Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel

529 Pages·1994·47.49 MB·English

by  John J. Collins

Hermeneia
-A Critical
and Historical
Commentary
on the Bible
Old Testament Editorial Board
Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University. chairman
Klaus Baltzer. University of Munich
Paul D. Hanson. Harvard University
S. Dean McBride,Jr., Union Theological Seminary in Virginia
Peter Machinist, Harvard University
Susan Niditch. Amherst College
Christopher R. Seitz, Yale University
Roland E. Murphy. O. Carm., emeritus
New Testament Editorial Board
Helmut Koester. Harvard University, chairman
Harold W. Attridge, University of Notre Dame
Adela Yarbro Collins, University of Chicago
EldonJay Epp, Case Western Reserve University
James M. Robinson, Claremont Graduate School
Daniel
A Commentary on the
Book of Daniel
by John]. Collins
with an essay.
"The Influence of Daniel on the
New Testament,"
by Adela Yarbro Collins
Edited by
Frank Moore Cross
Fortress
Press Minneapolis
Daniel
A commentary on the Book of Daniel
Copyright @) 1993 Augsburg Fortress
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in
critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be
reproduced in any manner without prior written
permission from the publisher. Write to; Permissions,
Augsburg Fortress, 426 S. Fifth St., Box 1209,
Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard
Version ofthe Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division
of Christian Education of the National Council of the
Churches of Christ in the USA, are used by
permission.
Cover and interior design by Kenneth Hiebert
Production management by Publishers' WorkGroup
Typesetting by Polebridge Press
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Collins,johnjoseph, 1946-
Daniel: a commentary on the book of Daniell by
john]. Collins; with an essay "The influence of
Daniel on the New Testament,· by Adela Yarbro
Collins; edited by Frank Moore Cross.
p. cm. - (Hermeneia-a critical and historical
commentary on the Bible)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8006-6040-4 (alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. Daniel-Commentaries.
2. Apocalyptic literature-History and criticism.
3. Bible. N.T.-Relation to the Old Testament.
1. Cross, Frank Moore. II. Collins, Adela Yarbro.
Influence of Daniel on the New Testament. 1993.
III. Title. IV. Series.
BS 1555.3.C64 1993
224'.5077-dc20 93-14731
CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for
@I'M
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A. AF 1-6040
97 96 95 94 93 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
THIS VOLUME
IS DEDICATED TO OUR
COLLEAGUES
IN THE DEPARTMENT
OF THEOLOGY,
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME,
IN THE YEARS 1985-1991
Contents Foreword to Hermeneia xiii
Daniel
Preface xv
Reference Codes XVII
1. Abbreviations xvii
2. Short Titles of Commentaries xxi
Editor's Note xxxvi
Introduction 1. General Introduction to the Book of
Daniel 1
I.TheText 2
The Hebrew and Aramaic Text 2
The Greek Versions 3
The Old Greek 4
Translation and Interpretation 7
Theodotion 9
Other Versions II
2. Language 12
The Aramaic of Daniel 13
Foreign Words 18
The Hebrew of Daniel 20
The Problem of the Two Languages 24
3. Composition 24
The Authenticity of the Predictions 25
Literary-Critical Considerations 26
Evidence for a Developmental
Theory 29
Problems of Historical Reference 29
An Aramaic Book? 33
The Formation of the Tales 35
The Hebrew-Aramaic Book 37
Conclusion 38
4. The Genre and Setting of the Tales 38
Daniel and Joseph 39
Daniel and Esther 40
The Story of Al;tikar 41
The Genre ofthe Tales 42
Variation among the Tales 45
The Setting of the Tales 47
The Purpose of the Tales 51
5. The Genre of the Visions 52
Daniel and the Prophets 52
The Genre in Critical Scholarship 52
The Genre and Constituent Forms 54
Pseudonymity 56
An Early Apocalypse 58
The Function of the Visions 60
6. The Setting of the Visions 61
The Context of the Persecution 62
The Evidence of Daniel 65
vii
The MaSkilim 66
The I;Hisidim 67
Wisdom and Cult 69
The Origins of Apocalypticism '70
II. The History of Interpretation 72
A. The Jewish Tradition 72
The Earliest Al1usions 72
Daniel and Qumran 72
The Son of Man 79
Fourth Ezra 82
Josephus 84
Later Jewish Tradition 86
B. The Christian Tradition 90
1. The Influence of Daniel on the New
Testament,
by Adela Yarbro Collins 90
a. The Son Qf Man Tradition 90
Daniel 7 and Jesus 92
The Son of Man in the Synoptic
Sayings Source 96
The Gospel of Mark 9'7
The Gospel of Matthew 98
Luke-Acts 99
The Gospel ofJ ohn 100
The Book of Revelation 102
Conclusion 105
h. Daniel and the New Testament,
apart from the Son of Man
Tradition 105
Daniel 2 105
Daniel 3 106
Daniel 4 107
Daniel '7 and 8 107
Daniel 9 109
Daniel 12 110
Summary 112
2. Postbiblical Developments 112
The Patristic Period 112
The Medieval Period 11'7
The Reformation Period 119
The Rise of Historical Criticism 121
Contemporary Issues 122
viii