From: "Jonathan D. Safren" <yonsaf AT beitberl.beitberl.ac.il>
To: George Athas <gathas AT mail.usyd.edu.au>
Cc: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: Daniel
Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 09:30:38 +0300
George Athas wrote:
> There are numerous Daniel stories which are around by 164 BCE. In order to
> give the second
> half of the book some typical pseudonymous weight, it seems reasonable to
> suggest that "Daniel" had
> been known for quite some time as a familiar figure. Thus, the Daniel
> stories (even the
> "apocryphal" ones) probably had some currency before 164 BCE. Essentially,
> I'm basing this on the
> convention in pseudepigraphy to use a well known personality as the
> "author".
>
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Of course Daniel had been around for some time as a familiar figure. He
figures in the Ugaritic legend of Aqht as a righteous king, who is
probably to be identified with the Daniel of Ezekiel 14 Daniel, Job and
Noah in this cha[ter are none of them Israelite figures.
Sincerely,
--
Jonathan D. Safren
Dept. of Biblical Studies
Beit Berl College
Beit Berl Post Office 44905
Israel