The Stories of Daniel: Are They Midrashim?

Some scholars have characterized the genre of Daniel 1-6 as a kind of midrash because the stories in Daniel are very similar to that of the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis. Hartman and DiLella, for example, say that the ”wise courtier” is a “specific type of midrash” (Hartman and DiLella, 55). If so, [...]

Why Did Alexander the Great Like the Book of Daniel?

Josephus records that when Alexander the Great arrived to attack Jerusalem, Jaddua the High Priest went out to meet him and showed him a copy of the book of Daniel, wherein Daniel declared that one of the Greeks should destroy the empire of the Persians (Ant. 11.337): And when the book of Daniel was showed [...]

Why is Nebuchadnezzar Portrayed as an Animal?

In his recent article, Christopher B. Hays asks the following question: “Why is Nebuchadnezzar portrayed as an animal?” (“Chirps from the Dust: The Affliction of Nebuchadneaar in Daniel 4:30 in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context,” JBL 126/2 [2007]: 3-25). His answer is that the animals of Dan 4:30 (MT) can symbolize demons and the dead in ancient Near [...]

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream in Daniel and Alexander’s Dream in Josephus

The Letter to the Hebrews begins with the multiple forms of the divine revelation: “Long ago God spoke to our ancestors in many and various ways (πολυμερῶς καὶ πολυτρόπως) by the prophets (Heb 1:1, NRSV).” What does the phrase “the various ways of the divine revelation” mean? One of the ways that God reveals himself [...]

What does the Vision of Daniel 7 Mean?

I attended the class of Graduate Biblical Seminar at LSTC today because one of the students presented his term paper on Daniel 7. At the begining of the class, Dr. Ralph Klein invited us to think about two intersting questions: What do we know about the divine council? What does this vision really tell us? Chapter 7 [...]

Two Versions of the Story of Susanna: Old Greek and Theodotion

Susanna is a typical example of Jewish novelistc literature during the Second Temple period; it is a story in the Bible. Where then do we find the story in the Bible? Whereas Susanna appears as Daniel 13 in the Old Greek version (OG), the Theodotion version (Ɵ′) places it before Daniel 1. Susanna is not there in [...]

Stories in Daniel: More than a Life-Style for Diaspora

The stories of Daniel have inspired great works of art and music as well. The stories are staples in many church school curricula that they represent as models of courageous faith. In his article, W. Lee Humphreys (“A Life-Style for Diaspora: A Study of the Tales of Esterh and Daniel,” JBL 92 [1973]: 211-23) describes a reason [...]

The Problem of Bilingualism in Daniel

The book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible was written in two languages: chapters 1:1-2:4a and 8-12 are written in Hebrew, while chaps. 2:4b-7 are written in Aramaic. The shift from Hebrew to Aramaic at 2:4b is attested in 1QDana. The shift from Aramaic to Hebrew is also attested in 4QDanb and 4QDanb. Even though [...]