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Background to the Book of Daniel This book was written about 165 BCE in the time of Judas Maccabaeus. It reflects a situation in which the Seleucids had control of Judah and king Antiochus Epiphanes 4th was trying to stamp out Judaism and encourage Greek ways. Many of the high officials of Judah were willing to comply with this move to Greek cultural practice such as the use of Greek names. For example, a high priest of the time was known as Jason instead of the Hebrew, Joshua. Further influences involved the use of the Greek language, dress and fervent interest and participation in all athletic activities. The king became very angry with those pious Jews who were against these changes, especially those relating to worship and sacrifice to other gods associated with the games. The king even had his own image printed on coinage of the time, indicating he was divine. In response to the Jews who remained faithful to the Torah and Hebrew custom, the king forbade circumcision of young babies and violently killed them and their mothers if this procedure was found to be exercised. Scriptures were seized and destroyed and a decree was issued in 167 BCE forbidding Jews to live by their ancestral law. The final indignity was rhe desecration of the temple when the king introduced the god Zeus into the temple and swine’s flesh was offered up as sacrifice. This abomination triggered off uprisings which eventually led to the downfall of the Seleucid kings and the restoration of the temple in 163 BCE. During this time writers gathered a number of older stories from the exile, as they seemed to apply to some of the questions that were being asked in the period 167-64 BCE. Language and symbolism were taken from the Persian culture and used by the writers to help express a message of hope. As previously mentioned, the prophetic literature was used as a source by the author, who created out of this material a completely new and unique form for his time. The book is divided into two parts — Daniel 1-6, 7-11, within which there are differences in language. Daniel 1-2:4a are in Hebrew, 2:4b-7: 28 are in Aramaic, 8-11 are in Hebrew. There is no satisfactory answer to the question, ‘Why was the book written in two languages?’ However, it may be that the stories in Aramaic were issued anonymously and separately to encourage those suffering under persecution. The author then took these and added in classic Hebrew an introduction and the description of the four later visions. Daniel 1-6 portrays Daniel his three companions whose persistent loyalty to the one God never wavers despite their time of training, trials and persecution because their faith. Their faithfulness and courage resulted in the acclamation of king Nebuchadnezzar, who finally acknowledged God as Lord. Each chapter in the book has a prologue, a trial of the faithful and an epilogue. The stories have not come from the same era but were gathered here to proclaim God’s word in a new and different situation. Daniel 7-11 is written in the first person singular, and contains accounts of four visions depicting different historical situations and an announcement of the ‘end-time’. There are similarities to the role and person of Joseph at the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Joseph was part of the saving history of the Jews: he interpreted the signs depicted in the Pharaoh’s dreams and made wise decisions about life with the resultant rise to fame in a foreign court. Daniel had many parallel experiences, and it is these similarities, which suggest to scholars that the wisdom traditions are one of the roots of the apocalyptic writings. The author is very vague about certain aspects of the Babylonian period and there are inaccuracies, which support the probability that it was written in a period much later than the exile. Furthermore, there were no persecutions during the exile. The Jewish exiles lived in peaceful co-existence with their Babylonian neighbours. It is suggested that the Hasidim, the group that developed from the scribes and teachers of the synagogue, were the authors of the book of Daniel. They were the people who defended the traditions and knew the past writings. They were also familiar with wisdom writing, the law and the prophets and were intent on keeping the faith alive in a time of persecution. The Message of Daniel: The stories of Daniel were used for the purpose of proclaiming God’s word anew in a crisis situation. We use the same method today when we read the teachings of Jesus and hear God’s word speaking to us in our own time. The stories in Daniel speak to questions, which were troubling the Jews, for example, ‘can a Jew accept and use a foreign name as the high priest was doing?’ Daniel and his three companions were given Babylonian names and in the story there was no problem with acceptance and using them in their situation. Jews living in 165 BCE could identify with Daniel and use Hellenistic versions of their own Hebrew names. When it came to the question of eating foreign food, which was forbidden the Torah, there was an alternative suggestion given. They could eat vegetarian food (Daniel 1:12-15). The lesson to the Jews in the period 165 BCE was not to break their law, but seek alternative ways, on some issues. However, there was no way around the situation in which the king tried to prevent Daniel praying to Yahweh (Daniel 6). The foreign king punished Daniel, but God protected him from injury in the lion’s den. Furthermore, in Daniel 3 it was clear that there could be no compromise on the issue of worshipping golden images. Daniel and his friends were thrown into the fiery furnace and again God protected them. On some issues it was possible to seek a compromise, but in regard to the matter of worship, there was no compromise acceptable to God. People were expected to remain true to God, even if they were not always saved (Dan 3:18): there was no compromise — the Jews were expected to remain faithful. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar was interpreted to mean that he and his kingdom would suffer punishment, but a stump would remain and be restored (Daniel 4). This is an unusual element in Old Testament scripture when a Gentile remnant would be saved under God’s judgment. The contrast between Daniel 4 and 5 shows in the latter, a king who would not be saved and who could suffer complete destruction because he was so corrupt. The latter king will never acknowledge the power and glory of God as king Nebuchadnezzar does in the former chapter. These two chapters are deliberately set side by side to portray what should be the right attitude of a king. The second part of the book (Daniel 7-11) is connected to the first by a description of the dream in chapter 7. The four visions are vivid and almost incomprehensible in the imagery used. The beasts represent nations, and, in Daniel 8:3-8, the two horns of the ram represent the successive kings of Media and Persia. The he-goat from the west is speaking of Greece and its king, Alexander the Great. For the first time in the Old Testament an angel is given a name, Gabriel (Dan 8:16) and he interprets the vision for Daniel. The promise at the end of this interpretation proclaims that the power of Antiochus will be broken without any human agency (Dan 8:25). The fourth vision occurs in chapter 10, with the last three chapters reading as a unity. They culminate in the writer’s expectation of what the divinely appointed end would be like (Dan 12:1-4). A great prince, Michael, will arise and will be in charge of the faithful people of Israel. There will be a general awakening of the dead (Dan 12:2) and some will be judged good and some bad. The words are to be shut up and sealed until the time is right for their release. This book spoke to a particular time in history and for a particular reason. The message was to encourage the faithful in the face of terrible persecution. There will be hope for both the living and dead if they remain true to the one God. Yahweh can be trusted to overcome evil and with the conviction that God will not desert faithful people. The Jews can identify with Daniel as he is portrayed in the stories, finding through them and the visions, the hope to remain steadfast in light of their dark times. This book can speak to our time when it is understood from its own historical viewpoint and message. It can be foolishly misused as a key to future events and fixing definite dates for God’s purposes. The faith and witness of the book to call the faithful to remain true to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is still an important message of our church today. It can inspire us because it reflects the faith of people who remained true to God through an horrific period of Israel’s history. |
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Context of Dan 7:9-14 The first six chapters of Daniel tell stories about his life and conflict at the court of King Nebuchadnezzar and King Belshazzar. Many of them show how when the faith of the Israelites was tested they remained loyal and God protected them. Daniel is presented as a wise man whose interpretation of dreams comes true. Daniel chapter six is the famous story in which Daniel is put in to the lion's den because he continued to pray to Yahweh when the king had issued an edict forbidding prayer other than to the king himself. He is kept safe and the king acknowledges Yahweh as the 'living and eternal God' whom everyone in his kingdom should now worship. Daniel 7 begins the cycle of three apocalyptic visions which occur in the reigns of Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. Daniel 7 is set out as follows: v.1 sets the scene for the vision: vv.2-8 are an animal allegory on history: vv.9-12 is a heavenly scene featuring the judgement by the ancient of days: vv.12-14 give dominion to one like a son of man: vv.15-22 tell of Daniel's fear and his interpretation of the judgement scene: vv.23-27 expand further on the judgement of the fourth beast, rather like a midrash and v.28 is a concluding formula. A further vision is given in Daniel 8 and in Daniel 9 we have Daniel's prayer to the Lord. The book finishes with another vision and the prophecy of future persecution. Daniel is told that the words will be bound up and kept and he will rest secure in his allotted place. |
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Insights/Message of Dan 7:9-14 Literary: The animals in vv.2-8 represent the kingdoms of Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece. Having set the scene in which Israel suffers at the hands of the great empires the writer changes direction and switches from prose to poetry. This was probably quite deliberate and the parallelism used in the poetry emphases the images used. We are presented with a theophany of God and within that scene the main oppressor is slain and a human being is given power by the ancient of days. Daniel speaks in the first person recording the dreams and this chapter is in Aramaic as is Dan 2:4b-6:28 (Dan 8-12 is in Hebrew). The vision here echoes those in Dan 2, 4, and 5. The imagery is very rich in these verses and would recall all sorts of memories for the Israelite people as they listened to it being read out (Ps 97:1-3). We have a divine court in which thrones were placed and one person seated in one of the thrones is described as 'the one who endures' (Towner: 97). Other such scenes are in Isa 41:21-24, 1 Kgs 22:19. The description of the throne is a reminder of the one in the vision of Ezekiel (Ezek 1) and associated with fire reminds us of the presence of Yahweh. The thousands of attendants bring memories of the celestial hosts who fight on the side of God. All this is set up as the court sits in judgement and the book is open ready for the indictment to be read out as indeed it is in vv.11-12. After the judgement Daniel sees a person coming in the clouds. Again God's presence is associated with clouds - the Hebrews followed the clouds by day and fire by night as God lead them through the wilderness. A lot of the imagery has parallels in Canaanite and other Apocalyptic literature (1 Enoch 71:10) and has been used to give a message of hope to a people who are living in an oppressed situation. Message/Theology: The vision in Dan 7 climaxes with the oppressive reign of Antioches IV in the second century BCE (Seow:180). In the vision God will reign supreme over the evil ways of Antioch IV. The chaos that has been present in the world (vv.2-8) has to be dealt with in the divine realm (vv.9-14). God is the supreme authority in this divine realm and yet seems to allow the threat to remain (v.12). In the Old Testament the phrase, 'son of man' is an indefinite term to desribe a human being who will be given power to rise up and defeat the enemy. In the time of Antiocus IV this was seen as first Mattathias and later his son Judas who became known as the Maccabees. Unlike the prophetic literature which has God speaking into an historical situation, the apocalyptic literature is in response to situations which are so bad the people feel God cannot be present in the now. It was in such a situation of horror that the apocalyptic writers were offering a message of hope and the need for people to reamin faithful to God as Antiochs IV was both forcing and encouraging the people betray their faith. Daniel was the example of faithfulness no matter what persecution he suffered and his vision showed that God would defeat the oppressor and provide a person with the power to defeat the enemy. Many Christians want to see this description of the person who will be given power (vv.13-14) as a forecast of Christ, but 'a son of man' has become an epithet in the New Testament and Jesus is referred to as the Son of man. As we celebrate Ascension Day in the Christian Church it is not hard to see the associations with the Old Testament. Elijah was of course taken up into the clouds and now we have a human being who has brought in a different sort of kingdom to that envisaged in the Old Testament and yet was given power to bring in an everlasting kingdom (v.14). |
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Resources/Worship for Dan 7:9-14 Worship: Commentaries: Anderson, Robert A.Signs and Wonders: a commentary on the Book of Daniel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, xxxxxx1985. The Dramatised Bible: ed. Michael Perry. London: Marshall Pickering: Bible Society, 1989 Web sites with helpful lectionary resources: These links were updated 09/06/2008
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