Old and New Testament Exegesis

The author of Daniel intended to restore hope to the nation of Israel during a time of horrifying persecution. This was done through a combination of narrative stories and apocalyptic revelations, both involving the wise and religious character known as Daniel. The lessons of faithfulness and obedience throughout the book transcend generations and still affect readers today.

The setting of Daniel takes place during the “Babylonian exile” within the “courts of Babylonian, Median, and Persian kings” (Collins 33). This exile took place the around the sixth century B.C. Contrary to the setting, though, “critical scholarship has established that the book actually comes from the 2nd century B.C.” (33). During this era, the Jewish population was persecuted by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who went so far as to desecrate the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem by constructing a statue to the Greek god Zeus, much like King Nebuchadnezzar does in chapter 3 (Porteous 57). The biggest clue that Bible scholars notice when questioning the authorship is how accurate the succession of kingdoms is mentioned throughout the book. The author’s ability to hint at events that occur centuries after Daniel’s lifespan lead scholars to suspect an alternative author (Jeffrey 349). The book of Acts seems so straight forward as a mere history of the early Church that one can hardly imagine the controversy behind the tedious details in the critical examination thereof. Before one can begin any type of in-depth study of a particular passage, some questions have to be answered, or at a minimum, the issues have to be examined because definitive or absolute answers are not always within one’s grasp. The issues in question are authorship, dating, and purpose of the writing in light of historical circumstance. Traditionally, the authorship of the book