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Lesson 4 – September 30, 2012 History in the Book of Daniel

Lesson 4 – September 30, 2012 History in the Book of Daniel. Jesus Christ ~4 BC to ~400 AD Theological, Cultural and Historical Background Biblical Foundations 2012-2013 Bible School Course. Outline. Review Assyria 721 BC Babylon captures Jerusalem 586 BC

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Lesson 4 – September 30, 2012 History in the Book of Daniel

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  1. Lesson 4 – September 30, 2012History in the Book of Daniel Jesus Christ ~4 BC to ~400 ADTheological, Cultural and Historical Background Biblical Foundations 2012-2013 Bible School Course

  2. Outline • Review • Assyria 721 BC • Babylon captures Jerusalem 586 BC • Persia defeats Babylon 539 BC (Aramaic language) • Alexander conquers the Persian Empire 332 BC • Alexander dies and rule passes to four generals 323 BC One general, Antigonus and then later Ptolemy, inherited Egypt; another, Seleucus, inherited the Middle East and Mesopotamia. 200 BC: Jerusalem falls to Seleucid Empire (Antiochus III the Great defeated the Ptolemies) New Material • The Book of Daniel • 175 BC: Antiochus IV Epiphanes succeeds his father and becomes King of the Seleucid Empire (including Israel) • Jewish Hasmonean Dynasty 141 BC • Roman rule 63 BC

  3. Why the Book of Daniel? • We have studied the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks. Daniel prophecies about these kingdoms. • Can’t understand Jesus’ time without understanding Daniel (Simon the Zealot). Was all prophecy completed by the end of Greek rule? At the end of the first century AD? • Can the Bible be trusted when it speaks of Daniel? • Matt 24:15-16 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: • Ezek 14:14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord God. (14:20) • Ezek 28:3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:

  4. The Four Kingdoms in Daniel 2 • Dan 2:31-44 • 31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. • 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, • 33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. • 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. • 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. • 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. • 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. • 38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. • 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. • 40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. • 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. • 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken. • 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. • 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

  5. Daniel speaks of Babylon, Persia and Greece • Dan 7:1-6 • In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. • 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. • 3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. • 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it. • 5 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: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. • 6 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.

  6. Daniel and the Four Kingdoms - Interpretation Dan 7:16-18 • I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. • 17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. • 18 But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

  7. The Four Beasts Preterists: Daniel allowed another kingdom of Medes for Darius the Mede (5:31, 6:28, 9:1). Darius - Ugbara the general whose troops conquered Babylon for Cyrus?? Darius could have been Ugbaru's throne name as the use of throne names is known both in Baylon and Persia.

  8. Daniel 8:3-8 [Medio-Persian Empire – 539-332 BC] • Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram [Medes/Persians] which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last [Persians]. • 4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. • Greek Empire – 332 - 141 BC • 5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat [Greece] came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. • 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power. • 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram [Persia], and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. • 8 Therefore the he goat [Greece] waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken [Alexander the Great]; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

  9. Daniel - Interpretation Dan 8:20-22 • 20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia. • 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. • 22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. • [Greeks defeat Persia 332 BC; Alexander dies 323 BC] • [The Successors" (Diadochi) ensued before the Hellenistic world settled into four stable power blocks: the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, the Seleucid Empire in the east, the Kingdom of Pergamon in Asia Minor, and Macedon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great]

  10. When Did Daniel Prophesy? • Daniel was a child (16?) when taken to Babylon (~586 BC) • Dan 1:3-4 • And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed, and of the princes; 4 Children in whom was no blemish, but well favoured, and skilful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. • Daniel was praying in the 3rd year of Cyrus, king of Persia (~536 BC) • Dan 10:1 • 10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. • Alexander of Greece 332 BC; Generals rule after 323 BC; Antiochus Epiphanes 175 to 164 BC ruled Israel from Syria

  11. Modern View of Date of Danielhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel • Date of Daniel has been “disputed by recent scholars… • The style of writing is apocalyptic… popular between 200 BC and 100 AD. • … “concerns itself primarily with the Maccabean era [175 to 134 BC] and the reign of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes… • The stories of chapters 1-6 are considered….legends that are older than the visions of chapters 7-12. • Author abounded in mistakes and anachronisms.... • But, because the writer had an incomplete and erroneous view of historical details in the second half of the sixth century, Daniel’s era, such imbalances support the theory of a late date of writing. • http://www.tektonics.org/af/danieldefense.html • “Generally, the Maccabeean theory holds that the Book of Daniel was written around 168-165 BC.” but “parts of Daniel (mainly chapters 1-6) to have an earlier date prior to 168-165”

  12. Don't we know the date? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel “There are three main versions of the Book of Daniel: • Twelve-chapter version preserved in the Masoretic text • Two longer Greek versions (the original Septuagint version, c. 100 BC, and the later Theodotion version, c. 2nd century AD). (Both the Greek versions contain apocryphal chapters that are not found in the Masoretic text.”)

  13. Early Date Criticisms answeredhttp://www.tektonics.org/af/danieldefense.html • Daniel place in ‘writings’ not ‘prophets’ • Not mentioned by Jesus Be Sirach (170 BC) • Third year of Jehoiakim (Dan 1:1-2) -not mentioned in Jeremiah and Kings • Chaldeans were not just ‘magicians’ (2:2) in 6th century • Was thought that there was no such person as ‘Belshazzar’ (5:1) but now admit there was but that he was not a king nor son of Nebuchadnezzar • Darius the Mede (9:1) is regarded as a fictional character • Nebucadnezzar's name is ended -nezzar, as opposed to the correct -rezzar, • Nebucadnezzar's madness • Word "watchers" (4:13, 23) used in 2nd century BC Jewish literature but nowhere else in the OT (Chaldean word!) • Persian words (15 six are NOT found later than 330 BC, and ALL are "Old Persian”; Daniel served in Persia) • Greek words (3 and all refer to musical instruments) • Aramaic in ‘Western’ dialect (now recognized as 5th century Persian)

  14. In favour of ~600 – 500 BC date • Personal quirks of Nebuchadnezzar: • Nebuchadnezzar's "tree dream“: fascinated by the tall cedars of Lebanon; • His reference to himself as the "lowest of men“ [4:17] inscriptions by his father Nabopolassar refer to himself as the "son of a nobody.” • Gold image - found in the classical authorities • Stylistic indications fit an earlier period (Chapter 4; 1:2, 3:31, and 5:8) • The capture of Babylon without resistance. Herodotus, Xenophon (Cyr. 7.5), and Cyrus' own account support Daniel • The inviolability of the laws of the Medes and the Persians. This restriction on Darius the Mede is confirmed by data from Diodorus Siculus • The modes of punishment • Testimony of Josephus • Portrayal of Persian bureaucracy • The use of the phrase, "Lord of heaven.“ (Dan. 2:18) would not have been considered appropriate during the Maccabeean era because of its associations with Zeus.

  15. In favour of ~600 – 500 BC date • Daniel's friends found in contemporary listing of Babylonian officials • The general setting and atmosphere (no hostility towards a foreign culture or a persecuting king) http://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/documents/articles/34/34.htm • If Daniel predicted that the messianic age would ensue at the end of Antiochus's reign, which is the view of those who hold the Maccabean date of writing, how could later Jewish believers who observed that this event failed to materialize accept the book as divinely inspired?

  16. Historical Accuracy of the Bible Verifiedhttp://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/documents/articles/34/34.htm Belshazzar – Daniel 5:1 • Was Babylon’s last king Nabonidus or Belshazzar (Dan. 5)? • For many years scholars were of the opinion that Nabonidus was the last king of Babylon and that Belshazzar was a legendary figure. Not even Herodotus among the ancient historians mentions him. • However, more recent archaeological evidence shows that Belshazzar served as co-regent with his father Nabonidus during the last few years of the Babylonian Empire. • An inscription found at Ur contains a prayer for a Bel-shar-usur, a prayer offered only to monarchs. • “Still other cuneiform documents record how Belshazzar presented sheep and oxen at the Temples of Sippar as ‘an offering of the king.’” • Moreover, Belshazzar bestowed upon Daniel the third, not the second, most authoritative position in the empire (Dan. 5:16). • The truth is Nabonidus was not in Babylon at the time of Cyrus’ invasion. He was in North Arabia where he was killed about the same time as the invasion. Thus, Belshazzar was the last king. Since this name had been forgotten by the time of Herodotus (c. 450 BC), the author of Daniel had to have written much earlier than that. Certainly a second century author would have no knowledge of Belshazzar.

  17. Historical Accuracy of the Bible Verifiedhttp://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/documents/articles/34/34.htm Daniel 1:1 versus Jeremiah 46:2 • Daniel 1:1 declares, “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.” This appears to contradict Jeremiah 46:2 (“To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim…). • The difference has to do with the methods Jeremiah and Daniel employed in counting the number of years a king had been reigning. • Jeremiah dated a king’s reign using the Judean system. That method considered the accession year the first year of the reign. Thus, since Jehoiakim was appointed king in 608 (by Pharaoh Necho), 605 would have been his fourth year. • Daniel used the Babylonian system (of course) which did not count a king’s first year until the beginning of the next calendar year. Therefore, the beginning of Jehoiakim’s first year would not start until the next calendar year.

  18. Dead Sea Scrolls and Date of Danielhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel • A total of eight copies of the Book of Daniel have been found at Qumran….between them, they preserve text from eleven of Daniel’s twelve chapters. The twelfth chapter is found in the Florilegium 4Q174. • All eight manuscripts were copied within 175 years, ranging from 125 BC to about 50 AD • Seven of the eight scrolls originally contained the entire book of Daniel in the short form as it is in the Masoretic Text, however none have the long form as preserved in the Septuagint. All eight scrolls do not reveal any major disagreements against the Masoretic Text • Even the critic G. R. Driver recognized that "the presence and popularity of the Daniel manuscripts at Qumran" conflicted "with the modern view which advocates the late dating of the composition of Daniel

  19. Dead Sea Scrolls and Date of Danielhttp://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1992/January/new-light-on-daniel • …second century dating of the book of Daniel was "absolutely precluded by the evidence from Qumran, partly because there are no indications whatever that the sectaries compiled any of the biblical manuscripts recovered from the site, and partly be cause there would, in the latter event, have been insufficient time for Maccabean compositions to be circulated, venerated, and accepted as canonical Scripture by a Maccabean sect. • Inasmuch as Daniel was already canonical at Qumran at about 100 B.C., how could it have become so quickly canonical if it had just been produced a mere half century before? ….Both the canonical status and the fact that Daniel was considered as a "prophet" speak for the antiquity of the book of Daniel. An existence of a mere five decades between the production of a biblical book in its final form and canonization does not seem reasonable.

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