RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL

GREGORY GOSWELL
Presbyterian Theological Centre, Sydney

Daniel 12:3 is one o f the clearest resurrection passages in the OT. It is not
surprising that it should occur in the apocalyptic material of Daniel,1and its ex-
plicit resurrection doctrine is regularly listed as one o f the differences between
the two generic halves of the book (chs. 1-6, 7-12). The generic division (stories/
visions) alerts the reader that there may be significant differences between the
two halves of the book. For example, the portrayal o f the foreign kings in Dan
1-6 is not wholly negative, and especially in chapters 4 and 6 Daniel enjoys
good relations with the king (Nebuchadnezzar, Darius), but in the second half
of the book the kings/kingdoms are irredeemably murderous (esp. Dan 7, 8, 11).
Likewise, Daniel and his friends escape all harm (chs. 1, 2, 3, 6), whereas later
in the book some of the wise “fall” (= suffer martyrdom, 11:33-35).2 The noted
differences should not to be played down, but neither should they be exagger-
ated to render it inexplicable as to why the two halves were joined together. It is
best to view the differences in terms of thematic development within a canonical
book that presents a nuanced theology of faithfulness in times o f stress,3with the
unified book providing a consistent portrait o f God as able to deliver his faithful
people from deadly peril (even to the point of raising them from the dead). In
line with this, my thesis is that the doctrine of resurrection found in Dan 12 is
not in radical discontinuity with what is found in the first half of the book, but
is in fact prepared for by the stories o f miraculous deliverance found in Dan 3
and 6.4As well, I seek to demonstrate that certain features o f Dan 12 show that
its resurrection doctrine is framed in terms that pick up significant features o f
the earlier stories of dramatic rescue from death.

1Cf. Isa 25:7, 8; 26:19 in the so-called “Isaianic Apocalypse.”

2According to Norman Porteous (D aniel: A Commentary [OTL; London: SCM,
1965], 20), “ It seems to have been the fact o f martyrdom which led our author to break
the silence of the grave and proclaim at least a modified belief in resurrection (12:2-3).”
3See John E. Goldingay’s discussion in D aniel{WBC 30; Dallas: Word, 1989), 329-34.
4Artur A. Stele has briefly explored the relation o f resurrection in Dan 12 to chs. 3
and 6; see “Resurrection in Daniel 12 and Its Contribution to the Theology of the Book
oí Daniel (Ph.D. diss., Andrews University, 1996), 221—25. The possible connection is
also touched on by Norman K. Gottwald, The Hebrew Bible: Á Socio-Literary Introduc-
tion (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985), 591.
140 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

Corresponding Rescue Stories

The court tales that make up Dan 1-6 (excluding ch.l as introductory) can
be categorized into two kinds: those that describe the decipherment o f a vision/
sign that the king has been given (the court-contest) (chs. 2, 4-5), and those that
narrate the deliverance of the hero or heroes from persecution (the court-conflict,
chs. 3, 6). Common elements are present in the two court-conflict type narra-
tives: in both, an accusation of disloyalty is made against the hero(es) (3:8-12;
6:10-13 [Aram. 11-14]) that results in deadly peril (3:13-23; 6:16-17 [Aram.
6.17-18]), from which divinely initiated rescue takes place (3:24-27; 6:19-23
[Aram. 20-24]). In both cases some of those who laid hands on the hero(es) were
killed (3:19-23; 6:24 [Aram. 6.25]), God is praised (3:28, 29; 6:25-27 [Aram.
26-28]), and the hero(es) is/are rewarded (3:30; 6:28 [Aram. 6:29]).5The relation
between the two chapters is also supported by Lenglet’s concentric arrangement
of the Aramaic chapters 2-7, so that chapters 3 and 6 both involve miraculous
rescue (either from fiery furnace or lions’ den).6 Other connections include the
fact that in both cases the heroes are “cast” to their fate (3:15, 20; 6:16 [Aram.
6:17]), the theme of trusting in God is featured (3:28; 6:23 [Aram. 6:24]), and
deliverance is attributed (by characters within the story) to the intervention of
angels (3:28; 6:22 [Aram. 6:23]; cf. OG/Theodotion 3:49).7 My argument is that
these two stories of dramatic rescue are narrated in such a way as to make them
quasi-resurrection stories.
Daniel 3 as a Quasi-Resurrection Story
A survey of certain examples of the later use of Dan 3 would predispose
the reader to see this chapter as connected to the concept o f resurrection. For
example, the dominical reuse of imagery of Dan 3:6 in Matt 13:42, 50 changes
what in Dan 3 is a temporal punishment by a pagan king into an eschatological
punishment with the angels as God’s agents (“and [they will] throw them into the
furnace of fire”).8 By implication, the inverse o f this is that the rescue o f the three
Jewish heroes from the fire through angelic agency (Dan 3:28) can be thought o f
as prefiguring a salvation that is eschatological in nature (including resurrection).9

5Rolf RendtortY, The Old Testament: An Introduction (tr. John Bowden; Philadelphia:
Fortress, 1991), 274; Otto Plöger, Das Buch Daniel (KAT 18; Gütersloh: Gerd Mohn,
1965). 95; John J. Collins, “The Court-Tales o f Daniel and the Development o f Apoca-
lyptic," JBL 94 (1975); 218-34 (224-27); Richard D. Patterson, “Holding on to Daniel’s
Court Tales," JE TS 36 (1993): 445-54 (447-48).
6Ad. Lenglet, “La structure littéraire de Daniel 2 -7 ,” Bib 53 (1972): 169-90 (182-85);
cf. R. Albertz, Der Gott des Daniel: Untersuchungen zu Daniel 4 -6 in der Septuagin-
tafassung sowie zu Komposition und Theologie des aramäischen Danielbuches (SBS 131 ;
Stuttgart: Katholisches Bibelwerk, 1988), 170-84 (with a summarizing diagram on 182).
7See also George W. E. Nickelsburg Jr., Resurrection, Immortality; and Eternal Life in
Intertestamental Judaism (UTS 26; Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1972), 51-53.
xJan Willem van Henten, “ Daniel 3 and 6 in Early Christian Literature,‫ ״‬in The Book
o f Daniel: Composition and Reception (2 vols., eds. J. J. Collins and Peter W. Flint; VTSup
83.1; Leiden: Brill, 2001) 1.149-69 (154).
ySee the discussion provided by Jordan M. Scheetz, The Concept o f C anonical
GOSWELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL 141

In Heb 11, among a series of clauses referring to remarkable deliverances

from death, the statement they “quenched the fury o f fire” (Heb 11:34a) alludes
-to the perseveration of the three youthful Jewish heroes in Dan 3. The connec
]tion with the book of Daniel is confirmed by what immediately precedes: “[they
stopped the mouths of lions‫ ) ״‬11:33b), which refers to the experience o f Daniel
and perhaps also to that of Samson [Judg 14:5-6] and David [1 Sam( 17:34-37 [(.
The use of the plural (more than one was rescued from lions) is an adaptation
to the context of Hebrews that concerns the sufferings o f the prophets (pi.)· It is
significant that the catalogue of dramatic rescues in Heb 11:33-3 5a leads up to and
is rounded-off by notice of resurrection as the ultimate form of rescue (“Women
received their dead by resurrection ” (. 10
The story of Dan 3 was earlier picked up in the Maccabean literature, yet
does not require a Maccabean dating for the first half o f the canonical book. In
Macc 2:59-60 the dying Mattathias calls upon his sons to follow the example 1
o f the forefathers from Abraham to Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael in the fiery
-furnace and Daniel in the lions’ den. Mattathias finds an implied ethic in the bibli
cal story. So too, the martyrdoms narrated in 2 Macc 6:18-31 and 2 Macc 7 share
the pattern of the life-threatening situations o f Dan 3 and 6, wherein exemplary
Jewish figures refuse official pressure to compromise.11 In 2 Macc 7, a confident
resurrection hope is sounded by the seven sons and mother who suffer (vv . 9 ,
and the allusive language put on their lips draws upon Dan ,)36 ,29 ,23 ,14 ,11
As well, the author of 4 Maccabees several times compares these same 12:2.12
martyrs with the heroes o f the book o f Daniel (4 Macc 13:9; 16:3, 21 ; 18:11-13 (.
Later Jewish and Christian use of the Danielic stories leads John J. Collins to
suggest: “ It is very probable that the stories of miraculous deliverance in Dan 3
and 6 were read as metaphors of resurrection in the final redaction of the book .” 13
The Element o f Fire
The element o f “fire” in the threatened punishment in Dan 3 anticipates a
rescue for the biblically literate reader, given the portrayal o f the earlier exodus
experience. In the OT the Egyptian bondage is pictured as a “furnace ” )‫ (כור‬from
which God delivers his people (Deut 4:20; 1 Kgs 8:51 ; Ps 66:12; Jer 11:4); thus
it is hinted that the fiery ordeal of Dan 3 is a test and that God can bring them
through it.14 Isaiah employs the same image to speak o f the Babylonian exile

Intertextuality and the Book o f Daniel (Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2001), 148-50.
1‫״‬Peter T. O ’Brien, The Letter to the Hebrews (Pillar New Testament Commentary;
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010), 442; cf. Jacques Doukhan, Le soupir de la terre: Etude
prophétique du livre de Daniel (Dammarie les Lys Cedex: Edition Vie et Santé, 1993), 137.
11Nickelsburg, Resurrection, Immortality, 93-94; Jan Willem van Henton, The Mac-
cabean Martyrs as Saviours o f the Jewish People: A Study o f 2 and 4 Maccabees (JSJSup
57; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 7-14, 130-32.
12Jonathan A. Goldstein, IIMaccabees (AB 41 A; Garden City: Doubleday, 1983), 306.
13Collins, Daniel, 194.
14Rex A Mason, 'T h e Treatment o f Earlier Biblical Themes in the Book of Daniel,‫״‬
in Perspectives on the Hebrew Bible: Essays in Honor o f Walter J. Harrelson (ed. James
L. Crenshaw; Macon, G A: Mercer University Press, 1988), 81-100 (86-87). According
142 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

(e.g., Isa 43:2; 48:10: ‘4I have tried you in the furnace o f affliction”). A com-
mon metaphor for captivity, therefore, is a furnace experience, and Lacocque
goes as far as to assert that the story of Dan 3 is (only) a metaphor for the exilic
experience.15 That is, however, to go too far. The fourth figure “in the midst of
the fire” (3:25) recalls fire as a common OT theophanic manifestation (cf. Exod
3:2; 13:21, 22; Num 16:35).16 On this basis, the reader might have guessed that
fire could not harm G od’s servants; thus there is irony in the choice o f fire as the
means o f execution: “ like the burning bush, the men are not consumed.” 17 The
wider connections of what is a significant biblical motif suggest that miraculous
rescue from the “furnace experience” in Dan 3 may also symbolize and presage
divine rescue at a higher level, namely the resurrection from the dead.
The U n e x p e c te d R e s c u e

Repeated reference is made in Dan 3 to the threat of burning (3:6, 11, 15,
17, 20, 21, 23, 26) (cf. Jer 29:22 about Nebuchadnezzar’s burning some false
prophets). The repetition shows how ineffectual are the threats by the king to
coerce the three Jewish heroes into submission (3:16-18). This is part o f a wider
pattern of comic repetition in that chapter.18 The repetition also underlines the
gravity of the threat and makes noncompliance to the king’s command unlikely,
indeed unthinkable for most people (3:7), for to be cast into the fiery furnace means
certain death. The character o f the threatened punishment makes the subsequent
rescue totally unexpected, at least in the minds o f the king and his pagan subjects
(3:15: “and who is the god that will rescue you out of my hands?”). Stele notes
that, given the deaths o f those who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego

to R. W. Funk, the Aramaic term ‫ אתון‬used in Dan 3 probably corresponds to ‫ ) כור‬-Fur ‘4

nace," /D Æ ] 1962 [ 2.330 (.
André Lacocque, The Book o f Daniel (London: SPCK, 1979), 66. This is developed 15
further by Danna Nolan Fewell, Circle o f Sovereignty: A Story o f Stories in Daniel 1—6
)JSOTSup 20; Sheffield: SAP, 1988), 84-86. E. Haag argues that Isa 43:1-3 provides
the main tradition-historical background to Dan 3; see “ Die drei Männer im Feuer nach
Dan 3 .1 -3 0 ,‫ ״‬in Die Entstehung der jüdischen Martyrologie (ed. J. W. van Henten in
collaboration with B. A. G. M. Dehandschutter and H. J. W. van der Klaauw; StPB 38 ;
Leiden: Brill , 1989 (: 20-50 ) 3 4 -3 6 (.
1‫׳‬1See C. L. Seow, Daniel (Westminster Bible Companion; Louisville: Westminster
John Knox , 2003 (, 59 .
17Fewell, Circle o f Sovereignty, 80; Paul-Alain Beaulieu, “The Babylonian Background
of the Motif of the Fiery Furnace in Daniel 3 ,‫ ״‬JBL 128 (2009): 273-90 (286-88); for a
possible Egyptian background, see Tawny L. Flolm, “The Fiery Furnace in the Book of
Daniel and the Ancient Near East ,‫ ״‬JA O S 128 ) 2008 (: 8 5 -1 0 4 .
18See Hector I. Avalos, “The Comedic Function o f the Enumerations o f Officials
.and Instruments in Daniel 3,” CBQ 53 (1991): 580-88, and most recently David M
Valeta, Lions and Ovens and Visions: A Satirical Reading o f Daniel 1—6 (Hebrew Biblical
Monographs 12; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2008), 80, 82. On the repetition of
set phrases, including references to the furnace, see Peter W. Coxon, “The ‘List’ Genre
and Narrative Style in the Court Tales o f Daniel,” J S O T 35 ) 1986 (: 95-121 ) 109 , 110(;
Tim Meadow croft, Aramaic Daniel and Greek Daniel (JSOTSup 198; Sheffield: SAP ,
1995 (. 142-44 .
GOSWELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL 143

(3:22 [OG 3:23]), “the casting into the fiery furnace was equal to death.” 19 It is
only a short step between escape from certain death (ch. 3) and actual resurrec-
tion from the dead (ch. 12). In line with this, in commenting on the apocryphal
Song o f the Three Young Men (esp. OG/Theodotion Dan 3:88 JB\ “For he has
snatched us from the underworld [αδου]”), Jean Steinmann sees the rescue from
the fiery furnace as a symbol or parable of resurrection.20
The M o tif o f “Binding ”
The binding o f the three young men is referred to in Dan 3:20, 21, and
implied in 3:25 (“ But I see four men loose”). The motif o f “binding” serves to
recall Isaac’s deliverance from death in Gen 22 (v. 9).21 The miraculous birth of
Isaac and his near death are narrated in Genesis within the fourth parashah of
that book (Gen 18:1—22:24), and the corresponding haftarah (the reading from
the Prophets) in the one-year Babylonian cycle of synagogue readings tells the
story of the son bom to the Shunammite with the old husband and o f her son’s
death and raising by Elisha (2 Kgs 4 :l-3 7 ).22 This associative collation o f pen-
tateuchal and prophetic readings makes the binding o f Isaac, when he is nearly
sacrificed and only redeemed at the last moment, into a kind of resurrection story.
This is exactly how the NT writers understand it (Heb 11:17-19; Rom 4:17).23
The motif of “binding” in Dan 3 would immediately remind the educated Jewish
reader of Isaac’s binding and rescue from death and suggest that the story of the
three Jewish heroes is to be viewed as another example of virtual resurrection.
Daniel 6 as a Quasi-Resurrection Story
It is plain that some later writers viewed Daniel’s rescue from the lions as a
classic OT example of divine deliverance that anticipated resurrection.24 On that
basis, in respect to Paul’s trial by a hostile government, 2 Tim 4:17 says that he
was “rescued from the lion’s mouth.” Though the primary allusion may be to Ps
22:21 (Heb 22:22; LXX 21:22),25 it also reflects Dan 6, wherein the hero says
that God “shut the lions’ mouths” (Dan 6:22 [Aram. 23]). On this understand­

lyStele, Resurrection in Daniel 12‫ ר‬In 3:48 OG, certain Chaldeans standing near .222
the furnace are also killed; see Meadowcroft, Aramaic Daniel and Greek Daniel , 123—30 .
:Jean Steinmann, D aniel: Texte français, introduction et com m entaries (Paris " 2
Desclée De Brouwer , 1961 (, 129 .
As noted, for example, by Lacocque, Daniel 21, 66 .
22See Gregory R. Goswell, “The Hermeneutics o f the Haftarot ,‫ ״‬TynBul 58.1 )2007 (·
83-1 0 0 .
See Jon D. Levenson, Resurrection in the Torah: A Second Look (2002 Palmer 23
Lecture, Center o f Theological Inquiry, Princeton, NJ; 21 March 2002). Levenson views
the Akedah (the Jewish name for this incident), or “ Binding o f Isaac ‫ ) ״‬Gen 22:1-19), as
another example within the patriarchal narratives o f the persistent pattern of death and
.revival that shows the miraculous preservation the chosen line
24In what follows, I acknowledge my substantial dependence on van Henten, “ Daniel
and 6 in Early Christian Literature 3,‫ ״‬158-65 .
2‫ י‬This is the connection stressed by Philip H. Towner, in Commentary on the New
:Testament Lise o f the Old Testament (eds. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson; Grand Rapids
Baker Academic , 2007 (. 912 .
144 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

ing, Paul and Daniel are righteous men who could expect G od’s (or Christ’s)
intervention (cf. 1 Macc 2:60: “ Daniel because of his innocence was delivered
from the mouth of the lions”). In the case o f Paul, his rescue foreshadows his
ultimate salvation (“the Lord will rescue me from every evil and save me for
his heavenly kingdom” ; the Greek word ρύομαι is reused), so that a temporal
deliverance points forward to future resurrection and reward.
The Gospel pericope of the burial of Jesus involving the sealing o f the tomb
(Matt 27:62-66) corresponds to the royal seal on the mouth of the lions’ den
in Dan 6, and Dan 6:18 OG specifically says that its motivation was to prevent
tampering and rescue: “so that Daniel could not be taken away from them [the
lions] or the king could pull him out of the den.” The parallel drawn likens the
den of lions to a grave (from which Daniel emerged alive).26 Hippolytus of Rome
(died a .D. 235) in his Commentary on Daniel links Matt 27:66 and Dan 6:18
and turns the deliverance of Daniel into a symbol o f the resurrection of Christ
(III.27.5).27 Consistent with this understanding, Hippolytus views the den as sym-
bolising Hades and the lions the torturing angels (III.31.3).28 It may be argued
that this is an appropriate use of Dan 6, given a clear instance of resurrection
doctrine within the same book in Dan 12.
Lions
For “the pit of lions” as a punishment, compare Ezek 19:2-9 and 1 Kgs
13:23-26, and for the symbolism o f lions as mortal peril, see Pss 7:2 (Heb. 3);
22:13, 21 (Heb. 14, 22); 35:17; 57:4 (Heb. 5); 58:6 (Heb. 7); 91:11-13; Job
29:17.29 Often enemies of the Psalmist are depicted as “ lions” from which God
rescues him (cf. what youthful David says in 1 Sam 17:37), so that Daniel’s
rescue is not totally surprising to the reader. In the Mesopotamian background,
the lion’s den could be seen as a metaphor for rescue from detractors and ca-
lumniators, though that does not mean that Dan 6 is only a fiction built upon a

26Jean Steinmann, Daniel (Paris: Éditions du Cerf, 1950), 101.

27Hippolyte, Commentaire sur Daniel; introduction de Gustave Bardy; texte établi
et traduit par Maurice Lejevre (ed. and trans. Maurice Lefèvre; SC 14; Paris: Editions
du Cerf. 1947), 251; J. Daniélou, “ Daniel," RAC III (1957) 575-85 (580-81); J. Duncan
M. Derretí, “ Daniel and Salvation History,‫ ״‬in Studies in the New Testament (ed. idem;
Leiden: Brill, 1986) 4.132-38. For the historical context o f Hippolytus’s commentary, see
W. Brian Shelton, Martyrdom from Exegesis in Hippolytus: An Early Church Presbyter 's
Commentary on Daniel (Paternoster Studies in Christian History and Thought; Eugene,
OR: Wipf& Stock, 2008); Katharina Bracht, "'Logosparainetikos: Der Danielkommentar
des Hippolyt,‫ ״‬in Die Geschichte der Daniel-Auslegung in Judentum, Christentum und
Islam: Studie zur Kommentierung des Danielbuches in Literatur und Kunst (ed. Katharina
Bracht and David S. du Toit; BZAW 371; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 2007), 79-98.
n Hippolvte, Commentaire sur Daniel, 259; E. Cassin, 4‘Daniel das la ‘fosse’ aux
lions," RHR 139 (1951): 129-61 (155, 161).
29Mason, “ Earlier Biblical Themes , 86 ,85 ‫ ;״‬Cassin, “ Daniel das la 4fosse’ aux lions,”
157; Doukhan, Le soupir de la terre, 137. For the enemies of the psalmist portrayed as
wild beasts, see Helmer Ringgren, The Faith o f the Psalmists (Philadelphia: Fortress,
1963), 44, 45; T. R. Hobbs and R. K. Jackson, “The Enemy in the Psalms,” BTB 21
(199 1 ):2 2-2 9 (25, 26).
GOSWELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL 145

misunderstanding of this motif, with a metaphor taken literally (pace Karel van
der Toorn).30 All this suggests that the motif o f deliverance from lions in Dan
like the rescue through fire in Dan 3) has a strong element of metaphor, so( 6
that it could be understood as a picture of resurrection. This is supported by the
”.repeated references in Dan 6 to the “pit
”P it “
References to the “pit ” )‫ (גב‬in Dan 6 are found in verses 7 , 12, 16, 17, 19,
x2), 24 (x2) (Aram. 8, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24 [x2], 25 [x2]). Daniel is( 23 ,20
rescued, just as in the Psalter time and again God delivers the Psalmist from the
pit “ ” )‫(בור‬, a term used as a synonym for the grave and Sheol (Pss 28:1 ; 30:1-3
]Heb. 2-4]; 40:2 [Heb. 3]; 88:6 [Heb. 5]).31 The endangered psalmist sees himself
as already dwelling in the realm of the dead (cf. 88:1-9 [Heb. 2 - 1 0]).32 In the
.OT, escape from death can be viewed as being brought up from the underworld
This connection is supported in the case of Dan 6 by the fact that the hero in
effect spends a whole night in the “grave” (6:19 [Aram. 20])33 and thus can be
.thought of as rescued from the realm of the dead
The Unexpected Rescue
As in the case of the three Jewish heroes of Dan 3, so also in chapter 6 the
rescue of Daniel is unexpected. The officials who plot against him are confident
that their scheme will dispose of Daniel (6:7 [Aram. 8]). The unexpected character
of his deliverance is particularly dramatized by the anxious behavior o f King
Darius, who spends a sleepless night worrying about the fate of Daniel ) 6:18
]Aram. 19]). Stele makes the point that being cast into the den o f lions “meant a
sure death,” as Daniel’s opponents found out to their cost (6:24 [Aram. 25]), so
that the rescue of Daniel is in effect a resurrection from the dead .34
The “Living G o d ‫״‬
The theme of the “ living God” found twice on the lips of King Darius ) 6:20 ,
-Aram. 21, 27]) is not connected to an anti-idolatry message. This is in con [ 26
trast to what is the case in many other OT texts, where the living God regularly
stands in contrast to idols (e.g. Deut 5:26; Josh 3:10; 1 Sam 17:26; Isa 4 4:9-2 0 ;
Jer 10:10).35 In the deuterocanonical additions to Daniel, the same connection

Scholars at the Oriental Court: The Figure of Daniel against Its Mesopotamian “ 3,1
Background," in The Book o f Daniel: Composition and Reception, 1.42-54; idem, 4‘In the
Lion's Den: The Babylonian Background o f a Biblical Motif ,‫ ״‬CBQ 60 ) 1998 (: 6 2 6 -4 0 .
Aramaic 31 ‫ גב‬and its variants in the Targums often represent Hebrew ‫ ) בור‬e.g. Gen
Deut ;37:22 6:11 (.
-32See the detailed argumentation o f Jon D. Levenson, Resurrection and the Resto
ration o f Israel: The Ultimate Victory o f the God o f Life (New Haven: Yale University
Press. 2006), ch . 3 .
33Stele, Resurrection in Daniel 12‫ ר‬224 .
34Stele, Resurrection in Daniel 12‫ ר‬223 .
:35Jan Willem van Henten and Friedrich Avemarie, Martyrdom and Noble D eath
Selected Texts from Graeco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian Antiquity (London: Routledge ,
146 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

is made (e.g., the dragon is contrasted with the “ living God” in 14:6, 24). There
,is, however, no sustained anti-idol polemic in the canonical book o f Daniel
with reference to other gods and pagan idols kept to a minimum ) 3:12 ; 5:4 , 23 (.
In Dan 6:20 (Aram. 21) the king’s reference to “the living God” anticipates the
divine life-saving intervention of which Darius as yet remains ignorant. Daniel’s
reverential address in reply to the king: “O king, live for ever!” (6:21 [Aram . 22 [(
is a thoroughly conventional greeting and conforms to standard court etiquette
cf. 6:6 [Aram. 7]),36 but the greeting understood in context, coming as it does(
from a man feared dead, is rhetorically powerful. The king’s designation o f Daniel
as “servant o f the living God” (6:20 [Aram. 21]) is picked up in the royal edict
o f 6:26 (Aram. 27) (“for he is the living God”), and it is apposite because the
miraculous rescue has demonstrated that God is able to keep his servant alive in
,circumstances where it would have been thought impossible. In line with this
the God of Daniel, who has absolute control over life and death, will at the end
of the canonical book raise his faithful servants from death (cf . 12:2 , 13(.
Resurrection in Daniel 12:1-3
This is the obvious text with regard to the theme of resurrection in Daniel. Its
resurrection doctrine has frequently been studied, but scholars have not usually
,explored its possible connections with earlier passages in the book o f Daniel
notably the stories of miraculous rescue from death in chapters 3 and 6. A number
.of features suggest that Dan 12 is written with the earlier passages in m ind
The Agency o f Angels
The time phrase “at that time )‫ ) ” (עת‬-12:1a, b) refers to the fuller expres
sion “at the time o f the end )‫ ” (ובעת קץ‬in 11:40. By this means, the events of
”,are coordinated with the invasion o f Palestine by “the king o f the north 12:1-3
viewed as an eschatological development (11:40-45).37 The involvement o f
Michael puts what is said at the end of chapter 11 on a higher plane, and 12:1
presumably reveals the heavenly background to the defeat o f the northern king
in the preceding verse (11:45); namely, it gives the heavenly side to that earthly
)” event and explains that king’s overthrow (cf. 11:45b: “with none to help him
)” cf. 2:45; 8:25b).38 Michael is “the great prince” (12:1; cf. 10:21: “your prince (
who protects and helps G od’s people. He is the one “who has charge over )‫על‬

2002). 58n53.
36 Shimon Bar-Efrat, Narrative Art in the Bible (JSOTSup 70; Sheffield: Almond,
1989), 76: "The peak o f respectfulness is embodied in the phrase: ‘Let the king live for
ever', which occurs in the Bible principally in addressing foreign kings (Dan 2:4; 3:9;
5:10; Neh 2:3).”
37André LaCocque, Daniel in His Time (Columbia: University of South Carolina
Press, 1988), 166. The placement o f the chapter division at Dan 12:1 is unfortunate;
see Gregory R. Goswell, “The Divisions o f the Book o f Daniel,‫ ״‬in The Impact o f Unit
Delimitation on Exegesis (Pericope: Scripture as Written and Read in Antiquity 7; eds.
Raymond de Hoop, Marjo C. A. Korpel, and Stanley E. Porter; Leiden: Brill, 2009),
89-114, here 102-3.
3*Goldingay, Daniel, 306.
GOS WELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL 147

‫ (״ענד־‬the sons of your people” (12:1), acting as judicial advocate and executor
of judgment on their behalf,39 but the latter predominates in 12:1 since the verb
)‫ ( ע ט ר‬routinely has apolitical/military sense in Dan 11 (vv . 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 11, 13, 14 ,
Michael’s involvement in events is not explicit after 12:1, but the 40.)2 1 ,20 ,16
positing of his continued agency in 12:2-3 finds support if these three verses
are viewed as reversing the picture given in 8:10-11 o f the little horn’s conflict
-with Michael (“the prince o f the host”) and the action o f the little horn in cast
ing down “some of the host of the stars.”41 In line with this, in some Jewish and
Christian texts (presumably dependent on Dan 12), Michael is associated with
the raising of the dead and heavenly ascent (e.g., in 2 Enoch 22:8-11 Michael
clothes Enoch with a body like the angels).42 This understanding is also in line
)with the earlier agency o f an “angel” (according to Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel
in the dramatic rescues of Dan 3 and 6 .
” Divine “Deliverance
-The passive grammatical construction in 12:1 (“your people shall be de
livered ” ]‫ מלט‬Niphal]43) implies a deliverance wrought by God (through the
-agency of Michael). This picks up the theme o f deliverance (though not identi
cal vocabulary) from chapters 3 and 6 (3:15, 17, 29; 6:20, 27 [Aram . 621 , 28 [(.
According to Collins, this is more than simply a deliverance of the people from
the invading king (11:45); rather “the deliverance is definitive and extends to all
dangers,” including death (implied by Collins, given that he supplies Isa 25:8
as a cross-reference, which says that God will swallow up death forever). Most
commentators see 12:1 as referring to Israelites alive at the time of the eschaton
and who will not die), but the phrase “your people” in words addressed to Daniel (
can also be taken to mean “people like y o u ” so that the faithful teachers who
,died in the persecution are specifically in mind (cf. 11:33-35). In line with this
Robert Martin-Achard understands “your dead” in Isa 26:19 (a passage that has
exerted an influence on Dan 12; see below) to refer to a restricted group within
the Israelite nation, the martyrs.44 Certainly some kind o f restriction is implied

39According to Nickelsburg {Resurrection, Immortality , 11-39 (.

40As noted by Amy C. Merrill Willis, Dissonance and the Drama o f Divine Sovereignty
in the Book o f Daniel (LHBOTS 520; New York: T&T Clark International , 2010 (, 169-70 .
”41Merrill Willis, Dissonance, 170. For the identification o f “the prince of the host
in 8:11 with Michael, see idem, Dissonance, 105n61 (building on Lacocque, The Book
o f Daniel , 162 (.
42See II. C. C. Cavallin, Life after Death: Paul's Argument fo r the Resurrection o f
the Dead in 1 Cor 15, Part I: An Argument into the Jewish Background (ConB NT series
Lund: Gleerup, 1974), 27, 30; E. Lohse, “Michael, E rzeng el RGG 4 (I9 6 0 :7/1 (, 932 ;
J. Michl. "Engel VII (Michael (,‫ ״‬RAC 5 (1962), 243-51; Martha Himmelfarb, Ascent to
Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses (New York: OUP , 1993 (, 40 , 41 .
BDB, 572, classifies this as a late passive use o f 43 ‫מלט‬. For a helpful survey of its
usage in the OT, see Anne E. Gardner, “The Way to Eternal Life in Dan 12:1 e—2 or How
to Reverse the Death Curse o f Genesis 3,” A BR 40 ) 1992 (: 1-19 ) 14-17 (.
Robert Martin-Achard, From Death to Life: A Study o f the Development o f the 44
:Doctrine o f the Resurrection on the Old Testament (trans. John Penney Smith; Edinburgh
O liverand Boyd, I960 (, 131.
148 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

in Dan 12:1, for the second use o f “your people” is qualified by the appositive
-expression: “all who are found written in the book” (12:1b). This is a wider bibli
cal motif (Exod 32:32, 33; Ps 69:28 [Heb. 29]; Isa 4:3; Mai 3:16-18), but in the
present instance, given the fact that an account o f the resurrection immediately
follows (12:2), it is most likely the record of the names of the martyrs who will
be raised from the dead. On this understanding, Dan 12 describes the ultimate
.deliverance” of the wise who are like Daniel and his three compatriots “
”The “ W ise
The reuse of the theme of the “wise” (12:3, “those who are wise ” ]‫([המספל ים‬
-shows that the deliverance of Daniel (ch. 6) and of his three friends (ch. 3) antici
pates the resurrection of the “wise” o f chapters 11 and 12.45 Daniel is specifically
assured that he will be among those raised (see 12:13, where “ [you shall] stand
]‫ [עמה‬in your allotted place” is used in the sense o f resurrection). This makes
Daniel a representative o f the kind o f people o f whom the writer is thinking
when he speaks of resurrection and reward. The faithful and courageous stand
by Daniel (and his friends) is replicated by “those who are wise )‫ (משכיל ים‬among
the people” (11:33, 35; 12:10). That Daniel and his friends are viewed as their
model is supported by reuse of the expression applied to the four Jewish youths
in 1:4 )‫ משכילים‬RSV “skilful” ; cf. 1:17).46 The “(aforementioned) wise” (the sense
of ‫ המסכל ים‬with the definite article) in 12:3 refers to those wise and faithful
teachers who “make many understand” (cf . 11:33 , 35 ‫ (יבינו לרבים‬and “turn
many to righteousness ” ) 12:3 ‫(מצדיקי הרבים‬. It does not designate G od’s people
”generally.47 Only an elite is resurrected, and Philip R. Davies views the “wise
as the scribal elite for whom the book claims to speak.48 In other words, those
raised in Dan 12 are modelled on Daniel and his friends, who are depicted as
enlightening others (chs. 2, 4, 5) and experiencing persecution (chs. 3 and 6 (.
G od s Servants
,The “wise” have taken their name from the servant of Isa 52 and 53 (“Behold
my servant will prosper ]‫ ” [יסכיל‬52:13a), and as well the motif of exaltation
is found in Isa 5 2:13.49 The servant “makes many righteous ” ) 53:11 ‫ לרבים‬. . .
‫(יצ־יק‬, and the wise make many understand (Dan 11:33). These two concepts

45This is a substantive use o f the Hiphil participle, but Waltke and O ’Connor (§27.4a)
say abstract denominatives in the Hiphil stem tend to behave like the inwardly transitive
Hiphil; that is, the subject causes itself to behave according to the nominal notion, i.e.,
"they who are wise‫( ״‬not “make wise‫) ״‬.
46Collins, “The Court-Tales in Daniel,2 3 0 -3 1 ‫״‬.
47The instructional role o f “the wise‫ ״‬in Daniel is emphasised by Hans Kosmala,
"MaskîL" \n Studies, Essays and Reviews (3 vols.; Leiden: Brill, 1978), 1.149-55 (153-54).
4*“The Scribal School o f Daniel,‫ ״‬in The Book o f Daniel: Composition and Recep-
tion, 251-52.
4‘TI. L. Ginsberg, “The Oldest Interpretation o f the Suffering Servant,‫ ״‬VT 3 (1953):
400-404; John G. Gammie, “On the Intention and Sources of Daniel I-VI,” J T 3 1 (1981):
282-92 (287-92); Stefan Beyerle, “The Book of Daniel and Its Social setting,‫ ״‬in The
Book o f Daniel: Composition and Reception, 1.205—28 (214-18).
GOSWELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL 149

are closely related: the wise make the common people righteous by instructing
them in the right path. It appears that Dan 12 democratizes statements about
the Isaianic servant and the group of the “wise” receives the promises given to
the suffering servant of Isa 53. This, then, can be understood as another link to
chapters 3 and 6, for as noted by John Gammie, Daniel is called “servant of the
living God (6:21 ) and his companions are called “servants of the Most High God ‫״‬
) Both in the earlier stories o f rescue and in the resurrection doctrine of 50.)3:26
.Dan 12, it is the servants of God who are vindicated
” The M o tif o f “Falling
The motif o f “falling” (Heb. root ‫ =) (כסל‬martyrdom) in chapter 11 ) 11:33-
recalls the way in which the three young men “fell” into the furnace )35 ) 3:23
Aram, root ‫(נפל‬. The root 51 ‫ נפל‬in both Hebrew and Aramaic is used especially
of violent death,52 and the Hebrew root ‫ כסל‬,.can also bear that meaning (e.g
Dan 11:14, 19 [“but he shall stumble and fall” ]‫([ונכס ונפל‬. In Dan 3 the three 53
heroes prefer to fa ll into the fire rather than to fa ll down before the image set up
by Nebuchadnezzar (3:5, 7, 15, 23, all using root ‫(נפל‬. ,As noted by Levenson
the “fall” of the wise in 11:33-35 is purgative (“to refine and to cleanse them and
to make them white” [cf. 12:10]) and temporary (“for a while . . . until the time
of the end”),54 with both features anticipating the announcement o f their future
resurrection found in 12:2. The correspondence of ideas indicates that Dan 12,
”.like Dan 3 and 6, is concerned with the fate of those who “fall
Those Who Sleep “ ‫״‬
.It is plain that the reference to “sleep” in Dan 12.2 is a metaphor for death (cf
Sam 28:15; Ps 13:3 [Heb. 4]; Jer 51:39, 57; Job3:13; 14:12; 1 En 1. 9 0 :9 -10 (. 55
In line with this, and anticipating that this “sleep” will be temporary , ‫]] “) יקיצו‬they
shall awake”) is an appropriate metaphor for resurrection (v. 2a). Perhaps Isa
inspired the writer, for that passage also uses the term “awake 26:19 ” )‫(הקיץ‬, 56
but rising from the dead in terms of waking up (using root ‫ (יקץ‬is also found in
Kgs 4:31 ; Jer 51:39, 57, and Job 14.12.57 A play on the word “end 2” )‫ (קץ‬may
also be involved in the choice of this word (cf. the “time o f the end” in 11:35 ,

Sources o f Daniel I-VI," 289-90 (listing a number o f parallels between the Isaianic " 50
servant and the Jewish heroes o f Dan 1 -6 (.
51There is a play on words between “wise ‫ (סכל) ״‬and “ fall " )‫(כסל‬. The “fall” o f the
‫ ב סכילים‬does not refer to apostasy, or falling away (as sometimes suggested), but to their
.martyrdom
2BDB, 657 2.a ^ .; 1103 2 .
.53B DB. 505 l.b
54Resurrection and the Restoration o f Israel , 182-83 .
55Thomas H. McAlpine, Sleep, Divine and Human in the Old Testament (JSOTSup
Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1987), 135 49; J. Schüpphaus ;38 , ‫*סך‬, ” T D O T 6.438-41 ) 441 (.
56See Daniel P. Bailey, “The Intertextual Relationship of Daniel 12:2 and Isaiah
Evidence from Qumran and the Greek Versions,” TynBul :26:19 5 \: 2 ) 2000 (: 3 0 5-308 .
;)57References provided by McAlpine, Sleep, Divine and Human, 209 (appendix A
cf. John F. A. Sawyer, “ Hebrew Words for the Resurrection of the Dead,” VT 23 ) 1973 (:
218-234 ) 2 2 3 ,2 2 4 (.
150 RESTORATION QUARTERLY 55:3 (2013)

Consistent with the use of the metaphor o f death as “sleep” is the .)9 ,12:4 ;4 0
fact that earlier in the book Daniel spends a whole night in the den o f lions and
the discovery o f his survival comes at break o f day (6:19 [Aram. 6:20]). This
motif can also be connected with the king’s sleepless night (6:18 [Aram . 6:19 [(.
Night is the time to sleep, but on this occasion anxiety prevented the repose that
the king would normally enjoy (cf. 2:1; 4:5 [Aram. 4:2]). Daniel’s night in the
den of lions may therefore be likened to the experience of those who sleep in
.the realm of the dead
The Resurrection o f the Very G ood and the Very B ad
There is no doctrine of general resurrection in Dan 12. The reference is to
an exclusive ‫ “ ) רבים‬many”) rather than to an inclusive all.58 This usage may be
connected to the “many” of 8:25 (“he shall destroy many”); that is, those who
die in the persecution will be raised. It is grammatically unlikely that ‫ רבים‬means
all” as this would require taking the preposition “ ‫ מן‬as explicative, which is rare
many, that is, those who sleep”).59 It is preferable to view the preposition “ ( ‫ מן‬as
indicating that ‫ רבים‬is to be understood in a partitive sense (“many among those
who sleep ]‫( ” [מישני‬.Those raised in Dan 12 are “the wise” (the martyred wise 60
teachers of ch. 11) on the one hand and arch-sinners (their persecutors) on the
other.61 It is possible that those raised for special punishment are Jewish apostates
given the contrast found in 11:32; cf. Isa 66:24).62 More likely, however, it is the(
persecutors of the wise who are singled out for judgment, for the vindication of
the wise (12:3: “those who are wise shall shine . . . like the stars”) reverses the
movement described in 8:10, where the little horn magnified itself “even to the
host of heaven, and some of the host of the stars it cast down to the ground .” 63
The little horn that attempted to ascend to the stars and persecuted G od’s people
is brought down and punished (8:25; cf. 11:36-37). Certainly in 2 Macc )8:24 (
a passage that draws on Dan 12), it is the persecutors o f the Jews who are( 7
repeatedly threatened with divine punishment (for A ntiochus’s post-mortem
punishment, s e e 4 M a c c 9 :9 ; 12:18-19; 13:15; 18:5).This is also consistent with
the presentation in chapters 3 and 6, for in both accounts it is the faithful servants
of God who are rescued and it is their oppressors who are punished ) 3:22 ; 6:24

?sMartin‫־‬Achard, From Death to Life, 144.

59For examples, see BDB p.581 3b.[e]; Williams, Syntax, §326; Edmund F. Sutcliffe,
The Old Testament and the Future Life (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1946),
139, 140.
6‫״‬Gerhard F. Flasel finally favours following normal usage, see “Resurrection in the
Theology of Old Testament Apocalyptic," Z A W 92 (1980): 267-84 (277-79).
61 E.g. D. S. Russell, Daniel: An Active Volcano: Reflection on the Book o f D aniel
(Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989), 135; idem, The M ethod & Message o f
Jewish Apocalyptic (OTL: London: SCM, 1964), 368; Ernest C. Lucas, Daniel (AOTC
20; Leicester, 2002). 295.
62As argued for by Nickelsburg, Resurrection, 19-23, 171-173.
63See C. L. Seovv, “The Rule of God in the Book o f Daniel,” in David and Zion: Bibli-
cal Studies in Honor o f J. J. M. Roberts (eds. Bernard F. Batto and Kathryn L. Roberts;
Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2004), 219-46 (244); idem, Daniel, 188-89.
WELL/RESURRECTION IN THE BOOK OF DANIEL GOS 15

]Aram. 6:25]). The question of the fate of G od’s people in general is not in view
either in the court tales or in Dan 12.
Heavenly Promotion
;The resurrection is not a return to mundane human existence on earth
rather “those who are wise will shine )‫ ) ” (יזהרו‬12:3a), and the Hebrew verb
does double-duty for verse 3b (“and those who turn many to righteousness [will
shine] like the stars for ever and ever”). Their future state of existence is likened
to “the brightness )‫ (זהר‬of the firmament,” and the stars are especially in view
given v. 3b: “ like the stars”). According to N. T. Wright, the comparison with (
stars primarily indicates that “ in the resurrection they will be leaders and rulers
)in God’s new creation,”64 and John Goldingay (upon whom Wright is dependent
-provides biblical references where kings are spoken o f as stars or celestial be
ings (e.g., Num 24:17; 1 Sam 29:9).65 This interpretation is supported by what
is said earlier of the vindication and rule of “the people of the saints o f the Most
High” (Dan 7:27; cf. 7:22).66 We can relate this idea o f heavenly promotion to
celestial authority to the earlier promotion motif in chapters 3 and 6, in which
the vindicated Jewish heroes are promoted to higher positions of influence in the
governmental bureaucracy (3:30; 6:3, 28 [Aram . 6:4 , 29 [(. 67
Conclusion
I have sought to show that a number of features of the stories of deliv-erance
,from death in Dan 3 and 6 point to their character as quasi-resurrection stories
namely, the element o f metaphor associated with fire, lions and the pit, the motif
of “binding” (ch. 3), the theme o f the “ living God” (ch. 6), and the unexpected
,nature of the rescue from what seemed certain death. Co-ordinated with this
the resurrection doctrine in 12:1—3 is framed in terms that pick up significant
features of the earlier stories of dramatic rescue: Dan 12 involves the agency of
an angelic figure (Michael), recounts another super-natural “deliverance,” focuses
on the experience of the “wise” who are G od’s “servants,” picks up the motif
of “falling,” concerns the fate o f the very good and the very bad, and includes a
promotion to a higher position o f authority. These thematic connections across
the generic divide of chapters 1-6 and 7-12 assist the reader’s perception o f the
high degree of theological unity within the book o f Daniel as a canonical whole ,

64N. T. Wright, The Resurrection o f the Son o f God (London: SPCK , 2003 (, 112 .
6-‫י‬,)Daniel, 308-9. The list may be extended to include Isa 14:12 (the king o f Babylon
as well as Wis 3:7-8, in which the resurrected martyrs, who “shall shine forth,” judge
.and rule the nations
66The strength of this argument is independent o f whether 7:27 refers to humans or
angelic beings, an issue over which commentators differ (see Lucas, Daniel , 191-93 (.
67For this motif in chs. 3 and 6, see Doukhan, Le soupir de la terre , 78-7 9 , 137-38 .
:For Daniel as a prototype o f the victorious reign o f the saints, see Steinmann, Daniel
Texte français, introduction et commentaries , 79 .
Copyright and Use:

As an ATLAS user, you may print, download, or send articles for individual use
according to fair use as defined by U.S. and international copyright law and as
otherwise authorized under your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement.

No content may be copied or emailed to multiple sites or publicly posted without the
copyright holder(sV express written permission. Any use, decompiling,
reproduction, or distribution of this journal in excess of fair use provisions may be a
violation of copyright law.

This journal is made available to you through the ATLAS collection with permission
from the copyright holder( s). The copyright holder for an entire issue of ajournai
typically is the journal owner, who also may own the copyright in each article. However,
for certain articles, the author of the article may maintain the copyright in the article.
Please contact the copyright holder(s) to request permission to use an article or specific
work for any use not covered by the fair use provisions of the copyright laws or covered
by your respective ATLAS subscriber agreement. For information regarding the
copyright holder(s), please refer to the copyright information in the journal, if available,
or contact ATLA to request contact information for the copyright holder(s).

About ATLAS:

The ATLA Serials (ATLAS®) collection contains electronic versions of previously

published religion and theology journals reproduced with permission. The ATLAS
collection is owned and managed by the American Theological Library Association
(ATLA) and received initial funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The design and final form of this electronic document is the property of the American
Theological Library Association.