The book of daniel authorship

July 8, 2016 bill pratt leave a comment traditional scholarship holds that daniel was written in the sixth century bc and is historically reliable, but many modern biblical scholars hold that daniel was written in the second century bc and is pious fiction. One of the main reasons why daniel is regarded as being itten late is the presupposition that predictive. If this is taken at face value, then baruchs borrowing from daniel would support an early date for daniels authorship. The discovery of the dead sea scrolls has provided further archaeological evidence of daniel s authorship. The book of daniel the smart guide to the bible series thomas nelson, richards, larry on. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. It is one of the additions to daniel, considered apocryphal by protestants. Jesus mentions daniel as the author as well matthew 24. Now all four volumes published together in one book. Dean of online studies, tyndale theological seminary. Critics split authorship or latedate the book in order to avoid the supernatural content of second isaiah.

The first six chapters are chiefly historical, and the remainder prophetical. While the book of daniel claims to be written roughly around 530 bc, critics of the ot claim that it was written in 167 bc, during the maccabean era. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. Outside of the pentateuch, no book of the ot has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the book of daniel. Since this name had been forgotten by the time of herodotus c. The author s it would be impossible to enumerate and identify every writer who contributed to the book of daniel. List of books and articles about book of daniel online. It is a book about some of the beautiful and terrible feelings of childhood. The first six chapters are the history section, telling of a jew named daniel of royal descent, who was taken captive along with the rest of the people from the city of jerusalem. Like daniel, the perspective put forth by the authors of baruch suggests that it was written during the babylonian captivity. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that daniel was written in 165 bce. Daniel is a son of david mentioned at 1 chronicles 3. At the bare minimum of historical possibility we would have two authors.

The book of daniel is a very important one, and it has therefore been the object of special attack by satan in the same way that the book of isaiah has been. We will soon find out, but first lets see what happens to daniel. From the book, they have derived beliefs concerning the end of the world and battle of armageddon. Naturalists use 165 bce as the date of authorship for the book of daniel. And its background was what was known as the antiochan persecution. For centuries, they had looked forward to a reign of justice and righteousness on earth. The book of tanach describing the experiences of daniel and his friends hananiah, mishael, and azariah in the babylonian and persian royal courts, as well as several of daniel. First, the book claims to be written by daniel dan. It contains the prophecy of the arrival of the son of man and other predictions. The historicity of daniel is found in his contemporary ezekiel, who speaks of him several times. Even while daniel is speaking, the medes and the persians have begun to attack babylon. There are two basic views concerning the authorship of the book of daniel.

Even if we use 165 bce as the date of authoring daniel based on naturalist bias, daniels 70weeks prophecy contains a very accurate forth telling of the christian faith. In the form in which we have it perhaps without the additions of 12. The first half of the book has stories about daniel. The date for writing the book of daniel must be pushed back to match the text and linguistic style of the 5th century bce. Daniel s aramaic is closer to eastern aramaic rather than western aramaic much like that which is found in the elephantine papyri fifthcentury b. The book of daniel contains some of the most beloved stories as well as some of the most hotly contested, disputed prophecies in all of scripture. Oct 16, 2018 the book of daniel, according to its own testimony, is the record of the life and prophetic revelations given to daniel, a captive jew carried off to babylon after the first conquest of jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar in 605 b. Third, ezekiela contemporary prophetbelieved in a historical daniel. Naturalists views for dating the book of daniel are based on false assumptions about prophecy. The second half of the book names as author a certain daniel who, according to chapter 1, was exiled to babylon. The book of daniel records the actions, prophecies, and visions of the prophet daniel. The book of daniel, according to its own testimony, is the record of the life and prophetic revelations given to daniel, a captive jew carried off to babylon after the first conquest of jerusalem by nebuchadnezzar in 605 b. All biographical details about daniel in the book are taken at face value.

The authorship of the book of daniel patmos papers. That daniel is the author of this book has been received both by the jews and the christian church throughout the centuries. Doctorows 1971 novel the book of daniel is both a fictionalization of the then controversial execution of julius and ethel rosenberg as atom bomb spies for the soviet union in the cold war and anticommunist hysteria in the usa of the early 1950s and the mccarthy era, as well as an intriguing piece of fiction in its own right, a novel about a young man and his struggle to come to terms. Daniel 5 the writing on the wall king bible gateway. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. It is particularly important to conservative christians because of its apocalyptic content.

One of the arguments put forth which seems to indicate a late date second century bc for daniel is its place in the canon. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem. The authorship and date of daniel are two of the more contested issues in the field of. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with. Peter kirby surveys scholars writing on the book of daniel. This book is definitely worth the buy if you are interested in studying the book of daniel. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. Daniel the book of daniel is another book of the old testament that documents the various trials that members of the jewish faith are forced to endure at the hands of nonbelievers, this time focusing on the titular individual. The traditional jewish and christian identification of the author of the book of daniel is, of course, daniel himself. Since we can verify daniel s prophetic ideas came true, then daniel s words appear to come from outside timespace.

Originally published as four separate volumes, in answer to critics who allege that daniel is not inspired word of god but simply an inspiring work, criswell was asked by pat zondervan to publish a work based upon his expository sermons on the book of daniel. Jesus own prediction of the fall of jerusalem is explicitly described as. It is about the nature of guilt and innocence, and about the relations of people to nations. The record of events extends to the third year of cyrus, 536 b. The book of daniel presents a collection of popular stories about daniel, a loyal jew, and the record of visions granted daniel, extolled for his upright character, is presented as a model for the persecuted community. The author does i finally managed to finish this book before the end of the year. Feb 16, 2017 just because daniel was written late, that doesnt mean daniel couldnt have existed. Over against this timehonoured position which ascribes to daniel the authorship of the book which bears his name, and admits 570536 b. Waltke writes, if then the second and third kingdoms refer to medopersia and greece respectively, the fourth kingdom must be rome. Intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. The author of the book of daniel tells us a lot about himself. The testimony of jesus is that this book was written by daniel, the prophet. Jan 02, 2020 daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. This summary of the book of daniel provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of daniel.

Over against this timehonored position which ascribes to daniel the authorship of the book which bears his name, and admits 570536 b. The book of daniel portrays him as the babylonian king in the first year of whose reign daniel has his dream of the four great beasts which come up out of the sea. Thirdly, the late date theory assumes that christ is a liar, who attested to daniels authorship of the book, and the entire biblical testimony that mentions daniel over 90 times is fully discredited. The book of daniel identifies the prophet daniel as its author daniel 9. In the hebrew bible, and in most recent protestant versions, the book of daniel is limited to its protocanonical portions. Daniel 5 new international version niv the writing on the wall. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. Daniel is composed partly in the vernacular aramaic chaldee and partly in the sacred hebrew.

It is a book in the writings section of hebrew scriptures called the old testament by christians. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. In this case, even those who contend for a maccabean date of authorship must admit true prediction in the book of daniel for the roman empire did not appear in israels history until 63 b. Authorship of daniel first, the book claims to be written by daniel dan. It is no accident that the three most attacked books of the bible are also the most significant gen.

Therefore, it isnt as though anyone has ever found the book of isaiah broken into two or three parts. Just because daniel was written late, that doesnt mean daniel couldnt have existed. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon. The book of daniel was likely written between 540 and 530 b. The book of daniel is the chief example of apocalyptic writing in the old testament, a form of writing that came into use largely in response to the disappointments that were experienced by the hebrews. Todays lesson is found in the old testament book of daniel. Available online at and see under the option for daniel studies. 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. The book of daniel the smart guide to the bible series. We know quite a lot about how the book of daniel came to be written. If we deny daniels authorship, then this places us in the uncomfortable position of calling this author. It is commonly known that if the foundation is faulty, the building will soon fall.

Would people living in 165 bce accept daniel as a prophet if daniel was written at that time. Is this sole writer the prophet daniel who composed the work during the exile 586536 b. In the septuagint, the vulgate, and many other ancient and modern translations of the bible, it comprises both its proto and its deuterocanonical parts, both of which have an equal right to be considered as inspired, and to be included in a treatment of the book of daniel. Critics on daniel placement in canon jesus ben sirach historical issues linguistic issues indications of early date the 4 kingdoms issue video series. Such a view of course denies the power of god to reveal what he has predetermined. Sep 09, 2018 this attack is an attack on gods personal nature and attributes, such as omniscience, omnipotence, and foreknowledge. The writer of this chapter is nebuchadnezzar himself. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. 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. In addition, some pseudo daniel compositions have emerged from authors who wished to imitate daniel, 32 along with imaginary compositions partially based on daniel. There is uncertainty as to when the story may have taken place, but most scholars contend that its stories occurred in the second century bce.

The book of daniel, also called the prophecy 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. Part of it is composed of puzzling apocalyptic imagery, while other parts share with us some of the most inspiring stories in all scripture. It is a book about the nature of left politics in this countryits sacrificial rites, its peculiar cruelties, its humility, its bitterness. Once it is admitted that the book of daniel is the work of one single author, there naturally arises the important question. Conservative scholars generally hold that the daniel who figures in the narrative wrote the book that bears his name. Daniel is one of the few ot books that can be given a fairly firm date.

As with the other gospels, no mss which contain johns gospel 1 affirm authorship by anyone other than john. The book implies that daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9. The book of daniel is loaded with references and criticism of capitalism, socialism, mccarthyism, society, religion, and humankind even disneyland got its fair share. The book of daniel, one of the volumes of the bible, is found in the section of scriptures. The unknown author may have drawn inspiration from ugaritic and phoenician. Who the author of the book of daniel and when it was written is still being debated. Daniel is in fact josephus primary source of history in book 10 of his antiquities, and indeed many jewish authors at the time believed daniel to have predicted the rise of the roman empire e. The prophet daniel is one of four major prophets in hebrew scripture, along with isaiah, jeremiah, and ezekiel. Deal, bakers pictorial introduction to the bible, p. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic in scope. In the light of the foregoing evidence it would appear that it is both unnecessary and undesirable for the authorship of the book of daniel to be assigned to any other place and time than the babylonia of the 6th cent. 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. Who wrote the book of daniel biblical hermeneutics stack exchange.

Jewish prophet and statesman during the babylonian captivity of the jews. Fifth, the author of 1 maccabees believed daniel was a historical person. Third, socalled first isaiah contains fulfilled predictions. The book of daniel in the hebrew scriptures old testament. This website is issuing warnings about the devastating damage caused to our societies by those promoting secular teachings and standards that are contrary to biblical values. If you would suggest to this author that perhaps it was written as a prophecy, he would most likely provide a condescending smile. The author of the book of daniel seems to place the rule of cyrus after that of darius, again an inexplicable error for an author contemporary with these events. The book of daniel offers compelling narratives, hopeful prophecy, and startling eschatology. The book of daniel, particularly, is the subject of many such sensational writers on prophecy. Organizing the content around a few themes assists in reading all genres of the text with unity and harmony, appreciating the interwoven emphases found within this book.

I doubt the author of the book just made up the person. However, all the stories of the book of daniel relate directly to the persecution under antiochus. I sincerely doubt that the author of the introduction you read approached the book of daniel with an open mind. Daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar. The handwriting on the wall comes true that very night. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b.

The bible and its tenets are no longer held up as the. Daniel the prophet book entitled florilegium or commentary. The book of daniel is an apocalyptic of the old testament. Eight copies of daniel were found at the qumran community with one copy dated to 125 bce using carbon dating techniques. Quotation given in full when space permits corresponding quotations from daniel. Against the first of these arguments, as will appear, we have nothing to say, but the second of them, though valid as against divisions of the book hitherto proposed, has. The book is written in a mixture of hebrew and aramaic. 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. In many ways, daniel is a book of paradox, offering very straightforward narratives revealing gods greatness and. The book of daniel does not contain an attribution or claim to authorship, but is nevertheless traditionally attributed to daniel, living during the entire period of the babylonian exile. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. Even though i disagree with collins view of the date of writing and authorship, i still. Daniel intro to daniel biblica the international bible society.