Vol. 4 No. 1 (2023): Apokaliptika
Studies

Historical apocalypses in the Book of Daniel

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Rita Tuna
Pázmány Péter Katolikus Egyetem Bölcsészet- és Társadalomtudományi Kar — Budapest
DOI: https://doi.org/10.61176/Axis.2023.4.1.5

Published 2023

Keywords

  • historical apocalypse,
  • book of Daniel,
  • Jewish tradition

How to Cite

Tuna, R. (2023). Historical apocalypses in the Book of Daniel. Axis – Journal of Religious History and the History of Ideas, 4(1), 57–63. https://doi.org/10.61176/Axis.2023.4.1.5

Copyright (c) 2023 Tuna Rita

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

We consider the biblical Book of Daniel to be the source of historical apocalypses. In this study, I would like to present the history of Book of Daniel in the light of Jewish tradition. In the first part of the study, I describe Daniel's visions. My aim is to review the historical aspects of Daniel's visions. I will analyse the narrative of the “four kingdoms” and the so-called “statue analogy” with particular attention. In the Jewish tradition, knowledge of the Qumran texts is an important assistance in understanding historical apocalypses: 4Q180-181 shows the eras of history, 4Q246 shows the visions of a king, 4Q248 is about an Egyptian campaign. Understanding the Akkadian prophecies also plays an important role in the historical apocalypse tradition. These prophecies can be compared to the biblical Jewish tradition. I will touch on that as well the Persian dualism and the Mesopotamian fortune-telling tradition also influenced the Jewish historical thinking.

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