Book Of Daniel And The Apocryphal Daniel Literature (Studia in Veteris Testamenti Pseudepigrapha)

568 Pages·2005·4.2 MB·English

by  Lorenzo DiTommaso

The Book of Daniel and the
Apocryphal Daniel Literature
Studia in Veteris
Testamenti Pseudepigrapha
Series Editors
Michael Knibb, Henk Jan de Jonge,
Jean-Claude Haelewyck, Johannes Tromp
Ediderunt
VOLUME 20
The Book of Daniel and the
Apocryphal Daniel Literature
by
Lorenzo DiTommaso
BRILL
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2005
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DiTommaso, Lorenzo.
The book of Daniel and the apocryphal Daniel literature/by Lorenzo DiTommaso.
p. cm. — (Studia in Veteris Testamenti pseudepigrapha, ISSN 0169-8125;v.20)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 90-04-14412-9 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Daniel—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. O.T. Apocrypha.
History of Susanna—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 3. Bible. O.T. Apocrypha. Bel
and the Dragon—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 4. Daniel-Diegese—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 5. Syriac apocalypse of Daniel—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
I. Title. II. Series.
BS1700.S78 vol. 20
[BS1555.52]
229’.91 s—dc22
[224’.506] 2005042079
ISSN 0169-8125
ISBN 90 04 14412 9
© Copyright 2005 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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CONTENTS
Tables .......................................................................................... xi
Preface ........................................................................................ xiii
Acknowledgments ........................................................................ xv
Abbreviations .............................................................................. xvii
Chapter One: The Apocryphal Daniel Literature: Parameters of
the Study ...................................................................................... 1
1. The Apocryphal Daniel Literature .................................. 1
2. The Structure and Purposes of This Study .................... 14
Appendix: Notes on Previous Research and
Approaches .................................................................... 20
Chapter Two: The Story of Daniel in the Book of Daniel and
in the Daniel Legenda ................................................................ 39
1. The Story of Daniel and the Book of Daniel ................ 39
2. The Young Daniel ............................................................ 57
3. Chronology and the Kings of Babylon, Media,
and Persia .......................................................................... 67
4. The Last Days, Death, and Burial of Daniel ................ 76
5. Observations and Conclusions .......................................... 80
Chapter Three: The Apocryphal Daniel Apocalypses ...................... 87
1. Introduction ........................................................................ 87
2. The Apocryphal Daniel Apocalypses .............................. 97
2.1. The Vision of Daniel on the Island of Cyprus ................ 97
2.2. The Vision of Daniel on the Blond Race ........................ 99
2.3. The Seventh Vision of Daniel ........................................ 100
Excursus I: History, Prophecy, and the
Dating of Apocalyptica ........................................ 104
2.4. The Vision of the Young Daniel .................................... 108
2.5. The Revelation of Daniel the Prophet in the Land of
Persia and Elam .......................................................... 113
2.6. The Visions of Daniel and Other Holy Men .................. 123
2.7. The Oracle of the Prophet Daniel on Byzantium .............. 125
2.8. The Proclamation of the Prophet Daniel .......................... 126
vi contents
2.9. The Vision of Daniel on the Future of the
Seven-Hilled City ........................................................ 126
2.10. Diegesis Danielis ............................................................ 130
2.11. The Vision and Revelation of the Prophet Daniel .......... 141
2.12. The Word of Daniel on the End of the World ............ 144
2.13. The Vision of the Prophet Daniel on the Emperors ........ 145
2.14. The History of Daniel (Qissa-yi Dàniyàl) .................. 151
2.15. Discourses of John Chrysostom Concerning the
Vision of Daniel .......................................................... 155
2.16. The Vision of Daniel On the Last Times and the
End of the World ........................................................ 158
2.17. The Vision of Daniel by the River Kebar ...................... 162
2.18. The Apocalypse of Daniel on the Events after
al-Mu'tamid ................................................................ 171
Excursus II: The Figure of Daniel and the
Arabic Muslim Daniel Apocalypses ............................ 172
2.19. The Vision of Daniel as Related to Ezra, His Pupil .... 174
2.20. The Vision of Daniel on the Island of Crete .................. 178
2.21. The Fourteenth Vision of Daniel .................................... 179
2.22. Nevu’ot Daniel ............................................................ 184
2.23. The Last Vision of the Prophet Daniel .......................... 186
2.24. The Book of Daniel (Dàniyàl-nàma) .......................... 193
3. The Apocryphal Daniel Apocalypses and the
Genre “Apocalypse” .......................................................... 195
Excursus III: Dead Sea 4Q “Pseudo-Daniel” ................ 206
4. The Book of Daniel and the Apocryphal Daniel
Apocalypses ........................................................................ 209
5. A Greek Apocryphal “Apocalypse of Daniel”? .............. 224
Chapter Four: The Daniel Prognostica ............................................ 231
1. Ancient and Mediaeval Prognostica ................................ 231
2. Somniale Danielis .................................................................. 236
3. Lunationes Danielis ................................................................ 259
Excursus I: The Figure of Daniel in Complex
Lunations and Zodiacal Lunaries ................................ 277
4. Praedictiones Danielis ............................................................ 279
5. Daniel Prognostica from the East .................................... 283
6. General Observations ........................................................ 298
Chapter Five: General Observations and Conclusions ...................... 308
contents vii
Chapter Six: The Apocryphal Daniel Literature: Inventory
and Bibliography ........................................................................ 316
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Aramaic ............................ 318
i. The Prayer of Nabonidus ............................................ 318
ii. and iii. Pseudo-Daniela–c .......................................... 322
iv. The “Son of God” Text ............................................ 325
v. Aramaic-Hebrew Daniel-Poem [see Hebrew section].... 330
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved Primarily in Greek ................ 331
A. Greek Daniel Apocrypha in Antiquity and the
Early Mediaeval Period .................................................... 331
i., ii., and iii. The Greek Additions to the MT
Book of Daniel ...................................................... 331
i. The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three
Young Men ................................................................ 334
ii. Bel and the Serpent .................................................... 335
iii. Susanna .................................................................... 335
Excursus: Josephus’ Portrait of Daniel ................ 338
iv. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets .......... 339
v. Praedictiones Danielis .................................................. 345
v bis. Somniale Danielis and Lunationes Danielis
[see Latin section] .................................................... 347
B. Greek Daniel Apocalypses of the Byzantine Period ...... 347
vi. The Vision of Daniel on the Island of Cyprus ............ 348
vii. The Vision of Daniel on the Blond Race .................... 351
viii. The Visions of Daniel and Other Holy Men ................ 351
ix. The Oracle of the Prophet Daniel of Byzantium .......... 353
x. The Proclamation of the Prophet Daniel ...................... 353
xi. The Vision of Daniel on the Future of the
Seven-Hilled City ........................................................ 354
xii. Diegesis Danielis ........................................................ 356
xiii. The Vision and Revelation of the Prophet Daniel
[Greek and Slavonic] ............................................ 359
xiv. The Word of Daniel on the End of the World ............ 360
xv. Discourses of John Chrysostom Concerning the
Vision of Daniel ........................................................ 362
xvi. The Vision of Daniel On the Last Times and the
End of the World ...................................................... 364
xvii. The Vision of Daniel on the Island of Crete ................ 365
xviii. The Last Vision of the Prophet Daniel [Greek and
Slavonic] .................................................................. 366
viii contents
Excursus: Notes on and Manuscripts of
Unidentified Greek Daniel Apocalypses .................... 374
Excursus: Sundry Greek Daniel Apocrypha ................ 376
Excursus: Daniel Legenda Preserved in the
Palaea Historica .............................................................. 377
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved Primarily in Latin ................ 378
i. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets [see
Greek section] .................................................................. 378
ii. Somniale Danielis [Greek, Latin, etc.] ................................ 378
Excursus: Cy commence le livre des expositions et
significacions des songes .................................................... 402
iii. Lunationes Danielis [Greek, Latin, etc.] ............................ 402
iv. Ludus Danielis and Historia de Daniel representanda .......... 446
Excursus: Sundry Latin Daniel Apocrypha .................. 448
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Syriac ................................ 451
i. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets [see
Greek section] .................................................................. 451
ii. The Vision of the Young Daniel .......................................... 451
iii. The Revelation of Daniel the Prophet in the Land of
Persia and Elam ................................................................ 452
iv. Mal˙amat Dàniyàl [see Arabic section] .......................... 453
v. Daniel Geomantic Texts [see Persian section] ............ 453
Excursus: Sundry Syriac Daniel Apocrypha ................ 453
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved Primarily in Ethiopic ............ 455
i. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets [see
Greek section] .................................................................. 455
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved Primarily in Coptic .............. 456
i. Somniale Danielis [see Latin section] ................................ 456
ii. The Fourteenth Vision of Daniel [Coptic and Arabic] ...... 456
Excursus: Sundry Coptic Daniel Apocrypha ................ 458
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Hebrew .............................. 459
i. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets [see
Greek section] .................................................................. 459
ii. Somniale Danielis [see Latin section] ................................ 459
iii. Aramaic-Hebrew Daniel-Poem .............................................. 459
iv. Vision of Daniel by the River Kebar .................................... 459
v. Nevu’ot Daniel .................................................................... 461
vi. The Daniel-Tales in the Book of Yosippon ...................... 461
vii. Mal˙amat Dàniyàl [see Arabic section] .......................... 462
Excursus: The Additional Greek Material in the
Post-Biblical Jewish Tradition .................................... 462
contents ix
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Persian .............................. 463
i. Mal˙amat Dàniyàl [see Arabic section] .......................... 463
ii. The History of Daniel (Qissa-yi Dàniyàl) ........................ 463
iii. The Book of Daniel (Dàniyàl-nàma) ................................ 466
Excursus: Daniel Geomantic Texts in the
Persian, Arabic, Syriac, Armenian, and
Turkish Traditions ...................................................... 468
Excursus: Sundry Persian Daniel Apocrypha .............. 470
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Arabic ................................ 471
i. The Vita Danielis in the Lives of the Prophets [see
Greek section] ................................................................ 471
ii. The Fourteenth Vision of Daniel [see Coptic section] ...... 471
iii. The Apocalypse of Daniel on the Events after al-Mu'tamid .... 471
iv. The Vision of Daniel as Related to Ezra, His Pupil .......... 471
v. Mal˙amat Dàniyàl [Syriac, Arabic, etc.] ........................ 472
vi. The Book of Principles of Daniel the Sage (Kitab al-ußûl
li-Dâniyâl al-˙akîm) or The Principles of Interpretation
[of Dreams] of Daniel (Usul al-Ta’bir li-Dâniyâl) .............. 482
vii. Kitab al-Jafar .................................................................... 482
viii. Qur"at Dâniyâl .................................................................. 483
ix. Daniel Geomantic Texs [see Persian section] ............ 483
Excursus: Sundry Arabic Daniel Apocrypha .............. 483
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Turkish .............................. 485
i. Daniel Geomantic Texts [see Persian section] ............ 485
Excursus: Sundry Turkish Daniel Apocrypha ............ 485
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Old and Middle English .... 486
i. Somniale Danielis [see Latin section] .............................. 486
ii. The Junius Daniel ............................................................ 486
iii. The Exeter Azarias ........................................................ 491
Excursus: The Feast of Belshazzar in the Middle
English Poem Cleanness .............................................. 492
Excursus: Sundry Old and Middle English Daniel
Apocrypha .................................................................. 493
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Irish .................................. 494
i. Somniale Danielis [see Latin section] .............................. 494
ii. The Mors Danielis in the Deaths of the Chief Prophets .... 494
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in Icelandic ............................ 495
i. Somniale Danielis [see Latin section] .............................. 495
Excursus: Rauäúlfs þáttr .................................................. 495
Daniel Apocrypha Preserved in the Mediaeval German
Tradition .............................................................................. 496