Part 1: Introduction. The book of Daniel exists in three different ancient versions. And when I say “different,” I don’t mean minor spelling variations or slightly different word choices. I mean that in some chapters, these three versions tell the story in dramatically different ways, with entire sections that appear in one version and are completely absent from another.
What makes this even more remarkable is that one of these versions was so thoroughly replaced in church history that for over a thousand years, almost nobody even knew it existed.
This is the story of the three voices of Daniel. And we’re going to listen to all three of them.
I learned a lot from this post. You've done a great job taking something complicated and making it simple. I'm definating looking forward to the rest of this series!
I just want to clarify...
The NETS translation used the Old Greek and Brenton's use the Theodotion version.
Daniel is such a good test case for readers because it makes textual plurality hard to avoid. Once a book exists in multiple ancient forms, "the text" stops feeling like one clean object and starts looking like a history of transmission, reception, and communal use.
That does not make Daniel weaker. It makes the book more interesting, because the different voices show how living traditions carry texts forward instead of simply freezing them.
I learned a lot from this post. You've done a great job taking something complicated and making it simple. I'm definating looking forward to the rest of this series!
I just want to clarify...
The NETS translation used the Old Greek and Brenton's use the Theodotion version.
Is that correct?
Not quite. NETS actually includes both Theodotion and the Old Greek.
Daniel is such a good test case for readers because it makes textual plurality hard to avoid. Once a book exists in multiple ancient forms, "the text" stops feeling like one clean object and starts looking like a history of transmission, reception, and communal use.
That does not make Daniel weaker. It makes the book more interesting, because the different voices show how living traditions carry texts forward instead of simply freezing them.
Yes, exactly!
Very good information here. I’ve always found Daniel to be one of the most complicated books to study. Looking forward to more on here.
Daniel is definitely complex. It comes with being so theologically rich, I think.
I'm grateful that you're getting value from it and I pray my work continues to bless you 🙏🏻