Surviving the Furnace of History—Daniel

LIKE THE SCROLL of Esther, Daniel is a “hidden transcript”1 within the Bible—a serious yet playful piece of literature that speaks from the perspective of those on the underside of harsh political, military, and cultural domination. Following in a pattern of biblical history that begins with Pharaoh and reaches its acme with Haman, the enemy of Queen Esther and the Jews, the book of Daniel shows how the empire’s subjugation of this particular people turns, with remarkable ease and no clear logic, into determination to wipe them out. This book has the overt theological dimension that Esther lacks; rather than showing the mobilization of the Jews against those who seek to kill them, the book of Daniel envisions how “the Most High God” (Dan 5:18, 21; cf. 4:21, 22, 29 Heb., 4:24, 25, 32 Eng., etc.) and the heavenly powers will intervene—at some not clearly specified time in the future—on behalf of the threatened people....