Daniel Wisdom to the Wise

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Pacific Press® Publishing Association Printed in the United States of America

Cover design by Gerald Lee Monks

Background texture resources from Kwan Choi, Iowa State University Daniel illustration by John Steel

Inside design by Steve Lanto

The author is responsible for the accuracy of the transliterations and translations from Hebrew and Aramaic and of the quotations from and bibliographical data of the

modern authors.

Quotations from the book of Daniel that are the author's own translation are shown in bold italic text. All other biblical quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stefanovic, Zdravko.

Daniel: wisdom to the wise : commentary on the book of Daniel / Zdravko Stefanovic. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 13: 978-0-8163-2212-1

ISBN 10: 0-8163-2212-0

1. Bible. O.T. Daniel—Commentaries. I. Title. BS1555.53.S74 2007

224'. 5 077—dc 2007060077 Additional copies of this book may be obtained by calling toll-free 1-800-765-6955 or

by visiting http://www.adventistbookcenter.com. 0 7 08 0 9 10 1 1 • 5 4 3 2 1

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Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Let the name of God be praised for ever and ever;

wisdom and power belong to him. He changes times and seasons;

he sets up kings and removes them. He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things;

he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power,

you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."

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FOREWORD

restling with the meaning and interpretation of Daniel is a time-honored Adventist tradition that is fading out in many parts of the church. This fresh new commentary by Dr. Stefanovic has the distinct po-tential to help revive that great tradition. The exposition demonstrates clear awareness of traditional interpretations, but the author is not afraid to take a new look at where the text may lead. The commentary is both broad and deep and will appeal to both the casual reader and the serious student, the curious first-time examiner of Daniel and the long-time prophecy scholar. It begs to be discussed, reflected on, and pondered.

There are at least two reasons this commentary is a must read. First, the author is uniquely qualified for his task. As a preacher, college teacher, semi-nary professor, and missiosemi-nary, he has dealt effectively with a wide spec-trum of audiences. From first-hand experience, I know he can captivate both college freshmen and older lay people as well as those in between. His wide cross-cultural experience as a missionary enables him to be sensitive to both a book set in an international context as well as a global church. Stefa-novic has published work on this apocalyptic book in both popular maga-zines and scholarly journals as well.

Second, this volume takes a broader look at Daniel than any previous Adventist commentary. Depending on how one counts, there are at least five ways each part of the book is examined. First, the author deals with the broad meaning of the entire book and its major sections. Second, he pro-vides his own unique translation from the original languages. Third, he provides textual notes that look specifically at words and phrases and eluci-date the text. Fourth, he grapples with the meaning of the various sections

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for their original readers. Fifth, he attempts to apply the message to the contemporary world. All this means that the reader will be led to see Daniel in a broader context than just that of a repository of several major apocalyp-tic visions. This multifaceted approach opens up new vistas for the careful reader.

You may not agree with everything that Stefanovic says. If you wish, you may question and argue with what is taught. But don't ignore Daniel or this book. You can be sure that what is written has been carefully pondered and prayed over. You will know that the author loves God's Word and wants all to understand and be moved by it. Following Dr. Stefanovic through the story will kindle a new appreciation for the Bible and the book of Daniel. Be careful—you may even catch a passion for discussing Daniel that is in-curable!

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PREFACE

hile reading the Bible as a child, I was fascinated by the stories in Daniel's book as well as its graphic visionary scenes. At that stage of life, prayer and imagination were the only tools I had for interpretation. To these were later added serious academic stud-ies and the unique privilege of teaching this biblical book to both undergraduate and graduate students in a dozen coun-tries on several continents over a period of some twenty years. Academic study has not diminished my fascination with Daniel's life, witness, and book. On the contrary, my appreciation of God and of the messages from Daniel's writings has constantly been growing.

Daniel: Wisdom to the Wise is a

chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse commen-tary intended to be used by readers and students of the Bible. I hope that it will prove useful for personal study of Dan-iel's book. It can also be used as a text-book in colleges and seminaries. (It comprises a companion volume to my

brother Ranko's exhaustive study of the book of Revelation, titled Revelation of

Jesus Christ.1)

The approach taken in this book can be described as biblical expository or exegetical, while the method of study is both textual and thematic. The com-mentary is organized in the following way: A general introduction to the per-son and the book of Daniel is immedi-ately followed by an introduction and exposition of Daniel 1, the chapter containing a summary of the whole book's message. Next, there is a general overview of Daniel 2 - 6 and then intro-ductions to these chapters, each of which is followed by the author's trans-lation from the original Hebrew and Aramaic in consultation with the New International Version of the Bible, the New American Standard Bible, and the Revised Standard Version. (I have taken quotations from biblical books other than Daniel from the New Interna-tional Version.) Detailed notes examine

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the linguistic, literary, and historical aspects of the original text, while the Exposition suggests what the text meant at the time it was written based on what the author most likely intended to say. What the text means today is briefly explored in the Summary of the Teaching presented at the end of each chapter.

Another overview introduces Daniel 7-12, followed by a chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse study and interpreta-tion of each of the visionary chapters. This section of the commentary differs from the preceding portion in that at the end of the chapter, instead of the Summary of the Teaching, two types of Applications of Daniel's prophecies are presented, one in the history of the Christian church and the other more of a devotional type of application to the reader's personal life.

Since the approach in this commen-tary is biblical expository, it focuses on the text and themes from the book of Daniel and on the points of teaching that are directly derived from them. Be-cause of its focus on the biblical text, this commentary is not intended to be a resource tool providing a wealth of ma-terial on apocalyptic literature nor any other subject that is explored by other disciplines such as dogmatic theology or church history. To take one example, the topic of divine judgment is addressed in the Exposition and Applications sec-tion on the pertinent passages from

Daniel. But a systematic presentation of this biblical topic goes beyond the scope of this study and can be found else-where.2 The present study aims at

af-firming the primacy and authority of the biblical text while at the same time offering fresh and constructive insights relating to the reading, interpretation, and applications of Daniel's stories, vi-sions, and auditions.

The present commentary continues the tradition of the intense interest and study of the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation among Seventh-day Advent-ists. Adventist publishing houses have produced no less than six in-depth books and commentaries on Daniel: (1) Uriah Smith wrote a chapter-by-chapter com-mentary titled The Prophecies of Daniel

and the Revelation? (2) A part of volume

four of the Seventh-day Adventist Bible

Commentary, written mostly by W. G. C.

Murdoch in consultation with Siegfried. H. Horn and edited by Francis D. Nichol, is a verse-by-verse commentary on Daniel's book.4 (3) Desmond Ford

wrote a commentary titled Daniel.5 (4)

The first of the two volumes of God

Cares by C. Mervyn Maxwell presents

"the message of Daniel for you and your family."6 (5) Jacques Doukhan's

book titled Secrets of Daniel presents a study of Daniel's life and book.7 And

(6) William Shea's commentary delves into the themes from Daniel's book and their applications in the believer's life.8 Needless to say, these and many

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other books and articles have enriched my own study of Daniel.

I am indebted to a number of indi-viduals who have helped me grow in my understanding of Daniel's book and in the writing of this commentary. In the first place, I thank my God, who, in Daniel's words, is generous in dispens-ing wisdom and strength to human be-ings. As Daniel said, " 'He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the dis-cerning' " (Dan. 2:21b). Without the insights that came in answer to my prayers, this commentary would have never been completed. Next, I feel in-debted to my parents, Milenko and Jozefina, who taught me to love God's Word. I am grateful to my wife, Bozana, and our sons, Jonathan and David, for their support and patience.

It would take much space to list the names of the colleagues and of the stu-dents from my classes far and near who have all provided an inspiration to my study and writing. A special word of thanks goes to my colleagues and friends who read the manuscript and made valuable suggestions: Tarsee Li, Gud-mundur Olafsson, William Shea, Ranko Stefanovic, and David Thomas. The ad-ministrators of Walla Walla College and the School of Theology kindly voted my (first ever) sabbatical quarter, while the

PREFACE

members of the Faculty Development Committee generously provided grants to cover some of the expenses. For these favors, I feel profound appreciation. I am indebted to Becky Masson for her careful proofreading of the manuscript. Last, but not least, I am thankful to Pa-cific Press® Publishing Association and its president, Dale Galusha, for the deci-sion to publish this commentary, and I wish to extend special appreciation to David Jarnes for his work of the final editing of the text.

1. Ranko Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2002).

2. LeRoy E. Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, 4 vols. (Washington, DC: Review and Her-ald®, 1954); Gerhard F. Hasel, "Divine Judgment," in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Raoul Dederen, ed. (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald®, 2000), 815-856.

3. Uriah Smith, The Prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation, rev. and ill. ed. (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1944).

4. Francis D. Nichol, ed., Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4 (Washington, DC: Re-view and Herald®, 1955), 743-881.

5. Desmond Ford, Daniel (Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1978).

6. C. Mervyn Maxwell, God Cares, vol. 1 (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press®, 1981).

7. Jacques B. Doukhan, Secrets of Daniel (Hag-erstown, MD: Review and Herald®, 2000).

8. William H. Shea, Daniel: A Reader's Guide (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press®, 2005).

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INTRODUCTION

D

aniel was "one of the greatest of the prophets, insomuch, that while he was still alive he had the esteem and applause both of the kings and of the multitude; and now he is dead, he retains a remembrance that will never fail, for the several books that he wrote and left behind him are still read by us till this time; and from them we believe that Daniel conversed with God."1 So

wrote Flavius Josephus, a Jewish histo-rian who lived in Rome in the first cen-tury A. D. His statement rests on the no-tion that among the Hebrew people, the sacred writings were customarily linked with important personalities for the pur-pose of enhancing their authority. Thus, for example, Moses was traditionally as-sociated with the Pentateuch, King Da-vid with the Psalms, and his son Solo-mon with biblical wisdom literature.2 In

the case of Daniel's book, its authorship is confirmed by a number of explicit statements found in the book itself. In the case of Daniel's book, a number of

explicit statements found in the book itself confirm its authorship.

In the context of the Bible, wisdom is closely tied to the life and the teaching of the wise men and women, who were ex-pected to demonstrate practical wisdom in everyday life. In the same way, biblical prophecy is inseparable from the office of a prophet, the person who was a spiritual leader of the people as well as the spokes-person for God. For this reason, we best understand a divine revelation when we study it in the context of the person who initially received it. As the famous Jewish writer Abraham Joshua Heschel has aptly stated, "The significance of Israel's proph-ets lies not only in what they said but also in what they were. We cannot fully un-derstand what they meant to say to us unless we have some degree of awareness of what happened to them."3

On the other hand, it is possible to take a very different approach to the study of the Bible in general and the book of Daniel in particular. Some commentaries

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INTRODUCTION

on Daniel's book begin with the basic as-sumption that "Daniel is a non-historical personage modeled by the author(s) of the book"4 or supporting "the consensus

of modern critical scholarship" that views "the stories about Daniel and his friends [to be] legendary in character, and [that] the hero himself most probably never ex-isted."5 To approach the book of Daniel,

its text and message, with such or similar assumptions is certainly one but not the only way to study it. This commentary follows the traditional view of the author-ship and the dating of Daniel's book be-cause that approach is based on the claims of the Bible itself.

The traditional approach to the book of Daniel holds that a person named Daniel wrote the book in the sixth cen-tury B.C. and that it was completed to-ward the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire or in the very beginning of the Medo-Persian Empire (cf. Notes and

Ex-position on Dan. 1:21). Although the

tra-ditional approach is based on statements found in the text, certain scholars have challenged it on several grounds. These include the historical validity of some statements from Daniel that pertain to historical events and persons, the pres-ence of certain linguistic features that are considered by some to be much later than the traditional time of writing, and also the presence of alleged inconsistencies of stylistic and theological nature.

Reactions to the denials of the tradi-tional authorship and dating of the book

have not been lacking. Scholars who take the traditional approach have, in the past, produced works of technical as well as of popular nature to show that Daniel's book fits in the context of Neo-Babylonia with a possibility of minor editing and scribal updating from a later time when the book was copied. Thus, the arguments presented in defense of the traditional dating have focused on answering the historical, linguistic, sty-listic, and theological questions regard-ing the book's datregard-ing and authorship.6

Yet Joyce Baldwin has shown that the strongest evidence in favor of the au-thenticity of Daniel's work can be found in the book itself.7 The reader will find

several pieces of this type of internal evi-dence presented in the Notes and

Exposi-tion in this commentary.

Moreover, in this present study, Dan-iel's life story and his faith in God are con-sidered to be of prime importance for a clear understanding of the message of this ancient biblical book. The context of the traditional Afro-Asian cultures, so akin to the world of the Bible, supports the no-tion that in religious and didactic types of literature, teaching is done far more effec-tively when it is illustrated through living examples rather than through theoretical concepts or abstract ideas. Certain ten-dencies in the world today point in the same direction. For these reasons, an over-view of Daniel's life story is necessary be-fore an introduction to Daniel's book and its messages is presented.

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Daniel's Life a n d Career

The Bible is the main source of infor-mation regarding who Daniel was. His home must have been in or around Jeru-salem, the capital city of Judah, since he belonged to the Israelite "royal family and the nobility" (Dan. 1:3). He was likely born within a few years of the events of 622 B.C., the eighteenth year of the reign of King Josiah of Judah. Josiah is described in 2 Chronicles chapters 34 and 35 as a good king whose actions stood in stark contrast to those of his grandfather Manasseh and his father, Amon. "While he was still young," says the chronicler, "he began to seek the God of his father David" (2 Chron. 34:3). The spiritual revival that followed his personal devotion to God is often re-ferred to as Josiah's reforms. It consisted of purging Judah and Jerusalem of idols, pagan shrines, and altars. The apex of this religious reform was the discovery of the lost "book of the law of Moses" by the priests in the temple. This exciting event prompted the king to renew "the covenant in the presence of the T O R D "

(2 Chron. 34:31) and to proclaim the celebration of the feast of Passover. The chronicler notes that "the Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever cele-brated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Tevites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem" (2 Chron. 35:18).

However, a tragedy struck the nation of Judah just as Daniel entered his teen-age years. King Josiah died in a battle after his unwise decision to confront the Egyptian king Neco on the plain of Megiddo. The people of Judah mourned Josiah's death, and the prophet Jeremiah composed laments for the occasion. This tragedy must have created a deep spiri-tual crisis in the lives of many Judeans, including Daniel and his family.

Another tragedy struck Daniel's na-tion only a few years later. In 605 B.C., the Babylonians came, besieged Jerusa-lem, and carried off to Babylon their booty and captives. Biblical records in-dicate that through their religious apos-tasy, the kings of Judah had reversed Josiah's work of religious reform and filled their land again with idol worship. This was true of Josiah's sons Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31, 32) and Jehoiakim (v. 34), as well as ofjehoiachin (2 Chron. 36:9) and Zedekiah (v. 11), of whom it is said that they "did evil in the eyes of the TORD." Second Chronicles 36:15, 16 reads, "The LORD, the God of their

fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwell-ing place. But they mocked God's mes-sengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the

L O R D was aroused against his people

and there was no remedy."

Daniel was one of the captives who were led from Jerusalem to Babylon. He

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INTRODUCTION DANIEL'S LIFE AND CAREER

and his friends were most probably be-tween fifteen and eighteen years old when they were taken there.

These two tragedies must have affected Daniel's life and his faith in God in a most profound way. Was the God of his ances-tors still in control or had he now become a captive of Babylon and of its patron god Marduk (Bel)? What course of action should the faithful follow in the imperial capital? Would he find enough strength to encourage his friends to remain faithful with him in that hostile environment? Was there still hope for the future of the Hebrews, who were God's chosen people? And what about the people who lived in Babylon—were they worthy of learning the power and goodness of the true God? Would God give them a chance to repent and come to know Him? (Jer. 51:9; cf. Exod. 7:5; Jon. 3:10.)

The book of Daniel tells us that nor-mally, it was Daniel's custom in Baby-lon to pray "three times a day" (6:10). However, in crises and times of greater spiritual needs, he studied the prophetic writings and then turned his "face to the Lord God and searched for him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes" (9:3). At times, he would prolong this type of austere life for weeks, during which he would be on a very simple diet (10:2, 3). Various pas-sages from Daniel's book indicate that his diligent and prayerful study of the Pentateuch and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah exercised a positive influence on

him. Yet it was the life and teaching of the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel's contem-porary, that affected his life more than any other part of Scriptures.

Jeremiah was older than Daniel, and he carried out his long ministry in Jeru-salem. He played a key role in Josiah's reforms and composed a lament for his funeral. Jeremiah was often placed un-der house arrest or imprisoned, and he was even thrown into a cistern. When the Babylonian army conquered Jerusa-lem, this prophet was mistakenly arrested and bound in chains with the rest of the captives, only to be released later (Jer. 40). Yet from the beginning of the na-tional crisis, his message was one of hope and of a future restoration of the faithful remnant (chaps. 30; 31).

Jeremiah's great influence on some of the Hebrew captives in Babylon as well as on Daniel and his friends came from the famous letter to the exiles recorded in chapter 29 of his book. That letter urged the people to " 'build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters. . . . Increase in number there [in Babylon]; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the L O R D for it, because if it prospers,

you too will prosper' " (Jer. 29:5-7). In other words, during the seventy years of the exile, the captives should live a nor-mal life in Babylon and have a positive attitude toward that city.

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This message was just the opposite of what Jeremiah's opponents, self-appointed prophets, one of whom was a certain Hananiah, were telling people. Their predictions were that the exile would end soon, perhaps in just a year or two (Jer. 28:11; 29:8, 9). So, there was a risk that the reading of Jeremiah's message would make him sound like a traitor, an accusation made against him on a number of occasions (Jer. 26:11; 32:3; 37:13; 38:4). Yet there was no doubt in the minds of those who be-lieved in his prophetic calling that God would bring Babylon to an end at an ap-pointed time (Jer. 50; 51). Then a rem-nant, liberated because of Babylon's fall, would return to Palestine (Jer. 30; 31). Babylon was still under God's control. Moreover, on more than one occasion, Jeremiah called King Nebuchadnezzar the Tord's servant (Jer. 25:9; 27:6). This fact explains why Daniel, when describ-ing Babylon's capture of Jerusalem, says that "the Lord delivered" the king and the people of Judah into Nebuchadnez-zar's hand (Dan. 1:2).

There is little doubt that Jeremiah's influence greatly helped shape Daniel's positive attitude in Babylon. He chose not to spend all his time sitting down "by the waters of Babylon" and weeping over the tragedy that Zion had suffered (Ps. 137). Nor did he choose to follow the false prophets and their supporters in their prophetic speculations or political activism. Instead, Daniel allowed

Provi-dence to open a brilliant career for him in order to be able to witness for his God and about his faith everywhere, including the royal palace. In this endeavor, he had the support of his three Hebrew friends, who prayed with him, especially in times of crises (Dan. 2:17, 18).

While in Babylon, Daniel was ap-pointed to be a professional wise man. In the words of a Babylonian queen mother, he had "insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods" so that the king "appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners" (Dan. 5:11). Because of his exceptional ability to "understand visions and dreams of all kinds" (1:17), no "mystery was too difficult" for him (4:9). On no less than three separate oc-casions, Daniel solved the problems that no other wise man could resolve. In ad-dition, as a high-ranking statesman, he "distinguished himself above all the other administrators and satraps" by his ex-ceptional qualities (6:3). In Babylon, Daniel was the emperor's close friend whose presence at the palace helped make the emperor "free from care and prosperous" (4:4) even in times of crisis. Lastly, Daniel was God's prophet who was called to minister to His people in exile. When the heavenly messenger came to him in a vision, the messenger told Daniel that in God's eyes he was "greatly loved" (Dan. 9:23).

It is a well-known fact that the task of a person whom God called to speak for

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INTRODUCTION DANIEL /IS A BIBLICAL PROPHET

Him was not an easy one. That is why most of the prophets were very reluctant to accept that responsibility. It is impor-tant that we understand this about Dan-iel's career in Babylon. Rather than pre-senting his success at the Babylonian and Medo-Persian courts as an uninterrupted growth in success and influence, the book depicts Daniel's administrative and reli-gious career as a series of ups and downs. From the low status of a captive from Ju-dah, he graduates from Babylonian edu-cation with top grades and assumes a po-sition at the imperial court. By the end of the next story, the king promotes him to the lofty position of the "ruler of the en-tire province of Babylon." Some time later, the king has forgotten him, but in the end, he promotes him to the rank of "third highest ruler in the kingdom." Then, in his old age, the prophet becomes a target of jealous satraps and is thrown into a den of lions—only, shortly after-wards, to be reinstalled to the powerful position of being one of the three top administrators in the empire.

In spite of Daniel's brilliant career in Babylon, no less than three times, his opponents and some who sought per-sonal gain from their contacts with him referred to him as "one of the exiles from Judah" (Dan. 2:25; 5:13; 6:13). So, it is clear that as "a servant of God," Daniel knew what it meant to be rejected and even ignored and persecuted because of his faith in God and because of his wit-ness and ministry to others. His source

of comfort in those difficult moments must have been the study of sacred writ-ings such as Psalms and the prophets. His life of prayer led him to understand that his success in Babylon was more than just the result of his hard work. Rather, it was a gift from the One in whom he had placed his absolute trust and in whom he could find hope, espe-cially in moments of crisis and despair.

When the Medo-Persian Empire came to power, Daniel probably moved his residence and office from the city of Babylon to the Persian city of Susa (or Shushan), one of the imperial centers that was located east of Babylon (Dan. 1:21). Extrabiblical traditions and leg-ends tell us that Daniel died and was buried in this city, having passed the age of eighty years.8

D a n i e l as a Biblical P r o p h e t

The positive influence that Daniel's life and ministry have exercised on the readers of his book through centuries, even millennia, is remarkable. Even to-day, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim be-lievers hold the prophet in high esteem.9

Yet we must remember that in addition to being a prophet, Daniel was an ad-ministrator and a wise man. As such, his influence as a witness for God extended from the city of Babylon throughout the Neo-Babylonian Empire. While his ad-ministrative title "ruler over the entire province of Babylon" (Dan. 2:48) had to do with politics and government, the

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other responsibility the emperor gave him, the supervision of "all its wise men," had certain religious connotations.10

The Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible or the TaNaK, is tra-ditionally divided into three parts: Tom, "the Pentateuch"; Nebi'im, "the

Proph-ets"; and K'tubim, "the Writings" (cf. Luke 24:44, where the book of Psalms heads the Writings). In the present form of the Hebrew canon, Daniel's book is placed in the third division; that is, in the Writings.

Why was the book of Daniel placed among the Writings rather than among the prophets in the Hebrew Bible?11

Al-though we cannot give a final answer to this question, we can list some possibili-ties. It is possible that in some circles, Daniel was considered to be a wise man first and only secondarily a prophet. It has been pointed out that half the book contains contemporary stories rather than prophecy. It is also true that part of the book was written in the "unholy" Aramaic language, as was the book of Ezra. (Yet at least one verse in a genuine prophetic passage, Jeremiah 10:11, is also found in Aramaic.) Moreover, one wonders if the reputation of the book of Daniel suffered due to a polemic against the early Christian believers, who were skillfully using passages from this book to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. Lastly, we may won-der whether the book was downgraded because, as is mentioned in the Talmud,

a rabbinical curse was pronounced on those who used the book to calculate the time of the end.12

In the story told in chapter 4, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and then ends his speech in a fashion typical of biblical prophets whose pri-mary goal was to call people to repen-tance: " 'Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by being merciful to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue' " (4:27). In like manner, in chapter 5, where Daniel confronts and rebukes King Belshazzar, he "sounds remarkably like a Hebrew prophet."13 His speech in this

case matches well those of biblical prophets who dared to confront the kings of Israel and Judah. Nathan re-buked David (2 Sam. 12:7-12), Elijah did the same with Ahab (1 Kings 21:20-24), and Jeremiah with Zedekiah (Jer. 38:20-23).14 Probably nowhere are

the roles of a wise man and a prophet better contrasted than in the book of Amos. It says that a wise man, when faced with a calamity, "keeps quiet in such times, / for the times are evil" (5:13). But it also reveals how a prophet is compelled to speak for God:

The lion has roared— who will not fear?

The Sovereign L O R D has spoken—

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DANIEL: WISDOM TO THE WISE COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL

other responsibility the emperor gave him, the supervision of "all its wise men," had certain religious connotations.10

The Old Testament, also known as the Hebrew Bible or the TaNaK, is tra-ditionally divided into three parts: Tord, "the Pentateuch"; N'bi'im, "the Proph-ets"; and Ketubim, "the Writings" (cf.

Luke 24:44, where the book of Psalms heads the Writings). In the present form of the Hebrew canon, Daniel's book is placed in the third division; that is, in the Writings.

Why was the book of Daniel placed among the Writings rather than among the prophets in the Hebrew Bible?11

Al-though we cannot give a final answer to this question, we can list some possibili-ties. It is possible that in some circles, Daniel was considered to be a wise man first and only secondarily a prophet. It has been pointed out that half the book contains contemporary stories rather than prophecy. It is also true that part of the book was written in the "unholy" Aramaic language, as was the book of Ezra. (Yet at least one verse in a genuine prophetic passage, Jeremiah 10:11, is also found in Aramaic.) Moreover, one wonders if the reputation of the book of Daniel suffered due to a polemic against the early Christian believers, who were skillfully using passages from this book to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. Lastly, we may won-der whether the book was downgraded because, as is mentioned in the Talmud,

a rabbinical curse was pronounced on those who used the book to calculate the time of the end.12

In the story told in chapter 4, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar's dream and then ends his speech in a fashion typical of biblical prophets whose pri-mary goal was to call people to repen-tance: " 'Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by being merciful to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue' " (4:27). In like manner, in chapter 5, where Daniel confronts and rebukes King Belshazzar, he "sounds remarkably like a Hebrew prophet."13 His speech in this

case matches well those of biblical prophets who dared to confront the kings of Israel and Judah. Nathan re-buked David (2 Sam. 12:7-12), Elijah did the same with Ahab (1 Kings 21:20-24), and Jeremiah with Zedekiah (Jer. 38:20-23).14 Probably nowhere are

the roles of a wise man and a prophet better contrasted than in the book of Amos. It says that a wise man, when faced with a calamity, "keeps quiet in such times, / for the times are evil" (5:13). But it also reveals how a prophet is compelled to speak for God:

The lion has roared— who will not fear?

The Sovereign L O R D has spoken—

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(Matt. 24:15). So, it is safe to affirm Daniel's position as prophet in the canon of the Bible. Moreover, it is not safe to use the placement of his book in the He-brew Bible as evidence against the tradi-tional date and authorship of the book. It is becoming increasingly clear that the order of the individual books in the Bible is more theological and thematic in na-ture than chronological.16

K i n g d o m s o f Babylon a n d Medo-Persia

The traditional approach to Daniel places the events described in the book in the part of the world known as Mesopota-mia, where the city of Babylon was located with the Euphrates River flowing through it. In the official Babylonian documents, the region around the city of Babylon was referred to as Akkad., while the territory located in the west, the region of Syria and Lebanon, was known as Hatti or

Hattu. The name Babylon was applied to

both the city and the region in which it was located. In the Akkadian language, the meaning of the name el or

Bab-ilu is "gate to the gods," indicating the

presence of a strong religious flavor in the city's life, politics, and economy.

To some people, Babylon was "the city of eternal abode" (al sub at darati). They considered it to be the city of wis-dom, the center of the whole world. Surrounded by water, the city was fa-mous for the hanging gardens that King Nebuchadnezzar had planted for his wife Amytis, to help relieve her

home-sickness for her Median homeland. Robert Koldewey's excavation of the site of this ancient city resulted in the dis-covery of the throne room located near the famous Ishtar Gate, from which started the Procession Street with 120 lion statues placed along its two sides. The Ishtar Gate was decorated with or-naments of lions that symbolized the goddess Ishtar, bulls that represented the storm god Hadad, and dragons that stood for the god Marduk (Bel).

The long history of Babylon is usually divided into three periods: Old Babylon (c. 1900-1600 B . C . ) , when the kingdom

was ruled by such powerful figures as King Hammurabi, the famous lawgiver who ruled over all Mesopotamia. The period that followed was Babylon's Dark Age, when Assyria, its bitter enemy, and especially the Kassites, invaded the city and the regions around it. For a limited time around 1100 B.C., King Nebu-chadrezzar I was able to free Babylon from these hostile invaders and restore the statue of the god Marduk in the city. Another king who ruled later in this pe-riod was Merodach-Baladan, who is known to the student of the Bible from 2 Kings 20:12 and Isaiah 39:1, which say that he sent envoys to congratulate King Hezekiah of Judah on his recovery from an illness.

The third period, that of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom, lasted for almost a century (626-539 B . C . ) . Babylon's

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Na-KINGDOMS OF BABYLON AND MEDO-PERSIA

bopolassar (626-605). This king had made a pact with the Medes that en-abled him to break free from the As-syrian yoke. He was also the founder of the Chaldean dynasty, which was named after a tribe from southern Mesopota-mia to which both the king and the rul-ing class of Babylon belonged. Thus, two times in its history, Babylon achieved considerable power and world hegemony under foreign rulers—first under the Amorites from the west and then under the Chaldeans from the south. As for the Babylonians, it is re-marked that they "were always more in-terested in making money than war."18

Doubtless, the best known and the most influential king of Neo-Babylon is Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 B . C . ) , who

established the Neo-Babylonian Empire. In addition to his successful military campaigns, he was the famous empire builder and is also remembered for his building achievements in the city of Baby-lon. His wife Amytis was a granddaughter of Cyaxares from Media. Nebuchadnez-zar fathered eight children, one of whom was a daughter, Kassaya.19 When

Nebu-chadnezzar died (at a very old age), he had ruled over Babylon for forty-three years. This king figures more promi-nently than any other in the stories about Daniel that took place in Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar's son Amel-Marduk (562-560 B.C.) was an unpopular king who reigned for a short time. In the Bi-ble, he is called Evil-Merodach and is

best remembered for his act of kindness to the old King Jehoiachin of Judah, whom he "released . . . from prison, . . . spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor" so that Jehoiachin "for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table" (2 Kings 25:27-30). Since the document known as the Istanbul Prism tells that a man called Ardi-Nabu was Amel-Marduk's secretary (and tutor?), and since Ardi-Nabu could have been Abed-Nego, one wonders if this

influ-ence could explain the kind gesture. Amel-Marduk was killed by his

brother-in-law Neriglissar (560-556 B . C . ) , an

army general who seized power and be-came a strong king, unlike his son La-bashi Marduk, who succeeded him on the throne for three short months.

A distinguished army general named Nabonidus killed Labashi Marduk and took the throne of Babylon (556-539

B . C . ) . He revived the cult of the moon

god, Sin, much to the displeasure of the priesthood and aristocracy in Babylon. Because of his health problems, Naboni-dus left Babylon, and his eldest son, Belshazzar, occupied the throne for the last ten years of the Neo-Babylonian Em-pire (549-539 B . C . ) . As a crown prince,

he is considered to have been a coregent with his father. King Nabonidus's long absence from Babylon and the interrup-tion of the celebrainterrup-tion of the New Year festival only added to his unpopularity and directly contributed to the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

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Blssk $m MACEDONIA LYDIA Sardis j, Ephest CAPPAOOCiA * Jerusalem MDAB aioM Memphis*! EGYPT I

The Persian Empire

YRIA • Ecbatana ! MEDIA CYPH #Susa YTONIA mamrramanSm A £an4scus • Persepolis PERSIA

The following table lists the rulers of Neo-Babylon: T h e Kings o f N e o - B a b y l o n 1. Nabopolassar (626-605) 2. Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562) 3. Amel-Marduk (562-560) 4. Neriglissar (560-556) 5. Labashi Marduk (556)

6. Nabonidus (556-539; the last ten years with Belshazzar)

In its heyday, the Medo-Persian Em-pire, which followed Neo-Babylon, was

the largest empire up to that time, stretching from Egypt to India (Esther

1:1). It was divided into administrative provinces known as satrapies that were ruled by satraps. The small kingdom of Judah belonged to the fifth satrapy. This empire is sometimes referred to simply as the Persian Empire, although in the Bible, the Medes and the Persians are often mentioned together.

Cyrus the Great, who was the empire builder, is the best-known Medo-Persian ruler. He became one of the most popu-lar kings in the ancient world due to his

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RELIGION IN BABYLON

generous policies of support for the local gods and respect for the laws of the con-quered lands. Cyrus was born of dual parentage—his father was Persian, and his mother was Median. This helped him unite these two lands and lead them into the conquest of Babylon and of much of that area of the world. He built a monu-mental and most efficient imperial orga-nization, the greatest up to that time and one that still evokes admiration. Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses, whose decisions are known to have dif-fered from his father's generous and wise policies even at the time when he was still the crown prince. The table below lists the Medo-Persian kings starting with Cyrus the Great and his son Cambyses:

T h e Kings o f M e d o - P e r s i a

1. Cyrus the Great (550-530) 2. Cambyses (530-522) 3. Darius I (522-486) 4. Xerxes I (486-465) 5. Artaxerxes I (465-424) 6. Xerxes II (423) 7. Darius II (423-404) 8. Artaxerxes II (404-358) 9. Artaxerxes III (358-338) 10. Arses (338-336) 11. Darius III (336-331) Religion in B a b y l o n

Religious traditions in the city of Babylon comprised a mixture of Sume-rian and Semitic elements. While the Babylonians believed that humans were

created to serve the gods, they fashioned their gods in the image of human be-ings. Hence, deity was present in its im-age, be it a statue or a human person. Babylonian religion is often described as "polydemonic" because it attributed everything to magic and demons. At the top of the divine ladder was a triad of gods: Anu, the sky-god; Enlil, the air-god; and Adad, the weather-god. Sub-ordinate to these gods was a triad of as-tral deities: Sin, the moon-god; his son Shamash, the sun god; and his daughter, the planet Venus, whose names were Ishtar and Inanna. She was often pic-tured as riding on a sacred lionlike beast. A third triad consisted of Ea or Enki, the god of the underworld; Marduk, Ea's son; and Marduk's son, Nabu or Nebo, the god of the art of writing. Be-low these three groups of gods were hundreds of deities.

The patron god of the city of Baby-lon was Marduk, the god of wisdom, whose popular name was Bel ("lord"). He was often pictured carrying a spade and accompanied by his pet,

Mus-hus-su. This mythical monster was pictured

in the form of a hybrid dragon with scales covering its body, with double horns of a viper, with the legs of a cat and a bird, and a tail consisting of a scorpion sting.

The city boasted of no fewer than six-teen temples, including the structure called Etemenanki, which is believed to be the oldest temple on earth, and Esagila,

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the temple dedicated to the city's patron god, Marduk. In addition, Babylon con-tained forty-three cult centers and some nine hundred chapels. One of the streets located in the proximity of Esagila was called "Which god is like Marduk!" (Ak-kadian: Ayu ilu ki Marduk) testifying to the presence of strong religious feelings among the city's population and its priests. Some of the Babylonian temples were made in the shape of a Mesopota-mian step-pyramid (ziggurat), leading the worshipers' thoughts upward through their "stairways to heaven." In some tem-ples, the altar where the sacrifices were regularly offered was located at the bot-tom of the stairway. In most cases, it stood on the top floor.

The most important day in Babylon's religious and political calendar was the first day of the first month (Nisanu) of the year. On that day, new kings were in-augurated and the famous procession of the gods took place, which was the high point in the ceremony known as Akitu festival. The procession started from the Ishtar Gate and proceeded toward Esagila, into which, on the fifth day of the cere-mony, the high priest entered first—fol-lowed, when a new king was to be inaugurated, by the royal aspirant, who was not yet wearing his royal robe. The king bowed before the image of Marduk. Then he was beaten on his cheeks so that tears would enhance his confessions be-fore the high priest and in the presence of the image of the god of Babylon.

Follow-ing this ceremony, the new kFollow-ing was of-ficially recognized as the legitimate ruler in Babylon, and his first year of reign was reckoned from that time on. This ritual clearly shows the power that the priests exercised in the name of the gods of Baby-lon and that often their authority exceeded that of the king.

The oracles of the biblical prophets mocked the Babylonian procession of the gods, whether along Procession Street or on boats floating on the Eu-phrates River. The prophets said that in contrast to Israel's God, Yahweh, who carried his people through the wilder-ness "as a father carries his son" (Deut.

1:31), the idols of Babylon "are borne by beasts of burden" (Isa. 46:1). Since they could not even walk, "ignorant are those who carry about the idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save" (Isa. 45:20).

Literary Features of Daniel's B o o k

The book of Daniel has been called a literary masterpiece. Its language is rich, filled with metaphors and imagery. Even a cursory reading of the text in a modern translation discloses a number of literary forms. Recognition of these genres is a key step in the proper interpretation of the text, and, conversely, a lack of aware-ness of them often results in a very nar-row and stereotypical approach to the text and to the book in general. The fol-lowing table presents a list of literary types that are found in Daniel's book.

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LITERARY FEATURES OF DANIEL'S BOOK

The list is representative rather than ex-haustive:

Literary G e n r e s i n t h e B o o k o f D a n i e l

1. Story (chaps. 2; 3; 6; etc.) 2. Dream/vision (chaps. 2; 4; etc.) 3. Interpretation of a dream/vision

(chaps. 2; 7; 8; 9; etc.) 4. Apocalyptic (chaps. 7; 8; etc.) 5. Audition (8:13, 14; 11:2-12:4; etc.) 6. Riddle or cryptic writing (5:25-28) 7. Prayer(6:16; 9:4-19)

8. Hymn of praise (2:20-23; 4:1-3, 34, 35; 6:26, 27)

9. Royal edict (3:29; 6:7-9, 26) 10. Royal proclamation (chap. 4) 11. List (3:2-6; 5:4, 23)

12. Dialogue (4:9, 18-20; 10:12-20; 12:8-13)

13. Oath (12:7)

Two literary types that are dominant in the book are stories and visions. The stories in Daniel are well structured, characterized by plot, setting, and charac-ters. At the same time, they are rich in employing various literary devices. Moreover, Daniel's stories are pointedly God-centered.20 The visions are full of

symbols and imagery. At times, they are combined with auditions, and they are often accompanied by explanations pro-vided by an angel interpreter. In line with what is found elsewhere in the He-brew Bible, Daniel's visions deal with immediate, eschatological, and apoca-lyptic types of prophecy.21

The dominant literary form in Dan-iel's visions is apocalyptic, a term that comes from the Greek word that means "revelation" (apokalupsis) ,22 Scholars apply

this term to a particular worldview, a social phenomenon, and a literary genre. "Apocalyptic literature desig-nates those ancient visionary writings or parts of writings that, like the N[ew] T[estament] book from which the name is derived, the book of Revela-tion, purport to reveal the mystery of the end of the world (age) and of the glories of the world (age) to come."23 In

search of the origin of biblical apoca-lyptic literature, scholars have studied documents from Egypt, Iran, and Greece as well as biblical wisdom texts. The traditional view is that biblical apocalyptic is primarily the child of biblical prophecy. Some have viewed Jesus as an apocalyptic prophet whose

proclamation centered on the topic of God's kingdom on earth.

The main characteristics of the apoca-lyptic genre are highly symbolic lan-guage, dualism, determinism, the pres-ence of an angel interpreter, symbolic use of numbers, close interrelatedness between heaven and earth, and God's control over world history. The most no-table canonical apocalypses include Isa-iah 24-27; 34; 56-66; Ezekiel 37-39; Daniel 7-12; Joel 1-3; Zechariah 1-14; Matthew 24; 25; Mark 13; Luke 21; 1 Thessalonians 4; 5; 2 Thessalonians 2; I Corinthians 15; and the book of

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Reve-DANIEL: WISDOM TO THE WISE COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF DANIEL

lation. Some of the best-known apocry-phal and pseudepigraphical apocalypses are the Apocalypse of Abraham; the Apocalypse of Baruch; the Apocalypse of Esdras; 1; 2, and 3 Enoch; the Animal Apocalypse; Jubilees; and the Ascension of Isaiah. Some of the Qumran scrolls have been classified as apocalyptic: the War Scroll, the Description of the New Jerusalem, and the Thanksgiving Psalms. For a comprehensive overview of apoca-lyptic literature in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the reader should consult The

Encyclopedia ofApocalypticism.2A

In studying apocalyptic texts from Daniel, the interpreter can see God's hand at work in the events of world his-tory. Often, biblical symbols tell the reader far more about what God is going to do than about exactly how or when He will accomplish His ultimate pur-poses for the human race. It is equally useful to remember that for biblical prophets, revealing future events was not an end in itself but a means to the end of both comforting and challenging the faithful. The prophets' primary in-tention was "to turn the reader toward God, not just toward future events. Therefore, the actual event prophesied was clouded in the mist of symbolism and the reader had to turn to the God who would bring it to pass."25

More-over, a Christian interpreter of Daniel's visions will see Jesus Christ as "the cen-tral figure of prophecy."26 (Cf. Tuke

24:27, 44-47.)

Scholars have proposed several liter-ary structures of Daniel's book. One ob-vious division is based on the two domi-nant literary genres:

Literary/Stylistic S t r u c t u r e

A. Stories: chapters 1-6 (third-person report)

B. Visions: chapters 7-12 (first-person report)

Sporadic exceptions are present in both parts: Chapter 2, for example, contains significant visionary material in its narra-tive, while in chapter 7:1, Daniel is referred to in the third person singular. These ex-ceptions comprise interlocking elements that strengthen the unity of the book.

A second proposed structure is based on the use of the two original languages, Hebrew and Aramaic:

Linguistic S t r u c t u r e

A. Hebrew: l:l-2:4a B. Aramaic: 2:4b-7:27 A'. Hebrew 8:1-12:13

This form is also known as an A-B-A'

structure because the author wrote the

first part of the book in Hebrew, then he switched to Biblical Aramaic, and finally, he returned to Hebrew.

Chiastic (concentric) structures have

also been proposed for the Aramaic and the Hebrew sections of the book.27

Paral-lelism comprises a basic feature of He-brew literary style, and chiasm is usually

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THE PURPOSE AND MESSAGE OF THE BOOK

defined as inverted parallelism.28 (The

term is derived from the Greek letter

chi, which looks like the letter X.) When

the book of Daniel is viewed in terms of chiastic literary forms, chapter 1 stands by itself as an introductory unit to the whole book and the rest of the chapters are structured as follows:

Chiastic S t r u c t u r e C h a p t e r s 2 - 7

A. Vision of world kingdoms (chap. 2) B. The faithful tested (chap. 3)

C. Judgment on a king (chap. 4) C'. Judgment on a king (chap. 5) B'. The faithful tested (chap. 6) A'. Vision of world kingdoms (chap. 7)

C h a p t e r s 7 - 1 2

A. Coming of the One "like a son of man" (chap. 7)

B. Clash of east and west (chap. 8) C. Revelation about the

"Anointed One" (chap. 9) C'. Vision of a Celestial

(Divine) Being (chap. 10) B'. Clash of north and south

(chap. 11)

A'. The rise of Michael (chap. 12) The structure of a text is a vehicle to its meaning. Knowing that Daniel in-tended the chiastic structure-—if indeed he did—can be of great help to those seeking to find the message of the book.

Scholars have also claimed that chap-ter 7, with its central concept of

judg-ment, serves as a bridge that holds the two parts of the book together. In fact, this chapter is the strongest interlocking element in the whole book because it combines the visionary material with text in Biblical Aramaic.

The three proposed structural plans that are presented above are not mutu-ally exclusive. On the contrary, they all complement each other. Thus, they each contribute to communicating the overall message of the book of Daniel. This commentary takes the literary/sty-listic plan as the primary structure be-cause it is based on the two dominant literary forms in the book: stories (chaps. 1-6) and visions with auditions (chaps. 7-12).

T h e P u r p o s e a n d M e s s a g e o f t h e B o o k

The first story found in the book of Daniel, in chapter 1, conveys the pur-pose of the book. This chapter begins with the report of a defeat of the people of Judah and the triumph of their ene-mies, the Babylonians. As the reader learns that the captives and the sacred temple vessels were carried off to Baby-lon, the question emerges: Could the God of Israel be led as captive to a for-eign land? The author answers that ques-tion in the very beginning of the book, assuring readers that it was the Lord who delivered His people and city into the hand of a foreign king.

Although God can never be made captive, He did not abandon His people

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in Babylon but instead was with them there. His presence and their faithful-ness to Him resulted in a triumph over the power of Babylon's gods. In the tri-umph of the faithful in Babylon, the reader can foresee God's ultimate tri-umph over the hostile powers in the world. Thus, an important reason for the writing of the book of Daniel was to disprove the possible misconception about God's power by affirming em-phatically that the Lord can never be-come a captive of a pagan god.

The book of Daniel was also written to show how God deals with human be-ings. Both the structure of the book and the stories it contains consistently show that His plan is not to destroy but to save human beings (Ezek. 33:11; John 3:17)—though, ultimately, the unre-pentant will be destroyed. In harmony with this point, we understand why the author wrote the book in two languages: He intended to convey the message of the book to two different audiences.29 In

Babylon, Aramaic was the language of international business and diplomacy, so the author used this language to com-municate the message of the book to all the inhabitants of the empire.

Chapters 4 and 5, which are found in the heart of the Aramaic section of the book, disclose its intended message. That message was that no people on earth, including emperors, can remain neutral toward the God of heaven. In other words, when God confronts a

hu-man being, that person has to decide to take a stand either for or against God. The examples from the lives of two Baby-lonian kings illustrate well this principle. One king responded positively to God's call to repentance, and his life was pre-served and his power was restored to him. The other king remained unrepen-tant and paid the highest price for it. Daniel's book teaches that when it comes to making decisions about God and one's eternal destiny, neutrality is simply not an option.

The Hebrew section of the book was intended for the people who were ex-iled to Babylon. These were people God had chosen, and they had endured tri-als and persecutions. The visions of Daniel contain a message of divine judgment that was the source of hope for those who were oppressed for God's sake. The verdict on the oppressor is pronounced during the judgment, and in the end, the saints are vindicated, not condemned. Chapters 9 and 10 in-troduce the Person who protects the faithful and who will visibly come to their rescue at the end. The revelation recorded in Daniel 9:25-27 calls him "Messiah, the ruler." Moreover, in the end, God's sanctuary is restored to its rightful state. The themes of vindica-tion and condemnavindica-tion permeate the whole book.

We can summarize the message that the book bears to people today in the following way: In the most difficult and

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APPROACHES TO DANIEL'S BOOK

dangerous times of earth's history or of one's personal life, children of God can be confident that He is in charge. He cares about people. Despite appearances that seem to point to the contrary, He is present and actively saving His op-pressed and faithful people while con-demning the forces of evil. His judg-ment in heaven affects the course of events down on earth. Most frequently, Daniel communicated this message through the hymns of praise that are scattered throughout the book. The first such praise comes from the mouth of Daniel himself (2:20-23). The rest of the hymns, which come from the mouths of the pagan kings Nebuchadnezzar (4:1-3, 34, 35) and Darius (6:25-28), echo the first hymn.

A p p r o a c h e s t o Daniel's B o o k

In modern times, the study of Dan-iel's book has largely involved endless debates on the historical value of the facts reported in the text—on matters such as authorship, the unity of the book, and the validity of prophetic ut-terances. These issues have their value; however, the attention given them has far outweighed that given to the book's theological insights.30 And, in the case

of some scholars, it has resulted in a purely humanistic and antisupernatural-ist approach that is diametrically op-posed to the claims of the book itself.

Objections to the traditional dating and authorship of the book that have

been advanced by some scholars have to do with the prophetic, historical, and linguistic aspects of Daniel's text. The objections raised concerning the pro-phetic character of the revelations given to Daniel are part of higher criticism, a negative approach to the claims made by the authors of the prophetic books of the Bible. Higher criticism neglects and even denies the predictive aspect of bib-lical prophecy because it views the Bible as a product of purely human thought. The evidence from the text challenges the claims of this approach because each of Daniel's visions are clearly dated to the sixth century B.C. (Dan. 7:1; 8:1; 9:1; 10:1). Every reader of the Bible in general and of Daniel in particular has the privilege of choosing either to take seriously or to dismiss the statements of the biblical books. This choice will de-termine the result of the reader's inter-action with the text.

In a similar way, some scholars have questioned certain statements in Daniel that are of a historical character. These include the dates of particular events (Dan. 1:1; 2:1), the identities of Belshaz-zar and Darius the Mede, and the mirac-ulous events through which God saved the faithful from death (chaps. 3 and 6). Lastly, the presence and characteristics of diverse languages in the book have also served as grounds for questioning the book's traditional dating and authorship. Several scholars have responded to these objections, some in a very systematic

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way.31 While it is true that some of the

questions posed by higher criticism are still awaiting definitive answers, this pres-ent study assumes the validity of state-ments from the biblical text and takes the traditional view on the dating and au-thorship of Daniel's book.

Based on the objections mentioned above, a number of scholars consider that the final form of Daniel's book cannot go back to the sixth but rather comes from the second century B.C. It is also claimed that the book did not originate in Baby-lon but in Judea and that it was written not by a single author but by a number of different people. They believe the book of Daniel was meant to encourage the faith-ful Jews in their resistance to the persecu-tion of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This king became notorious in Jewish history for his desecration of the temple; his pro-hibition of keeping the law, including the Sabbath and the rite of circumcision; and his merciless attempts to suppress the op-position raised by pious Jews.

Several studies, however, have argued in a persuasive way that the attempts to fit Antiochus IV Epiphanes into Dan-iel's descriptions of the little horn are not satisfactory for several reasons: For one, Antiochus's persecution did not begin with a religious cause but rather "in order to subdue a rebellious people." Second, the information about the per-secution by this king as provided by the books of Maccabees is mostly legendary. And third, the outlawing of the Jewish

religion and the legitimizing of the new cult was confined to Jerusalem and Judea and didn't take place in Jewish commu-nities elsewhere.32 For these reasons, the

original setting of Daniel's book fits bet-ter the time of the exile to Babylon rather than the oppression under Antiochus IV Epiphanes.33 As for the hero of the book,

he is described in the text as the chief of all Babylonian wise men (2:48), a title that more likely came from a foreign country and not from the group of free-dom fighters in Judea.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are interpreters who take a rigid approach to the book, claiming to have all the answers to the questions that the text poses. Much like higher criticism, this side too is not flexible enough to put aside its preconceived notions and let Daniel speak for himself (cf. Dan. 5:12). There is a real temptation for the student of Daniel's book to engage solely in a study of its numbers, its historical details, or the differing interpretative nuances at the expense of the rich mes-sage of the book. It is preferable to let the overall message of the book come first and foremost in any study of bibli-cal text. This is especially important in dealing with certain difficult texts in the book about the meaning of which schol-ars have not reached consensus. "Like a telescope it [the Bible] summons us to look through, not at, it and see the starry heavens. The most crucial question to ask is, Have you seen the stars? not,

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APPROACHES TO DANIEL'S BOOK

What do you think of the lens?"34 In the

process of interpreting a passage from the Bible, one should constantly keep in mind that the passage is only a part of the biblical canon. If the passage is ob-scure, the bigger picture provided by the rest of the Bible may be of help.

In surveying the ways in which past and present interpreters have approached Daniel's book, one notes the presence of not one but a variety of approaches, such as philosophical/rationalistic, historical/ geographical, archaeological/anthropolog-ical, literary/linguistic, expository/exe-getical, didactic/theological, and social/ cultural. Each of these approaches has made a valuable contribution to the study of Daniel, and this present study is indebted to all who have skillfully used tools, ancient and modern, in an attempt to arrive at the meaning of the text and its application in our time. An approach, however, that has been neglected in the study of Daniel is the type of exegetical study that places the people in the book at the forefront—one that places the book's main characters at the center of the events and the themes that are found scattered throughout it. This present study attempts to combine an in-depth exegetical study with what could be called a people-oriented approach.

The first half of the book of Daniel presents stories that are centered in God (theocentric), while the visions and au-ditions from the second half point to God's leading in history toward its

glo-rious close (eschatological). No student of Daniel would dispute the claim that God is the first and foremost Hero in the book, while at the human level, the hero of the book is Daniel. In addition, Daniel's friends and the kings that he mentioned by name all play important roles in the stories and the introductions to the visions of the book.

As has already been pointed out, the present study of Daniel's book gives pri-macy to Daniel's life and work, since the two provide the key that can unlock the message of its stories and visions. Thus, special attention is given to the people who are mentioned in the text, because the book primarily talks about God's dealing with the people of the past, while the messages are also addressed to the people who read the book today. This approach makes a unique contribution to the study of Daniel's book and mes-sage because of the trends in our time to place people at the forefront in society, politics, economy, religion, literature, and so forth.

Since Daniel's book belongs to the canon of the Bible, its message extends beyond what the original author was saying to the people of his day. It is rele-vant for every reader's time and place. First Peter 1:10-12 says:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to

Daniel Wisdom to the Wise

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

D

The Persian Empire