writings of the prophet daniel were almost entirely eliminated from their curriculum, yet the jewish leaders felt they must not cast aside this holy book, since it was written by a man they had been taught was a man of god. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic. One nation rises, another falls, but yahweh is lord of all. Whether the book was originally in the section called the prophets or the writings is irrelevant. Even though i bought this book for uni, i really enjoyed reading it in my free time too. The history that these books record has already been treated in the historical section of this article and is found in greater detail in judaism. Daniel s success at court naturally excited the envy and ill will of the babylonians, who gathered in a mob and threatened the king and his house if he did not deliver daniel to them. After the debate is over, nobody will disagree the book was included in the sacred canon of the hebrew bible, and has always been so fixed. I was reading the book of daniel, which is filled with extraordinary and apocalyptic visions.
Daniel is divided into 2 major sections of six chapters each, which section is first. The languages are closely related, indeed, but why the shift. A noble jewish youth of jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by nebuchadnezzar of babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the persian conqueror cyrus, all the while remaining true. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. Daniyyel meaning god is my judge, from the roots meaning to judge and meaning god. It is a book in the writings section of hebrew scriptures called the old testament by christians. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic in scope and political in focus. Latedaters dispute that nebuchadnezzar actually besieged jerusalem. The book of daniel, counted among the writings of the hebrew bible and among the prophets in the septuagint as well as in the christian old testament, is such an example. The first six chapters are a collection of historical papers written by other authors. Really interesting book about the amazing complex history of hebrew.
How many times a day did daniel pray toward jerusalem. Herodotus and the book of daniel the library of hebrew bibleold testament studies niskanen, paul v. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Throughout history, the people of israel have been persecuted in foreign lands. One such story about daniel is the book of susanna, which appears in two slightly different versions. Chanukah, daniel 11 and the rabbis limited knowledge of. New light on the book of daniel from the dead sea scrolls.
The book says that daniel is its writer in several places, such as 9. Daniel hebrew english translation massoretic text mt. In fact, it is an argument for the early dating of daniel. It also influenced the symbols and ideas found in the book of revelation.
Jul 27, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Daniel was given prophecy of future events clear to the millennial reign of the messiah, even directly from the archangel gabriel. Bill discusses how the book of daniel conveys the foresight of the prophet. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. Does it deal with an aspect of israels origin and history, a topic dealt mostly dealt with in. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. Daniel provides history from the first invasion of jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar in 605 b. The book of daniel is about how god shows his everlasting wisdom, power, and faithfulness through one of israels greatest prophets. A noble jewish youth of jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by nebuchadnezzar of babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until. Its introduction contended that daniels apocalyptic messianic prophesies are all most easily explained as referring to the history of the jews from babylonia. In both the hebrew and greek canons the book is titled after its main character, daniel. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions.
Book of daniel from the king james version of the bible. The book of daniel, originally written in hebrew and aramaic, is a book in both the hebrew bible and the christian old testament writer. The book of daniel provides the first references to michael and gabriel as named angels in the hebrew bibleold testament. Daniel also has vivid, symbolic visions about the future of israel, world kingdoms, and the kingdom of godexposing us to some of gods longterm plan for the world.
The experience of daniel related in this chapter has nothing to do with his. The last six chapters contain prophecies written by daniel himself. Book of daniel bible study mike mazzalongo bibletalk. It also constitutes a large portion of the christian bible. Addressed all the main issues for the various stages of hebrew. These prophecies encouraged daniel and the jews of his generation, and they continue to serve as an encouragement that the god of israel is a keeper of promises. The kingdom which is symbolized by the he goat viii. The reception of the book of daniel and danielic literature. It also influenced the symbols and ideas found in the book.
It is the account of gods dealing with the jews as his chosen people, who collectively called themselves israel. I was amazed to learn that it is not included in the section of the bible known as the prophets, and that the talmud does not even consider daniel to have been a prophet. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. Many other critics have tried to discredit the book of daniel, but the bible and history have confirmed that daniel was the author of this book, and therefore was written at the time of the persian empire sixth century bc. Daniel is a legendary figure, probably chosen for the book s hero because of his reputation as a wise seer in hebrew tradition. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in babylon. The overriding theme of the book of daniel is that god is sovereign over the kingdoms of this world. Outside of the pentateuch, no book of the ot has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the book of daniel.
Daniel 33043399 457362 bce was a celebrated jewish scholar and master. Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the worlds attention, aroused its imagination, and lately, been the object of. It is particularly important to conservative christians because of its apocalyptic content. Hebrewaramaic as well as the greek editions, daniels composition history, its social. Book of daniel oxford research encyclopedia of religion. Sefer daniel is a study of jewish survival in exile and the ultimate redemption. This is a crucial event in the history of the religion of israel and would surely. In any case the linguistic diversity in parts of this book is no reason for assuming two sources for it, as meinhold does in his commentary p. The book of daniel portrays him as the babylonian king in the first year of. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Daniel 33043399 457362 bce was a celebrated jewish scholar and master interpreter of dreams who was exiled to babylon after the destruction of the holy temple in jerusalem. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences.
755 638 768 846 550 1364 685 1650 423 1425 754 1291 585 992 329 449 438 900 45 370 293 1195 40 443 185 99 1321 627 41 170 284