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The Book of Daniel & The Dead Sea Scrolls
Daniel
is well represented in the manuscripts found near Qumran. This abundant
manuscript evidence does not fit well with the late dating of Daniel in
the mid–second century B.C. Daniel must have been well established as
scripture
before this time. For an excellent discussion of this topic by
Christian ThinkTank see:
http://www.christian-thinktank.com/qwhendan3a.html.
“Manuscript evidence alone is
disturbing* because it leaves too little time between a mid–second–century
autograph and the acceptance of the book as canonical.”
(Joyce Baldwin,
Daniel,
p.46.).
* to the late date view, that is.
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Daniel
Manuscripts† |
|
Name |
Contents |
Date Copied |
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1QDana
(1Q71) |
Dan 1:10–17; 2:2–6.
Confirms the shift of language from Hebrew to Aramaic,
and omits the phrase ‘in Aramaic’ at 2:4.1 |
50–68 A.D. |
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1QDanb
(1Q72) |
Dan 3:22–30.
Four fragments
on vellum in Aramaic.
Confirms the absence of the
apocryphal “Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Men.”
|
50–68
A.D.
or earlier |
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4QDana
(4Q112) |
Dan 1:16–2:33;
4:29–30; 5:5–7; 7:25–8:5; 10:16–20; 11:13–16. Note that portions of
these verses are incomplete.
Confirms the shift of language from
Aramaic to Hebrew. The
manuscript has a blank line between the end the
Aramaic section and beginning of the Hebrew.2 |
50 B.C. |
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4QDanb
(4Q113) |
Dan 5:10–12, 14–16,
19–22; 6:8–22, 27–29; 7:1–6, 26–28; 8:1–8, 13–16.
Confirms the shift of language from
Aramaic to Hebrew. |
50–68 A.D. |
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4QDanc
(4Q114) |
Dan 10:5–9, 11–16,
21; 11:1–2, 13–17, 25–29.
The oldest known text of
Daniel.
|
Late 2nd century
B.C. |
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4QDand
(4Q115) |
Dan 3:23–25; 4:5?–9;
4:12–14.
Fragments,
the largest of which contains five partial lines in
severe decay.
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4QDane
(4Q116) |
Dan. 9:12–14?,
15–16?, 17?…
Five tiny fragments from chapter nine. |
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6QDana
(6Q7) (aka
6QpapDan) |
Dan 8:16, 17, 20,
21; 10:8–16, 11:33–36, 38.
This cave contained
papyrus
manuscripts rather than leather parchment. |
50–68 A.D. |
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†Drawn
heavily upon
Daniel
by John J. Collins. Note the somewhat jumbled verse citations are
because of the
irregular shapes
of the fragments. See also the informal list on
Orion by Dr. Flint.
1 Collins, Daniel,
p 148.
2 see Frank M. Cross “Editor’s
Note” p. xxxvi, as in Daniel by scholar
John J. Collins. |
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“Comment: It is
interesting to note that every chapter of Daniel is represented in
these manuscripts, except for Dan 12. However, this does not mean that
the Book lacked the final chapter at Qumran, since Dan 12:10 is quoted
in the Florilegium (4Q174), which explicitly tells us that ‘it is
written in the Book of Daniel the Prophet.’ The evidence provided by
these scrolls shows us that Daniel was a popular book at Qumran.”
—‘The Prophet Daniel at Qumran,’ in Craig A. Evans and Peter W. Flint
(eds.),
Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scroll
(Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature); Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996.
“On the whole, the Qumran discoveries
provide powerful evidence of the antiquity of the textual tradition of
the MT.” Collins, Daniel, p. 3. |
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Go To
My Qumran Book Gallery Page…
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