Rereading (re)writing : exploring textual correspondences in and through Daniel 7 and 8

Abstract

As one of the youngest books in the Hebrew Bible, the book of Daniel possess a unique vantage point. It utilises a host of texts and themes from the books preceding it. Moreover, Dan 7– 12 pick up and develop many key themes and ideas from the first half of the book of Daniel itself. This thesis examines fifteen examples of such textual correspondences found in Dan 7 and 8, both book-internal and book-external. In addition to enriching our understanding the book of Daniel, these case studies yield insights regarding the phenomenon of textual correspondence in the Hebrew Bible more broadly. While studies on how biblical books correspond with one another have proliferated in recent years, many challenges still exist, especially in terms of terminology and validation. One major problem identified in this study centres on the common conflation of signal and purpose. In an attempt to differentiate these aspects of textual correspondence, each of the case studies first describes the shared features signalling correspondence in thorough detail before presenting and evaluating options regarding its purpose. With a two-pronged approach, this thesis not only offers insights into understanding the book of Daniel, but also into how textual correspondences can operate in the Hebrew Bible.