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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.