Daniel, however, forgot the "end" revealed to him, after an angel had shown him everything (Genesis Rabba xcviii. 2). [ 3 ]
Did Daniel "Forget" the Ending of His Dream Prophecy?
by cameo-d 5 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
-
Doug Mason
When I read that Wiki article, I noted that it recognised that Daniel was not a prophet. His book is included in the Writings section of the Hebrew Scriptures.
I was about to list reasons why Daniel was not a prophet, but instead I thought I would ask others to do some research and provide the reasons.
Hint. I do not think the reason is that the book of Daniel was written in the 2nd century BCE, some 400 years after the Babylonian Captivity. (That is, the writer "predicted" events that had already taken place.) No, there are other reasons.
Doug
-
cameo-d
Should we take Daniel seriously as a prophet for our modern times?
Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.) Daniel 4:8
consider this:
The prophet of the captivity, Daniel, bore in his name an amplification of that of Dan (a judge). The termination signified God the judge, and the alias Belteshazzar, imposed upon him by the Chaldean monarch, is considered to translate and heathenize the name, making Bel the judge. It is observable that Daniel never calls himself thus, though he gives these heathen titles to his three companions. (Yonge)
http://www.20000-names.com/origin_of_baby_names/etymology_D_male/meaning_of_the_name_daniel.htm
---------
Did Daniel compromise his morals by answering to such a name and allowing the king to call him a name that represented the god Bel?
Would this be a good testimony to Yahweh/Jehovah?
Did this show that the King respected Daniel's God?
How can we be sure that Daniel attributed his dream interpretations to divine revelation being from the god Jehovah?
-
Doug Mason
To properly understand the book of Daniel, it is necessary to recognise WHEN it was written (about 164 BCE) and for what purpose (to provide strength and propaganda for the Jews/Israelites during their difficult times.)
Much has been speculated on the reasons for the two languages that Daniel is written in. Maybe some could put their ideas forward.
Daniel was not a prophet. He does not have the factors necessary for being called a prophet. He was not a priest and he never preached to God's people, only to heathen royalty. He never admonished the people for their waywardness, only pleading for them to God on their behalf. He did not fulfill the office of "prophet", and the Jews do not recognise Daniel as a prophet.
His name incorporates that of the God EL, not of the god named YHWH.
Because of its late composition, the book of Daniel contains wrong facts and the incorrect reading of Jeremiah's "70 years".
Doug
-
darth frosty
I agree with you doug mason. I believe that it was used as the jew tried to transition themselves away from the vengefull god of the OT and refine themselves in the light of the prevaling greek philosophy of the day.
-
cameo-d
Doug: "Because of its late composition, the book of Daniel contains wrong facts and the incorrect reading of Jeremiah's "70 years"."
I think it would be interesting to discuss these points; after all so much of the future, according to various religions, hinges on these interpretations. Question is...have these scriptures been "interpreted" in a way that a political agenda can be purposely scripted around it?
---------
The first part, the first six chapters, comprises a series of court tales, instructive narratives, or miracle tales. As illustrated above, the first story is in Hebrew; then Aramaic is used from ch. 2:4, beginning with the speech of the "Chaldeans" through chapter seven. Hebrew is then used from chapter eight through chapter twelve. Three additional sections are preserved only in the Septuagint, and are considered apocryphal by Protestant Christians and Jews, and deuterocanonical by Catholic and Orthodox Christians.