Matthias Henze
phetic idiom, using language and speech forms at home in the Prophets. So
pervasive is the use of prophetic pronouncements that one modern inter
preter aptly described Dan 10:1-12:10 as "a catena of prophetic fragments."^15
Three brief examples suffice to make the point.^16 Dan 11:36 predicts
the downfall of the Syrian ruler Antiochus. Right after the section that de
scribes the sacrileges in Jerusalem and the desecration of the temple (Dan
11:29-35), the author goes on to "predict" that Antiochus's offensive behavior
will continue for a while until he meets his just punishment, which, it turns
out, has already been ordained. "He [Antiochus] shall prosper until the pe
riod of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done'
nnirwa mxru '3 ayt n^s-isn.The km auage makes clear that our author
T T T T '." V T T - ' O O
is referring to Isa 10:23-27, an oracle promising the Israelites relief from the
Assyrians. The promises that "the LORD God of hosts will make a full end"
(HSTnjIJ H^D '3; Isa 10:23) and that his "indignation will come to an end"
(DJ/T n"?31;Isa 10:25) are here combined and transferred. The promise of re
lief from the Assyrians has turned into a promise of the demise of
Antiochus.
Second, much has been made of "the wise" (D^rwan) in Daniel.
Their precise identity remains obscure, though we learn that they educate
others (Dan 11:33) and "lead many to righteousness" (D'a^H 'p'lS?; Dan
12:3) and hence will receive a special reward in the resurrection. Modern
commentators have long observed that the wording of the passage is based
on the fourth Servant Song in Isa 52:13-53:12.^17 The passages agree in several
respects, but the verbal overlap is especially striking in Isa 53:11, the conclu
sion to the Song in which God promises that the Servant will be vindicated:
"The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous" (p'??
n,:n^17 ,t337).^18
- M. Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation in Ancient Israel (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1985), 516. - The first two examples are taken from M. A. Knibb, "'You Are Indeed Wiser Than
Daniel': Reflections on the Character of the Book of Daniel," in The Book of Daniel in the
Light of New Findings, ed. A. S. Van Der Woude, BETL 106 (Louvain: Leuven University
Press, 1993), 399-411, and Knibb, "The Book of Daniel in Its Context," in The Book of Daniel,
1:16-35, who follows Fishbane, Biblical Interpretation, 487-99. - H. L. Ginsberg, "The Oldest Interpretation of the Suffering Servant," VT3 (1953):
400-404; G. W. E. Nickelsburg, Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental
Judaism and Early Christianity: Expanded Edition, HTS 56 (Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 2006 [1972]), 38-41. - We are reminded that "the righteous" in Jub 23:30, a passage with obvious affini
ties to Dan 12:1-3, are also called God's "servants," clearly an allusion to the Servant Song.