Daniel Kwame Bediako is Professor of Old Testament Language and Interpretation. He has held several academic and administrative positions at Valley View University including serving as President of the university from 2015-2021. He has authored a number of scholarly works, and has edited several volumes, most recent ones including The Sabbath in Old Testament and the Intertestamental Period (a project of the Biblical Research Institute) and Prosperity Gospel (a project of West-Central Africa Division of Seventh-day Adventists). He also served as associate editor of the Andrews Bible Commentary. In July 2021, Daniel was appointed Associate Director of the Biblical Research Institute of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. He is married to Gifty and both have two children, Hehra and Daniel. The family moved to Maryland in July 2022.
There are both textual and semantic difficulties in Dan 12:4, resulting in different scholarly in... more There are both textual and semantic difficulties in Dan 12:4, resulting in different scholarly interpretations. Besides scholarly discussions on text and semantics, the verse has been understood by many to predict the increase in scientific knowledge. This article investigates the contextual meaning of the verse through exegetical analysis. Considering genre, context, and language in Dan 12, the article suggests that ’knowledge’ in v. 4 is prophetic knowledge rather than scientific knowledge. It is this knowledge which shall increase at the time of the end when the sealed portions of the prophecy get unsealed.
The Sabbath is an important theological concept in the book of Isaiah. The significance attached ... more The Sabbath is an important theological concept in the book of Isaiah. The significance attached to the Sabbath does not only find expression in the prediction of its observance in the renewed conditions following the captivity, but also in the fact that continual possession of the promised land would depend upon proper Sabbathkeeping. The final verses connect Sabbath-keeping with eschatology by implying that Sabbath will be observed in the “new heavens and new earth.” Through contextual analysis, however, it is suggested that the eschatology in this text is best understood in a postexilic sense (i.e., an extended period following the return from captivity) rather than in an apocalyptic sense. Further, the creation of “new heavens and new earth” is to be understood as a highly poetic expression anchoring the redemption and restoration of Judah from the Babylonian captivity. Sabbath-keeping sums up righteousness.
There are both textual and semantic difficulties in Dan 12:4, resulting in different scholarly in... more There are both textual and semantic difficulties in Dan 12:4, resulting in different scholarly interpretations. Besides scholarly discussions on text and semantics, the verse has been understood by many to predict the increase in scientific knowledge. This article investigates the contextual meaning of the verse through exegetical analysis. Considering genre, context, and language in Dan 12, the article suggests that ’knowledge’ in v. 4 is prophetic knowledge rather than scientific knowledge. It is this knowledge which shall increase at the time of the end when the sealed portions of the prophecy get unsealed.
The Sabbath is an important theological concept in the book of Isaiah. The significance attached ... more The Sabbath is an important theological concept in the book of Isaiah. The significance attached to the Sabbath does not only find expression in the prediction of its observance in the renewed conditions following the captivity, but also in the fact that continual possession of the promised land would depend upon proper Sabbathkeeping. The final verses connect Sabbath-keeping with eschatology by implying that Sabbath will be observed in the “new heavens and new earth.” Through contextual analysis, however, it is suggested that the eschatology in this text is best understood in a postexilic sense (i.e., an extended period following the return from captivity) rather than in an apocalyptic sense. Further, the creation of “new heavens and new earth” is to be understood as a highly poetic expression anchoring the redemption and restoration of Judah from the Babylonian captivity. Sabbath-keeping sums up righteousness.
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Papers by Daniel Bediako