Book of Daniel

[[File:Susanna and the Elders (1610), Artemisia Gentileschi.jpg|thumb|right|165px|"Susanna and the Elders" by Artemisia Gentileschi (1610)]]
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'''Daniel''' is an [[Old Testament]] book about and supposedly by Daniel (an advisor to King {{wpl|Nebuchadnezzar II}} of the {{wpl|Neo-Babylonian Empire}}) who foretold the future. It combines six chapters about the court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of [[Babylon]], with a further six chapters of [[vague]] [[prophecy]]. There are also a few [[apocrypha]]l chapters which may or may not be present in your Bible. Academic scholars generally consider it to be historical fiction, meaning some actual events are described, but not always the way that they actually happened (i.e., [[truthiness]]).

Daniel is not technically a [[prophet]] in the [[Jewish]] sense, since he talked with [[angels]] and not [[God]], and since he spoke to future generations not his current generation. The last half of Daniel describes the [[List of predictions of the end of the world|destruction of the world]] and the coming of the [[Messiah]]. For [[Christians]], this carries important events that must pass before [[Jesus]] can come to the [[Earth]].

==Famous stories from the Book of Daniel==
* King Nebuchadnezzar throwing Shadrach, Mishach, and Abedniego into the fiery furnace where they survived by [[Prayer|praying]] to their God (the God of the Jews).
* Daniel ate nothing but vegetables for 10 days, and ended up in better health than the courtiers who ate royal food during that time&nbsp;— thus [[Anecdotal evidence|'proving']] the benefits of [[veganism]].
* "The Writing on the Wall", this saying comes directly from the story of king Belshazzar seeing writing appear on the wall that he cannot interpret but which Daniel explains tells of the destruction to come.
* The story of Susanna is canonical for [[Catholic]]s and [[Eastern Orthodox]] but not [[Protestant]]s. The beautiful, virtuous heroine is falsely accused of getting it on with a young man, but she is defended by someone named Daniel who disproves the allegations when her accusers disagree about under which tree she was having [[sex]]. The story, with its opportunity for painting a sexy lady in a Biblical context, is a popular subject in Western [[art]], from Artemisia Gentileschi to Thomas Hart Benton.
* "Bel and the Dragon" is another [[deuterocanonical]] tale, fine for Catholics but not Jews or Protestants, in which Daniel performs various clever tricks including making a [[dragon]] explode.
* God made Nebuchadnezzar eat grass like a cow ({{bible|Daniel|4|33}}).  Modern-day belief is that poor Nebuchadnezzar suffered from the (otherwise unheard of) [[psychological]] disorder {{wpl|boanthropy||,}} rather than anything that God had inflicted upon him.

==Prophecy==
Chapters 2 and 7-12 describe various visions involving a great image whose brightness was excellent ([[RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Daniel#Daniel_2:1|ch 2]]); four beasts from the sea ([[RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Daniel#Daniel_7:1|ch 7]]); a ram and a [[Unicorn|one-horned]] [[goat]] representing the Medes and [[Persian]]s and the [[Greeks]] ([[RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Daniel#Daniel_8:1|ch 8]]); a revision of [[Jeremiah]]'s prophecy that [[Jerusalem]] would be ruined for 70 years, which is upgraded by Gabriel to a massive 490 years ([[RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Daniel#Daniel_9:1|ch 9]]); and a war between Greece and Persia ([[RationalWiki:Annotated_Bible/Daniel#Daniel_10:1|ch 10-12]]). All of these have been widely studied by would-be prophets of doom attempting to predict the [[end of the world]]. It is claimed by some to able to prophesy to the day when that the messianic redeemer would appear and the execution of that figure.

Based on the prophecies, which run up to around 167 BCE, the book's composition is conventionally dated to between 167 and 164 BCE.<ref>{{wpa|Book of Daniel}}</ref>

===The prophecy found in Daniel 2===
The prophecy of the 'future' kingdoms in Daniel 2 is found in verses 31-41.  King Nebuchadnezzar has a vision in verses {{bible|Daniel|2|31|33}} of a 'great image' whose 'head was of fine '''gold''', his breast and his arms of '''silver''', his belly and his thighs of '''brass''', his legs of '''iron''', and his feet 'part of iron and part of clay'.
*The head of [[gold]] is explicitly identified as King Nebuchadnezzar. ({{bible|Daniel|2|37|38}}) 
*The 'breast and his arms of silver' is identified as an "inferior" kingdom to follow Nebuchadnezzar. ({{bible|Daniel|2|39}})
*The 'belly and his thighs of brass' is identified with 'a third kingdom which shall rule over all the earth.' ({{bible|Daniel|2|39}})
*The 'legs of [[iron]], his feet part of iron and part of clay' is identified with a 'fourth kingdom (that) shall be strong as iron' but 'the kingdom shall be divided.' ({{bible|Daniel|2|40|41}}) 
*The image was broken into pieces by 'a stone (that) was cut out without hands.' ({{bible|Daniel|2|34}})

Having metal associated with kingdoms or generations was a common ancient motif. The earliest example that has survived comes from Hesiod's ''Works and Days'' which dates to around 700 BCE. In II 106-201, Hesiod tells of a tale about "how the gods and mortal men sprang from one source."  
*The First of all the deathless gods who dwell on Olympus made a '''golden race''' of mortal men. 
*Then they who dwell on Olympus made a second generation which was of '''silver''' and less noble by far. 
*Zeus the Father made a third generation of mortal men, a brazen race… Their armour was of '''bronze''', and their houses of '''bronze''', and of '''bronze''' were their implements.  
*And again far-seeing Zeus made yet another generation, the fifth… For now truly is a race of '''iron'''.<ref>[https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-greece/hesiod/works-days.asp?pg=4 Hesiod's ''Works and Days'']</ref>  

This is the same progression of metals seen in Daniel 2.{{efn|If one chooses to be nit-picky, one could point out that brass is an alloy of copper and zinc and bronze is an alloy consisting mainly of copper combined most often with tin, but how likely is it that this distinction survived translation from 700 BCE to whenever Daniel was written?}} A similar metallic motif is found in [[Zoroastrianism]]:
*{{wpl|Denkard}} 9: 7:1-5 — 'the four periods in the millennium of Zartosht.'  First, the '''golden''', that in which {{wpl|Ahura_Mazda|Ohrmazd}}  displayed the religion to {{wpl|Zoroaster|Zartosht}}. Second, the '''silver''', that in which {{wpl|Vishtaspa|Vishtasp}} received the religion from Zartosht. Third, the '''steel'''… Fourth, the period mingled with '''iron'''.<ref>[http://www.avesta.org/denkard/dk9sbe1.html#chap94 Denkard]</ref> 
*{{wpl|Zand-i Wahman yasn}} 1:1-11 — 'Zartosht asked for immortality from Ohrmazd. Then, Ohrmazd showed the wisdom of all-knowledge unto Zartosht. Through it, he saw the trunk of a tree, on which there were four branches: one of '''gold''', one of '''silver''', one of '''steel''', and one of mixed '''iron'''...' Ohrmazd (Ahura Mazda) then explained to Zartosht (Zoroaster) that "the four branches are the four periods which will come."  Gold = King {{wpl|Vishtaspa|Vishtasp}}, Silver = {{wpl|King Ardashir_I|Ardashir}}, Steel = {{wpl|Khosrow_I|Khosraw}} and mixed iron = the evil sovereignty of the demons.<ref>[http://www.avesta.org/mp/vohuman.html Zand-i Wahman yasn]</ref>

Both the {{wpl|Denkard}} and the {{wpl|Zand-i Wahman yasn}} postdate Daniel but are thought to draw from an old Avestan tradition.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=PxjNsMrzI-kC&pg=PA103&dq=Son+of+Man:+The+interpretation+and+influence+of+Daniel+7&hl=en#v=onepage&q&f=false John Joseph Collins The Apocalyptic Imagination page 94]</ref>

===The prophecy found in Daniel 7===
The prophecy of the 'future' kingdoms/beasts in Daniel 7 is found in verses 3-7.  
*'The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings' ({{bible|Daniel|7|4}})
*'And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it' ({{bible|Daniel|7|5}})
*'After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.' ({{bible|Daniel|7|6}})
*'After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.' ({{bible|Daniel|7|7}})
In {{bible|Daniel|7|17}}, it is explained that 'these great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.'
In {{bible|Daniel|7|25}} the fourth beast 'shall wear out the saints of the most High' and in {{bible|Daniel|7|22}} the Ancient of Days comes to the rescue.

{{wpl|John_J._Collins|Dr. John J. Collins|,}} {{wpl|Michael_S._Heiser|Dr. Michael Heiser|,}} and other biblical scholars have connected Daniel 7 with the {{wpl|Baal_Cycle|Baʿal Cycle}} discovered in the ruins of Ugarit in the 1920s.  In the Baʿal Cycle, [[Baal]]{{efn|The word Baʿal also means lord.}} fights against {{wpl|Yam_(god)|Yam}} which is a sea and river god thought to represent chaos.  {{wpl|Baal|Yam's beasts}} are the sea monsters {{wpl|Tannin_(monster)|Tannin}}, {{wpl|Lotan}}, and "Šlyaṭ of the seven heads."<ref>http://www.thedivinecouncil.com/daniel7.pdf</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeaO6SH9uXs Michael Heiser — From Chaos to Restoration (Part 1) (at 1:29:10)]</ref>  Lotan is thought to be associated with the biblical [[Leviathan]].  

Daniel 7 is also interconnected with the book of [[Books_of_Enoch|1 Enoch]].

===Interpretations of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7===
The are numerous different interpretations as to which kingdoms or kings were being talked about as fulfilling the prophecies in these passages. The first recorded debate on this subject occurred between {{wpl|Jerome|St. Jerome}} and the Neoplatonist philosopher {{wpl|Porphyry_(philosopher)|Porphyry|.}}  Speaking of Daniel 2, St. Jerome argued the first empire was "the Babylonian", the second was "the empire of the Medes and Persians" the "third empire signifies the Alexandrian empire, and that of the [[Macedonia]]ns, and of Alexander's successors" (all in one), and "the fourth empire… clearly refers to the Romans". Porphyry took the position that "whatever is foretold concerning [[Antichrist]] at the end of the world was actually fulfilled in the reign of {{wpl|Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes|Antiochus Epiphanes|"}}, a Hellenistic Greek king from 175 to 164 BCE of the Seleucid Empire against whom Jews fought in the Maccabean revolt.<ref name=Jerome>[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/pearse/morefathers/files/jerome_daniel_02_text.htm St. Jerome's Commentary on Daniel]</ref>  

The [[Roman Empire]] schema promoted by St. Jerome represents a traditional view held by {{wpl|Four kingdoms of Daniel|Jewish and Christian Historicists, Futurists, Dispensationalists, and Partial Preterists|.}}  Dr. Michael Heiser refers to this as the popular [[Dispensationalism|dispensational]] view. He goes on to explain that the majority scholarly view is closer to that of Porphyry. The four kingdoms in this view are the Babylonian, the Median, the Persian, and the Greek. Moreover, the kingdom that resulted from the Maccabean revolt was what was represented by the stone that was cut out without hands.  A minority scholarly opinion holds that kings, not kingdoms, were being referred to, and that the four kings were Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great.<ref name=chaos>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeaO6SH9uXs Michael Heiser — From Chaos to Restoration (Part 1) (6:16:26-6:42:00)]</ref> Both the majority and minority scholarly opinions are contingent on the fictional {{wpl|Darius_the_Mede|Darius the Mede}} considering it was Cyrus the Great and the Persians, not the Medes, who defeated {{wpl|Nabonidus}}{{efn|Nabonidus was the actual last king of the Neo-Babylonians. Belshazzar was at most a co-regent.}}, his son {{wpl|Belshazzar}}, and the rest of the Neo-Babylonians.  The author of Daniel devotes Chapter 6 to this Darius-the-Mede character.  

Daniel 7 has a number of different interpretations as well. St. Jerome maintained his Babylon-Persian-Greek-Roman view.<ref name=Jerome/>  Some traditionalists maintain this [[Eurocentrism | Euro-centric]] view as well, arguing the ribs in the bear's mouth are the nations of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt conquered by Persia, the four heads of the leopard represent the four divisions of Greece and the swiftness of its conquests, and the fourth beast represents the Romans who crush their foes.<ref>https://www.gotquestions.org/Daniel-four-beasts.html</ref>  Porphyry "assigned the last two beasts… to the one realm of the Macedonians and… claimed that the leopard was Alexander himself, and that the beast which was dissimilar to the others represented the four successors of Alexander, and then he enumerates ten kings up to the time of Antiochus, surnamed Epiphanes, and who were very cruel".<ref name=Jerome/>  According to Dr. Heiser, the majority and minority scholarly opinions for Daniel 2 are maintained in Daniel 7.<ref name=chaos/>

The fighting of the fourth beast is closely linked with [[Books of Enoch|1 Enoch]] and Son-of-Man [[eschatology]]. Francis T. Glasson argues that Daniel 7 is based off of 1 Enoch 14<ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/the-son-of-man-imagery-enoch-xiv-and-daniel-vii/4712467F9249C52A778CC7DBEEAC10CD The Son of Man Imagery Enoch 14 and Daniel]</ref> and Matthew Black argued for Daniel 7's dependence on the Similitudes of 1 Enoch (37-71).<ref>[http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/001452467608800103 The 'Parables' of Enoch (1 En 37-71) and the Son of Man]</ref>. Robert Maddox instead argued that having the Son of Man within the judgment tableau of Daniel 7 led to its association with Similitudes of 1 Enoch.<ref>[https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1047&context=dissertations Arthur J. Ferch's Dissertation — The Apocalyptic "Son of Man" in Daniel 7]</ref>  A hybrid position is possible.  Given that 1 Enoch 14 is older than the Similitudes, 1 Enoch 14 could have influenced Daniel 7 and Daniel 7 could have influenced the Similitudes.

===Fifth Kingdom or Empire===
The schema of the four kingdoms, however defined, has led to various claims about a Fifth Kingdom, successor of the four great kingdoms of antiquity. This Fifth Kingdom is usually regarded as blessed by God, and often associated with [[millenarian]] ideas, possibly ushering in the end times in accordance with the [[Book of Revelation]]. Various present and future realms have been nominated.

The '''[[Fifth Monarchists]]''' were an English Christian group during the English Civil War and Commonwealth that followed, which believed they were establishing the Kingdom of God. This was part of a tendency of millenarian thought associated with the Civil War and [[Number of the Beast|1666: Year of the Beast]].

The '''{{wpl|Fifth Empire}}''' (''Quinto Império'') is a Portuguese idea claiming that [[Portugal]]'s colonial empire was the successor to those described by Daniel. It was first promoted by {{wpl|António Vieira}}, the 17th century Portuguese priest, writer, and courtier. Later it was revived perhaps ironically by the Portuguese modernist poet {{wpl|Fernando Pessoa}} in his book ''Mensagem'' (''Message'').

==See also==
*[[RationalWiki:Annotated Bible/Daniel]]
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}
==References==
{{reflist|2|90%}}

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[[Category:End of the world]]
[[Category:Major and Minor Prophets]]
[[Category:Old Testament]]

Categories: End of the world, Major and Minor Prophets, Old Testament