AllFaith.com
Thus Say The Prophets
Prophet Daniel

We at AllFaith.com seek to understand our history and Scripture, especially the Bible, ever more thoroughly and to encourage others to seek the God of the Written Torah. We believe the Oral Torah (Talmud) and the Rabbinic structure are valid but should never be used to supersede the Written Tanach, as some do.

We view Daniel as a vital Jewish prophet and his book as holy Scripture. Why isn't Daniel considered a prophet by many of the Jewish Sages, and why is his canonical book listed under the Ketuvim (writings) rather than under the Navi'im (Prophets)? The self-contradictory answer is found in the Talmud at Megillah 3a.

The Gemara asks: Ultimately, doesn't the phrase "these are the commandments" (Leviticus 27:34) indicate that a prophet is not permitted to initiate any matter of halakha from now on? Instead, may it not be suggested that the final letters already existed at the time of the giving of the Torah, but that over the course of time, the people forgot them, and the prophets came and reestablished them...

This Rabbinic point intends to support the idea that although all truth is contained in the Five Books of Moshe (the Written Torah), due to human fallibility, God established a continuous series of legal and interpretative authority through the Levites, Judges, Kings, and Prophets, that now resides with the Rabbis. This point argues that God-established authority and doctrine never contradict the Written Torah. They always maintain the correct understanding of it in terms that are understandable and applicable to those they address according to time and circumstances. We agree with this view.

In Daniel, however, we find many unique prophetic teachings that, depending on how they are interpreted, challenge later Rabbinic interpretation and dogma. In this study, we will consider several such cases. Unlike their biblically established predecessors, the Pharisees-cum-Rabbis - who have no explicit biblical origin or authority - wrote a vast library to establish "Rabbinic Judaism." While the Rabbinic claim is that this "oral Torah" was given to the "sages" through Moshe on Har Sinai, nothing supports this claim in the written Torah nor the remainder of the Tanach. Rabbinic minhag speaks of Ezra's "Great Assembly" conferences wherein the Pharisee sect was authorized to rule the people when the School of the Prophets ceased. Neither Ezra nor the Tanach mentions this assembly nor the transfer of authority from the Prophets to the Rabbinate. Although the Book of Daniel is unquestionably canonical, the rabbis had to determine how its presentation fit with their jurisdiction and Talmudic doctrine. The Chazal (Talmudic sages) chose to "downgrade" Daniel:

§ The Gemara introduces another statement from the same line of tradition. The verse states: "And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great trembling fell upon them so that they fled to hide" (Daniel 10:7). Who were these men? In the Bible, the term "men" indicates important people, so who were they? Rabbi Yirmeya said, and some say that it was Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba who said: These are the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

In other words, the lesser prophets of the Great Assembly. However, nothing in Daniel 10:7 suggests that these men were who the Talmud here says. Steinsaltz suggests they may have been Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya, which makes far more sense in context since these four great Jewish princes, along with Daniel, held prominence in Nebuchadnezzar's court in Babylon. It seems more likely than identifying them as Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. If the former is accurate, as Steinsaltz and others suggest, then this Talmudic logic fails to indicate that Daniel was not a prophet like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi because neither were Chananya, Mishael, and Azarya. Further, great prophets like Ezekiel did see directly like Daniel, and so also, on that score, this contention seems weak at best. A more likely reason for this questionable association of Daniel with the three lesser prophets' interpretation has been suggested from this same text:

Yonatan ben Uzziel also sought to reveal a translation of the Writings [i.e., to translate the Ketuvim as he had the Prophets]. However, a Divine Voice emerged and said to him: It is enough for you that you translated the Prophets. The Gemara explains: Why was he denied permission to translate the Writings [the Ketuvim]? It is because it [i.e., the Ketuvim] has within it a revelation of the end when the Messiah will arrive. The end is foretold cryptically in the Book of Daniel, and if he translated the Book of Daniel, the end would become manifestly revealed to all.

Why such a revelation would be negative is not stated. This concern makes complete sense otherwise. As we will discuss in due course, many early (and later) Christians sought, through the interpretation of Daniel chapter nine, for example, to support their belief in Yeshua ben Miriam. Perhaps seeking to counter such interpretations, the Rabbis denied the prophetic credentials of Daniel's book.

While this way, certain Talmudic sages argue that Daniel was not technically a navi, a prophet, the biblical text seems obvious that he was. For our present purposes, the Talmudic theory here may be regarded as intellectual hair-splitting rather than inaccurate.

Until the coming of Mashiach ben David and the building of the Third Beit HaMikdash (Jerusalem Temple), "Biblical Judaism" can not be restored because biblical Judaism is primarily a sacrificial system requiring the Temple and its trained priesthood. This historical fact gave birth to Rabbinic Judaism and the Way sect of Yeshua ben Miriam's followers. May HaShem be merciful and guide all who seek Him according to His Will. Until then, we are only gazing into a dark mirror.

An Overview of History from a Prophetic Perspective:

From the Nephilim to Magog: The Historic Sweep of Globalism

An Examination of the Writings of Daniel the Prophet:

This study is getting a make-over. It will return soon B"H.

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2:

Chapter 2

Chapter 3:

Chapter 3

Chapter 4:

Chapter 4

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7

Chapter 8:

Chapter 8

Chapter 9:

Chapter 9

Chapter 10:

Chapter 10

Chapter 11:

Chapter 11

Chapter 12:

Chapter 12

If you have any questions or thoughts on these or other topics feel free to drop me a line.

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