The Expositor's Bible: The Book of DanielFarrar, F. W. (Frederic William)
Religion
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Daniel
Farrar, F. W. (Frederic William)
Bible. Daniel -- Commentaries
The _Unity_ of the Book of Daniel is now generally admitted. No one
thought of questioning it in days before the dawn of criticism, but
in 1772 Eichhorn and Corrodi doubted the genuineness of the Book.
J. D. Michaelis endeavoured to prove that it was "a collection of
fugitive pieces," consisting of six historic pictures, followed by four
prophetic visions.[66] Bertholdt, followed the erroneous tendency of
criticism which found a foremost exponent in Ewald, and imagined the
possibility of detecting the work of many different hands. He divided
the Book into fragments by nine different authors.[67]
Zöckler, in Lange's _Bibelwerk_, persuaded himself that the old
"orthodox" views of Hengstenberg and Auberlen were right; but he
could only do this by sacrificing the authenticity of parts of the
Book, and assuming more than one redaction. Thus he supposes that
xi. 5-39 are an interpolation by a writer in the days of Antiochus
Epiphanes. Similarly, Lenormant admits interpolations in the _first_
half of the Book. But to concede this is practically to give up the
Book of Daniel as it now stands.
The _unity_ of the Book of Daniel is still admitted or assumed
by most critics.[68] It has only been recently questioned in two
directions.
Meinhold thinks that the Aramaic and historic sections are older
than the rest of the Book, and were written about B.C. 300 to convert
the Gentiles to monotheism.[69] He argues that the apocalyptic
section was written later, and was subsequently incorporated with
the Book. A somewhat similar view is held by Zöckler,[70] and some
have thought that Daniel could never have written of himself in
such highly favourable terms as, _e.g._, in Dan. vi. 4.[71] The
first chapter, which is essential as an introduction to the Book,
and the seventh, which is apocalyptic, and is yet in Aramaic,
create objections to the acceptance of this theory. Further, it is
impossible not to observe a certain unity of style and parallelism
of treatment between the two parts. Thus, if the prophetic section
is mainly devoted to Antiochus Epiphanes, the historic section seems
to have an allusive bearing on his impious madness. In ii. 10, 11,
and vi. 8, we have descriptions of daring Pagan edicts, which might
be intended to furnish a contrast with the attempts of Antiochus to
_suppress_ the worship of God. The feast of Belshazzar may well be
a "reference to the Syrian despot's revelries at Daphne." Again, in
ii. 43--where the mixture of iron and clay is explained by "they
shall mingle themselves with the seed of men"--it seems far from
improbable that there is a reference to the unhappy intermarriages
of Ptolemies and Seleucidæ. Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy II.
(Philadelphus), married Antiochus II. (Theos), and this is alluded
to in the vision of xi. 6. Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus III.
(the Great), married Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes), which is alluded to
in xi. 17.[72] The style seems to be stamped throughout with the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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