From: Shoshanna Walker <rosewalk AT concentric.net>
To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Four Beasts in Daniel
Date: Wed, 13 Sep 2006 09:23:21 -0500
Are we NOT agreeing, then, that Daniel's prophecy was - as prophecies
are - of the FUTURE??
That Rome/Edom - is our final exile?
Shoshanna
There are various problems with Vermes' treatment. He first
(before this quote) notes how Josephus refers to the maritime people
as "Kittim". Then he goes back to the 2nd century BCE to use it to
refer to the ruling power of the day. Then in Daniel it is Romans,
while 1 Maccabees it is still Greeks. So how is it the ruling power
of the day if we both agree that Daniel was authored before 1
Maccabees? I find the following suggestion much more persuasive:
I note that "cyym ktym" is a problematic pair of words. If it meant to
say "ships of ktym" it should have said "cyy ktym". As it stands now,
and in view of the above suggestion, we can suggest that this is the
result of haplography: "cyym mktym" -> "cyym ktym". Also, perhaps
this was further complicated by the identification in Roman times of
"ktym" with the Romans and the understanding that this does indeed
refer to Popilius. Since the ships were known to not have departed from
Rome, "cyym mktym" appeared wrong to a later editor.