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Introduction
to Daniel
Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL
This
book is called
in the Vulgate Latin version
"the Prophecy of
Daniel"; and in the Syriac and Arabic versions "the Prophecy of
Daniel the Prophet". This Daniel was of the children of Judah
that were
carried captive into Babylon with Jehoiakim; and was of princely blood
if not
of the royal seed
as appears from
Daniel 1:3.
JosephusF1Antiqu. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 1. is express for it
that he
was of the kindred and family of Zedekiah: and Saadiah GaonF2Comment.
in Dan. i. 5. says he was of the seed of Hezekiah
and so fulfilled the
prophecy in 2 Kings 20:18. As
to what the author of the "Lives of the Prophets"
ascribed to Epiphanius
saysF3Pseudo-Epiphan
de Vit. Prophet. c. 10.
that he was born in
upper Bethabara
not far from Jerusalem
it is not to be depended on; or that
his father's name was Sabaam
according to a tradition mentioned by the true
EpiphaniusF4Contra Haeres. haeres. 55. . The JewsF5T.
Bab. Bava Bathra
fol. 15. 1. would have it that this book was not written by
Daniel himself
but by the men of the great synagogue; though it is evident
from the book itself
that Daniel is the writer of it
as from Daniel 7:1. That he
wrote books
which were received
read
and believed by the Jews as of God
is
affirmed by JosephusF6Antiqu. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 7. ; and the Jews
in general acknowledge that this book was written by the influence of the Holy
Spirit
but not by prophecy; they
without any foundation
distinguishing
between the Holy Spirit and prophecy. And so Maimonides saysF7Moreh
Nevochim
par. 2. c. 45.
it is the general consent of their nation
that this
book is among the holy writings
but not among the Prophets; nor will they
allow Daniel to be a prophet: the reasons they give are frivolous; what seems
to have induced them to degrade him is the manifest prophecy of the time of the
Messiah's coming in this book
which sometimes they are obliged to own is fixed
in it. They tell us a story of Jonathan ben Uzziel
that having finished his
paraphrase of the Prophets
thought to have wrote one on the Hagiographa
or holy
writings
among which they place the book of Daniel; but was forbid by
"Bath Kol"
or a voice from heaven
giving this as a reason
because
that in it is contained the end of the MessiahF8T. Bab. Megillah
fol. 3. 1.
the precise time of his coming; and the gloss on the passage adds
by way of explanation
"in
the book of Daniel;'
though
elsewhere they would have it
that after it was made known to Daniel
it was
taken away from him. For so
they sayF9Bereshit Rabba
sect. 98.
fol. 84. 4.
there are two men to whom the end was revealed
and afterwards it
was hidden from them; and these are they
Jacob and Daniel: from Daniel
according to Daniel 12:4
"but thou
O Daniel
shut up the words
and seal the book &c."
from Jacob
Genesis 49:1
"that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days".
Yet the prophecy of Daniel was so clear
with respect to the time of the
Messiah's coming
that one of their Rabbins
who lived about fifty years before
the coming of Christ
asserted that the time of the Messiah
as signified by
Daniel
could not be deferred longer than those fifty yearsF11R.
Nehumiah apud Grotium
de Ver. Relig. Christ. I. 5. sect. 14. ; and a most
glaring prophecy it is
and sufficient to denominate Daniel a prophet
as well
as many more contained in this book. And
after all
Maimonides himself owns
that he
and the other writers of the Hagiographa
or holy writings
may be
called prophets in general. And Aben Ezra observes of Daniel
in his preface
that he delivered out prophecies of things now past
and of things to come;
yea
he expressly calls him a prophet on Daniel 1:17. And
Jacchiades
another of their commentators on this book
says that he attained
to the highest degree of prophecy. To which may be added the testimony of
JosephusF12Ibid. ( Antiqu. l. 10. c. 10. sect. 7.) ut supra.
who
says he was one of the greatest prophets
and to be preferred to others; since
he not only predicted things future
but fixed the time when they should come
to pass. And
above all
and what should satisfy us Christians
he is expressly
called a prophet by our Lord
Matthew 24:15.
There are no other authentic writings of Daniel
which bear his name; the
stories of Susannah
and of Bel and the Dragon
which make the
"thirteenth" and "fourteenth" chapters in the Greek of
Theodotion
and in the Vulgate Latin version
are apocryphal and spurious. The
Oriental writers make Daniel the author of a volume
entitled
"Principles
relating to the Explanation of Dreams". And there is another book in the
king of France's library
with this title
"Odmath-al-mantoul ân Daniel
al-nabi"; which contains predictions of the Prophet Daniel
received by
tradition from him. This is a book which abounds with falsities
forged by the
Mahometans
and founded on the real prophecies of DanielF13Calmet's
Dictionary
in the word "Daniel". . This book
written by him
is
partly historical
relating facts in which he was concerned; and partly
prophetic
of things that should happen from his time to the end of the world
and especially of the Messiah and his kingdom; and it is written partly in
Hebrew
and partly in Chaldee. This great man
as he was both in nature and
grace
in religion and politics
lived throughout the captivity
but does not
seem ever to have returned into Judea; but continued in the courts of the kings
of the Medes and Persians
to take care of the affairs of his people the Jews.
Where he died
and was buried
is not certain. Some say in Babylon; and others
which is more likely
at Susa on the Tigris
where he was in the third year of
Cyrus
Daniel 10:1. So
says AbulfedaF14Apud Schickard. Not. in Purim. ; with which agrees
the account of Benjamin of TudelaF15Itinerar. p. 86. .
Commentator
John Gill (November 23
1697-October 14
1771) was an English Baptist
a biblical scholar
and a staunch Calvinist.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism is a matter of academic debate.
He was born in Kettering
Northamptonshire.
In his youth
he attended Kettering Grammar School
mastering the Latin
classics and learning Greek by age eleven. The young scholar continued
self-study in everything from logic to Hebrew. His love for Hebrew would follow
Gill throughout his life.
At the age of about twelve
Gill heard a
sermon from his pastor
William Wallis
on the text
"And the Lord called
unto Adam
and said unto him
where art thou?" (Genesis 3:9). The message
stayed with Gill and eventually led to his conversion. It was not until seven
years later that young John made a public profession when he was almost
nineteen years of age.
His first pastoral work was as an intern
assisting John Davis at Higham Ferrers in 1718 at age twenty one. He was
subsequently called to pastor the Strict Baptist church at Goat Yard Chapel
Horsleydown
Southwark in 1719. In 1757
his congregation needed larger
premises and moved to a Carter Lane
St. Olave's Street
Southwark. His
pastorate lasted 51 years. This Baptist Church was once pastored by Benjamin
Keach and would later become the New Park Street Chapel and then the
Metropolitan Tabernacle pastored by Charles Spurgeon.
During Gill's ministry the church strongly
supported the preaching of George Whitefield at nearby Kennington Common.
In 1748
Gill was awarded the honorary degree
of Doctor of Divinity by the University of Aberdeen. He was a profound scholar
and a prolific author. His most important works are:
John Gill is the first major writing Baptist
theologian. His work retains its influence into the twenty-first century.
Gill's relationship with hyper-Calvinism in English Baptist life is a matter of
debate. Peter Toon has argued that Gill was himself a hyper-Calvinist
which
would make Gill the father of Baptist hyper-Calvinism. Tom Nettles has argued
that Gill was not a hyper-Calvinist himself
which would make him merely a
precursor and hero to Baptist hyper-Calvinists.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James Version Bible
NKJV
The
NKJV was commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson Publishers.
One-hundred-and-thirty respected Bible scholars
church leaders
and lay
Christians worked for seven years with the goal of updating the vocabulary and
grammar of the King James Version
while preserving the classic style of the of
the 1611 version.
The
task of updating the English of the KJV involved many changes in word order
grammar
vocabulary
and spelling. One of the most significant features of the
NKJV was its removal of the second person pronouns "thou"
"thee"
"ye
" "thy
" and "thine." Verb
forms were also modernized in the NKJV (for example
"speaks" rather
than "speaketh").
Young’s
Literal Translation was completed in 1898 by Robert Young
who also compiled
Young’s Analytical Concordance. It is an extremely literal translation that
attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek
and Hebrew writings. The online text is from a reprint of the 1898 edition as
published by Baker Book House
Grand Rapids
Michigan. Obvious errors in
spelling or inconsistent spellings of the same word were corrected in the
online edition of the text. This text is Public Domain in the United States.