DANIEL CHAPTER SEVEN

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JLG

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#41
God and Daniel / Daniel and God

Daniel 5:

- This time Daniel must help King Belshazzar.

- He does as usual!

- He is told by God!

- Then he tells the interpretation!

- He doesn’t care about the king’s gifts!

- He works for God!

- And he always tells the message from God!

- Good or bad!

- The king is killed by Darius the Mede!

- But Daniel will keep his position!

- God keeps blessing him!

- And his qualities and abilities are appreciated!
 

JLG

Well-known member
Nov 4, 2021
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#42
____________________________________________________________________

- Get away from this old world of Chaos and prepare for the New World!
- don’t do like the Israelites who stayed in the old world and died!
____________________________________________________________________


God and Daniel / Daniel and God

Daniel 11- 12

- Daniel tells about all the details of the vision!

- Then he tells about a dialogue!

- And finally he is told about a cleansing and a whitening and a refinement and about understanding!

- And the wicked will keep acting wickedly and won’t understand!

- Another warning to be taken seriously by those who want to be refined!

- And not seriously by those who don’t want to be refined!

- Only two options!

- And one personal choice!

- Which includes a personal relationship to God or not!

- Then everything is clear for those who understand and for those who don’t want to understand!
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#43
____________________________________________________________________
- Get away from this old world of Chaos and prepare for the New World!
- don’t do like the Israelites who stayed in the old world and died
____________________________________________________________________

A very precious man and a top official

Daniel 1:
When the king speaks with them, no one in the entire group is found to be like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and they continue to serve before the king. In every matter requiring wisdom and understanding that the king asks them about, he finds them ten times better than all the magic-practicing priests and the conjurers in his entire realm. And Daniel remains there until the first year of King Cyrus.


- Again and again, Daniel shows himself faithful !

- That’s his main quality !

- He shines faithfulness!

- And everybody can see it!

- And he is blessed again and again!

- And his faithfulness keeps growing bigger and bigger!

- It is so big that there is no room for the other people!

- Ten times better!

- And Daniel has visions he can explain!

- RESOLUTE / FAITHFUL / GOOD LISTENER / PROACTIVE / FAITHFUL / FAITHFUL
 

JLG

Well-known member
Nov 4, 2021
5,944
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#44
____________________________________________________________________
- Get away from this old world of Chaos and prepare for the New World!
- don’t do like the Israelites who stayed in the old world and died
____________________________________________________________________

A very precious man and a top official

Daniel 2:

Daniel replies to the king: “None of the wise men, conjurers, magic-practicing priests, or astrologers are able to tell the king the secret that he is asking. But there is a God in the heavens who is a Revealer of secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what is to happen in the final part of the days.

- Once again Daniel shows how humble he is!

- He always puts God at the first place!

- And he always says that he is nothing!

- RESOLUTE / FAITHFUL / GOOD LISTENER / PROACTIVE / FAITHFUL / FAITHFUL / DISCREET AND CAUTIOUS / RESOLUTE AND PROACTIVE / TEAM PLAYER AND HUMBLE / HUMBLE / RESOLUTE AND PROACTIVE / HUMBLE

- Faithful (3)
- Resolute (3)
- Proactive (3)
- Humble (3)
- Good listener (1)
- Discreet and cautious (1)
- Team player (1)
 

JLG

Well-known member
Nov 4, 2021
5,944
189
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#45
__________________________________________________________________
- Get away from this old world of Chaos and prepare for the New World!
- don’t do like the Israelites who stayed in the old world and died
____________________________________________________________________



A very precious man and a top official

Daniel 9:

So I turn my face to the true God, entreating him in prayer, along with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I pray to my God and make confession and say: “O God, the great and awe-inspiring One, who keeps his covenant and shows loyal love to those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled…

- God listens to Daniel because he prays God with humility!

- He recognizes all the bad actions of Israel!

- And there is a long list!

- And God tells him Jerusalem will be rebuilt but destroyed again!

- He tells a lot about how God considers Israel!

- RESOLUTE / FAITHFUL / GOOD LISTENER / PROACTIVE / FAITHFUL / FAITHFUL / DISCREET AND CAUTIOUS / RESOLUTE AND PROACTIVE / TEAM PLAYER AND HUMBLE / HUMBLE / RESOLUTE AND PROACTIVE / HUMBLE / HUMBLE / FAITHFUL AND TEAM PLAYER / FAITHFUL / FAITHFUL / FAITHFUL / HUMBLE

- Faithful (7)
- Humble (5)
- Resolute (3)
- Proactive (3)
- Team player (2)
- Good listener (1)
- Discreet and cautious (1)
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#46
Where does it come from?
How does it grow?


Daniel 6

Now Daniel is distinguishing himself over the other high officials and the satraps, for there is an extraordinary spirit in him, and the king intends to elevate him over the entire kingdom.
At that time the high officials and the satraps are seeking to find some grounds for accusation against Daniel respecting matters of state, but they could find no grounds for accusation or anything corrupt, for he was trustworthy and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. These men then say: “We will find in this Daniel no grounds for accusation at all, unless we find it against him in the law of his God.”
So these high officials and satraps go in as a group to the king, and they say to him: “O King Darius, may you live on forever. All the royal officials, prefects, satraps, high royal officers, and governors have consulted together to establish a royal decree and to enforce a ban, that for 30 days whoever makes a petition to any god or man except to you, O king, should be thrown into the lions’ pit. Now, O king, may you establish the decree and sign it, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be annulled.”
So King Darius signs the decree and the ban. But as soon as Daniel knows that the decree has been signed, he goes to his house, which has the windows of his roof chamber open toward Jerusalem. And three times a day he gets down on his knees and prays and offers praise before his God, as he has regularly done prior to this. At that time those men burst in and finds Daniel petitioning and pleading for favor before his God...
So they approach the king and remind him about the royal ban: “Did you not sign a ban stating that for 30 days any man who makes a petition to any god or man except to you, O king, should be thrown into the lions’ pit?” The king replies: “The matter is well-established according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be annulled.” They immediately say to the king: “Daniel, who is of the exiles of Judah, has paid no regard to you, O king, nor to the ban that you signed, but three times a day he is praying.” As soon as the king hear this, he is greatly distressed, and he tries to think of a way to rescue Daniel; and until the sun set he makes every effort to save him. Finally those men go in as a group to the king, and they say to the king: “Take note, O king, that the law of the Medes and the Persians is that any ban or decree that the king establishes cannot be changed.” So the king gives the order, and they bring Daniel and throw him into the pit of lions. The king says to Daniel: “Your God whom you are continually serving will rescue you.” Then a stone is brought and placed over the entrance of the pit, and the king seals it with his signet ring and with the signet ring of his nobles, so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel. The king then goes to his palace. He passes the night fasting and refused any entertainment, and he could not sleep. Finally at the first light of dawn, the king gets up and hurries to the lions’ pit. As he gets near the pit, he calls out to Daniel with a sad voice. The king asks Daniel: “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you are continually serving been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel immediately says to the king: “O king, may you live on forever. My God sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lions, and they have not harmed me, for I was found innocent before him; nor have I done any wrong to you, O king.”
The king is overjoyed, and he commands that Daniel be lifted up out of the pit. When Daniel is lifted up out of the pit, he is completely unharmed, because he has trusted in his God. The king then gives an order, and the men who have accused Daniel are brought, and they are thrown into the lions’ pit, along with their sons and their wives. They have not reached the bottom of the pit before the lions overpower them and crush all their bones.


- When you read this chapter, you can see that times change, kings change!

- But Daniel keeps being the same!

- He still has God’s spirit!

- And think of that, an extraordinary one!

- And Daniel has worked hard to get it!

- He has kept building an extraordinary strong relationship with God!

- Not a superficial one!

- But a deep one!

- And the important people in the administration of Darius become jealous of him!

- But they can’t find anything against him!

- Because he is irreproachable!

- So the only way is to find something against him in the law of his God!

- As soon as Daniel hears about the decree, he prays God as he does it three times a day!

- Nothing can change his routine toward God!

- It is part of his life!

- It is not from time to time, he does it every day and regularly!

- And all the officials know it!

- And Darius appreciates Daniel and he wants to rescue him but he can’t go against the law he has signed!

- Even Darius knows that Daniel continually serve God!

- Darius can’t sleep at night!

- He gets up early in the morning and goes to the lions’ pit!

- He asks Daniel if he is still alive!

- The king is overjoyed!

- Darius commands all Daniel’s accusers to be thrown into the lions’ pit with their sons and wives!

- We can thus see how the king appreciates him!

- What a powerful example we have here in each detail!

- May we remember it in building up our relationship with God!
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#47
Where does it come from?
How does it grow?


Daniel 9

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus—a descendant of the Medes who has been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, discern by the books the number of years mentioned in the word of God to Jeremiah the prophet to fulfill the desolation of Jerusalem, namely, 70 years.

- Daniel knows the book of Jeremiah who was written between 586 and 570 BC!

So I turn my face to the true God, entreating him in prayer, along with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I pray to my God and make confession and say:
O God, the great and awe-inspiring One, who keeps his covenant and shows loyal love to those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled; and we have deviated from your commandments and your judgments. We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, our forefathers, and all the people of the land.

- The Pentateuch was written between 1445 and 1405 BC!

- Joshua between 1405 and 1385 BC!

- Samuel between 931 and 722 BC!

- Isaiah between 700 and 681 BC!

- Ezekiel between 590 and 570 BC!

- Jeremiah between 586 and 570 BC!

- Daniel between 536 and 530!

To you, O Jehovah, belongs righteousness, but to us belongs shame as is the case today, to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those nearby and far away, in all the lands to which you dispersed them because they acted unfaithfully toward you. “O God, to us belongs shame, to our kings, our princes, and our forefathers, because we have sinned against you. To our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. We have not obeyed the voice of our God by following his laws that he set before us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has overstepped your Law and turned away by not obeying your voice, so that you poured out on us the curse and the sworn oath written about in the Law of Moses the servant of the true God, for we have sinned against Him. He has carried out his words that he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled over us, by bringing great calamity on us; nothing has ever been done under the whole heavens such as what was done in Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, yet we have not begged for the favor of our God by turning away from our error and by showing insight into your truth. “So God kept watchful and brought calamity on us, for our God is righteous in all the works that he has done; yet we have not obeyed his voice. “Now, O our God, the One who brought your people out of the land of Egypt by a mighty hand and made a name for yourself down to this day, we have sinned and acted wickedly. O God, according to all your righteous acts, please, may your anger and wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the errors of our forefathers, Jerusalem and your people are an object of reproach to all those around us. And now listen, O our God, to the prayer of your servant and to his entreaties, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate, for your own sake, O God. Incline your ear, O my God, and hear! Do open your eyes and see our desolate condition and the city that has been called by your name; for we are not entreating you because of our righteous acts but because of your great mercy. O God, do hear. O God, do forgive. O God, do pay attention and act! Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, for your own name has been called upon your city and upon your people.” While I am still speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request for favor before my God concerning the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I am yet speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I have previously seen in the vision, comes to me when I am extremely weary at about the time of the evening gift offering. And he gives me understanding, saying: “O Daniel, now I have come to give you insight and understanding. When you began your entreaty the word went out, and I have come to report it to you, because you are someone very precious. So consider the matter and understand the vision. “There are 70 weeks that have been determined for your people and your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, to finish off sin, to make atonement for error, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. You should know and understand that from the issuing of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be 7 weeks, also 62 weeks. She will be restored and rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in times of distress. “And after the 62 weeks, Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. “And the people of a leader who is coming will destroy the city and the holy place. And its end will be by the flood. And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations. “And he will keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week, he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease. “And on the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, what was decided on will be poured out also on the one lying desolate.”

- This prayer shows that Daniel knows all the books of the Bible which have been written at this time!

- When he makes a list of all the sins of Israel, he knows what he speaks about!

- He has a very good knowledge of the books!

- It means that he has been studying them carefully again and again!

- That’s why he can pray God this way!

- He gives facts!

- Can we do the same or do we have a superficial knowledge of the Bible?

- Are we conscious that if we don’t want to be strangers to God, we must learn and study the Bible and think about it?

- Otherwise he may say to us I don’t know you, go away from me!

- Why should I care about you?

- Give me good reasons!

- Why does he care about Job, Daniel and Samuel for example?

- Because they are strangers to him?

- Not at all!
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#48
If Daniel had had children, how would he have educated them?

Daniel 5:

- He would also tell them about what happened to king Belshazzar!

- How he drunk in the vessels from the vessels taken from the temple in Jerusalem!

- How he was frightened by the apparition of a man’s hand which began writing on the plaster of the wall!

- And Daniel remembered the king about what happened to his father because if his pride!

- But Belshazzar didn’t humble his heart and he took the vessels belonging to God and thus commit a sacrilege!

- And because of that, he was condemned !

- And the same night he died!

- What a powerful event to grab into his children’s mind to warn them not to do the same but to follow Daniel’s example regarding faithfulness and humility!
 

JLG

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#49
If Daniel had friends…

Daniel 7:

- Through Chapter 7 they would remember the beasts and human powers who fight against each other showing the same pride and limitations and inconsistency with the final result of their total destruction and their replacement by God’s kingdom to open up to a completely different world based on God’s values!

- They could think again and again about it!

- And the necessity to prepare oneself!

- If we want to be accepted!

- And play a part in something unbelievable when we think about the poor human history!

- And a world which will open to what we can’t even imagine!

- Especially when we only have in mind our poor and miserable human world!
 

TMS

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Mar 21, 2015
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#50
Dan 2 is expanded on in Dan 7.
They are both a timeline.
From Babylon to the second comming.

Gold head and Lion = Babylon.
Bear = Medes and Persians empire.
4 headed beast = Grease and the great beast with iron teeth = Rome

But what is the little horn?
Study the identifying points and look at the history and it is clear that the little horn is papal rome.
It received a deadly wound after 1260 years of power and changed times and laws.

Every identifying mark is there in the history of the papacy.
 

TMS

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Mar 21, 2015
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#51
Chapter 8 doesn't include Babylon (the first beast in chap 7 and golden head in chap 2) but the 2 and 3 beasts of chap 7 are named in chapter 8.
The next kingdom to take charge of the known world was Rome, and out of Rome the Papacy took control. A religio political power that ruled for the dark ages.
 

JLG

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#52
He will humiliate three kings?
 

JLG

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#53
If Daniel had a wife…

Grounds for a Forced Divorce

Some Ashkenazi rabbis considered battering as grounds for forcing a man to give a get. Rabbi Meir b. Baruch of Rothenburg (Maharam, c.1215–1293) writes that “A Jew must honor his wife more than he honors himself. If one strikes one’s wife, one should be punished more severely than for striking another person. For one is enjoined to honor one’s wife but is not enjoined to honor the other person. ... If he persists in striking her, he should be excommunicated, lashed, and suffer the severest punishments, even to the extent of amputating his arm. If his wife is willing to accept a divorce, he must divorce her and pay her the ketubbah (Even ha-Ezer #297). He says that a woman who is hit by her husband is entitled to an immediate divorce and to receive the money owed her in her marriage settlement. His advice to cut off the hand of a habitual beater of his fellow echoes the law in Deut. 25:11–12, where the unusual punishment of cutting off a hand is applied to a woman who tries to save her husband in a way that shames the beater.

To justify his opinion, R. Meir uses biblical and talmudic material to legitimize his views. At the end of this responsum he discusses the legal precedents for this decision in the Talmud (B. Gittin 88b). Thus he concludes that “even in the case where she was willing to accept [occasional beatings], she cannot accept beatings without an end in sight.” He points to the fact that a fist has the potential to kill and that if peace is impossible, the rabbis should try to convince him to divorce her of “his own free will,” but if that proves impossible, force him to divorce her (as is allowed by law [ka-torah]).

This responsum is found in a collection of R. Meir’s responsa and in his copy of a responsum by R. Simhah b. Samuel of Speyer (d. 1225–1230). By freely copying it in its entirety, it is clear that R. Meir endorses R. Simhah’s opinions. R. Simhah, using an aggadic approach, wrote that a man has to honor his wife more than himself and that is why his wife—and not his fellow man—should be his greater concern. R. Simhah stresses her status as wife rather than simply as another individual. His argument is that, like Eve, “the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20), she was given for living, not for suffering. She trusts him and thus it is worse if he hits her than if he hits a stranger.

R. Simhah lists all the possible sanctions. If these are of no avail, he takes the daring leap and not only allows a compelled divorce but allows one that is forced on the husband by gentile authorities. It is rare that rabbis tolerate forcing a man to divorce his wife and it is even rarer that they suggested that the non-Jewish community adjudicate their internal affairs. He is one of the few rabbis who authorized a compelled divorce as a sanction. Many Ashkenazi rabbis quote his opinions with approval. However, they were overturned by most rabbis in later generations, starting with R. Israel b. Petahiah Isserlein (1390–1460) and R. David b. Solomon Ibn Abi Zimra (Radbaz, 1479–1573). In his responsum, Radbaz wrote that Simhah “exaggerated on the measures to be taken when writing that [the wifebeater] should be forced by non-Jews (akum) to divorce his wife ... because [if she remarries] this could result in the offspring [of the illegal marriage, according to Radbaz] being declared illegitimate (mamzer)” (part 4, 157).

Included among the many rabbis who totally oppose the husband’s “right” to punish his wife and consider wifebeating as grounds for divorce is the North African Rabbi Simeon b. Zemah Duran (Rashbez, 1361–1444) who disagrees with R. Isaac Alfasi (Rif). “Even though the Rif wrote that even if the husband says ‘I will not provide for her,’ he does not have to divorce her and give the ketubbah to her [I think otherwise]”. Rashbez shows that one can interpret the husband’s unwillingness to provide for her as grounds for forcing a divorce and shows that it is better to live in a house where there is love than one in which there is hate. He comments, “What good is there for a woman whose husband causes her sorrow by daily fights?” And he goes on to show that there are precedents which allow us to force the husband to divorce her and, if he starves her, obviously this should be the case. He writes that the difference between forcing him to divorce her and advising him to divorce her is not that great. If he agrees to divorce her of his own free will, so be it. But if he does not, we force him. He argues “that the rabbinic judge who forces a woman who rebelled to go back to her [abusive] husband is following the law of the Ishmaelites and should be excommunicated. ...” (Simeon ben Zemah, Sefer ha-Tashbez, Part 2, 8).
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#54
If Daniel had a wife…

- He would share his faith and God’s word with her!

- They would pray together!

- They would speak about his visions!

- They would speak about what happened to kings Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar because of their pride and the importance to stay humble!

- They would speak about the importance of their faith!

- They would remember the lions’ pit and what happened to the officials who were jealous of Daniel!

- They would speak about the sins of Israel and the reconstruction and future destruction of Jerusalem!

- They would educate together their children to give them the best education!

- Thus they would give them the best examples!
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#55
7) If Daniel had children what type of school would he promote?

Daniel 1:
Then the king ordered Ashpenaz his chief court official to bring some of the Israelites, including those of royal and noble descent. They were to be youths without any defect, of good appearance, endowed with wisdom, knowledge, and discernment, and capable of serving in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the writing and the language of the Chaldeans.


- They should learn how to respect God’s creation!

- They should learn how to respect life because it’s a gift from God!

- They could learn both by being in contact with animals for instance dogs!

- It is incredible how so many people from the city are afraid of dogs!

- And it is also incredible how so many people are cruel with animals!

- And if you are cruel with animals, are you doing the same with human beings!

- How much violence is there at school?

- How many youngsters are killed at school in America?

- And I’m not speaking about values!

- What does it tell about society when youngsters or children can’t be safe at school?

- Saying that modern society is sick is far away from reality!
 

JLG

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Nov 4, 2021
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#56
Geographical locations in the book of Daniel

Daniel 8:
- MEDES AND MEDIA

https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/medes-and-media

MEDES AND MEDIA (Heb. מָדַי; in Akkadian inscriptions: Madai), a people of Indo-Iranian origin, closely related to the Persians, who inhabited the mountainous area of Iran and the northeastern and eastern region of Mesopotamia. The Medes, located in the Kermanshah-Hamadan (Ecbatana) region, are more prominent in Assyrian texts than the Persians. The Assyrian kings distinguish two groups of Medes inside the empire, and the distant Medes (madaya rūqūti). In the biblical passage enumerating Noah's sons, Madai, the progenitor of the Medes, like those of other Indo-Iranian peoples, is included among the sons of *Japheth (Gen. 10:2). In datable sources Medes are first mentioned in the historical inscriptions of the Assyrian kings of the end of the ninth century b.c.e., Shalamaneser iii and his son Shamshi-Adad v. The Assyrian kings in military campaigns against Media, which then stretched southeast of Lake Urmia, inflicted heavy losses on its population. Although the Medes did not as yet have a central kingdom, they succeeded in repelling the Assyrian kings in sporadic encounters and by evasive tactics. In the eighth century b.c.e., *Tiglath-Pileser iii, in his campaigns, which extended from *Ararat (Urartu) to the mountains south of the Caspian Sea, subdued the Medes. Annexing Media to Assyria, he deported 65,000 of its population, whom he replaced with inhabitants of other countries. However, in the days of *Sargon ii, at the end of the eighth century b.c.e., Media, under the leadership of a Median called Dayaukku, revolted against Assyria. In Sargon's military operations conducted in 716–15 b.c.e. against the centers of revolt, Dayaukku was captured and exiled to Hamath in Syria, whereupon 22 Median rulers, submitting to the sovereignty of Assyria, presented a gift to the king. Dayaukku is undoubtedly identical with Deioces, who is mentioned by Herodotus (1:96–101) as having united the tribes of Media and as having been its first king, reigning for 53 years. However, according to contemporary Assyrian sources, he was merely the forceful local chieftain of a region lying between Assyria and Ararat. Apparently a later tradition attributed to him a royal title and the establishment of the Median Empire. Media became a united empire under the leadership of Kaštarita (according to the Persian pronunciation; in Assyrian: Kastarītu), who formed a military pact against the Assyrians in the region of the Zagros Mountains and rose to be king of Media (in the first half of the seventh century b.c.e.). The present tendency is to identify Kaštarita with Phraortes king of Media who, according to Herodotus (1:102), reigned 22 years, subdued the Persians, and was killed when advancing on Nineveh. Having consolidated their position at the end of the reign of Ashurbanipal king of Assyria (668–627 b.c.e.), the Medes, in the wars between Babylonia and Assyria in the days of the last Assyrian kings (626–616 b.c.e.), joined forces with the Babylonians, attacked Nineveh, and, after conquering it, assisted in the capture of Haran. The Medes (called in contemporary Babylonian documents Ummān manda, an old traditional term for barbarians) were then ruled by Cyaxares (i.e., native Huvaxšra; in Babylonian sources: Umakištar), who, Herodotus reports (1:100–4), defeated the Scythians. After the overthrow of Assyria, Cyaxares extended his sway over the northern part of the Assyrian Empire, as well as over large sections of Iran, Armenia, and Asia Minor. When unable in 500 b.c.e. to conquer Lydia, Cyaxares, through the mediation of the kings of Babylonia and Cilicia, made a treaty with the Lydians. This consolidation of Media under Cyaxares, constituting as it did a danger to Babylonia, finds expression in utterances of the prophets of Israel who saw in the army of Media a relentless foe rising to destroy Babylonia (Isa. 13:4–6, 17–19, 21:1–10) and uniting with other northern peoples to bring about, at God's command, the overthrow of the kingdom of the Chaldeans (Jer. 51:11–14, 25–36). Astyages (Ass. Ištumēgu) the son of Cyaxares and the last king of Media (584–550 b.c.e.) attempted to oust Babylonia from the region of Haran. However, after *Cyrus king of Persia had revolted against Astyages and defeated him, Media became part of the Persian Empire (550 b.c.e.). The revolts which broke out against Persian rule at the beginning of *Darius i's reign were unsuccessful, and Media was incorporated into two Persian satrapies (the 11th and the 18th). Nevertheless it occupied an honorable and special position in the Persian Empire, as is reflected in the biblical combination (in Esther and Daniel) of "Persia and Media" or "Media and Persia," e.g., "the seven princes of Persia and Media" (Esth. 1:14); "the kings of Media and Persia" (10:2); or "the laws of the Persians and the Medes" (1:19). The Bible apparently expresses a view, then prevalent, about the part played by the two empires in the historical events preceding the fall of Babylonia. According to this view, not only did the one empire supplement the work of the other but the Persian Empire was the natural heir of Media. Echoes of this view appear in Daniel's vision of the destruction of Babylonia by the Medes and Persians (Dan. 5:26–28; cf. 6:1, 29; 8:20) as well as in the prophecies in Isaiah and Jeremiah concerning the overthrow of Babylonia by Media (see above). It is difficult to reconcile elements of the literary sources with archaeological evidence.
 

JLG

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#57
Geographical locations in the book of Daniel

Daniel 11:

- City of Kittim (ships of Kittim):

https://bibleatlas.org/kittim.htm

kit'-im (kittim, Isaiah 23:12 Jeremiah 2:10; kittiyim, apparently plural of kitti (not found, but compare (4) below); Ketioi, Kitioi, Ketieim, Jeremiah 2:10; Chettieim, Chettein): identified with Sepphoris, which is represented by the modern village of Seffuriyeh.

1. Two Usages of the Name:

In Genesis 10:4 the word is applied to the descendants of Javan, and indicates, therefore, the Greek-Latin races, whose territory extended along the coasts of the Mediterranean, and included its islands. By the side of Kittim are mentioned Elisha, Tarshish, and Dodanim (= Rodanim of 1 Chronicles 1:7), generally explained respectively as Sicily with Southern Italy, Spain and Rhodes. In its narrower sense Kittim appears simply to have stood for the island of Cyprus-it is mentioned between Bashan (= Pal) and the isles of Elisha in Ezekiel 27:6, 7, and with this Isaiah 23:1, 12 agree, Kittim occurring in these passages between Tarshish, Tyre and Sidon.


2. In Its Limited Sense:

The oldest etymology is apparently that of Josephus, who connects Kittim with the well-known old Cypriote city Kition (Citium) (Ant., I, vi, 1), testifying to the settling of the Kittim on the island. This word he further connects with Chethima, from Chethimus, and states that it was on account of Cyprus being the home of those people that all islands were called Chethim by the Hebrews. The derivation of an ancient Chethim from Chethimus, however, would make the m to be a radical, and this, with the substitution of Ch (= Kh) for Kittim, renders his proposed etymology somewhat doubtful.


The statement of Josephus, that "all islands, and the greatest part of the sea-coast, are called Chethim (= Kittim) by the Hebrews," on the other hand, must be taken as the testimony of one well acquainted with the opinions of the learned world in his time. In Jeremiah 2:10 and Ezekiel 27:6 the isles of Kittim are expressly spoken of, and this confirms the statement of Josephus concerning the extended meaning of the name. This would explain its application to the Roman fleet in Daniel 11:30 (so the Vulgate), and the Macedonians in 1 Maccabees 1:1 (Chettieim) and 8:5 (Kitians). In the latter passage the Greek writer seems to have been thinking more of the Cyprian Kition than of the Hebrew Kittim.

4. Colonization of Cyprus:
According to Herodotus (vii.90), Cyprus was colonized from Greece, Phoenicia, and Ethiopia. Referring to the plundering of the temple of Aphrodite at Askalon by the Scythians (i.105), he states that her temple in Cyprus was an offshoot from that ancient foundation, as reported by the Cyprians themselves, Phoenicians having founded it at Cythera, on arriving from Syria. The date of the earliest Phoenician settlements in Cyprus is unknown, but it has been suggested that they were anterior to the time of Moses. Naturally they brought with them their religion, the worship of the moon-goddess Atargatis (Derceto) being introduced at Paphos, and the Phoenician Baal at Kition. If Kition be, then, a Semitic word (from the same root as the Hebrew Kittim), it has been transferred from the small band of Phoenician settlers which it at first designated, to the non-Sem Japhethites of the West. Kition occurs in the Phoenician inscriptions of Cyprus under the forms K(i)t(t) and K(i)t(t)i, the latter being by far the more common (CIS, I, i, 10, 11, 14, 19, etc.).


5. Its Successive Masters:
The early history of Cyprus is uncertain. According to the Assyrian copy of Sargon of Agade's omens, that king (about 3800 B.C. in the opinion of Nabonidus; 2800 B.C. in the opinion of many Assyriologists) is said to have crossed "the sea of the setting sun" (the Mediterranean), though the Babylonian copy makes it that of "the rising sun"-i.e. the Persian Gulf. Be this as it may, General Cesnola discovered at Curium, in Cyprus, a seal-cylinder apparently inscribed "Mar-Istar, son of Ilu-bani, servant (worshipper) of Naram-Sin," the last named being the deified son of Sargon. In the 16th century B.C., Cyprus was tributary to Thothmes III. About the year 708 B.C., Sargon of Assyria received the submission of the kings of the district of Ya', in Cyprus, and set up at Citium the stele bearing his name, which is now in the Royal Museum at Berlin. Esarhaddon and his son Assur-bani-apli each received tribute from the 10 Cyprian princes who acknowledged Assyrian supremacy. The island was conquered by the Egyptian king Amasis, and later formed part of the Persian empire, until the revolt of Evagoras in 410 B.C. The Assyrians knew the island under the name of Yad(a)nanu, the "Wedan" (Vedan) of Ezekiel 27:19 Revised Version (British and American) (Sayce, PSBA, 1912, 26).


6. The Races Therein and Their Languages:
If the orthodox date for the composition of Genesis be accepted, not only the Phoenicians, but also the Greeks, or a people of Greek-Latin stock, must have been present in Cyprus, before the time of Moses, in sufficient number to make them the predominant portion of the population. As far as can be judged, the Phoenicians occupied only the eastern and southern portion of the island. Paphos, where they had built a temple to Ashtoreth and set up an 'asherah (a pillar symbolizing the goddess), was one of their principal settlements. The rest of the island was apparently occupied by the Aryans, whose presence there caused the name of Kittim to be applied to all the Greek-Latin countries of the Mediterranean. Greek and Phoenician were the languages spoken on the island, as was proved by George Smith's demonstration of the nature of the non-Phoenician text of the inscription of King Melek-yathon of Citium (370 B.C.). The signs used in the Greek-Cyprian inscriptions are practically all syllabic.


7. The Testimony of Cyprian Art:
The many influences which have modified the Cyprian race are reflected in the ancient art, which shows the effect of Babylonian, Egyptian Phoenician and Greek contacts. Specimens are to be found in many museums, but the finest collection of examples of Cyprian art is undoubtedly that of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Some of the full-length figures are life-size, and the better class of work is exceedingly noteworthy.
 

JLG

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#58
- Mixing cultures :


Coming back to Daniel 6 thread 42 about this part :


Seleucus was succeeded by his eldest son, Antiochus I Soter, who reigned until 261 and was followed by Antiochus II (reigned 261–246), Seleucus II (246–225), Seleucus III (225–223), and Antiochus III the Great (223–187), whose reign was marked by sweeping administrative reforms in which many of the features of the ancient Persian imperial administration, adopted initially by Alexander, were modernized to eliminate a dual power structure strained by rivalry between military and political figures.


...


The Seleucid empire was a major centre of Hellenistic culture, which maintained the preeminence of Greek customs and manners over the indigenous cultures of the Middle East. A Greek-speaking Macedonian aristocratic class dominated the Seleucid state throughout its history, although this dominance was most strongly felt in the urban areas. Resistance to Greek cultural hegemony peaked during the reign of Antiochus IV (175–163), whose promotion of Greek culture culminated in his raising a statue to Zeus in the Temple at Jerusalem. He had previously ordered the Jews to build shrines to idols and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals and had forbidden circumcision—essentially prohibiting, on pain of death, the practice of the Jewish law. This persecution of the Jews and desecration of the Temple sparked the Maccabean uprising beginning in 165. A quarter-century of Maccabean resistance ended with the final wresting of control over Judea from the Seleucids and the creation of an independent Judea in Palestine.

- Here we can see that when conquerors invade an area, they mix everything between the two cultures with a predominance of the conqueror's culture. We must also add the influence of religion and language.
 

JLG

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#59
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clement-of-Alexandria

1) St. Clement of Alexandria

Christian theologian


St. Clement of Alexandria, Latin name Titus Flavius Clemens, (born 150 ce, Athens—died between 211 and 215; Western feast day November 23; Eastern feast day November 24), Christian Apologist, missionary theologian to the Hellenistic (Greek cultural) world, and second known leader and teacher of the
catechetical School of Alexandria. The most important of his surviving works is a trilogy comprising the Protreptikos (“Exhortation”), the Paidagōgos (“Instructor”), and the Strōmateis (“Miscellanies”).


Early life and career

According to St. Epiphanius, a 4th-century bishop, the parents of Titus Flavius Clemens were Athenian pagans. There is little significant information about his early life. As a student, he traveled to various centres of learning in Italy and in the eastern Mediterranean area. Converted to Christianity by his last teacher, Pantaenus—reputedly a former Stoic philosopher and the first recorded president of the Christian catechetical School at Alexandria—Clement succeeded his mentor as head of the school about 180.


During the next two decades Clement was the intellectual leader of the Alexandrian Christian community: he wrote several ethical and theological works and biblical commentaries; he combated heretical gnostics (religious dualists who believed in salvation through esoteric knowledge that revealed to humans their spiritual origins, identities, and destinies); he engaged in polemics with Christians who were suspicious of an intellectualized Christianity; and he educated persons who later became theological and ecclesiastical leaders (e.g., Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem).

In addition to the famed trilogy, his extant works include a tract on the use of wealth, A Discourse Concerning the Salvation of Rich Men; a moral tract, Exhortation to Patience; or, Address to the Newly Baptized; a collection of sayings by Theodotus, a follower of Valentinus (a leading Alexandrian gnostic), with commentary by Clement, Excerpta ex Theodoto; the Eclogae Propheticae (or Extracts), in the form of notes; and a few fragments of his biblical commentary Hypotyposeis (Outlines).


Clement presented a functional program of witnessing in thought and action to Hellenistic inquirers and Christian believers, a program that he hoped would bring about an understanding of the role of Greek philosophy and the Mosaic tradition within the Christian faith. According to Clement, philosophy was to the Greeks as the Law of Moses was to the Jews, a preparatory discipline leading to the truth, which was personified in the Logos. His goal was to make Christian beliefs intelligible to those trained within the context of the Greek paideia (educational curriculum) so that those who accepted the Christian faith might be able to witness effectively within Hellenistic culture. He also was a social critic deeply rooted in the 2nd-century cultural milieu.

Clement’s view, “One, therefore, is the way of truth, but into it, just as into an everlasting river, flow streams but from another place” (Strōmateis), prepared the way for the curriculum of the catechetical school under Origen that became the basis of the medieval quadrivium and trivium (i.e., the liberal arts). This view, however, did not find ready acceptance by the uneducated orthodox Christians of Alexandria, who looked askance at intellectuals, especially at the heretical gnostics, who claimed a special knowledge (gnōsis) and spirituality. Led by Demetrius, the bishop of Alexandria who was elevated to the episcopacy in 189, they taught a legalistic doctrine of salvation and preached that the Christian was saved by faith (pistis).
 

JLG

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#60
2)

Clement’s view of the roles of faith and knowledge

Clement attempted to mediate between the heretical gnostics and the legalistic orthodox Christians by appropriating the term gnostic from the heretical groups and reinterpreting it to meet the needs of both the uneducated orthodox stalwarts and the growing numbers of those educated in the Greek paideia who were enlisting in the Christian church. Gnōsis became, in Clement’s theology, a knowledge and aspect of faith; he viewed it as a personal service that “loves and teaches the ignorant and instructs the whole creation to honor God the Almighty” (Strōmateis). Thus, Clement’s Christian gnostic—as opposed to the heretical gnostic—witnessed to nonbelievers, to heretics, and to fellow believers, the educated and uneducated alike, by teaching new insights and by setting a lofty example in moral living. Like the pistic Christians (those who claimed that people were saved by faith, which was to be demonstrated in legalistic and moral terms), Clement held that faith was the basis of salvation, but, unlike them, he claimed that faith was also the basis of gnōsis, a spiritual and mystical knowledge. By distinguishing between two levels of believers—i.e., the pistic Christian, who responds through discipline and lives on the level of God’s law, and the Christian gnostic, who responds through discipline and love and lives on the level of the gospel—Clement set the stage for the efflorescence of monasticism that began in Egypt about a half century after his death.

Though much of Clement’s attention was focused on the reorientation of people’s personal lives in accordance with the Christian gospel, his interest in the social witnessing of Christians also involved him in the political and economic forces that affected human dignity and status. In keeping with the logos–nomos (word–law, or, sometimes, gospel–law) theme that pervades his works, Clement alluded to the theory of the two cities, the city of heaven and the city of the earth. Like St. Augustine, the great theologian who utilized the same theme two centuries later in De civitate Dei (The City of God), Clement did not equate the city of heaven with the institutional church. According to Clement,

the Christian was to live under the Logos as befitting a citizen of heaven and then, in an order of priorities, under the law (nomos) as a citizen of the earth. If a conflict should arise between God and Caesar (i.e., the state), the Christian was to appeal to the “higher law” of the Logos. At one point Clement advocated the theory of the just cause for open rebellion against a government that enslaves people against their will, as in the case of the Hebrews in Egypt. In this view he also anticipated Augustine’s theory of the just war, a theory that has been dominant in Western civilization since the early Middle Ages. He also struck at racism when it is considered a basis for slavery.