So, there is no real substitute for earnest, taxing study to receive and share the blessing promised him that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those thing. The other approach to daniel 1 comes from my friend mitchell chase and his commentary on daniel mitchell chase, daniel, in expository commentary, 7. Daniel lived as a child of god in a foreign land just as we live as citizens of heaven in a lost world. Daniels double chiasm a series on daniels prophecies and. As in the above example, the chiastic structure of daniel reflects a concentric organization.
The book of daniel is one of the most attacked books of the old testament, perhaps second only to genesis. Discuss some of the major theological themes in the book of daniel. The chiastic structure of daniel united church of god. It was subdivided into many kingdoms that continued it.
Chiasm was used as a literary device in the ancient world, in babylonia, israel, greece, and rome. Each chapter of the book is one idea, and the apex calls attention to gods message. The poetic structure explains the chronological sequence in. The first chiasm encompasses the whole of the aramaic writings in daniel, chapters 27. Critics contend it is not a sixth century prophecy but a. One example of a chiasm being found in two different books is the chiasm of leviticus 16. Literary structure chiasmus, chiasm of book of daniel chiasmus and concentric structure of whole text. First, there are two chiasms in the book of daniel. Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of daniel correspondence table of pericopes and literary structure citations of the bible are from new american bible, new revised standard version and new jerusalem bible. The aramaic provided a perfect chiasm to the parallel hebrew portions of the text. On the chiastic structure of revelation creation concept.
Shea proposed that the book of daniel is composed of a double chiasm. Apr 04, 2021 proper interpretation untangles daniel s genre knot, exposing a clear chiastic structure. Accordingly, these books are not chiastic and thus it appears that when they were written, chiasm was no longer en vogue. Jan 31, 2015 the book of daniel, along with much of the rest of the bible, is written in the chiastic structure. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Only the book of ezra can be considered similar in that four of its ten chapters are in aramaic.
Literary structure of the bibleby hajime muraiis licensed under a creative commons attribution 4. Unique among publications on biblical prophecy, it looks at the books of daniel and revelation as if they were one book written by god through two men living hundreds of years apart. Given the fact that daniel wrote the book over a period of maybe 70 years, the symmetry displayed in the book of daniel is itself imo, an evidence of a divine hand in its writing. It gives an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, and its message is that just as the god of israel saves daniel from his. The essence of the daniel 9 2427 prophecy is that, within 500 years from the restoration of jerusalem, and therefore before the destruction of jerusalem in ad 70, the messiah would arrive. Mar 18, 2016 if a book, as a whole, shows evidence of frequent literary artistry like jonah chiasms or lamentations acrostics it is more likely that a chiasm is genuine. Unveiling gods power and structure of the book of daniel. Oct 06, 2016 daniel 1012, return from exile the overarching theme which weaves itself through each part of this chiasm is gods sovereignty. Jun 24, 2016 on daniel, which was written as a double chiasm one for the aramaic section and one for the hebrew section, see ibid. Structure, composition and authorship the book of daniel in. Although the entire book is traditionally ascribed to daniel the seer, chapters 16 are in the voice of an anonymous narrator, except for chapter 4 which is in the form of a letter from king nebuchadnezzar. The prophecy, which is introduced in daniel 10 and concluded in chapter 12, culminates the prophecies of the book of daniel, providing far more detail than the others in plain language. Each chapter of the book is one idea, and the apex calls attention to gods. An important implication of this fact is that dan 11.
Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of daniel. Feb 01, 2021 the book of daniel consists of two interlocked chiasms, structuring and defining the two halves of the book. Chapters 2 and 7 correspond dealing with visions, 3 and 6 correspond, dealing with faithfulness and a miraculous rescue, and 4 and 5 correspond dealing with judgment predicted and experience. Chiastic structure in the book of daniel discuss the truth. The chiasm design that daniel employs is an ordered sequence of ideas that leads up to an apex, after which the ideas are presented in reverse order.
Jan 20, 2011 a chiastic outline of the book of revelation was proposed by nils wilhelm lund, in 1942. Illustrates double chiasm of the book of daniel showing parallels of subject matter. The following table reveals that the book of daniel is a double chiasm, with the first chiasm being daniel chapters 2 to 7, and the second being the entire book of daniel, where the second half of the book of daniel is a reverse mirror image of the first half of the same book. The book of daniel consists of two interlocked chiasms, structuring and defining the two halves of the book. The book you hold in your hands is unique among publications on biblical prophecy, for it looks at the books of daniel a. An angelic guide interprets the beasts as kingdoms and kings.
First, it argues for literary unity, and second, it locates the center of a narrative. Daniel 2nebuchadnezzars vision statue representing four kingdoms daniel 3deliverance from the fiery furnace. Panos utilizes chiastic structures to show the unity of daniel which leads to the conclusion that it was composed by one author, namely daniel. Nov 04, 2015 i have jus come across the following scandinavian journal of the old testament, 2016 vol. Daniel 7 the seventh chapter of the book of daniel tells of daniel s vision of four worldkingdoms replaced by the kingdom of the saints or holy ones of the most high, which will endure for ever. How many languages is the book of daniel written in. The second chiasm encompasses the majority of the hebrew writings in daniel, chapters 812. Four beasts come out of the sea, the ancient of days sits in judgment over them, and one like a son of man is given eternal kingship. All type which is in bold lettering accentuates the focal point of. That framework is a nested parallelism structure in technical terms, a chiasm. This means that it is the centre of leviticus itself. It is our belief this is evidence of the purposeful chiasms within the book.
Daniel chapters 812 are prophecies intended for daniel personally and specifically concern his people. Shea, expanded on lenglets foundation to include the entire book of daniel. There is a clear chiasm a concentric literary structure in which the main. Wikipedia for my sbl paper, im going to propose a danielic structure underneath marks gospel.
Aug 06, 20 the book of daniel as a whole is written as two unique chiasm s. As it happens, the book of daniel offers a readymade framework for unpacking its meaning in the workplace. A the prophecy concerning four gentile empires that dominate israel and the world b god delivers daniel s friends from gentile persecution. Jul 01, 2014 this chiastic approach, which is a rhetorical practice that examines symmetrical patterns in prose, allows daniel to simplify the confusing parts of revelation, while revelation brings the stories of daniel into practical application for those of us who live in the last days of this earths history. Daniel 3 daniel s third chapter moves us forward one step in the chiasm i described last week the chiasm of chapters 27 can be charted this way.
Daniel the book of daniel is probably the most recently composed book in the hebrew bible, though not the. Literary structure chiasmus, chiasm of book of daniel. Chiasmus in the book of mormon book of mormon central. Once for all the book of daniel is a double chiasm. The first chiasm is written in aramaic from chapters 27 following an abc. The following kingdoms are generally seen to be among the four great empires. The unity of daniel 7 and its role in the books structure are much debated isses. The chiasm design that daniel employs is an ordered sequence of ideas that leads up to an ap ex, after which the ideas are presented in reverse order. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so. Fall of rome proves daniel the book of daniel correctly predicted the how of the fall of rome. In the previous study in this series, i analyzed the chiastic structure of chap. While both the liberalcritical and dispensational interpretations of daniel 9 2427 substantially remove jesus from the prophecy, the historicalmessianic interpretation finds the fulfillment of. The double chiastic structure is emphasized by the two languages in which the book is written. But those two chiasms and their two themes build up to a central theme.
Dec 15, 2014 is the entire book of daniel a chiasm. The first chiasm is written in aramaic from chapters 27 following an a, b, c, c. I am finding that the symmetricalchiastic structure also serves as a great memory aid. The book in your hands is the second part of the chiasm of daniel and revelation. In fact, the day of atonement is the centre of the torah, given that leviticus is the central book another chiastic structure. Daniel is bilingual being both hebrew and aramaic, the identity of the four kingdoms is unknown, the vision of the seventy weeks is difficult to interepret, and there are many historical questions that are controversial, such as nebuchadnezzars madness, king belshazzar, and darius the mede.
In the chiasm in daniel 9, the central point or apex is the death of the messiah. Conversely, if a literary formations are lacking in the book, as a whole, the likelihood of an isolated chiasm is unlikely. Feb 28, 2021 while many scholars now acknowledge the presence of an aramaic chiasm in daniel, there are many who would take issue with the presence of a second hebrew chiasm. Panos began an indepth study of the two main chiastic structures of daniel. Nov 23, 2015 daniel managed to stay true to his convictions in a manner of peace and respect. This brings us to the final and central unit, the day of atonement, which finds no parallel within the book. I welcome commentsdoes this chiastic structure for the book of daniel work.
Steinmanns findings uncovered a structure of two interlocked chiasms. Without the book of daniel, the book of revelation is incomplete. Hebrew, used in daniel chapters 812, was intended for the nation of israel. There is a clear chiasm a concentric literary structure in which the main point of a passage is often placed in the centre and framed by parallel elements on either side in abba fashion in the chapter arrangement of the aramaic section. Daniel 79 daniel s visions four kingdoms represented in various ways daniel 1012 daniel s vision of the end of the exile anyone interested in my sermons on daniel, through chapter 10, can find them by scrolling down on this page. Daniel s chiastic outline consists of two chiasms promoting two key themes. The book of daniel biblical hermeneutics stack exchange. The aramaic is special divine revelation to the gentiles, who spoke aramaic. This shows the important relationship of the book of daniel to the book of revelation. In this way, he remained loyal to the king and found favor in his eyes but he also remained loyal to god. Shea proposed that daniel is composed of a double chiasm. The structural center of a chiasm is its exegetical focus as well. It fell out of use, however, and in modern times the. This response is not surprising given the paradigm that governs modern biblical studies.
Correspondence table of pericopes and literary structure. The first chapter of the book of daniel is an introduction, however chapters 27 and 812 appear to be in chiasmic order. Daniel 9 2427 promises the messiah within 500 years. Shea proposed that the book of daniel is composed of a doublechiasm. Welch discovered the presence of chiasmus on august 16, 1967 while on his mission in germany, and since that time, chiasmus has served as a profound witness for the beauty and complexity of the book of mormon.
The overarching theme which weaves itself through each part of this chiasm is gods sovereignty. Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book o f daniel. The big picture of the book of daniel bible commentary. Lenglet also proposed a chiastic language structure for the aramaic portion of chapters 2 through 7 in 1972. The chiastic structure of the book of daniel, part 2 by. Book of daniel chiastic structures doublechiasm theory. So, there is no real substitute for earnest, taxing study to receive and share the blessing promised him that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those thing which are written therein. Much like a trick picture, their structure leaps off the page once we know what to look for. Others have attempted to fit the entire book into a chiasm or two, like steinmann, but they disagree on the details and miss some of the parallels above. The chart on the left helps illustrate the double chiasm found in the book of daniel. And, each book and each chapter has its mirrored image or reverse. Not only do the halves exhibit a chiastic form, but that form has been highlighted through the use of language and literary genre. He suggests the following chiasm but only by omitting 11. Hamilton is not the first to argue for daniel having a chiastic structure.
I know that it is slightly unbalanced with chapter 2 being matched. The discovery of chiasmus in the book of mormon is one of the most significant scholarly contributions to understanding and appreciating the nephite record. Many have noted the similarities in at least the first 3 bullet points above, and posited a partial chiasm of dan 27. I actually think his chiastic reading of daniel 1 does a better job with the literary structure than my reading. He argued that the chiastic structure is emphasized by the two.
Knowing this structure can help the presentday reader to understand passages as well as to appreciate how it reflects a guiding intelligence behind the word of god. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bce biblical apocalypse with an ostensible 6th century bce setting, combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times both cosmic in scope and political in focus. He argued that the chiastic structure is emphasized by the two languages that the book is written in. Chapters 2, 7, and 8 employ symbolism accompanied by some interpretation of the symbols 2. Elsewhere on this site you can read much more about the structure of the book of daniel and how these two stories are similar. A chiastic structure is a literary device to emphasize the statement at the center of the chiasm. A 10,214 b 10,1521a c 10,21b11,2a d 11,2b35 c 12,1a b 12,1b4 a 12. Daniel s double chiasm a series on daniels prophecies and fulfillment part 4 among its many distinctions, the book of daniel was written in two different languages in which half was written in hebrew and the other in aramaic. Literary structure chiasm, chiasmus of book of daniel chiastic structure and concentric structure and parallel of each pericope 1four young israerites at the babylonian court dan 1. Finally in 2008, andrew steinmann demonstrated that the entire book of daniel is ordered according to chiastic conventions. The poetic structure explains the chronological sequence. Jan 07, 2019 the major sections of the whole book of daniel are composed in a double chiasm. Structure, composition and authorship the book of daniel.
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