Page 20 - Daniel

develop the meaning of the section. chapters 2 and 7 focus on the
succession of four Gentile empires God will allow to rise up until He
finally establishes His messianic kingdom. chapters 3 and 6 warn the
faithful of the persecution they might experience and encourage them to
remain true. chapters 4 and 5 reminded the remnant of a time when the

Gentile rulers will acknowledge that the God of Israel is indeed
sovereign over the nations.

Although Daniel’s divisions may be debated, it is significant that the
great majority of interpreters have agreed on the unity of the book.
Some, beginning with Spinoza in the seventeenth century, had other
views. Montgomery, for instance, offers a minority view, even among
critics, that chapters 1–6 were written by an unknown writer in the third
century B.C. and that chapters 7–12 were written in the Maccabean

period, 168–165 B.C. It is significant that all who deny the unity of the
book also deny its genuineness as a sixth-century B.C. writing. Although

the two halves of Daniel differ in character, there is obvious historical
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continuity that supports the unity of the book. The same Daniel who is
introduced in chapter 1 is mentioned three times in chapter 12. The
evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of the unity of the book.

APOCRYPHAL ADDITIONS

In the Greek version of Daniel, several additions are made to the book
that are not found in the Hebrew or Aramaic text. Included are The
Prayer of Azarias, The Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna, and Bel
and the Dragon.

The Prayer of Azarias and The Song of the Three Holy Children contain
the prayer and praise of Daniel’s three companions while in the fiery
furnace in Daniel 3, with phrases from Psalm 148. Susanna is the story of

a woman protected by Daniel, who obtains the conviction of two judges
guilty of attempting her seduction. These judges were executed
according to Mosaic Law. Bel and the Dragon includes three stories in
which Daniel destroys the image of Bel, kills the Dragon, and is fed by
Habakkuk the prophet while living in the lions’ den for six days—an
amplified account of Daniel 6. These stories have been rejected from the