Many of us will be somewhat familiar with many of the stories that are found in the book of Daniel. Stories like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (you would know them as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; but please, stop calling them by their Babylonian names given to humiliate them and call them by their Hebrew names that give them an identity within God’s people) in the fiery furnace, Daniel in the lion’s den, the Daniel fast, and the vision of the statue are all prominent stories that we have heard from the book of Daniel.
But Daniel has so much more taking place under the surface. Daniel is one of the only books to be written in two languages. Daniel 2–7 is written in Aramaic, while the rest of the book is written in Hebrew. Aramaic was a language that was the “language of the land”; it’s what everyone spoke in that Semitic portion of the world and could be looked at as the secular language. Hebrew, however, was the language of God’s people — the language of the homeland.
After giving us a brief introduction in Hebrew, the writer switches to Aramaic for the first half to the book. The gesture is an amazing literary tool in and of itself. With the first half of the book in the secular language, the simple language change alone gives the reader the subtle impression that we have lost our identity. But the book comes down the hillside of hope in the language of Hebrew. You almost sense the message of restoration and hope without any of the content, just the language choice alone.
But wait, the first half of the book is in Aramaic and the last half is in Hebrew? The first half and the last half?
Could we have another chiasm on our hands?
Indeed, we do. Not just any chiasm, mind you, but an incredible double chiasm. First of all, the Aramaic portion of the book of Daniel is chiastic. You might be able to see the chiasm like this:
Chapter 2: Image of the Kingdom / Four-part statue
Chapter 3: Will not worship / Thrown into furnace
Chapter 4: Fall of Nebuchanezzar
Chapter 5: Fall of Belshazzar
Chapter 6: Will not worship / Thrown into den
Chapter 7: Image of the Kingdom / Four beasts
The center of chiasm A becomes 4:37:
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”
Excellent. The first chiasm speaks to the justice and goodness of God, something that all the prisoners in exile are questioning at the moment. It also speaks about the abuse of power and the hope of justice. This chiasm has it all. But there is also a second chiasm that is formed by the Hebrew portion that symbolizes the return of God’s people.
Chapter 8: Prophecies about beasts
Chapter 9: Trials and forgiveness
Chapter 10: Trials and mourning
Chapter 11: Prophecies about kings
The center of chiasm B is 9:25–27:
“Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”
Now, there is a passage that has gotten some mileage from the End Times conversation about eschatology. And for Jesus followers, there is certainly some imagery that we would blatantly see in Jesus — granted. I don’t want to take away from that for a moment. But we have to remember that Daniel isn’t written to 21st-century American Christians. It was written to ancient Jews struggling in the grip of an empire. What did the original writer mean when he wrote it?
Frankly, the passage just doesn’t make much sense if Daniel is an Exilic prophet. How is the message of restoration of the Temple, the corruption of a King, and the destruction of the Temple (again!) supposed to bring hope to the people in exile?
We’ll deal more with that amazing question in the future, but for now, let’s keep moving.
If we have this staggering double-chiasm, then it stands to rest that this double chiasm would form a third and greater chiasm which I will call chiasm C. Is your head spinning yet? It should be, the writing of the book of Daniel is phenomenal in its depth and artistry. Let me lay out the BIG POINT chiasm of the book of Daniel for you. The center of this chiasm is held throughout Jewish thought, almost without exception.
Chapter 1: Prologue
Chapter 2: Prophecies about Kingdoms
Chapter 3: God’s people in suffering
Chapters 4–5: Prophecies about the fall of the king
Chapter 6: God’s people in suffering
Chapter 7: Prophecies about beasts
Chapter 8: Prophecies about beasts
Chapter 9a: God’s people in suffering
Chapter 9b: Prophecy about the fall of the king
Chapter 10: God’s people in suffering
Chapter 11: Prophecies about Kingdom
Chapter 12: Epilogue
The center of the book of Daniel was one of the most rabbinically discussed passages of the Second Temple period. The moment you see it, you will immediately recognize it from the prominence it has in Jesus’s teachings. Here it is (7:13–14):
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel gave a prophecy of hope that at some point, a leader would come and would establish a new Kingdom, one that would never pass away. In the meantime, God’s people are left to stand strong in the face of suffering. To resist the pull and tug of Empire. To stand and subvert a kingdom that attempts to make you bow to gods that are not your own. Daniel promises God’s protection and rescue. Daniel promises God’s presence. And Daniel promises a future and a hope.
As strong as these kingdoms and empires appear to be today, they will fall. One by one, these kingdoms will give way to the next. Pride is ultimately the thing that brings them down and every king exalts and glorifies the kingdom that lasts forever. And so, with faces set resolutely toward tomorrow, God’s people set out to plod forward until the day they might see one “like a son of man” coming in the clouds of heaven…
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