Additions to Daniel
The Additions to Daniel comprise three chapters not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel. The text of these chapters is found in the Koine Greek Septuagint, the earliest Old Greek translation.
 | |||||
| Tanakh (Judaism) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||||
| Old Testament (Christianity) | |||||
|
|
|||||
| Bible portal | |||||
In the third century CE, these additions were accepted as Scripture by all extant Christian writers except Jerome.[1] They are accepted as canonical and translated as such in Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Syriac Bibles. They are listed in Article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England.[2] However, most Protestant Bibles exclude these passages as biblical apocrypha, retaining only the text available today in the Hebrew/Aramaic manuscripts. In Judaism, the additions are not considered canonical, although a version of the Susanna story found its way into rabbinical literature in the Sefer Yosippon.[3]
The three additions are as follows.
- The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children: Daniel 3:24–90 inserted between verses 23 and 24 in the Protestant canon (v. 24 becomes v. 91), incorporated within the Fiery Furnace episode. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are thrown into a furnace for declining to worship an idol, they are rescued by an angel and sing a song of worship.[4] In some Greek Bibles, the Prayer and the Song appear in an appendix to the book of Psalms.[5]
- Susanna and the Elders: before Daniel 1:1, a prologue in early Greek manuscripts; chapter 13 in the Vulgate. This episode, along with Bel and the Dragon, is one of "the two earliest examples" of a detective story, according to Christopher Booker. In it, two men attempt to coerce a young woman into having sexual relations with them through blackmail, but are foiled under close questioning by Daniel.[6]
- Bel and the Dragon: after Daniel 12:13 in Greek, an epilogue; chapter 14 in the Vulgate. In this tale, Daniel's detective work reveals that a brass idol believed to miraculously consume sacrifices is in fact a front for a corrupt priesthood which is stealing the offerings.[6]
References
- Alison Salvesen (2006). "The Growth of the Apocrypha". In J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. pp. 509.
- Article VI at episcopalian.org Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
- Alison Salvesen (2006). "The Growth of the Apocrypha". In J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. pp. 508–509.
- Emil Schürer (1987 edition). Edited by Géza Vermes et al. The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ, Vol. III, Part 2. Pages 722–730.
- James C. VanderKam (2001), An Introduction to Early Judaism. Eerdmans. p. 133.
- Christopher Book (2004), The Seven Basic Plots, pages 505–506
Further reading
- R. H. Charles, ed. (2004 [1913]). The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. Volume I: Apocrypha. Originally by Clarendon Press, 2004 edition by The Apocryphile Press. pp. 625–664.
- J. C. Dancy, ed. (1972). The Shorter Books of the Apocrypha. The Cambridge Bible Commentary on the New English Bible. pp. 210–241.
- Alison Salvesen (2006). "The Growth of the Apocrypha". In J. W. Rogerson and Judith M. Lieu, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Biblical Studies. pp. 508–509.
External links
- NRSV: Prayer of Azariah
- NRSV: Susanna
- NRSV: Bel and the Dragon
- Daniel (including Azariah and the Song), Sousanna, Bel and the Dragon in the New English Translation of the Septuagint.
Additions to Daniel public domain audiobook at LibriVox
