Daniel 1-6: Daniel and Joseph and God

Who is Daniel?
Daniel is a complex composite historical-fictitious figure. We read of him in Ezekiel when he was grouped with Noah and Job, making him a historical proto-Jewish figure. He also shares a name with a 14th-century BCE Ugaritic king. And while there is no evidence that a prophet named Daniel  ever lived, his character is decidedly Jewish, embodying many of the themes we see in the rest of the Bible. His story introduces a historicized-fictional character into fictionalized history. We can determine this through the folkloric nature of the tale and the textual errors that occur throughout.

The Book of Daniel
The book of Daniel probably arose at some point in the sixth to second centuries BCE, after the Babylonian exile that inspired the tale.

The book of Daniel is divided into two sections, each of which provides comfort to an oppressed community. The first section relates the story of Daniel the dream interpreter in the Babylonian royal court. The second section re-imagines Daniel as the recipient of divine revelation, apocalypses of what will occur at "the end times." The two sections work together to demonstrate how Jews are able to survive under oppression and provide a blueprint for the future of history, which will ultimately end well. We hear in the final chapter of this section whispers of immortality. That will be explained in next week's post. For now, let us turn to Daniel the dream interpreter.

Daniel and Joseph
It is easy to determine where the author's sympathies lie with even a brief reading of Daniel 1. We learn from Daniel 1.2 that "The Lord let King Jehoiakim of Judah fall into his power." King Nebuchadnezzar deports four strong, handsome, wise men from Judah to Babylon, and among them, "God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master." (Daniel 1.9) The men are supported by God as they prepare to serve in the Babylonian royal court: "To these four men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom." (Daniel 1.17) We are working from a tradition that favors the southern nation of Judah and posits a God that takes an active part in human affairs. The second part should come as no surprise. Increasingly throughout the Bible we have seen that God acts for specific reasons, recently to punish those who have done wrong. Here, however, we return to a more folkloric tradition, with God acting positively on behalf of his people. Daniel's privileged position in the court should remind us of another great folkloric character: Joseph.

Like Joseph, Daniel is an interpreter of dreams serving in a foreign royal court and succeeding wonderfully though God's intervention. For example, though Daniel and his friends request to be fed only vegetables in order to maintain Jewish identity through keeping a kosher diet, the four men miraculously thrive through the aid of God.

The miracles continue with Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. After all of the king's men fail to both reveal and interpret the dream, Daniel  is able  to save them all from death by revealing and interpreting the dream. This story holds remarkable resonances with Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dream in Genesis 41. In fact, Joseph's rewards from Pharaoh all are paralleled in the book of Daniel, though in the latter book they occur over a longer period, and are bestowed by three kings.

Upon hearing the dream and its interpretation, king Nebuchadnezzar treats Daniel as a God, and raises him to the position of chief prefect and ruler over the whole province, though the man is a mere exile in his kingdom. Rule over a foreign land is the first paralleled reward:

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshipped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him. The king said to Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylonian chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.
(Daniel 2.46-48)

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has shown you all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command; only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you." And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
(Genesis 41. 39-41)

We see the latter part of this reward in Daniel's (chronologically third) reward from king Darius,who sets Daniel over a number of satraps [government officials] in the kingdom.

The second (chronologically) reward is material gifts from the king:

Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed in purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made concerning him that he should rank third in the kingdom.
(Daniel 5.29)

Removing the signet ring from his hand, Pharaoh put it on Joseph's hand; he arrayed him in garments of fine linen, and put a gold chain around his neck.
(Genesis 41.42)

Both the Joseph and Daniel tales serve the same purpose: to give hope to readers during difficult times. Though taken away from his family, Joseph becomes a prominent government official in a foreign land. Though exiled from his homeland, Daniel is able to make a name for himself in the Babylonian royal court. The tales raise the spirits through their humor and praise of the great men. They also serve a greater cosmic purpose: to glorify God.

The Glory of God
As we have seen in many recent readings, God's relationship with the Jews has been strained. Nevertheless, the book of Daniel serves to glorify him through clever textual details. In fact, it is generally the Babylonian ruler that is portrayed as glorifying God, as opposed to an exile of Jerusalem. This authorizes God's glory by having people outside of the Jewish cult acknowledge the greatness of YHWH's power.

After Daniel's friends survive the furnace that kills the men that throw them in, Nebuchadnezzar declares:

"Any people, nation, or language that utters blasphemy against the God of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from lim, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." (Daniel 3.29)

Soon after, Daniel prophesies Nebuchadnezzar's madness, asserting it is the product of God and that only through accepting God's righteousness will he be cured. In the end, this occurs, and the king is only saved from madness once he recognizes the glory of God:

When that period was over, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me...Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven,
for all his works are truth,
and his ways are justice;
and he is able to bring low
those who walk in pride.
(Daniel 4.37)

Finally, when Daniel survives his night in the lion's den, King Darius declares,

"I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:
For he is the living God,
enduring forever.
His kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion has no end.
He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;
for he has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions."
(Daniel 6.26-27)

Though his people are in exile, surely God is a force to be reckoned with.