On Did Daniel Write Daniel?


An essay on the historicity and pseudonymity of Daniel 4

As with many of the books in the Old Testament, interpretation of the Book of Daniel is beset by questions of pseudonymity and historicity vis-à-vis the book’s author, its characters, and events. Did all of the characters described actually exist? If so, did they act and interact in history in the same way they do in the biblical narrative? If not, how do we account for these discrepancies? Is the eponymous hero of the book the author of any of it? In the case of the individual stories in the Book of Daniel, the fourth chapter’s tale of Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation and subsequent enlightenment seems a tailor-made subject for these perennial exegetical questions.

"Nebuchadnezzar" by William Blake (1795/c. 1805) public domain

That’s the opening paragraph from an essay I wrote for Dr. Tim Meadowcroft's postgraduate class on the Book of Daniel in 2017 that I’ve just put up on one of the "Page" tabs at the top of this blog. To read it, just click here or on the tab at the top of this blog called Did Daniel Write Daniel?.

As it is an exegetical essay written at a postgraduate level, it is admittedly overtly academic in style, and intentionally technical in substance. This is not to say that it is only of value to specialists, though. I believe there are things in it that will be of interest to every reader. So don’t think that I’m trying to ward you off; I’m not, honest. I’m merely pre-emptively apologising, should the essay strike you as unnecessarily pedantic.

As always, any questions or comments, you can put them here, at the bottom of the post itself or click HERE to email me.

God bless.




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