And though Daniel was a common Israelite name, in this context the name and identity sounds suspiciously a lot like Danel, a mythical Ugaritic hero and we know a lot of Jewish mythology is adapted from Ugaritic and similar surrounding cultures. Ezekiel appears to cite them as such (they seem to come from “mythic time,” not real historical time they are men “of yore”). None of these three men are likely historical. Noah and Job are notably non-Israelites, and Ezekiel is writing to a non-Israelite audience odds are, he understood this Daniel therefore to be another non-Israelite hero, hence why he puts these three together like this. 14:13-14, 14:19-20), treating him as what we would normally identify as a mythical hero, among the “three” heroes of yore possessed of a legendary righteousness and wisdom ( Ez. Unlike other prophets, he has no patronymic, profession, or place of origin, and he first appears in historical records when “Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, by the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians” lists him with the legendary Noah and Job ( Ez. Even the historicity of Daniel the man is dubious.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |