In the first year of darius the son of ahasuerus, of the lineage of the medes, who was made king over the realm of the chaldeans. Three of the best commentaries on the book of daniel. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. This order was issued by the king artaxerxes in 444 b.
Can there ever be faith again in the midst of darkness, rebellion, and gloom. The book of daniel also has much to teach us about daniel, the man. The book of daniel covers daniels age from 19 to 92. It is intended to help you better understand some of the background and issues in daniels prophecy. The four visions that make up the final part of daniel s book chapters 712 fall into chronological order, just as the narratives of chapters 16 did. Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. The root means to make secure a valuable object, such. But the precise timing of the events of chapters 14 does not contribute to the argument or the message of the book of daniel. Jewish bible commentaries merrimack valley havurah. One of the more fascinating books of the bible is the book of daniel.
The king had had a dream which greatly perturbed him. The hero of the book of daniel in the ketuvim section of the bible is one of the jews exiled in babylonia, a soothsayer at the babylonian court under. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a. The book of daniel the anchor yale bible commentaries. Daniel identifies himself as the author of the book in daniel 12. Christians contend that it is a perfect calculation of the coming of jesus. I was recently reading a commentary on the book of daniel. The book of daniel lesson 10 chap 10, 11, 12 by walter c.
In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. Jewish commentaries on the bible are biblical commentaries of the hebrew bible the tanakh from a jewish perspective. What daniel tells us about jewish interpretation during the watershed. Daniel is not mentioned especially in hebrews 11 among the heroes of faith of the ot. Book of daniel chapter 1 bible study stranded in babylon. Lecture by rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and the nature of biblical truth given 7pm 9pm on saturday january 17, 2015 at the lanier. The hero of the book of daniel in the ketuvim section of the bible is one of the jews exiled in babylonia, a soothsayer at the babylonian court under nebuchadnezzar who died in 562 b. Modern scholarship agrees that daniel is a legendary figure. Daniel 9 a true biblical interpretation jews for judaism. So whatever he mentions up to the time of antiochus is true history, but.
We saw in daniel chapter 7 that god gave daniel a vision of the four coming world empires. Chapters 812 are likewise written in the hebrew language. This volume on the book of daniel has been prepared by two distinguished biblical scholars from the faculty of the catholic university of america. Nebuchadnezzar 605562 bc, the king of babylon has conquered jerusalem, deposed its king, and taken some of its royals and noble young men captive. The book opens with the exile of daniel and his contemporaries from the holy land to babylonia. Chart of daniel s 70 weeks the jewish calendar daniel 1 studies in the book of daniel. Lecture rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and. The book of daniel is filled with messianic illusions and calculations that even left daniel pondering. Daniel is one of the few ot books that can be given a. Its introduction contended that daniels apocalyptic messianic prophesies are all most easily. Latedaters dispute that nebuchadnezzar actually besieged jerusalem. The book of daniel, typological exegesis, jubilee, jewish interpretation, josephus, i enoch. Its introduction contended that daniel s apocalyptic messianic prophesies are all most easily explained as referring to the history of the jews from babylonia through the chanukah wars.
In fact, it is an argument for the early dating of daniel. Daniel book of daniel an older english commentary is studies in daniel by harold louis ginsberg, 1948, jewish theological seminary, available to read online at at studies in daniel, harold louis ginsberg. Book of daniel bible study chapter 8 gods declaration of the end. Daniel commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. The first attacks go back to the heathen new platonist porphyrius of tyre 3rd century ac. A commentary on the book of daniel by pastor galen l. Like ezekiel, the book of daniel contains a number of enigmatic prophecies. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. It would be hard to find another prophecy where the christian and jewish interpretations let alone what scholars say about it are so incompatible. But if its inclusion in the canon had depended on its hebrew form, it would have been necessary to translate the whole into hebrew. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history. Since the book of daniel is written from the point of view of a court officer in babylon, using the babylonian system makes good sense.
The later chapters consist of an account of visions granted by god to daniel. Belshazzar and his nobles blasphemously drink from sacred jewish temple vessels, offering praise to inanimate gods, until a hand mysteriously appears. Porphyry, an intelligent man, produced a detailed verse by verse study of the book of daniel in support of his argument for a second century date in volume 12 of his 15 volume work against the christians which survives in part in jeromes 5th century commentary on daniel wilken, 1984. Daniel 9 is one of the most difficult and controversial prophecies in the tenach. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a and daniel b. As we go through the book we will be refreshed in our understanding that god has inspired his word including the book of daniel. For each story about daniel and his friends, it fills in the historical background and develops spiritual applications. Chanukah, daniel 11 and the rabbis limited knowledge of. Additionally, a large proportion of the book is written in aramaic rather than the traditional hebrew adding to the complexity of these biblical texts. The last six chapters are filled with apocalyptic visions that. For each story about daniel and his friends, it fills in the historical background and. While still a young man, daniel travelled to babylon with a group of young israelite nobles, men of promise whom the conquering power felt could be of use in service daniel 1.
Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a jewish exile from israel. The book of daniel begins with the disaster that has finally ended the jewish kingdom. The book of daniel is filled with messianic illusions and calculations that even left daniel pondering their meanings. Book of daniel chapter 8 bible study declaring the end.
An examination of the best commentaries can be helpful in sorting through the issues. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book. The lack of consensus presents a challenge for the reader, but it is not necessarily an insurmountable one. The anchor bible series offers new, book by book translations of the old and new testament and the apocrypha, with commentary. Daniel s success at court naturally excited the envy and ill will of the babylonians, who gathered in a mob and threatened the king and his house if he did not deliver daniel to them. Jews for judaism daniel 9 a true biblical interpretation.
Doughty southside christian church june 2015 introduction. The first six chapters contain accounts of faith that inspire both young and old b. It is important to note that king cyrus issued this decree exactly 70 years after nebuchadnezzar exiled the jewish people to babylon. Daniel and the origins of jewish biblical interpretation jstor. In fact, there are two huge reasons you should be using a good commentary when studying daniel. Much of the book is even written in aramaic, the language that was spoken in babylonia during the seventy years of exile following the destruction of the first beit hamikdash the book opens with the exile of daniel and his contemporaries from the holy land to babylonia. In any case the linguistic diversity in parts of this book is no reason for assuming two sources for it, as meinhold does in his commentary p. Daniel is one of the few ot books that can be given a fairly firm date. The book of daniel was compiled in the second century b. While the first chapters of daniel have a more gentile orientation and flavor, chapter 8 turns to a more jewish emphasis. A study of the book of daniel gene taylor1preface the study of any of the old testament prophets is a worthwhile endeavor. It is generally accepted that the book of daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the jewish community in babylon and mesopotamia in the persian and early hellenistic periods 5th to 3rd centuries bc, expanded by the visions of chapters 712 in the maccabean era mid2nd century bc. Much of this section chapters 26 is composed in aramaic.
Translations into aramaic and english, and some universally accepted jewish commentaries with notes on their method of approach and modern translations into. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with. Chapters 16 recount tales involving daniel and his jewish colleagues in the court of the chaldean monarchs during the babylonian captivity. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. Study the bible online using commentary on daniel and more.
A commentary on the book of daniel by cooper abrams. The book of daniel has been the object of unbelieving criticism for ages. An interesting point regarding this prophecy is that it appears to have been delivered orally. It is one of the additions to daniel, considered apocryphal by protestants. Jewish holidays video audio classes news kabbalah online the jewish woman jewish kids. The book of daniel, typological exegesis, jubilee, jewish. C as we have it, it is written partly in hebrew and partly in aramaic. David stern, a messianic jew living in jerusalem, speaks to these and other issues in the jewish new testament commentary. In the period of the classical midrash rabbinic homiletical interpretation of bible during the 2nd to 7th centuries, the sages wrote midrashim plural to connect the various biblical texts to each other, to the life of sanctification prescribed by halachah jewish law, and to their own contemporary experiences. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans.
Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. In this companion volume to his widely read and highly acclaimed jewish new testament, he offers an exciting and original way of understanding the new testament from a jewish point of view. Daniel a commentary will provide you with greater insight and understanding into the old testament book of daniel. The first chapter is written in hebrew, in style closely allied to the hebrew used in the book of ezekiel.
The first part contains stories about daniel, a jewish exile in the babylonian captivity, and his companions. He said that the book of daniel was written not by the man whom it is named after, but by someone who lived in judaea at the time of antiochus epiphanes. Modern bible scholars trace the birth of apocalyptic literature to its chapters. Unlike the preceding dreams and visions in the book of daniel, which contained images that needed to be interpreted, this vision simply gave daniel the words regarding what would happen to the jewish people from this time forward daniel 10. The process and the product of the canonization of the bible became the basis for a varied tradition of interpretation. Much of the book is even written in aramaic, the language that was spoken in babylonia during the seventy years of exile following the destruction of the first beit hamikdash. Read daniel commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Entry for daniel the 1901 jewish encyclopedia one of 8 bible encyclopedias freely available, this encyclopedia is a descriptive record of the history, religion and customs of the jewish people hi. If youre going to study or teach from the book of daniel, you need to be prepared to interpret some challenging passages. Di lella, professor of old testament, and the late louis f. And like ezekiel, the difficult nature of these prophecies has resulted in a wide variety of conflicting interpretations. In this chapter, two of those kingdoms are discussed in more detail.
The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. The book of daniel hadavar messianic ministrieshadavar. The book of daniel is no exception for it provides a wealth of information to those who would diligently consider it and its teachings. The following outline is provided by collins in his commentary on daniel. In the form in which we have it perhaps without the additions of 12. A commentary on the book of daniel southside christian. Daniels steadfastness to truth had no latitude and his faithfulness to god no longitude. The book of daniel cambridge bible commentaries on the. Jerome specifically identified the four kingdoms of daniel 2 in this way. The book of daniel covers daniel s age from 19 to 92. Whether daniel was still in public office, we do not know for sure, yet daniel 1. Old jewish commentators read it as the future god planned for israel. You can find the best commentary on daniel for you using the tools on the right side. Porphyrius designates the book of daniel as the work of a jew of the 2nd century bc.
Daniel is the story of the people of israel in exile, longing to return to the land of israel. Daniel overview james burton coffman commentaries on the. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book divisions and contents. Thus, daniel 8 begins a new division of the book of daniel. Lecture rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and the. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient.
The commentary of saadia gaon is the first serious example of rabbinical reading and displays the multidimensional role of the book of daniel. The book of tanach describing the experiences of daniel and his friends hananiah. Feb 10, 2015 lecture by rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and the nature of biblical truth given 7pm 9pm on saturday january 17, 2015 at the lanier theological library chapel in houston, texas. Daniel explained a commentary on the book of daniel overview. The book of daniel is written in two languages, in the hebrew and in the aramaic, the language of chaldea. Introduction to daniel bible exposition commentary. The prophet daniel lived in the sixth century before the birth of jesus. However, this insight is heavily biased toward historical and social considerations, with scant emphasis on broad themes, exegesis, or what the text really means. This commentary is based upon my personal devotional notes and reflections on the book of daniel. Witness faith and visions come to pass in the book of. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. This remarkable piece of scripture has encouraged the faithful for centuries, giving us a glimpse to future events that already came to pass and and are yet to come. Daniel boiled pitch, fat, and hair together and gave lumps of it to the dragon, which thereupon burst.