Difference between revisions of "Bel and the Dragon" - New World Encyclopedia
m (→Origin) |
m (→Narratives) |
||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
The booklet appears to have been regarded by the ancient Jewish community of Alexandria as belonging in the class of sacred writings. However, it was never so regarded by the Palestinian Jewish leaders. In Christian tradition, it is quoted as the work of the prophet Daniel by [[Tertullian]] and other early Christian writers, and its claim to canonicity is defended by Origen ("Epistola ad Africanum"). It was not, however, formally accepted as canonical by the early church. In modern times it has been included among the canonical books by the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthox churches, but is generally excluded by Protestants. | The booklet appears to have been regarded by the ancient Jewish community of Alexandria as belonging in the class of sacred writings. However, it was never so regarded by the Palestinian Jewish leaders. In Christian tradition, it is quoted as the work of the prophet Daniel by [[Tertullian]] and other early Christian writers, and its claim to canonicity is defended by Origen ("Epistola ad Africanum"). It was not, however, formally accepted as canonical by the early church. In modern times it has been included among the canonical books by the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthox churches, but is generally excluded by Protestants. | ||
| − | == | + | ==Summary== |
| − | + | ''Bel and Dragon'' consists three independent narratives, which place the [[hero]]-[[prophet]] [[Daniel]] at the court of [[Cyrus II of Persia|Cyrus]], king of the Persians. There Daniel "was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his Friends." (14:1) | |
| − | + | ===Daniel and Bel=== | |
| − | + | The narrative of Bel, the king asks Daniel, "Do you not think that [[Bel (god)|Bel]] is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?" To this, Daniel answers that the idol is made of [[clay]] covered with [[bronze]] and thus, cannot eat or drink. | |
| − | + | Enraged, the king then demands that the 70 priests of Bel show him that Bel truly consumes the offerings made to him. The priests then suggest that the king set the offerings as usual, consisting of "12 great measures of fine flour, and 40 sheep, and six vessels of wine," and then seal the entrance to the temple with his ring. If Bel does not consume the offerings, the priests are to be sentenced to death; otherwise, it is Daniel who is to be killed. | |
| − | The next morning, Daniel calls attention to the footprints on the temple's floor | + | Daniel cleverly scatters ashes over the whole perimeter on the temple in the presence of the king after the priests have left. The next morning, Daniel calls attention to the footprints on the temple's floor. In fact, the sacred meal of Bel has been consumed at night their families, who entered through a [[secret passage|secret door]] when the temple's doors were sealed. The priests of Bel were then arrested and, confess their deed. They, and the families are put to death, and Daniel is permitted to destroy the idol of Bel and the temple. |
| − | + | ===Daniel and the dragon=== | |
| − | + | In the brief but autonomous companion narrative of the [[European dragon|dragon]], the text relates that "there was a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered." In this case the supposed god is no idol, but a living being supposed by the Babylonians to be an eternal deity. This time, Daniel exposes the folly of worshiping a mere create by proving its mortality. He rakes pitch, fat, and hair together to make cakes that, when eaten, cause the dragon to burst open, apparently from indigestion. In variant versions, other ingredients serve the same purpose. | |
| − | + | The Babylonians, however, grow indignant. "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests," they say. They demand that Daniel be handed over to them. | |
| − | + | ===Daniel and the lions' den=== | |
| − | + | The third narrative, Daniel in the Lions' den, is a variant of the more famous story. The [[Septuagint]] version precedes the story with the notice: "From the prophecy of [[Habakkuk]], son of Yeshua, of the tribe of Levi." Despite the presence of seven hungry lions, Daniel remains unharmed in the den as the lions are fed by the miraculous transportation of the [[prophet]] [[Habakkuk]], who is brought all the way from Judea by an angel. The king rejoices to learn that his friend remains unharmed, declaring: "You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!" He then causes those who had demanded Daniel's death to be placed in the den, where they are promptly devoured. | |
| − | |||
| − | The | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
Revision as of 00:27, 3 September 2008
| Books of the |
Bel and the Dragon is an apocryphal Jewish scripture which appears as chapter 14 of the Book of Daniel in the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible and is accepted as scripture by some Christians though not in Jewish tradition.
The text consists of two separate stories one relating to Daniel exposing a fraud perpetrated by the priests of the god Bel, the other to his context with a supposed dragon venerated by the Babylonians. In the former, Daniel, by a clever device, exposes the trick by which the priests of Bel made it appear that the idol consumed the food and drink set before it. In the latter, Daniel slays the supposed dragon-god by getting it to eat poisoned food, after which it bursts asunder. Daniel is thereupon cast into a den of lions, but remains unharmed by the beasts, and is fed by the prophet Habakkuk, who has been miraculously brought from Judea by an angel.
Origin
The purpose of the stories is to ridicule idol-worship and to extol the power of God, who preserves his faithful servants in all perils. The material is drawn from then-current ideas and legends. Bel was an important figure of the Babylonian idolatry as depicted in (Isaiah 45:1 and Jer. 51:44). The myth of the contest between God and the primordial dragon (called Tannin, Rahab, and Leviathan) occurs throughout the old post-exilic literature, and the way in which Daniel destroys the dragon is similar to that in which Marduk destroys Tiamat in the Babylonian Enuma Elish by driving a storm-wind into the dragon and rending it asunder. and Marshall (in Hastings' "Dictionary of the Bible") suggests that the "pitch" of the Greek (Aramean, ) may have come from an original term for "storm-wind" (Aramean, ).
How the prophet Habakkuk came to be introduced into the story probably can only be explained with reference to now lost legends relating to the two prophets.
Two versions of Bel and the Dragon have survived, on in Greek, the other in Aramaic; and the Greek work exists in two recensions: that of the Septuagint and that of Theodotion. In the Septuagint, Daniel is called a priest, the son of Habal, and is introduced as a person previously unknown. The name of the king of Babylon, whose friend he was, is not given; and a prophecy of Habukkuk is included. In Theodotion, the king is identified as Cyrus, Daniel is not called a priest, and nothing is said of a prophecy of Habakkuk.
Canonicity
The booklet appears to have been regarded by the ancient Jewish community of Alexandria as belonging in the class of sacred writings. However, it was never so regarded by the Palestinian Jewish leaders. In Christian tradition, it is quoted as the work of the prophet Daniel by Tertullian and other early Christian writers, and its claim to canonicity is defended by Origen ("Epistola ad Africanum"). It was not, however, formally accepted as canonical by the early church. In modern times it has been included among the canonical books by the Roman Catholic and the Greek Orthox churches, but is generally excluded by Protestants.
Summary
Bel and Dragon consists three independent narratives, which place the hero-prophet Daniel at the court of Cyrus, king of the Persians. There Daniel "was a companion of the king, and was the most honored of all his Friends." (14:1)
Daniel and Bel
The narrative of Bel, the king asks Daniel, "Do you not think that Bel is a living god? Do you not see how much he eats and drinks every day?" To this, Daniel answers that the idol is made of clay covered with bronze and thus, cannot eat or drink.
Enraged, the king then demands that the 70 priests of Bel show him that Bel truly consumes the offerings made to him. The priests then suggest that the king set the offerings as usual, consisting of "12 great measures of fine flour, and 40 sheep, and six vessels of wine," and then seal the entrance to the temple with his ring. If Bel does not consume the offerings, the priests are to be sentenced to death; otherwise, it is Daniel who is to be killed.
Daniel cleverly scatters ashes over the whole perimeter on the temple in the presence of the king after the priests have left. The next morning, Daniel calls attention to the footprints on the temple's floor. In fact, the sacred meal of Bel has been consumed at night their families, who entered through a secret door when the temple's doors were sealed. The priests of Bel were then arrested and, confess their deed. They, and the families are put to death, and Daniel is permitted to destroy the idol of Bel and the temple.
Daniel and the dragon
In the brief but autonomous companion narrative of the dragon, the text relates that "there was a great dragon, which the Babylonians revered." In this case the supposed god is no idol, but a living being supposed by the Babylonians to be an eternal deity. This time, Daniel exposes the folly of worshiping a mere create by proving its mortality. He rakes pitch, fat, and hair together to make cakes that, when eaten, cause the dragon to burst open, apparently from indigestion. In variant versions, other ingredients serve the same purpose.
The Babylonians, however, grow indignant. "The king has become a Jew; he has destroyed Bel, and killed the dragon, and slaughtered the priests," they say. They demand that Daniel be handed over to them.
Daniel and the lions' den
The third narrative, Daniel in the Lions' den, is a variant of the more famous story. The Septuagint version precedes the story with the notice: "From the prophecy of Habakkuk, son of Yeshua, of the tribe of Levi." Despite the presence of seven hungry lions, Daniel remains unharmed in the den as the lions are fed by the miraculous transportation of the prophet Habakkuk, who is brought all the way from Judea by an angel. The king rejoices to learn that his friend remains unharmed, declaring: "You are great, O Lord, the God of Daniel, and there is no other besides you!" He then causes those who had demanded Daniel's death to be placed in the den, where they are promptly devoured.
See also
Notes
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Jewish Encyclopedia, "Bel and the Dragon"
- Daniel 14 in the NAB
| |||||||||||||||||
External links
- Early Jewish Writings: Bel and the Dragon
Credits
New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:
The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:
Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.
