Endgame

A New Commentary on the Book of Daniel

Jerry A. Gladson

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781666704112, 9781666704129
• eBook ISBN: 9781666704136
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Daniel, the lone apocalyptic book in the Old Testament, has challenged readers throughout the centuries with its obscure, enigmatic style. Endgame offers a careful introduction to Daniel and apocalyptic literature, a new formal translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts, and a verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Daniel, including the Additions made to Daniel in the Deuterocanonical (Apocryphal) literature. In accessible, easy-to-read style, this up-to-date work illuminates the apocalyptic book of Daniel in the light of its ancient literary, historical, and archaeological setting and shows its vital relevance to ancient and modern readers.

Part I

Introduction

Introducing Daniel

Each situation—nay, each moment—is of infinite worth;

for each represents a whole eternity.

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The book of Daniel was written with great expectation. Beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE, it ends with a prophecy about the coming of the kingdom of God upon earth. Along the way between these epochal events, the book explores through narrative and apocalyptic the meaning of history under the sovereignty of God. Beyond the chaotic rise and fall of nations, the endless wars, the greed, and the lust for power that inevitably shapes the social and political conditions under which all peoples live, Daniel offers a fresh perspective that rises to the cosmic, transcendent level. The reader grasps something of the faithfulness of God, who raises up kings and deposes them according to the inscrutable divine will, while presiding over the course of history, ultimately sustaining those faithful to God. The characters in the narratives of the book model persons who live faithfully in alien lands amid the upheaval of history and the whims of governing despots. Wherever persons today find themselves oppressed and overwhelmed by the crushing tide of evil, the stalwart people on the pages of Daniel offer inspiration and courage. The visions in the book nurture hope.

Despite emphasis on these great themes, perhaps more than any other book in the Bible, with the notable exception of Revelation, the book of Daniel has been trivialized. Apocalyptic enthusiasts have repeatedly mined the book to apply its visions to contemporary political and religious events. The Protestant Reformers found in Daniel’s bizarre imagery the Roman papacy out to destroy the faithful Protestants. Fundamentalists read the same texts for traces of the end-time antichrist believed about to draw the entire world into a dangerous, pernicious alliance. Some Christian sects have even found in Daniel the precise date on which the world will end, only to have their hopes dashed by time’s relentless assault.

Daniel deserves better. Behind its bizarre imagery, the colorful stories of Jews in conflict with gentile powers, lies a vital faith in the Lord of creation and of history. The book is a “powerful testimony to faithful conduct in the midst of almost unbearable persecution.”1

Daniel is one of the most remarkable books in the Bible, worthy of our careful study. How it got to be such a stellar contribution to the biblical canon is the story about to unfold.

The Texture of the Book of Daniel

Daniel 1–12 falls into two distinct, yet linked, sections. Daniel 1–6 comprises a series of court tales, set against the backdrop of the sixth-century BCE Babylonian and Persian (Achaemenid) royal courts.2 Daniel is the hero in all but one of these stories. Written in narrative style, the stories then introduce the apocalyptic visions in Dan 7–12.

The narratives in Dan 1–6 tell of four Hebrew captives taken into the service of the royal courts of Babylon and Persia. The first chapter serves as an introduction to the book. The Babylonians, having captured some of the Hebrews during a siege of Jerusalem, select Daniel and his companions—Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah—for royal administrative service. Curiously, Daniel and these three, given the Babylonian names by which we know them—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—after Dan 2 never appear together in any other tale. In the opening story, apparently for purity reasons, they refuse to eat royal rations of food and wine (Dan 1:12–16). Divine assistance enables them to excel in their training. Daniel surpasses the others in all visions and dreams (1:17), a skill evident in the next story (ch. 2) about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a metallic statue representing the great empires, which Daniel interprets. Daniel’s interpretation of the great metallic image foreshadows the later visions about the march of empires in Dan 7–12.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are next condemned to die when they refuse to honor Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue (ch. 3). Thrown into a blazing kiln, they are miraculously rescued by a heavenly mediator with the appearance of a god (Dan 3:25). Daniel is inexplicably absent from this story.

Then comes Nebuchadnezzar’s strange descent into madness (ch. 4). For a time, cast out from the royal court, he must live like an animal in the field. Upon regaining sanity, he honors Daniel’s God. This court tale is followed by a great festival in Babylon. Strange writing appears on the plastered wall of the royal hall, illumined by a blazing lampstand, catching Belshazzar, the acting regent, brashly desecrating the sacred vessels plundered ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Part I: Introduction
• Part II: Commentary
• Part III: The Additions to Daniel
• Bibliography