Daniel (biblical figure)
Daniel | |
---|---|
Prophet | |
Venerated in | |
Major shrine | Tomb of Daniel, Susa, Iran |
Feast | July 21: Roman Catholicism December 17: Greek Orthodoxy Tuesday after fourth Sunday of Pentecost: Armenian Apostolic Church |
Attributes | Often depicted in the den of the lions |
Tradition or genre | 6th century BCE |
Daniel (
Six cities claim the Tomb of Daniel, the most famous being that in Susa, in southern Iran, at a site known as Shush-e Daniyal.[6] He is not a prophet in Judaism,[7] but the rabbis reckoned him to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in piety and good deeds, firm in his adherence to the Law despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin, and in the first few centuries CE they wrote down the many legends that had grown up around his name.[8] He is considered a prophet in Christianity, and although he is not mentioned in the Quran, Muslim sources describe him as a prophet.
Background
Daniel's name means "God (El) is my judge".[9] While the best known Daniel is the hero of the Book of Daniel who interprets dreams and receives apocalyptic visions, the Bible also briefly mentions three other individuals of this name:
- The Book of Ezekiel (14:14, 14:20 and 28:3) refers to a legendary Daniel famed for wisdom and righteousness. In verse 14:14, Ezekiel says of the sinful land of Israel that "even if these three, Noah, Daniel and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness." In chapter 28, Ezekiel taunts the king of Tyre, asking rhetorically, "art thou wiser than Daniel?"[4] The author of the Book of Daniel appears to have taken this legendary figure, renowned for his wisdom, to serve as his central human character.[10]
- The Book of Ezra (8:2) mentions a priest named Daniel who went from Babylon to Jerusalem with Ezra.[4]
- The First Book of Chronicles (3:1) mentions a son of Davidcalled Daniel.
Daniel (Dn'il, or Danel) is also the name of a figure in the Aqhat legend from Ugarit.[4] (Ugarit was a Canaanite city destroyed around 1200 BCE – the tablet containing the story is dated c. 1360 BCE.)[11] This legendary Daniel is known for his righteousness and wisdom and a follower of the god El (hence his name), who made the god’s will known through dreams and visions.[12] It is unlikely that Ezekiel knew the far older Canaanite legend, but it seems reasonable to suppose that some connection exists between the two.[13] The authors of the tales in the first half of the Book of Daniel were likely also unaware of the Ugaritic Daniel and probably took the name of their hero from Ezekiel; the author of the visions in the second half in turn took his hero's name from the tales.[13]
Tales of Daniel
The Book of Daniel begins with an introduction telling how Daniel and his companions came to be in Babylon, followed by a set of tales set in the Babylonian and Persian courts in the late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, followed in turn by a set of visions in which Daniel sees the remote future of the world and of Israel.[14][15] The tales in chapters 1–6 can be dated to the 3rd or early 2nd centuries BCE;[16] it is generally accepted that these were expanded by the addition of the visions in chapters 8–12 between 167 and 164 BCE.[17]
In the third year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree that shelters all the world and of a heavenly figure who decrees that the tree will be destroyed; again, only Daniel can interpret the dream, which concerns the sovereignty of God over the kings of the earth. When Nebuchadnezzar's son Belshazzar uses consecrated vessels from the Jewish temple as serving vessels for his extravagant feast, a hand appears and writes a mysterious message on a wall, which only Daniel can interpret; it tells the king that his kingdom will be given to the Medes and Persians, because Belshazzar, unlike Nebuchadnezzar, has not acknowledged the sovereignty of the God of Daniel. The Medes and Persians overthrow Nebuchadnezzar and the new king, Darius the Mede, appoints Daniel to high authority. Jealous rivals attempt to destroy Daniel with an accusation that he worships God instead of the king, and Daniel is thrown into a den of lions, but an angel saves him, his accusers are destroyed, and Daniel is restored to his position.
In the third year of Darius, Daniel has a series of visions. In the first, four beasts come out of the sea, the last with ten horns, and an eleventh horn grows and achieves dominion over the Earth and the "Ancient of Days" (God) gives dominion to "one like a son of man". An angel interprets the vision. In the second, a ram with two horns is attacked by a goat with one horn; the one horn breaks and is replaced by four. A little horn arises and attacks the people of God and the temple, and Daniel is informed how long the little horn's dominion will endure. In the third, Daniel is troubled to read in holy scripture (the book is not named but appears to be Jeremiah) that Jerusalem would be desolate for 70 years. Daniel repents on behalf of the Jews and requests that Jerusalem and its people be restored. An angel refers to a period of 70 sevens (or weeks) of years. In the final vision, Daniel sees a period of history culminating in a struggle between the "king of the north" and the "king of the south" in which God's people suffer terribly; an angel explains that in the end the righteous will be vindicated and God's kingdom will be established on Earth.
Additional tales (Greek text)
The Greek text of Daniel contains three additional tales, two of which feature Daniel (the third is an expansion of the tale of the fiery furnace).
- The tale of Saducees, who, according to their opponents, were abusing their control of the courts.[18]
- Bel and the Dragon consists of two episodes. In the first Daniel exposes the deceptions of the heathen priests, who have been pretending that their idols eat and drink (in fact it is the priests who have been consuming the food set out for the false gods). In the second Daniel destroys a giant serpent that Cyrus believes to be a god; the Babylonians revolt, Cyrus imprisons Daniel without food, the prophet Habakkuk miraculously feeds him, and Cyrus repents.[18]
Death and tomb of Daniel
The last mention of Daniel in the Book of Daniel is in the third year of Cyrus (Daniel 10:1). Rabbinic sources suppose that he was still alive during the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus (better known as Artaxerxes – Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 15a, based on the Book of Esther 4, 5), but he was killed by Haman, the wicked prime minister of Ahasuerus (Targum Sheini on Esther, 4, 11).
The 1st century Jewish writer
Today six cities claim
Daniel in later tradition
Judaism
Daniel is not a prophet in Judaism: prophecy is reckoned to have ended with Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.[7] In the Hebrew Bible his book is not included under the Prophets (the Hebrew Bible has three sections, Torah, Prophets and Writings), but nevertheless the eight copies found among the Dead Sea Scrolls and the additional tales of the Greek text are a testament to Daniel's popularity in ancient times.[21]
The Jewish rabbis of the first millennium CE reckoned Daniel to be the most distinguished member of the Babylonian diaspora, unsurpassed in piety and good deeds, firm in his adherence to the Law despite being surrounded by enemies who sought his ruin, and in the first few centuries CE they wrote down the legends that had grown up around his name. His captivity was foretold by the prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah in these words, "they (Hezekiah's descendants) shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." This misfortune was turned to a blessing when Daniel and his three companions were able to show their mutilated bodies to Nebuchadnezzar and so prove their innocence of charges of leading an unchaste life.[8]
Daniel kept the welfare of Nebuchadnezzar in mind continually, and when the king was condemned by God to live as a beast for a certain period Daniel prayed that the period of punishment should be shortened, and his prayer was granted.[22] When Nebuchadnezzar was dying he wished to include Daniel among his heirs, but Daniel refused the honour, saying that he could not leave the inheritance of his forefathers for that of the uncircumcised.[23] Daniel also restored the sight of king Darius, who had wrongly thrown the pious Daniel into prison on false charges, upon which many converted to Judaism.[24]
Christianity
The
The
Islam
Daniel (
Daniel was a righteous man of princely lineage and lived about 620–538 B.C. He was carried off to Babylon in 605 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar, the Assyrian, but was still living when Assyria was overthrown by the Medes and Persians. In spite of the "captivity" of the Jews, Daniel enjoyed the highest offices of state at Babylon, but he was ever true to Jerusalem. His enemies (under the Persian monarch) got a penal law passed against any one who "asked a petition of any god or man for 30 days" except the Persian King. But Daniel continued true to Jerusalem. "His windows being open in his chambers towards Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime."
In
Baháʼí
Daniel is considered a minor prophet in the teachings of the Baháʼí Faith.[32] Some Baháʼí converts introduced the principle of reincarnation, specifically that of Daniel and John.[who?][33]
See also
- Apocalypse of Daniel
- Arioch, Captain of the guard
- List of names referring to El
- Persian Jews
Notes
References
- ^ Redditt 2008, pp. 181–82.
- ^ Sprinkle 2020, p. 6.
- ^ Tanner 2021, p. 39.
- ^ a b c d Collins 1999, p. 219.
- ^ Noegel & Wheeler 2002, p. 74.
- ^ a b c Gottheil & König 1906.
- ^ a b Noegel & Wheeler 2002, p. 76.
- ^ a b Ginzberg 1998, p. 326.
- ^ Redditt 2008, p. 180.
- ^ a b Seow 2003, p. 4.
- ^ Walton 1994, p. 49.
- ^ Seow 2003, pp. 3–4.
- ^ a b Collins 1999, p. 220.
- ^ Holman Bible Editorial Staff, Holman Concise Bible Dictionary, B&H Publishing Group, USA, 2011, p. 153
- ^ Wesselius 2002, p. 294.
- ^ Collins 1984, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Collins 1984, pp. 29–30.
- ^ a b Spencer 2002, p. 90.
- ^ a b Noegel & Wheeler 2002, p. 75.
- ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 350.
- ^ Stone 2011, p. 68.
- ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 334.
- ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 339.
- ^ Ginzberg 1998, p. 347.
- ^ "The Departure of the great prophet Daniel". Copticchurch.net. Archived from the original on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ Sergei Bulgakov, Manual for Church Servers, 2nd ed. (Kharkov, 1900) pp. 453–65. December 11–17: Sunday of the Holy Forefathers Translation: Archpriest Eugene D. Tarris
- ^ Bulgakov, Manual for Church Servers, pp. 461–62. December 18–24: Sunday before the Nativity of Christ of the Holy Fathers
- ^ Francis E. Gigot (1889). "Daniel". Catholic Encyclopedia on CD-ROM. New Advent.
- ^ "Today in History – December 17". Chi.lcms.org. Archived from the original on 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ Abdullah Yusuf Ali|The Holy Qur'an: Text, Translation and Commentary, Note.150
- ISBN 9780991430864.
- ^ May, Dann J (December 1993). The Baháʼí Principle of Religious Unity and the Challenge of Radical Pluralism. University of North Texas, Denton, Texas. p. 102.
- ^ From Iran East and West. vol. 2, pp. 127, 106. Juan R. I. Cole, Moojan Momen. 1984
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780802800206.
- Collins, John J. (1999). "Daniel". In Van Der Toorn, Karel; Becking, Bob; van der Horst, Pieter Willem (eds.). Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. ISBN 9780802824912.
- Coogan, Michael (2008). The Old Testament: A Very Short Introduction. ISBN 9780199719464.
- Day, John (1980). "The Daniel of Ugarit and Ezekiel and the Hero of the Book of Daniel". .
- Ginzberg, Louis (1998). The Legends of the Jews. Vol. 4. ISBN 9780801858932.
- Gottheil, Richard; König, Eduard (1906). "Daniel's Tomb". Jewish Encyclopedia.
- Miller, Stephen R. (1994). Daniel. ISBN 9780805401189.
- Noegel, Scott B.; Wheeler, Brannon M. (2002). Historical Dictionary of Prophets in Islam and Judaism. ISBN 9780810866102.
- Redditt, Paul L. (2008). Introduction to the Prophets. ISBN 9780802828965.
- Reid, Stephen Breck (2000). "Daniel, Book of". In Freedman, David Noel; Myers, Allen C. (eds.). Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. ISBN 9789053565032.
- ISBN 9780664256753.
- Spencer, Richard A. (2002). "Additions to Daniel". In Mills, Watson E.; Wilson, Richard F. (eds.). The Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. ISBN 9780865545106.
- Sprinkle, Joe M. (2020). Daniel: Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary. Lexham Press. ISBN 978-1-68359-424-6.
- Stone, Michael E. (2011). Ancient Judaism: New Visions and Views. ISBN 9780802866363.
- Tanner, J. Paul (2021). Daniel: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary. Lexham Press. ISBN 978-1-68359-309-6.
- Towner, Wayne Sibley (1984). Daniel. ISBN 9780664237561.
- Walton, John J. (1994). Ancient Israelite Literature in Its Cultural Context. ISBN 9780310365914.
- Wesselius, Jan-Wim (2002). "The Writing of Daniel". In Collins, John J.; Flint, Peter W.; VanEpps, Cameron (eds.). The Book of Daniel: Composition and Reception. ISBN 978-0391041288.
External links
- Charles, Robert Henry (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). pp. 804–808.
- Easton, Matthew George (1897). . Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons.