The four visions of chapters seven to twelve are an early example of apocalyptic literature and, in contrast to the earlier chapters, are introduced in the first person. The book of daniel in the ot and the revelation in the nt are possible exceptions. The first principle is the fact that the book of revelation uses extensive figurative language. The latter may be defined as symbolic, visionary, prophetic literature, usually composed during oppressive conditions and being chiefly eschatological in theological content. Much of the imagery in the book of revelation has been used and essentially defined by the writers of the old testament. It is a good resource to use when preachingteaching on apocalyptic texts, be they located within the traditional prophets such as ezekiel or isaiah, as well as the synoptic gospels, pauline epistles and book of revelation. Dec 22, 2019 the book is made up primarily of historical narrative found mainly in chs. Apocalyptic literature usually comes out of difficult times.
The last apocalyptic vision in the book of daniel is the longest and most detailed, but also the most thinly veiled of daniels visions. The book of daniel is the apocalyptic book of the hebrew bible. Daniel seems to be the earliest apocalypse, followed by a whole body of jewish literature written between 200 bc and 100 ad in imitation of daniel. Apocalypse had its beginnings in passages in the works of the prophets. Any attempt at a correct understanding of these important passages necessitates some understanding of the nature of apocalyptic literature and how it should be interpreted. Many old testament prophets were given visions by god of what society would be like when israel and judah returned to god and the kingdom of god was established on earth. This is a survey of how apocalyptic literature is laid out and applied in various contexts of both the hebrew bible and new testament. It is worth noting that in biblical apocalyptic literature, numbers are used in their normal way about 94% of the time.
Functionally, theyre sort of like superheroes in comic books. Apocalyptic literature a series of pseudepigraphic works, mainly of jewish origin, appeared during the period between 210 bc and 200 ad. Daniel the forms of the old testament literature book 20. Apocalyptic literature typically includes a number of concepts. Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in postexilic jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early christians apocalypse. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book.
Second temple jewish literature should be discussed briefly, as it influenced the new testament use of numbers greatly, especially the book of revelation. The discovery of pesharim literature at qumran made it clear that daniel 9 is. Daniel the forms of the old testament literature book 20 kindle edition by collins, john j. Table 10 shows the number allusions made by new testament writers to the book of daniel. For example, the book of daniel comes from the era 165 b.
We appreciate the nature of apocalyptic literature far better today than we did in centuries past. A product of the judeochristian tradition, apocalyptic literature is. It contains careful calculations of the dates of future events and numbers have. The few examples of apocalyptic in the old testament are all late, and the popularity of apocalyptic in the new testament is indication that it was a relatively new and popular literary form. Sir isaac newton in his observations upon the prophecies of daniel and the apocalypse of st. This type of literature shows up as a pure source in maccabees which is not in the jewish torah and. We know quite a lot about how the book of daniel came to be written. The book of daniel offers a fully matured and classic example of this genre of literature unfulfilled prophecy. The new testament vision of jesus coming on the clouds may have its origins in daniels vision of the son of man dan. Stanley p491 this would be what the author of daniel intended to speak out with the elements of apocalyptic literature in it. This type of literature shows up as a pure source in maccabees which is not in the jewish torah and in revelations. Apocalyptic literature frequently contains strange descriptions and bizarre imagery. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history. The book of daniel contains the only apocalypse in the hebrew bible.
Apocalyptic literature we were talking about things apocalyptic and we need to finish that discussion so were going to spend some more time in the book of revelation. The book was an important influence on later apocalyptic writing and attitudes in both judaism and christianity. Book of daniel oxford research encyclopedia of religion. One feature of this section is daniels reliance on heavenly figures to interpret and explain his visions. The book of daniel has sometimes been classified with the prophetic books of the old testament, a mistake owing largely to a failure to distinguish between the predominant characteristics of prophetic and apocalyptic writings. One feature of this section is daniels reliance on. Chapters 1 to 6 describe daniel s interpretation of king nebuchadnezzars dream. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a. One feature of this section is daniel s reliance on heavenly figures to interpret and explain his visions.
Apocalyptic literature biblical studies oxford bibliographies. Part 1 provides criteria for interpreting apocalyptic literature. This summary of the book of daniel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of daniel. After an initial overview of things apocalyptic, collins proceeds to deal with individual apocalyptic texts the early enoch literature, the book of daniel, the dead sea scrolls, and others concluding with an examination of apocalypticism in early christianity. In the old testament, the books of daniel, ezekiel, isaiah, and joel contain apocalyptic literature. Daniel is one of a large number of jewish apocalypses, all of them.
The book is made up primarily of historical narrative found mainly in chs. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. The book of revelation is full of symbolic numbers. One god is in control of all events, persons, and nations. When i think of daniel, the veggie tales episode of rack, shack, and. The book of daniel belongs to a category of literature called apocalyptic.
As has been said of the book of revelation, so we might say of daniel 712, that it is a picture book rather than a code book. Part 2 discusses not only daniel and revelation but also apocalyptic dimensions of the hebrew prophets, the earliest jesus movement, the gospels, and paul. Similar to the book of daniel, many of them describe visions their authors purportedly saw. Why is some literature in this style included in the bible. Although apocalyptic has its roots in ot prophecy in general, the real prototype of the nonbiblical ap. Apocalyptic literature is full of symbols that are seen in dreams and visions. Apocalyptic literature is a specific form of prophecy, largely involving symbols and imagery and predicting disaster and destruction.
Thirdly, the whole genre of apocalyptic literature which daniel represents only developed during the period of crisis and persecution under antiochus. Daniel, with an introduction to apocalyptic literture is volume xx of the forms of the old testament literature, a series that aims to present a formcritical analysis of. Although not as fully developed as the apocalyptic visions described in the book of daniel, the oracles, as they are titled in zechariah 914, contain apocalyptic. In the first two apocalyptic visions of the second part of the book of daniel. Intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. In fact, it has been said that the apocalyptic was really an attempt to rationalize and systematize the predictive side of. Apocalyptic literature free online biblical library. Apocalyptic elements can be detected in the prophetical books of joel and zechariah, while isaiah chapters 2427 and 33 present welldeveloped apocalypses. Pdf danielwith an introduction to apocalyptic literature ernst. The elements of apocalyptic literature in daniel 712. This imagery is also based on zechariah 3 and 4 along with daniel 7.
The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly. The book of daniel seems to contain a number of literary forms e. Apocalyptic in the old testament apart from the book of daniel. The book of daniel, the first of the apocalyptic writings, did not represent an entirely new type of literature. Several books of jewish apocalyptic literature are available for study. Numbers, symbolic meaning of bakers evangelical dictionary.
However, there are sources of apocalyptic literature in addition to these. Chapters 914 of the book of zechariah are an early example of apocalyptic literature. We should note that while a number of apocalypses an nounce the advent of a. But actually, we are not left to attempt a stab in the dark. The apocalyptic literature interpreting biblical texts. May 11, 2018 the last apocalyptic vision in the book of daniel is the longest and most detailed, but also the most thinly veiled of daniel s visions. Apocalyptic literature this type of literature is most readily recognized in the book of daniel in the old testament and the revelation to john in the new testament.
In summary, the use of apocalyptic writing in the bible was inspired by god, and this style serves as an excellent literary medium for conveying future prophetic events. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. John oakes taught a class on apocalyptic literature, including the book of revelation on six consecutive saturdays beginning september 28 at the mission center of hope in san diego. Any attempt at a correct understanding of these important passages necessitates some understanding of the nature of apocalyptic literature and how it. A popular introduction to and overview of biblical apocalyptic literature, with a theological and canonical emphasis. The book of daniel chapters 1 to 6 describe daniel s interpretation of king nebuchadnezzars dream. Daniel is one of a very few books in the hevrew bible that have parts written fully in the genre of apocalyptic, the style of writing that developed into what we. The book implies that daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9.
Apocalyptic literature, of which daniel is surely a classic example, is characterized by a sense of divine sovereignty, even determinism. Dec 03, 2012 written during a period of persecution in the 2nd c. With an introduction to apocalyptic literature john. This tendency toward a clandestine use of numbers is. The division is reinforced by the chiastic arrangement of the aramaic chapters see below, and by a chronological progression in chapters 16 from babylonian to median rule, and from.
One can see a trend in late old testament apocalyptic literature toward a cryptic use of numbers. Daniel, with an introduction to apocalyptic literture is volume xx of the forms of the old testament literature, a series that aims to present a formcritical analysis of every book and each unit in the hebrew bible. And in fact the book of revelation is largely a christian interpretation of the. An introduction to the interpretation of apocalyptic literature. Because of its similarities to the nonbiblical lit. Written during a period of persecution in the 2nd c.
Apocalyptic literature encyclopedia of the bible bible. Part of the reason for this confusion is that the book of daniels got a bit of a split personality. Reflection on the book of daniel apocalyptic literature. Bce the book of daniel contains many features and themes of apocalyptic literature, including an eschatology according to which god.
Chapters 1 to 6 describe daniels interpretation of king nebuchadnezzars dream. The book of revelation is particularly indebted to daniel, though it is worth remembering that the writer was drawing on a much wider range of sources than modern christians are familiar with. In the greek bible the title of the book of revelation is apokalypsis. The first part chapters 16 is all courtly legendsreal sockittoem celebrations of daniel and pals as they outwit babylonian and persian kings and stand up for their faith. In fact, it has been said that the apocalyptic was really an attempt to rationalize and systematize the predictive side of prophecy. So the visions of daniel are really one of our first important pieces of apocalyptic literature. A number of other christian apocalypses were written during the period. The most striking is the resemblance they all bear to the book of daniel. The book of ruth, in which a foreign woman enters the community of israel and becomes greatgrandmother to none other than king david, expresses a view of gentiles entirely opposed to that of ezra and nehemiah. Jewish apocalyptic literature apocalyptic literature is a type of prophetical writing that developed in the postexilic jewish culture and was popular among early christians. The book of daniel is divided between the court tales of chapters 16 and the apocalyptic visions of 712, and between the hebrew of chapters 1 and 812 and the aramaic of chapters 27.