Daniel
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About this ebook
Most Bible commentaries take us on a one-way trip from the twentieth century to the first century. But they leave us there, assuming that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. In other words, they focus on the original meaning of the passage but don't discuss its contemporary application. The information they offer is valuable--but the job is only half done! The NIV Application Commentary Series helps us with both halves of the interpretive task. This new and unique series shows readers how to bring an ancient message into modern context. It explains not only what the Bible means but also how it can speak powerfully today.
Tremper Longman, III
Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is Distinguished Scholar of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is also visiting professor of Old Testament at Seattle School of Theology and Psychology and adjunct of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary.
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Reviews for Daniel
15 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What a fantastic book! I purchased Tremper Longman's commentary as an aide to help me lead our church's junior youth group on a study of the first six chapters of Daniel. I began using three commentaries and soon set the others aside in favour of this one. Mr. Longman divides his treatment of each chapter under examination into three sections: the original meaning, bridging contexts, and contemporary significance. The reader is introduced to what Daniel was communicating to his first century audience, the various important textual and hermeneutical issues debated by scholars, as well as an understanding of how to apply the teachings of the passages to our contemporary setting. Longman communicates very clearly and respectfully of dissenting viewpoints. I continued beyond the first six chapters to the end of the book, grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the prophet Daniel from such an accessable source. If this is indicative of the rest of The NIV Application Commentary series, I look forward to purchasing more.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Longman does a great job of balancing the original context with contemporary application. It's now 20 years since this commentary was first published but it generally has well stood the test of time. Longman is clearly an expert in the Old Testament and contemporary society. I'm not a big fan of the NIV Application Commentary tripartite form but Longman generally does a good job of including material in their relevant sections.
Book preview
Daniel - Tremper Longman, III
DANIEL
THE NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY
From biblical text … to contemporary life
TREMPER LONGMAN III
ZONDERVAN
The NIV Application Commentary: Daniel
Copyright © 1999 by Tremper Longman III
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bruckner, James K.
Daniel / Tremper Longman III.
p. cm.—(NIV application commentary)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ePub edition November 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-87192-7
ISBN-10: 0-310-20608-1
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-20608-8
1. Bible. O.T. Daniel—Commentaries. I. Title. II. Series.
BS 1555.3.L66 1999
224’.5077—dc21
98–46640
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without prior permission of the publisher.
DEDICATION
To Alice
Contents
How to Use This Commentary
Series Introduction
General Editor’s Preface
Author’s Preface and Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
Outline
Bibliography
Text and Commentary on Daniel
Daniel 1:1–21
Daniel 2:1–49
Daniel 3:1–30
Daniel 4:1–37
Daniel 5:1–31
Daniel 6:1–28
Daniel 7:1–28
Daniel 8:1–27
Daniel 9:1–27
Daniel 10:1–11:1
Daniel 11:2–12:13
Scripture Index
Subject Index
Notes
How to Use This Commentary
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• The Bible Translation quoted by the authors in the main Commentary, unless otherwise indicated, is taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
NIV Application Commentary
Series Introduction
THE NIV APPLICATION COMMENTARY SERIES is unique. Most commentaries help us make the journey from the twentieth century back to the first century. They enable us to cross the barriers of time, culture, language, and geography that separate us from the biblical world. Yet they only offer a one-way ticket to the past and assume that we can somehow make the return journey on our own. Once they have explained the original meaning of a book or passage, these commentaries give us little or no help in exploring its contemporary significance. The information they offer is valuable, but the job is only half done.
Recently, a few commentaries have included some contemporary application as one of their goals. Yet that application is often sketchy or moralistic, and some volumes sound more like printed sermons than commentaries.
The primary goal of The NIV Application Commentary Series is to help you with the difficult but vital task of bringing an ancient message into a modern context. The series not only focuses on application as a finished product but also helps you think through the process of moving from the original meaning of a passage to its contemporary significance. These are commentaries, not popular expositions. They are works of reference, not devotional literature.
The format of the series is designed to achieve the goals of the series. Each passage is treated in three sections: Original Meaning, Bridging Contexts, and Contemporary Significance.
Original Meaning
THIS SECTION HELPS you understand the meaning of the biblical text in its first-century context. All of the elements of traditional exegesis—in concise form—are discussed here. These include the historical, literary, and cultural context of the passage. The authors discuss matters related to grammar and syntax, and the meaning of biblical words. They also seek to explore the main ideas of the passage and how the biblical author develops those ideas.¹
After reading this section, you will understand the problems, questions, and concerns of the original audience and how the biblical author addressed those issues. This understanding is foundational to any legitimate application of the text today.
Bridging Contexts
THIS SECTION BUILDS a bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, between the original context and the contemporary context, by focusing on both the timely and timeless aspects of the text.
God’s Word is timely. The authors of Scripture spoke to specific situations, problems, and questions. Paul warned the Galatians about the consequences of circumcision and the dangers of trying to be justified by law (Gal. 5:2–5). The author of Hebrews tried to convince his readers that Christ is superior to Moses, the Aaronic priests, and the Old Testament sacrifices. John urged his readers to test the spirits
of those who taught a form of incipient Gnosticism (1 John 4:1–6). In each of these cases, the timely nature of Scripture enables us to hear God’s Word in situations that were concrete rather than abstract.
Yet the timely nature of Scripture also creates problems. Our situations, difficulties, and questions are not always directly related to those faced by the people in the Bible. Therefore, God’s word to them does not always seem relevant to us. For example, when was the last time someone urged you to be circumcised, claiming that it was a necessary part of justification? How many people today care whether Christ is superior to the Aaronic priests? And how can a test
designed to expose incipient Gnosticism be of any value in a modern culture?
Fortunately, Scripture is not only timely but timeless. Just as God spoke to the original audience, so he still speaks to us through the pages of Scripture. Because we share a common humanity with the people of the Bible, we discover a universal dimension in the problems they faced and the solutions God gave them. The timeless nature of Scripture enables it to speak with power in every time and in every culture.
Those who fail to recognize that Scripture is both timely and timeless run into a host of problems. For example, those who are intimidated by timely books such as Hebrews or Galatians might avoid reading them because they seem meaningless today. At the other extreme, those who are convinced of the timeless nature of Scripture, but who fail to discern its timely element, may wax eloquent
about the Melchizedekian priesthood to a sleeping congregation.
The purpose of this section, therefore, is to help you discern what is timeless in the timely pages of the New Testament—and what is not. For example, if Paul’s primary concern is not circumcision (as he tells us in Gal. 5:6), what is he concerned about? If discussions about the Aaronic priesthood or Melchizedek seem irrelevant today, what is of abiding value in these passages? If people try to test the spirits
today with a test designed for a specific first-century heresy, what other biblical test might be more appropriate?
Yet this section does not merely uncover that which is timeless in a passage but also helps you to see how it is uncovered. The author of the commentary seeks to take what is implicit in the text and make it explicit, to take a process that normally is intuitive and explain it in a logical, orderly fashion. How do we know that circumcision is not Paul’s primary concern? What clues in the text or its context help us realize that Paul’s real concern is at a deeper level?
Of course, those passages in which the historical distance between us and the original readers is greatest require a longer treatment. Conversely, those passages in which the historical distance is smaller or seemingly nonexistent require less attention.
One final clarification. Because this section prepares the way for discussing the contemporary significance of the passage, there is not always a sharp distinction or a clear break between this section and the one that follows. Yet when both sections are read together, you should have a strong sense of moving from the world of the Bible to the world of today.
Contemporary Significance
THIS SECTION ALLOWS the biblical message to speak with as much power today as it did when it was first written. How can you apply what you learned about Jerusalem, Ephesus, or Corinth to our present-day needs in Chicago, Los Angeles, or London? How can you take a message originally spoken in Greek and Aramaic and communicate it clearly in our own language? How can you take the eternal truths originally spoken in a different time and culture and apply them to the similar-yet-different needs of our culture?
In order to achieve these goals, this section gives you help in several key areas.
First, it helps you identify contemporary situations, problems, or questions that are truly comparable to those faced by the original audience. Because contemporary situations are seldom identical to those faced in the first century, you must seek situations that are analogous if your applications are to be relevant.
Second, this section explores a variety of contexts in which the passage might be applied today. You will look at personal applications, but you will also be encouraged to think beyond private concerns to the society and culture at large.
Third, this section will alert you to any problems or difficulties you might encounter in seeking to apply the passage. And if there are several legitimate ways to apply a passage (areas in which Christians disagree), the author will bring these to your attention and help you think through the issues involved.
In seeking to achieve these goals, the contributors to this series attempt to avoid two extremes. They avoid making such specific applications that the commentary might quickly become dated. They also avoid discussing the significance of the passage in such a general way that it fails to engage contemporary life and culture.
Above all, contributors to this series have made a diligent effort not to sound moralistic or preachy. The NIV Application Commentary Series does not seek to provide ready-made sermon materials but rather tools, ideas, and insights that will help you communicate God’s Word with power. If we help you to achieve that goal, then we have fulfilled the purpose for this series.
—The Editors
General Editor’s Preface
IN SPITE OF PRESENT APPEARANCES, God is in control.
That, Tremper Longman tells us over and over, is the core message of Daniel. What an appropriate message for Daniel’s original hearers/readers. In exile in Babylon, it must have appeared to them that the great powers of the world—the Babylonians, the Medes, the Persians—were in control. By writing of his experiences as a captive Israelite who gained power in Babylon through his ability to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams, Daniel tells his compatriots that God, not a human king, is ultimately in control.
What an appropriate message for today also. When we look at our society and find overwhelming evidences of what William Bennet calls cultural decay and the Christian Coalition describes as the loss of a moral center, it is tempting to question whether God really is in control. Perhaps we are sophisticated enough to know that human kingdoms are not in control. The failure of Maoist China, the breakup of the Soviet Union, the steep decline in the fortunes of the United States—all impress on us daily that nations and states rise and fall. Still, we tend to see behind such misfortune powers that are anything but godlike—impersonal forces of fate, theories of deterministic science, Satan the master of evil. Can God possibly be in control?
Daniel said—and would say today were he with us—yes. In spite of present appearances, God is in control. Since this is the universal message of this book, the one that bridges the sixth century B.C. and twenty-first century A.D. contexts, it is worth our while to see how Daniel goes about convincing suffering readers of this hope-giving truth. He uses a two-pronged approach. He tells us six gripping stories of God’s providence, then gives us five mystical visions, which together blast our senses with impressions of God’s great power. Why this combination of literal historical stories and mystical visions?
Recently I sat by Long Lake in Mercer, Wisconsin, observing a loon feeding in the bay. At least I assume the loon was feeding. The bird would bob and float on the top of the water for some seconds, then suddenly dive, stay under water for two or three minutes, and then resurface, sometimes hundreds of feet from the diving point. My observation of the loon was of a series of lake-top appearances. But to understand fully the whole meaning of those lake-top appearances, I had to infer what the bird was doing on the long dives that filled the intervals.
The book of Daniel is doing something similar. The historical stories of how God took care of the prophet as he navigated the tricky waters of Babylonian court politics are necessary to show us that God really does take care of his own. God is in control. Not in some meaningless, abstract, pie-in-the-sky way, but in the here and now.
But stories like this have their limitations. God’s providence does not always show itself in success
stories. Sometimes, as the book of Job attests, God is in control in cases where his children suffer mightily. Success
stories are necessary to give us hope, but alone they tend to reify transitory elements of the stories—Daniel succeeded because he was a vegetarian, so if we all become vegetarians, we will succeed too. Daniel succeeded because he prayed in an upper room in full view of all the people of Babylon, so if we all pray in that manner we will succeed too. Not really. These stories are not irrelevant. They teach us important lessons. But they are like the appearances of the loon on top of the lake. In order to be fully understood, we must know that a great deal is happening under the surface.
Enter the apocalyptic visions, which communicate to us that a great deal is happening under water.
God’s greatness can be illustrated through everyday stories but cannot be captured by them. We need something further to show us that God encompasses the ordinary and the everyday but also goes beyond it. Daniel’s visions can be understood up to a point, but cannot be completely understood in all details. They are specifically designed to communicate mystery. They leave us uncertain about specifics even though they clearly tell us that God is in control.
Daniel’s message about God’s control requires both the stories of the first six chapters and the visions of the last six. The stories give us comfort, the visions a sense of our finitude. Without the latter, the stories could lead us to believe in a false relationship between human works and God’s grace—if we do certain things, God must provide. Without the stories, the visions could lead us to an impractical, disembodied mysticism. With both, this book offers a hopeful confidence that God is indeed in control.
—Terry C. Muck
Author’s Preface and Acknowledgments
THE BOOK OF DANIEL attracted my attention very early in my Christian life. As a college student in the turbulent 1970s, I was captivated by the book’s vision of a violent end to history. Calmer times led to a more sober assessment of the purpose of the book, but I have never lost the thrill of reading Daniel’s dramatic word pictures of the intrusion of God into the world as warrior and judge. If anything, the impact of the book has grown on me as I now see more clearly that those simple
stories of the first half have such startling relevance for us as we struggle to come to terms with a hostile culture.
I have many people to thank for help in the composition of this book. During the past dozen years I have taught a doctoral-level seminar on the book of Daniel. Class discussions helped me sharpen my thinking about the book. For this reason, I would like to express my thanks to the students who participated in these classes. In particular, I thank Erick Allen, Mark DiGiasomo, and Jovanni Tricerri for their invaluable help as my research assistants.
This book is not the first that I have published with Zondervan. Through the years, my respect for Zondervan has grown enormously. In regard to this project, I thank Jack Kuhatschek and Verlyn Verbrugge for their insights and professionalism. I have also received excellent and insightful feedback from Terry Muck, the general editor of the series, and from John Walton of Moody Bible Institute. This volume is much better because of their critical interaction. I must say, however, that since I did not always follow their advice, they cannot be blamed for any shortcomings.
This book is dedicated to my wife, Alice, on the occasion of our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
—Tremper Longman III
Westmont College
Abbreviations
AB Anchor Bible
ANET Ancient Near Eastern Texts, ed. J. Pritchard
AusBR Australian Biblical Review
AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies
BA Biblical Archaeologist
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
BASOR Bulletin of the American School of Oriental Research
Bib Biblica
BSac Bibliotheca Sacra
BT The Bible Translator
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series
ConBOT Coniectanca biblica, Old Testament
CT Christianity Today
EBC Expositor’s Bible Commentary
ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses
EvQ Evangelical Quarterly
ExpTim Expository Times
GTJ Grace Theological Journal
HDR Harvard Dissertations in Religion
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
ICC International Critical Commentary
IEJ Israel Exploration Journal
Interp Interpretation
IOS Israel Oriental Society
JA Journal asiatique
JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JMRS Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies
JNES Journal of Near Eastern Studies
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism
JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament
JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series
JSPSS Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha Supplement Series
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
NAB New American Bible
NAC New American Commentary
NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament
NIDOTTE New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, ed. W. VanGemeren
NIV New International Version
NJB New Jerusalem Bible
NLT New Living Translation
NovT Novum Testamentum
NRSV New Revised Standard Version
NTS New Testament Studies
OTL Old Testament Library
REB Revised English Bible
SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series
ST Studia theologica
TOTC Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries
TrinJ Trinity Journal
TynBul Tyndale Bulletin
TZ Theologische Zeitschrift
VT Vetus Testamentum
WBC Word Biblical Commentary
WO Die Welt des Orients
WTJ Westminster Theological Journal
ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
Introduction to Daniel
DANIEL IS A BOOK OF PARADOXES. The first six chapters are deceptively simple stories of faith under pressure. Daniel and his three friends have been forced to leave their homeland, Israel, and settle in the Babylonian king’s palace. They are compelled to learn foreign ways in preparation to serve the government, which has made a hostile incursion against Israel and looms dangerously over that country of their birth. Each chapter brings new challenges, and each time they rise to meet the crisis. Neither Daniel nor his three friends waver in their faith or ponder their actions. They certainly seek divine help, but they are confident in their God, even if God might not preserve their lives through a trial (cf. 3:16–18). God, however, is up to the task, demonstrating his sovereignty, his power over evil human intentions, again and again. Clear and encouraging, these six stories have spoken forcefully to many believers, including the youngest of children. Many of us who grew up in the church remember the stories of Daniel as a staple of children’s Sunday school programs and vacation Bible school lessons.
Not so with the second half of the book, however! The simple division between chapters 6 and 7 masks a radical shift in genre and complexity. While children resonate with the lessons of Daniel 1–6, seasoned Bible scholars scratch their heads over Daniel 7–12 with the move from simple stories to obscure apocalyptic visions (see description and discussion of apocalyptic at the beginning of the commentary on chapter 7). The first half of the book are stories about Daniel; the second half are visions of Daniel. Even though there is a dramatic contrast in genre between the two halves of the book, however, the overall message of the book is uniform: In spite of present appearances, God is in control.¹
The Sovereignty of God
THE BIBLE IS a book about God. Daniel is no exception; it too is a book about God. We emphasize this at the beginning because the focus of the camera, to use a film analogy, is often on the human characters: Daniel, the three friends, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, Cyrus. But we must not be misled; Daniel’s main function is to reveal God to us, the readers.
The Bible, however, is not interested in presenting its readers with an abstract understanding of the nature of God. We have little in the Bible that resembles modern systematic theology; certainly there is no listing and description of his attributes. God reveals himself in relationship with his people. We can see this in the dominant metaphors of God in the Bible. He is king, warrior, shepherd, husband, father, and mother, assuming that his people are his subjects, his soldiers, his sheep, his wife, his children.² As we will see, the book of Daniel utilizes some of these metaphors of relationship in support of the overall theme of divine sovereignty, but here I wish to draw attention to the fact that his sovereignty is not described abstractly in this book, but in the midst of the historical process, in the nitty-gritty of life.
We can anticipate fuller treatments by simply mentioning the first few verses of chapter 1, where we see that it is really God, not Nebuchadnezzar, who is behind the Babylonian’s assertion of power over Judah. It is God, not Nebuchadnezzar and his educational and dietary regime, who is behind the extraordinary skills of Daniel and his three friends. It is God who is behind Daniel’s ability to penetrate the secret of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter 2. Each chapter tells a different story, but each one is a story of divine sovereignty.
God is all-powerful, and this narration and demonstration of his power has one important purpose: the encouragement of a beleaguered people. Faithful Israelites must have suffered in exile as they remembered the good relationship that they as a people had with their God in the land of Palestine. They must have suffered as they were forced to work for the good of the nation that oppressed them. And they did suffer as they found themselves in situations where they were pressed to compromise or else face dire consequences. The message of Daniel that God is all-powerful and in control in spite of present conditions intended to present a powerful encouragement to these people.
But who were these people? Who were Daniel’s original audience? And, for that matter, who was Daniel himself? These questions lead us into the midst of one of the thorniest questions of the book.
Daniel and Its Original Audience
THE BOOK OF Daniel sets Daniel in the sixth century B.C. There is no doubt or dispute about that. Major figures from this time period, known from other biblical and ancient Near Eastern sources, play an important role in the book: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Cyrus, as well as Jehoiakim. Daniel 1:1 is dated to the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.) and the latest references include one to the first year of King Cyrus
(1:21; 539 B.C.) as well as that great king’s third year (10:1; 537 B.C.).
Details of this period as they relate to the text will be given at the appropriate place. However, briefly, the sixth century was a crucial moment for God’s people and an interesting epoch in the history of the ancient Near East. In terms of the latter, the beginning of the book of Daniel coincides with Babylon’s rise on the dust of the Assyrian empire. Nebuchadnezzar’s incursions into Palestine from his command center in Riblah, Syria, coincide with Babylon’s bid to push Egyptian power out of the region. Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon grew stronger and stronger and reached the height of its power. After his death, that power slowly dissipated, though there were interesting moments under such rulers (not named in the book of Daniel) as Neriglissar and Nabonidus (for the latter’s association with Belshazzar, see comments on Dan. 5). On the horizon lurked the developing power known as Persia, beginning in the middle of the sixth century to expand its imperial pretensions. Under Cyrus Persia finally took Babylon in 539 B.C.
With this crucial date we can turn to the story of Israel, more specifically the southern kingdom of Judah, in the sixth century. The year 539 B.C. was an important one for God’s people because with the ascension of Persian power came a change of policy toward subjugated peoples. While the Babylonians exiled the leaders of captured peoples like the Judeans to utilize their skills and resources at the center of the empire, the Persians felt it better to return these people to their homeland. The exile from which the Israelites returned in 539 B.C. began in earnest in 587/586 B.C., though earlier incursions are documented in 597 and, as we argue in the commentary on Daniel 1:1–3, in 605 B.C.
Of course, the setting of material like what we have in Daniel 1–6 does no more than give us the earliest date for the composition of the book. Nowhere do these chapters claim that Daniel or anyone else wrote them. There is no claim for a sixth-century date of the book. They are accounts about the sixth century, not necessarily compositions of the sixth century.
The same may be said of the last six chapters of the book, but here there is a wrinkle. As mentioned above, these chapters contain prophecies by Daniel. The prophecies are recounted in the first person, but note that there is a third person frame. For example, the second section begins: In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said …
(7:1–2a). The composition of the final form of Daniel 7–12 likewise, therefore, makes no claim on a sixth-century composition.
However, we cannot use these textual facts to escape an exegetical problem that has plagued the study of the book of Daniel for many years. Though the prophecies have a third person frame, they are delivered by Daniel in the first person and therefore make an implicit claim to originate in the sixth century. The prophecies themselves, in other words, require a sixth-century setting, and here is the problem.
The issue concerns the fact that the first six chapters, while presenting themselves as historical narrative, are surrounded by issues of historical accuracy, while the second six chapters, which are prophecy, are uncannily accurate and precise through the second century B.C., at least up to a definite point. To many, these facts appear to result from a second-century date of composition, where some of the historical persons and events of the Babylonian and Persian periods are a bit murky, while the more recent events of the Greek period are well known and clear. In other words, chapters that present the events of the third and second centuries B.C. as prophecy appear to have been written after the fact, and we can recognize the attempts at real prophecy by their failure to predict accurately (see the extended discussion in connection with the prophecy of ch. 11).
The conundrum is that faithful interpreters find themselves on two sides of the debate. On the one hand, there are those who believe it is necessary to stick to a sixth-century composition. Others feel that the text drives them to a second-century date, and if they believe that the Bible is the Word of God, they must then struggle with the theological issue of a book that, at least on the surface, attempts to deceive its audience into thinking it is prophesying future events when in reality it is casting the past into a future tense.
One attempt to get around this conundrum is to point to the well-established use of pseudonymity in the ancient Near East.³ Indeed, such pseudonymity was well practiced and often involved no attempt at deception. The original audience knew what the author was doing.⁴ However, I would argue that this approach fails when applied to the book of Daniel. The only way that Daniel’s intention as demonstrated in the text can be achieved is by duping the audience. In other words, in prophecy given after the fact (vaticinium ex eventu) the idea was to convince the audience that the prophet was a true prophet to whom God had revealed the future. After showing that by predicting events that had already passed, then there was an attempt at a real prophecy. This is more than a literary device, and one must question whether such a textual strategy would find a place in God’s Word.
This should not, however, obscure the extent of the difficulties of promoting a sixth-century date. The historical problems in the first part are real, and the solutions to some we can only speculate about (see commentary). Moreover, there are problems that need to be addressed at the end of chapter 11, when the prophecy appears to fail. We will provide another explanation than a late date at that point in the commentary, but we will not glibly push the problem under the rug.
These are difficult issues that will divide faithful interpreters for years. We must resist the temptation to turn this issue into a simple litmus test. Some argue that anyone who holds to a sixth-century date is a hopeless fundie
who refuses to look at the evidence. Others will brand those who opt for a second-century date as liberals
or compromisers.
I know that there will be reviewers of my work and approach who will view me as softminded or softhearted on this issue, but I argue that it is an unhelpful simplification to categorize on the basis of someone’s conclusions on this matter. At the very least, we need to look at the motives and arguments behind the conclusions as well as at the treatment of the text in the light of the commentator’s conclusions on the date of the book.
In view of the evidence and in spite of the difficulties, I interpret the book from the conclusion that the prophecies come from the sixth century B.C. I find the problems amenable to hypothetical solutions and the theological issues of a late date difficult to surmount. However, two brilliantly insightful commentators on the book would strongly disagree with me. J. Goldingay interprets the book as finally redacted in the second century B.C. (for a description of this century, see the commentary on Daniel 11), but at the same time he is motivated by a strong desire to follow the teaching of the text. He also clearly believes in the supernatural universe presented by the Bible and does not doubt that God can speak about the future. Furthermore, as we look below the surface of Sibley Towner’s excellent contribution on Daniel,⁵ we note that he understands the book to be divine self-revelation, even though he categorically denies the possibility of the type of prophecy we find in the latter part of the book. To simply rule out these two theologically astute interpreters on the basis of their late date of the book would be a tragedy.⁶
In short, while the present commentary still finds a sixth-century date defensible, it refuses to discount all those who interpret from a second-century date. We agree with J. Baldwin, also an eminent interpreter of the book of Daniel,⁷ who in one of her last publications before her death stated: The fact that the standpoint of the writer (sixth or second century B.C.) cannot be ascertained for certain does not greatly affect the interpretation.
⁸
Bridging Contexts
THE ISSUES SURROUNDING the relevance and application of the Old Testament to our lives and society at the turn of the third millennium A.D. is complex and debated. How does a text that was originally addressed to an audience in the sixth century B.C. retain its significance? Many Christians have difficulty relating to the Old Testament because of its distance from our lives. I would describe the book of Daniel’s distance from us in three areas:
(1) Chronological. The book of Daniel was written over two and a half millennia ago. Times change. I recently watched a television show about America in the 1950s and was struck by how different life was in my youth than it is now, and there we are only speaking about forty years.
(2) Cultural. Daniel was addressed to Israelites living in Babylonian exile. The world of Daniel was an ancient Near Eastern world. Our Western culture is completely different, and even current Middle Eastern cultures bear only the slightest resemblance to the world in which Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar lived.
(3) Redemptive-historical. Perhaps here is where Daniel and the whole Old Testament are strange to Christians. In a word, Daniel lived in the world before the coming of Christ. We live looking back on his earthly ministry, death, and resurrection. Christians find the New Testament more immediately applicable for obvious reasons.
That there is continuity between the New Testament and the Old Testament is obvious to anyone who reads the Bible. The New Testament is saturated with Old Testament references. It builds on the foundation of the Old, and there are a number of passages that strongly assert its continuing validity. Perhaps most notable is Jesus’ affirmation of the Law and Prophets (a first-century A.D. way of referring to what we know as the Old Testament):
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17–20)
Jesus then goes on to talk about some specific ethical issues from the Old Testament, and the amazing thing is that, while he affirms the Old Testament teaching on murder, adultery, divorce, and so forth, he subtly transforms that teaching to something more internal and demanding. Adultery is not just sleeping with a woman; it is lusting after her. Murder is not just physically killing another person; it is anger toward another. Some would argue that Jesus draws a distinction not with the Old Testament teaching, but with human tradition that had grown up around the law, but I don’t think a careful reading of the Sermon on the Mount in the light of the Old Testament can sustain that analysis. As we read the New Testament, there is neither strict continuity (as theonomists would insist) nor discontinuity (as some dispensationalists would have it), but rather both continuity and discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments.⁹
Sorting out continuity and discontinuity cannot be reduced to a formula or simple principle. We have to ask questions about the transformation of culture and the movement of redemptive history. We will sort these issues out as we deal with specific passages in Daniel.¹⁰ However, here we may introduce a couple of major issues that will affect our approach throughout.
Christ, the Center of Biblical Revelation
THE BIBLE IS a book about God. It is God’s self-revelation, and as we have seen, the book of Daniel masterfully demonstrates God’s sovereignty over his people’s past, present, and future. God’s sovereignty infuses his people with confidence and hope in the midst of a difficult world. When Daniel’s original audience read the book, they were given a new vista on their situation and their God.
Christians need to read the Old Testament from the perspective of the original audience, to be sure. But it would be a mistake to stop there. After all, we have received further revelation, and this further revelation casts its illuminating light back on the Old Testament. Saint Augustine captured what I mean with his well-known and catchy phrase: The New Testament is in the Old concealed, and the Old Testament is in the New revealed.
The point is that continuing revelation has not imparted new meaning to the Old Testament but has illuminated the richer meaning of many texts that were not clear to the Old Testament people of God. Though debated, I believe this is what 1 Peter 1:10–12 indicates:
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 find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ