Jewish commentary book of daniel

Unlike the preceding dreams and visions in the book of daniel, which contained images that needed to be interpreted, this vision simply gave daniel the words regarding what would happen to the jewish people from this time forward daniel 10. Before the formal commentary begins, there is a sizable section devoted to the books literary, historical and social considerations. Daniel 11 commentary matthew henry commentary on the. These doubts were strong enough, in those early days, to raise the question of whether ezekiel should be one of the biblical books. Daniel was a leader who went against public opinion. Daniel is the story of the people of israel in exile, longing to return to the land of israel. It is one of the additions to daniel, considered apocryphal by protestants. It will be also true of the state of mankind at the general judgment. We have here a wonderful passage establishing jewish traditions contemporary to the book of revelation about the daniel son of man figure.

Its introduction contended that daniels apocalyptic messianic prophesies are all most easily. Daniel takes away the kings opinion of his magicians and soothsayers. An interesting point regarding this prophecy is that it appears to have been delivered orally. Sefer daniel tells of the dangers, both physical and spiritual, encountered in the exile in foreign lands. 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 daniels prophecies. Top three recommendations on daniel commentaries 1. But even jewish scholars who read daniel 9 literally dont see the anointed one as jesus, but as another leader such as zerubabel or joshua who led israel after the return from babylon, or the persian king cyrus who is called gods anointed in isaiah 45. 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. The lack of consensus presents a challenge for the reader, but it is not necessarily an insurmountable one. Although this is true, the jewish calendar makes a correction so that when speaking about a period of more than a few years, there is the same. Daniel is one of the few ot books that can be given a. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. What daniel tells us about jewish interpretation during the watershed.

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. Belshazzar and his nobles blasphemously drink from sacred jewish temple vessels, offering praise to inanimate gods, until a hand mysteriously appears. The kingdom which is symbolized by the he goat viii. Fresco of prophets isaiah, jeremiah, ezekiel and daniel. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the allsufficiency of the creator. The book of daniel is a collection of papers written at several times. Daniel s success at court naturally excited the envy and ill will of the babylonians, who gathered in a mob and threatened the king and his house if he did not deliver daniel to them. I was recently reading a commentary on the book of daniel.

Daniel overview james burton coffman commentaries on the. It is indeed a sad paradox that in a clearly prophetic book like daniel, the writer of a commentary on daniel would be assessed as weak in eschatology. Daniel and the origins of jewish biblical interpretation jstor. He burned with eagerness to know what it meant, but reasoned that he could be sure that an interpretation. The first six chapters are a collection of historical papers written by. While still a young man, daniel travelled to babylon with a group of young israelite nobles, men of promise whom the conquering power felt could be of use in service daniel 1. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls. You can find the best commentary on daniel for you using the tools on the right side. The book of daniel has been the object of unbelieving criticism for ages. The book of ecclesiastes is part of the wisdom literature of the bible. For each story about daniel and his friends, it fills in the historical background and. The prophet daniel lived in the sixth century before the birth of jesus. Daniel is a legendary figure, probably chosen for the books hero because of his reputation as a. The king had had a dream which greatly perturbed him.

Throughout the second half of the book, daniel mourns the destruction of the temple and all the exiles that the jews are to experience, and grieves over all the suffering they bring with them. Because daniel is the only book of scripture that employs this term in the explanation of revelation, as well as the closest to the qumran commentaries in date. The angel gabriel lets daniel know the good service he has done to the jewish nation. Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth this prophecy has been referred to the future restoration of the jews. David stern, a messianic jew living in jerusalem, speaks to these and other issues in the jewish new testament commentary. However, this insight is heavily biased toward historical and social considerations, with scant emphasis on broad themes, exegesis, or what the text really means. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. Three of the best commentaries on the book of daniel. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve.

But if its inclusion in the canon had depended on its hebrew form, it would have been necessary to translate the whole into hebrew. Daniel explained a commentary on the book of daniel overview. Encyclopedia of jewish and israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from antisemitism to zionism. In this companion volume to his widely read and highly acclaimed jewish new testament, he offers an exciting and original way of understanding the new testament from a jewish point of view. The controversial book of ezekiel nearly didnt make it into the biblical canon, but it has had a lasting impact on both liturgical practice and mystical traditions. Free online bible library jewish commentary on the bible. Suffering did not daunt daniels purpose to live for god. Daniel 9 is one of the most difficult and controversial prophecies in the tenach. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a.

As isaac newton in his observations on the prophecies of daniel 1732 put it. The book of ezekiel has always been a problem book. Like ezekiel, the book of daniel contains a number of enigmatic prophecies. Daniel overview, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. The book of daniel is filled with messianic illusions and calculations that even left daniel pondering. There is one who can do that for us, and make known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption, and the secret designs of gods love to us therein. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. In the first year of darius the son of ahasuerus, of the lineage of the medes, who was made king over the realm of the chaldeans. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. Daniel is a book of prophecy that gives assurance to gods people about the future. Daniel overview james burton coffman commentaries on the bible. Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a jewish exile from israel. It would be hard to find another prophecy where the christian and jewish interpretations let alone what scholars say about it are so incompatible.

The same prophet can at times experience different levels of prophecy, ruach hakodesh, or both. Daniel explainedone of the most extensively researched commentaries on the book of daniel ever writtenoffers a thorough treatment of both the dramatic episodes and the prophetic visions. The jewish publication societys highly acclaimed bible commentary series provides a linebyline commentary of the original hebrew bible text, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, alongside the jps english translation. A radical jew is billed as an encounter, on the part of a practicing jew, talmudist, and cultural critic, with some of the most remarkable texts of western literature, the letters of paul. Much of the book is even written in aramaic, the language that was spoken in babylonia during the seventy years of exile following the destruction of the first beit hamikdash the book opens with the exile of daniel and his contemporaries from the holy land to babylonia. Nov 21, 2014 daniel a commentary proceeds linearly through all twelve chapters of the book of daniel. In this companion volume to his widely read and highly acclaimed jewish new testament, he offers an exciting and original way of understanding the new testament from a. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. Daniel book of daniel an older english commentary is studies in daniel by harold louis ginsberg, 1948, jewish theological seminary, available to read online at at studies in daniel, harold louis ginsberg. The last six chapters contain prophecies written by daniel himself. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a and daniel b. Christians contend that it is a perfect calculation of the coming of jesus. The jewish publication societys highly acclaimed bible commentary series provides a linebyline commentary of the original hebrew bible text, complete with vocalization and cantillation marks, alongside the jps english translation the book of ecclesiastes is.

The following outline is provided by collins in his commentary on daniel. This remarkable piece of scripture has encouraged the faithful for centuries, giving us a glimpse to future events that already came to pass and and are yet to come. Much of the book is even written in aramaic, the language that was spoken in babylonia during the seventy years of exile following the destruction of the first beit hamikdash. Lecture rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and. The book of daniel was written during the persecutions of israel by the syrian king antiochus epiphanes. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. The book of tanach describing the experiences of daniel and his friends hananiah. Daniel was greatly concerned about defiling himself by eating food that was not slain in accordance with jewish law, that had been offered as a sacrifice to idols, or that was forbidden by old testament law. The process and the product of the canonization of the bible became the basis for a varied tradition of interpretation. We must note that this common enochean phrase the lord of the spirits may be connected with the the seven spirits who are before his throne in revelation. Its introduction contended that daniel s apocalyptic messianic prophesies are all most easily explained as referring to the history of the jews from babylonia through the chanukah wars.

Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Now in the first year of cyrus king of persia, that the word of the lrd by the mouth of jeremiah might be. 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. The first attacks go back to the heathen new platonist porphyrius of tyre 3rd century ac. Porphyrius designates the book of daniel as the work of a jew of the 2nd century bc. Lecture by rabbi benjamin scolnic the book of daniel and the nature of biblical truth given 7pm 9pm on saturday january 17, 2015 at the lanier. Daniel 11 commentary matthew henry commentary on the whole. Each section of commentary begins with a chapter from the bible and then a versebyverse analysis follows. 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.

A commentary on the book of daniel by cooper abrams. We read much in the book of the maccabees of the mischief done to the jews by these treacherous men of their own nation, jason and menelaus, and their party. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. 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. Daniels success at court naturally excited the envy and ill will of the babylonians, who gathered in a mob and threatened the king and his house if he did not deliver daniel to them. Jews for judaism daniel 9 a true biblical interpretation. Daniel 9 a true biblical interpretation jews for judaism. In the first year of darius the mede, who destroyed babylon and released the jews out of that house of bondage, i stood a strength and fortress to him, that is, i was instrumental to protect him, and give him success in his ward, and, after he had conquered. Daniel chapter 1 1 in the third year of the reign of jehoiakim, king of judah, nebuchadnezzar, king of babylon.

Jewish bible commentaries merrimack valley havurah. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history. The book of daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the jewish community in babylon and mesopotamia in the persian and early hellenistic periods 5th to 3rd centuries bce, before being expanded in the maccabean era mid2nd century by the addition of the visions in chapters 712. The book of daniel is filled with messianic illusions and calculations that even left daniel pondering their meanings. Unlike the judaica press and soncino commentaries, the jps commentaries are producing a detailed linebyline commentary of every passage, in every book of the bible. Daniel is one of the few ot books that can be given a fairly firm date. For each story about daniel and his friends, it fills in the historical background and develops spiritual applications. One jewish interpretation is the son of man is symbolic of the saints, just as the beasts are symbolic. Witness faith and visions come to pass in the book of.

In any case the linguistic diversity in parts of this book is no reason for assuming two sources for it, as meinhold does in his commentary p. And like ezekiel, the difficult nature of these prophecies has resulted in a wide variety of conflicting interpretations. Can there ever be faith again in the midst of darkness, rebellion, and gloom. Introduction to daniel bible exposition commentary. Daniel boiled pitch, fat, and hair together and gave lumps of it to the dragon, which thereupon burst. Read daniel 11 commentary using matthew henry commentary on the whole bible complete. Daniel book of daniel an older english commentary is studies in daniel by harold louis ginsberg, 1948, jewish theological seminary, available to read online at.