Human and the Divine in History - (Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies) by Paul V Niskanen (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Human and the Divine in History investigates the possibility that the author of Daniel knew and drew upon the Histories of Herodotus. Daniel uses and develops Herodotean concepts such as the succession of world empires, dynastic dreams, and the focus on both human and divine cauration in explaining historical events. A comparative reading of these two texts illuminates Daniels theology of history, showing it to be neither as exclusively eschatological nor as sectarian as is often supposed. Rather, it is specifically the end of exileunderstood as foreign dominationthat Daniel envisions for the entire Jewish people.

Book Synopsis

The Human and the Divine in History investigates the possibility that the author of Daniel knew and drew upon the Histories of Herodotus. Daniel uses and develops Herodotean concepts such as the succession of world empires, dynastic dreams, and the focus on both human and divine cauration in explaining historical events. A comparative reading of these two texts illuminates Daniel's theology of history, showing it to be neither as exclusively eschatological nor as sectarian as is often supposed. Rather, it is specifically the end of exile-understood as foreign domination-that Daniel envisions for the entire Jewish people.

Review Quotes

Old Testament Abstracts: The Catholic Biblical Quarterly/ Vol. 29, 2006--Sanford Lakoff

mentioned in Biblica

Review in the International Review of Biblical Studies, vol 51 2004/05

About the Author

Paul Niskanen is Assistant Professor of Old Testament at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.