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
I. The objections to the authenticity and genuineness of Daniel do not
arise, as is falsely asserted, from any _a-priori_ objection to admit
to the full the reality either of miracles or of genuine prediction.
Hundreds of critics who have long abandoned the attempt to maintain the
early date of Daniel believe both in miracles and prophecy.
II. The grounds for regarding the Book as a pseudepigraph are many
and striking. The very Book which would most stand in need of
overwhelming evidence in its favour is the one which furnishes the
most decisive arguments against itself, and has the least external
testimony in its support.
III. The historical errors in which it abounds tell overwhelmingly
against it. There was no deportation in the third year of Jehoiakim;
there was no King Belshazzar; the Belshazzar son of Nabunaid was not
a son of Nebuchadrezzar; the names Nebuchad_n_ezzar and Abed-nego are
erroneous in form; there was no "Darius the Mede" who preceded Cyrus
as king and conqueror of Babylon, though there was a later Darius,
the son of Hystaspes, who conquered Babylon; the demands and decrees
of Nebuchadrezzar are unlike anything which we find in history, and
show every characteristic of the Jewish Haggada; and the notion that a
faithful Jew could become President of the Chaldean Magi is impossible.
It is not true that there were only two Babylonian kings--there were
five: nor were there only four Persian kings--there were twelve.
Xerxes seems to be confounded alike with Darius Hystaspis and Darius
Codomannus as the last king of Persia. All correct accounts of the
reign, even of Antiochus Epiphanes, seem to end about B.C. 164, and the
indications in vii. 11-14, viii. 25, xi. 40-45, do not seem to accord
with the historic realities of the time indicated.
IV. The philological peculiarities of the Book are no less unfavourable
to its genuineness. The Hebrew is pronounced by the majority of
experts to be of a later character than the time assumed for it. The
Aramaic is not the Babylonian East-Aramaic, but the later Palestinian
West-Aramaic. The word _Kasdîm_ is used for "diviners," whereas at the
period of the Exile it was a national name. Persian words and titles
occur in the decrees attributed to Nebuchadrezzar. At least three Greek
words occur, of which one is certainly of late origin, and is known to
have been a favourite instrument with Antiochus Epiphanes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account