Hermeneia -A Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible Old Testament Editorial Board Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University. chairman Klaus Baltzer. University of Munich Paul D. Hanson. Harvard University S. Dean McBride,Jr., Union Theological Seminary in Virginia Peter Machinist, Harvard University Susan Niditch. Amherst College Christopher R. Seitz, Yale University Roland E. Murphy. O. Carm., emeritus New Testament Editorial Board Helmut Koester. Harvard University, chairman Harold W. Attridge, University of Notre Dame Adela Yarbro Collins, University of Chicago EldonJay Epp, Case Western Reserve University James M. Robinson, Claremont Graduate School Daniel A Commentary on the Book of Daniel by John]. Collins with an essay. "The Influence of Daniel on the New Testament," by Adela Yarbro Collins Edited by Frank Moore Cross Fortress Press Minneapolis Daniel A commentary on the Book of Daniel Copyright @) 1993 Augsburg Fortress All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write to; Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, 426 S. Fifth St., Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440. Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version ofthe Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, are used by permission. Cover and interior design by Kenneth Hiebert Production management by Publishers' WorkGroup Typesetting by Polebridge Press Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Collins,johnjoseph, 1946- Daniel: a commentary on the book of Daniell by john]. Collins; with an essay "The influence of Daniel on the New Testament,· by Adela Yarbro Collins; edited by Frank Moore Cross. p. cm. - (Hermeneia-a critical and historical commentary on the Bible) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8006-6040-4 (alk. paper) 1. Bible. O.T. Daniel-Commentaries. 2. Apocalyptic literature-History and criticism. 3. Bible. N.T.-Relation to the Old Testament. 1. Cross, Frank Moore. II. Collins, Adela Yarbro. Influence of Daniel on the New Testament. 1993. III. Title. IV. Series. BS 1555.3.C64 1993 224'.5077-dc20 93-14731 CIP The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for @I'M Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984. Manufactured in the U.S.A. AF 1-6040 97 96 95 94 93 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, IN THE YEARS 1985-1991 Contents Foreword to Hermeneia xiii Daniel Preface xv Reference Codes XVII 1. Abbreviations xvii 2. Short Titles of Commentaries xxi Editor's Note xxxvi Introduction 1. General Introduction to the Book of Daniel 1 I.TheText 2 The Hebrew and Aramaic Text 2 The Greek Versions 3 The Old Greek 4 Translation and Interpretation 7 Theodotion 9 Other Versions II 2. Language 12 The Aramaic of Daniel 13 Foreign Words 18 The Hebrew of Daniel 20 The Problem of the Two Languages 24 3. Composition 24 The Authenticity of the Predictions 25 Literary-Critical Considerations 26 Evidence for a Developmental Theory 29 Problems of Historical Reference 29 An Aramaic Book? 33 The Formation of the Tales 35 The Hebrew-Aramaic Book 37 Conclusion 38 4. The Genre and Setting of the Tales 38 Daniel and Joseph 39 Daniel and Esther 40 The Story of Al;tikar 41 The Genre ofthe Tales 42 Variation among the Tales 45 The Setting of the Tales 47 The Purpose of the Tales 51 5. The Genre of the Visions 52 Daniel and the Prophets 52 The Genre in Critical Scholarship 52 The Genre and Constituent Forms 54 Pseudonymity 56 An Early Apocalypse 58 The Function of the Visions 60 6. The Setting of the Visions 61 The Context of the Persecution 62 The Evidence of Daniel 65 vii The MaSkilim 66 The I;Hisidim 67 Wisdom and Cult 69 The Origins of Apocalypticism '70 II. The History of Interpretation 72 A. The Jewish Tradition 72 The Earliest Al1usions 72 Daniel and Qumran 72 The Son of Man 79 Fourth Ezra 82 Josephus 84 Later Jewish Tradition 86 B. The Christian Tradition 90 1. The Influence of Daniel on the New Testament, by Adela Yarbro Collins 90 a. The Son Qf Man Tradition 90 Daniel 7 and Jesus 92 The Son of Man in the Synoptic Sayings Source 96 The Gospel of Mark 9'7 The Gospel of Matthew 98 Luke-Acts 99 The Gospel ofJ ohn 100 The Book of Revelation 102 Conclusion 105 h. Daniel and the New Testament, apart from the Son of Man Tradition 105 Daniel 2 105 Daniel 3 106 Daniel 4 107 Daniel '7 and 8 107 Daniel 9 109 Daniel 12 110 Summary 112 2. Postbiblical Developments 112 The Patristic Period 112 The Medieval Period 11'7 The Reformation Period 119 The Rise of Historical Criticism 121 Contemporary Issues 122 viii