A Solution to the Duration Problem of Daniel 12:11–12

A Solution to the Duration Problem of Daniel 12:11–12

Charles R. Lightner

Issue: Vol.9 No.9 September 2023 Issue Article 3 pp. 444-454
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023993 | Published online 28th September, 2023.
© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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ABSTRACT

The last few verses of the Hebrew Book of Daniel are famously difficult. Among other issues, they present a duration problem that has long seemed intractable. But they also contain a key that provides a solution to the problem. That key is signaled by the lack of parallelism between the Aramaic expression of Daniel 7:25b and the Hebrew expression of Daniel 12:7b. The solution it allows is both accessible and expected. In his closing verses, the author of the book of Daniel created a mechanism to convey his view of the proper cultic calendar. That view places him securely among the other writers of early Jewish apocalypse literature and among the authors of much of the sectarian and non-sectarian literature of the last three centuries BCE. This paper reviews the duration problem and its elements. It also examines and discusses the prior attempts to solve the problem. It then presents and discusses a solution that was made available in the author’s text but has not been previously recognized.

Keywords: Apocalypse, The Book of Daniel, Calendar Controversy, Zadokite Calendar

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AUTHOR(S)

After a career in various finance-related positions, the author began rabbinic studies at the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York in 2001. He received rabbinic ordination from AJR in 2008. He currently studies, writes, teaches, and acts as rabbi in Westfield, New Jersey, where he lives with his wife, Sharon. They have three children and seven grandchildren.

TO CITE ARTICLE

Lightner, Charles R. “A Solution to the Duration Problem of Daniel 12:11–12, “ E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies, 9 no.9 (2023): 444-454. https://doi.org/10.38159/erats.2023993