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 Sergey
E. Rysev
Herod the Great and the Book of Daniel
From the first centuries of Christian era till this very day, arguments have
been given concerning what four kingdoms represented as beasts are meant in
chapters 2 and 7 of the famous biblical book of Daniel. Of special interest is
the last beast, horrible and terrifying, with ten horns, differing from all
previous beasts (Dan 7:7). Let us immediately denote an important feature of
Daniel book: a part of it (1:1-2:3 and 8:1-12:13) is written in Hebrew while the
other part, the one that contains prophesies about four beasts (2:4-7:28), is in
Aramaic.
No one doubts that the first of 4 beasts, looking like a lion with wings of an
eagle, signifies Babylonian, or Chaldean kingdom. This is directly indicated in
Dan 2:38. Identification of the second beast is also easy enough because
Babylonian kingdom was followed by Median-Persian state (2:39 and 5:30-31). But
then commentators meet difficulties due to the fact that the author doesn’t give
the names of the third and the fourth beasts. Expectedly, the third beast, a
four-headed leopard, is considered by the most of interpreters as the kingdom of
Alexander the Great, from which it follows that the last, unnamed beast with 10
horns should be Roman empire. Although some exegetes contrive to divide Media
and Persia into separate kingdoms and interpret the fourth beast as the dynasty
of Seleucids which became one of the successors of Alexander’s realm and waged
frequent wars against Jews.
Both interpretations can’t be considered satisfactory because they are unable to
explain other details of chapter 7, for example what rulers correspond to 10
horns and who is represented by the horn with human eyes and proudly boasting
mouth, differing from former horns and removing three previous ones (7:8,20,24).
That’s why another solution to this problem is needed that should be linked with
content of other parts of Daniel book and relevant sources. And such a solution
can be offered.
To begin with, according to Daniel, the most powerful in the world at the time
was the third kingdom, not the fourth one. The author indicates this twice,
‘After you [Nebuchadnezzar] there will be... a third, a kingdom of bronze, which
will rule the whole earth’ (2:39), ‘...another beast appeared. It looked like a
leopard... It had a look of authority about it’ (7:6). It should be noted that,
in the book of Revelation which draws heavily on Daniel, the seven-headed beast
that comes up out of the sea looks exactly like a leopard (Rev 13:2).
Now let’s proceed from beasts to horns. The last beast has ten of them. Three
horns are torn out and a new one appears instead of them. Such detailing of the
fourth beast (kingdom) suggests an idea that the author knew it better than
three other beasts. At the same time, there is no doubt that the book of Daniel
was written by a Jew. Thus, it follows, as a surprise, that the fourth beast is
Jewish kingdom with which the author was contemporary. Let’s verify this
suggestion.
The dynasty of Hasmoneans that dominated in Judea from 166 to 37 BCE numbered
strictly ten rulers which can be listed by name: 1) Judas Maccabeus, 2) his
brother Jonathan, 3) their brother Simon, 4) John Hyrcanus, son of Simon, 5)
Aristobulus I, son of Hyrcanus, 6) Alexander Jannaeus, brother of Aristobulus,
7) Salome Alexandra, wife of Alexander, 8) their son Aristobulus II, 9) their
other son Hyrcanus II, 10) Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II.
In 67 BCE, after Salome’s death, a lingering civil war began in Judea in which
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, sons of Salome, strove for power. When Aristobulus was
murdered in 49 BCE his son, Antigonus, joined in the fight. Hyrcanus was under
influence of his adviser, Antipater the Idumaean, who had a son, Herod. Soon
Herod established good relations with Romans who extended their presence in the
Middle East at the time. In 40 BCE, they appointed him king of the Jews and, in
37 BCE, he became factual king when at his request Mark Antony executed
Antigonus who didn’t want to give up power. Thus, Herod, a native of Idumaea,
became a winner in the struggle for Jewish throne – the horn ‘very different
from the earlier ones’ (Dan 7:24). Finally, in 30 BCE, Herod got rid of elderly
Hyrcanus who just returned home from Parthian captivity and could potentially
pretend to the throne.
Chapter 7 of Daniel predicts that the fourth beast will be condemned, killed and
his body will be thrown into flames (7:11,26). So, most probably, Aramaic
chapters of the book were written by a Jew who lived in Parthia and was an enemy
of Herod. A Parthian sign is also seen in that the only one of the beasts that
looks like a human being is the first kingdom, Babylonian (7:4), and the second
beast is told, ‘Go on, eat as much meat as you can!’ (7:5). It is also predicted
that a new king of the fourth kingdom and the whole world would be some Son of
man (Aramaic bar enash - 7:12-14). Thus, it is seen that chapter 7 of Daniel
influenced the beginning of Gospel of Matthew with its eastern magi and killing
of the children.
Chapter 8 of Daniel, being a continuation of chapter 7 in some way because
horned animals also feature in it but written in Hebrew, speaks about a vicious
and deceitful king who will be strong but not by his own power (with Roman
assistance!), who will be successful in everything he does, destroy many people
during peace and be ruined without the use of human power (8:23-25). It’s quite
clear that this chapter was written after Herod’s death and obviously not in
Parthia.
Close connection between chapters 7 and 8 of Daniel is also seen in the contents
of Qumran library. Among scraps of biblical texts found in Qumran, there is a
fragment number 14 which represents a part of the scroll 4Q112, or 4QDanà. The
fragment includes lines Dan 7:25-8:5. This fact and the interpretation of Daniel
just offered constitute together one more, perhaps the most convincing argument
that the compositions of Qumran community proper were created in THE FIRST
CENTURY OF CHRISTIAN ERA but not in the times of Hasmoneans and Herod – the
theory that the overwhelming majority of Orientalists stubbornly impose on
people not consecrated in the nuances of this problem.
It can be added in the conclusion that, in this year of 2007, Israeli
archeologists seemed to succeed at last in finding the tomb of Herod the Great
waking him up from a century-old sleep, so to say. Those who have interest in
the family of Herod, in particular his grandchildren Agrippa I and Herod of
Chalcis, may read ‘Herod and Agrippa’ by Sergey Rysev.
Literature
Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews.
Josephus, Wars of the Jews.
The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (ed. by Florentino Garcia Martinez & Eibert
J. C. Tigchelaar), vol. 1,2. Leiden, 1997-98.
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