Investigates whether differences between the OG translation and the Hebrew/Aramaic parent text of Daniel 7―12 are due to intentional theological Tendenz, as has been predominantly proposed in the past, or to errors or the unintentional cross-linguistic mechanics of translation, or to a combination of these reasons. Jeansonne's investigation proceeds in five stages.

Lester argues here that the book of Daniel contains a complex but poetically unified narrative. This can be identified through certain narrative qualities, including the allusion to Isaiah throughout, which uniquely contributes to the narrative arc. The narrative begins with the inauguration of foreign rule over Israel, and concludes with that rule's end. Each stage of the book's composition casts that foreign rule in terms ever-more-reminiscent of Isaiah's depiction of Assyria. That enemy is first conscripted by God to punish Israel, but then arrogates punitive authority to itself until ultimately punished in its turn and destroyed. Each apocalypse in the book of Daniel carries forward, in its own way, that allusive characterization. Lester thus argues that an allusive poetics can be investigated as an intentional rhetorical trope in a work for which the concept of “author” is complex; that a narrative criticism can incorporate a critical understanding of composition history. The “Daniel” resulting from this inquiry depicts Daniel's 2nd-century Jewish reader not as suffering punishment for breaking covenant with God, but as enduring in covenant faithfulness the last days of the “Assyrian” arrogator's violent excesses. This narrative problematizes any simplistic narrative conceptions of biblical Israel as ceaselessly rebellious, lending a unique note to conversations about suffering and theodicy in the Hebrew Bible, and about anti-Judaic habits in Christian reading of the Hebrew Bible.

"Commentators have long set the book of Daniel within the context of world history and the genre of apocalyptic literature. The present volume argues that the primary context for the book is the composition of the Hebrew Bible as a whole. Daniel in the Context of the Hebrew Bible has implications for every major hermeneutical issue in Daniel including the four kingdoms, the son of man, and the prophecy of seventy sevens. In the final analysis, the Hebrew Bible and the book of Daniel are decidedly messianic, eschatological, and faith-oriented."--pub. desc.

The Greek Old Testament, commonly known as Septuagint, has its origins in Ptolemaic Egypt. Egypt developed into a strongly bilingual country, and in the fourth century CE, when Christianity was on firmer ground in Egypt, the Septuagint was translated into Coptic. The intertwined and prolific relation between the Greek and the Coptic Old Testament is now aptly reflected also in the joint ventures of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Since the 19th century, Göttingen was and is the global center of Septuagint research. In 2015, a new Academy project started, which deals with the translation of the Septuagint into Coptic-Sahidic: "Digitale Gesamtedition und Übersetzung des koptisch-sahidischen Alten Testaments". Finally, in 2020, the new long-term project "Die Editio critica maior des griechischen Psalters" started at the Göttingen Academy. Both projects work closely together, and the present volume is one of the results of this fruitful collaboration.

This volume brings together essays written over two decades by a leading authority in the field. The collection includes 2 recent essays that are published here for the first time. The articles cover major aspects of the discussion of Jewish apocalypticism, in relation to the Hebrew bible, the New Testament and the Hellenistic-Roman world. Distinctive strengths of the volume include clusters of essays on the Sibylline oracles and on the relationship between apocalypticism and wisdom. A section of the book is devoted to studies on Daniel. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

This comprehensive introduction to the Septuagint and other Greek versions of the Hebrew Bible will prove indispensable to the study of the textual and cultural aspects of the first translation of the Bible, and of its reception by Jews and Christians.

Daniel is a book intended to be read thoroughly from beginning to end. The final verse (12:13) promises a restoration of what was lost in the first two verses (1:1–2). Between these bookends, with artistic flare, historical accuracy, and apocalyptic hope, Daniel encourages readers that God was, is, and always will be in control. The book’s portrayal of God, its rich theology, and its contribution to the spiritual formation of God’s people influenced Jesus, the New Testament writers, and the early church, and it deserves a place of prominence in the church today. With substantive exegesis, clear exposition, and relevant teaching outlines, Interpreting Daniel for Preaching and Teaching helps preachers and teachers to unpack Daniel’s significance for the church today.