the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Language Studies
Aramaic Thoughts
Aramaic and the Old Testament - Part 2
Part 1 of 2
Continuing the survey of the content of Daniel brings us to Daniel 4, which is the account of Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream, and which ends with Nebuchadnezzar’s humiliation and restoration. Chapter 5 recounts the handwriting on the wall, the end of Belshazzar’s reign, and the triumph of the Medo-Persian Empire. Chapter 6 is the account of Daniel in the lion’s den. Chapter 7 is the vision of the four beasts. Chapter 8 is the vision of the two beasts. Chapter 9 is Daniel’s prayer and the message of the seventy weeks. Chapters 10 and 11 go together, as the vision Daniel has of "one having the appearance of a man" in chapter 10 prepares him for the vision of chapter 11, which recounts the prophecy of the kings of the north and the south. Chapter 12 gives final instructions for Daniel. The content of the book can be set out in the following chart:
| Chapter | Content |
|---|---|
| 1 | Prologue |
| 2 | Dream 1: the four kingdoms succeeded by the final kingdom |
| 3 | Image 1: the Jews refuse to worship |
| 4 | Dream 2: the tree cut down |
| 5 | Image 2: the first kingdom destroyed |
| 6 | Daniel preserved |
| 7 | Vision 1: the four kingdoms succeeded by the final kingdom |
| 8 | Vision 2: the next two kingdoms (after Babylon) |
| 9 | Prayer: 70 years of captivity. Answer: 70 "weeks" of restoration |
| 10-11 | Prophecy: the kings of the north and south |
| 12 | Epilogue |
The Book of Daniel is built around four pairs of "events:" two dreams, two images, two visions, and two prophecies (the seventy weeks and the kings of the north and south). The Aramaic section of the book begins and ends with the four kingdoms, and the succeeding, final kingdom, expressed once in a dream and once in a vision. The material in these chapters has to do with the sovereignty of Israel’s God over all nations, and over the succession of kingdoms. In addition, these chapters are arranged in a chiastic fashion, as follows:
Chapter 2: The four kingdoms
Chapter 3: The Jews preserved
Chapter 4: The first kingdom humbled
Chapter 5: The first kingdom destroyed
Chapter 6: The Jews preserved
Chapter 7: The four kingdoms
Such an understanding of the book seems to indicate the rationale for this material in Aramaic. Since Aramaic was at the time of Daniel the lingua franca of the empire, and these chapters deal specifically with the future of that empire, it is fitting that the general future of the world would be expressed in the world language of the time. In addition, the Hebrew material deals more specifically (and more mysteriously) with events directly affecting the people of God. The Hebrew material thus is properly "hidden" from those who know only the Aramaic, the language of the world, but the Aramaic section makes it clear that the God of the Jews is the one ultimately in control of world events.
Next week, I will begin a series of studies on the Peshitta, the Syriac text of the Bible.
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He did two year of doctoral-level course work in Semitic languages (Akkadian, Arabic, Ethiopic, Middle Egyptian, and Syriac) at Duke University. He received the Ph.D. in Old Testament Interpretation at Bob Jones University in 2005.
Since 1991, he has taught Hebrew and Old Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a school which serves primarily the Presbyterian Church in America and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, where he holds the rank of Associate Professor.
