Two Greek Versions of Daniel Predating the 1st Century

 

Alexander A. Di Lella in a chapter entitled “The textual History of Septuagint-Daniel and Theodotion-Daniel” in The Book of Daniel: Composition and Reception (2002), vol 2, pp. 586-607), presents the scholarship that has demonstrated two major Greek versions of Daniel that predate the 1st Century. This is known in scholarship as OG-Dan and Th-Dan. Critical editions of the Septuagint (LXX) often include both versions.  

For example, the LXX with Critical Apparatus published by German Bible Society contains both versions designated as  “DAN” and “DANT”. “DAN” corresponds to OG-Dan, and “DANT” corresponds to Th-Dan.

OG-Dan (Septuagint Daniel)

OG-Dan, known as “Old Greek” or “Septuagint” Daniel is a primitive Greek translation of Daniel. The date of OG-Dan has generally been assigned to the late second or early first century BCE. OG-Dan is prior to Th-Dan and was likely translated in Alexandria Egypt.

There is scholarly consensus that the OG (Old Greek) is not a homogeneous or uniformly literal translation of the Old Testament but differs from book to book in the accuracy and quality of its results. (Di Lella, p 595) 

There are only two complete witnesses of OG-Dan (manuscript 88 and (c), a literal Syriac translation of the OG that was made in the 7th century). The reason for the scarcity of witnesses to OG-Dan is that early on the Christian church abandoned OG-Dan and replaced it by Th-Dan. Th-Dan triumphed over OG-Dan in 150-200 CE in the Greek church (R. H Pfeiffer, History of New Testament Times, (1949) p. 444)

St. Jerome attested to this replacement in the preface to his translation of Daniel in the Vulgate:

The churches of our Lord Savior do not read the prophet Daniel according to the Seventy Interpreters; they use the edition of Theodotion. But why this happened I do not know. .. This one thing I can affirm - that it [the LXX] differs a great deal from the truth, and with good reason was rejected (Jerome, "Prologus in Danihele Propheta," in R. Weber (ed.) Bibla Sacraiuxta vulgatam versionem (2nd ed., 2 vols. (1975) 2.1231)

 

Th-Dan (Theodotion Daniel)

Di Lella argues that another Greek translation, now known as Th-Dan, was produced in Palestine or Asia Minor by a Jewish translator during pre-Christian times. It follows that the translator was of the opinion that OG-Dan did not accurately render the Hebrew and Aramaic original, so he translated the work anew with OG-Dan in view. Di Lella further argues that Th-Dan is essentially in its present form (as found in all the Greek MSS, except for 88-Syh and 967) a first-century BCE production that never was reworked by Theodotion. Thus “Th-Dan” is a misnomer. Instead, it is a designation that has been maintained to avoid further confusion. (p 596)

Th-Dan was initially associated with the historical Theodotion, who lived in the early second century CE and was previously thought to have reworked much of the Greek OT. Dan. It is now certain that Th-Dan is not the work of Theodotion, but pertains to an earlier Greek manuscript tradition of the Old Testament that precedes the 1st century CE. 

A date later than the composition of the New Testament texts cannot account for how the NT cites many phrases from Th-Dan. Because of the correspondence between Th-Dan and the New Testament, scholars have concluded that Th-Dan must antedate it. 

The New Testament cites readings that come from OG-Dan as well as Th-Dan. Again, the evidence seems to indicate that the NT writers and the early Christian community employed at least two different Greek forms of Daniel. 

J. Gwynn has argued in “Theodotion,” Dictionary of Christian Biography ((1887) 4.970-79) for a probable theory that in addition to OG-Dan the Jews of pre-Christian times had another Greek form of Daniel. This form was known to the translator of the deuterocanonical Book of Baruch into Greek at around 70 CE, in addition to the NT writers and the earliest Church Fathers such as Clement and Hermas. Gwyunn concludes that this other Pre-Christian Greek form of Daniel became the foundation of the work of the historical Theodotion.

Ziegler (Daniel, 28-29 n. 1.) had the view that Th-Dan has nothing at all to do with Theodotion but was only superficially reworked by him.

DiLella concludes that translators of OG-Dan and Th-Dan were consciously at work on a canonical text. These Greek forms, with the Additions, served as canonical Scripture for the several Greek-speaking Jewish and Christian communities that received (or revised) them. Being Scripture, OG-Dan and Th-Dan deserve the same respect and consideration as the MT. (p. 604)

By the end of the 2nd Century, Th-Dan was the principal version of Daniel used by Christian communities. 

The reading of Daniel 7:13-14

Th-Dan, the authoritative version of Daniel among early Christians, reads in Dan 7:14 douleuo, meaning to serve, to be in subjection to, rather than latreuo, meaning divine worship/service. The variant is theologically significant, as the use of latreuo might seem to suggest divine worship rendered to the Son of Man. 

Daniel 7:13-14 (ESV) 

¹³ “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel Theodotion [Th-Dan] 7:13-14 (LXX-APP)

¹³ ἐθεώρουν ἐν ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ μετὰ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενος ἦν καὶ ἕως τοῦ παλαιοῦ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἔφθασεν καὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ προσηνέχθη.
¹⁴ καὶ αὐτῷ ἐδόθη ἡ ἀρχὴ καὶ ἡ τιμὴ καὶ ἡ βασιλεία, καὶ πάντες οἱ λαοί, φυλαί, γλῶσσαι αὐτῷ δουλεύσουσιν· ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ ἐξουσία αἰώνιος, ἥτις οὐ παρελεύσεται, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ οὐ διαφθαρήσεται.

GPT4 Translation, Daniel Theodotion [Th-Dan]

13 I was watching in the visions of the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

14 And to him was given dominion, and honor, and the kingdom, and all peoples, tribes, and languages will serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom will not be destroyed.

Daniel [OG-Dan] 7:13-14 (LXX-APP)

¹³ ἐθεώρουν ἐν ὁράματι τῆς νυκτὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἤρχετο, καὶ ὡς παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν παρῆν, καὶ οἱ παρεστηκότες παρῆσαν αὐτῷ.
¹⁴ καὶ ἐδόθη αὐτῷ ἐξουσία, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένη καὶ πᾶσα δόξα αὐτῷ λατρεύουσα· καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία αὐτοῦ ἐξουσία αἰώνιος, ἥτις οὐ μὴ ἀρθῇ, καὶ ἡ βασιλεία αὐτοῦ, ἥτις οὐ μὴ φθαρῇ.

GPT4 Translation, Daniel [OG-Dan]

13 I was watching in the visions of the night, and behold, upon the clouds of heaven, one like a son of man was coming, and as an ancient of days was present, and those who stood by were present with him.

14 And authority was given to him, and all the nations of the earth according to their kind, and all glory was serving him; and his authority is an eternal authority, which shall not be taken away, and his kingdom, which shall not be destroyed. 

The progressive embellishment of the Gospels in reference to Daniel

On https://LukanPriority.com the case is made of progressive embellishment from Luke to Mark to Matthew. Comparing parallels of the three gospels with respect to Daniel references. Luke and Mark reference Th-Dan and Matthew OG-Dan. Matthew is actually making reference to the more unreliable version of Daniel (OG-Dan).

Jude 1:4 a corruption?

 

Does God Share His Glory?

If God shares his glory with Jesus and "God gives his glory to no one," how is Jesus not God?

I believe the pattern of Scripture demonstrates that there are two aspects of God's glory that fit into two different metaphysical categories. 

There is the glory pertaining to his essence, and there is the glory pertaining to his energies.

"Essence" of God, refers to the divine nature or substance of God. Let's call the glory associated with the ontology of God (nature/substance/essence) Essential Glory

"Energies" of God, on the other hand, refer to the actions, operations, or power of God in the world, which are knowable and directly experienceable. Let's call this glory that pertains to the energetic work of God, Energetic Glory.

The divine energies are understood in orthodox theology as the means by which we can know and participate in God, while the divine essence remains transcendent.

The essence (Essential Glory) is not communicable, the energies of God (Energetic Glory) is. 

God does not share his essential nature/substance, 

God does share his energies (i.e., knowledge, power, and influence) with creation.

In making a distinction between Essential Glory and Energetic Glory, let's look at the following examples in Isaiah and the New Testament. 

Examples of Essential Glory:

Isaiah 24:15 (ESV) 

 ¹⁵ Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD;
in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.

Isaiah 42:5, 8-9 (ESV) 

⁵ Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it ...

⁸ I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
⁹ Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”

Isaiah 48:5, 9-13 (ESV) 

⁵ I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, ​‘My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.’

  ⁹ “For my name's sake I defer my anger;
for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
that I may not cut you off.
¹⁰ Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.
¹¹ For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
for how should my name be profaned?
My glory I will not give to another.
¹² “Listen to me, O Jacob,
and Israel, whom I called!
I am he; I am the first,
and I am the last.
¹³ My hand laid the foundation of the earth,
and my right hand spread out the heavens;
when I call to them,
they stand forth together.

Romans 1:22-23 (ESV) 

  ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Romans 11:33-36 (ESV)
³³ Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
³⁴ “For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Ephesians 1:17 (ESV) 
¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him

Philippians 4:19-20 (ESV) 
¹⁹ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. ²⁰ To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 1:17 (ESV)
¹⁷ To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

Jude 1:25 (ESV) 
²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Revelation 4:9-11 (ESV)
⁹ And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰ the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
¹¹ “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

Examples of Energetic Glory:

Psalms 84:11 (NASU20) 
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
The LORD gives grace and glory;
He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

Isaiah 4:5-6 (ESV) 

⁵ Then the LORD will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a canopy. ⁶ There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain.

Isaiah 6:3 (ESV)

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!” 

Isaiah 28:5 (ESV) 

In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,
and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,

Isaiah 40:3-5 (ESV) 

³ A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

⁴ Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 46:13 (ESV) 

¹³ I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,
and my salvation will not delay;
I will put salvation in Zion,
for Israel my glory.”

Isaiah 60:1-3 (ESV) 

  ¹ Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
² For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will be seen upon you.
³ And nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Isaiah 62:2 (ESV)

The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the LORD will give.

John 5:44 (ESV) 

  ⁴⁴ How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

John 8:49-54 (ESV)

 ⁴⁹ Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. ⁵⁰ Yet I do not seek my own glory; there is One who seeks it, and he is the judge. ⁵¹ Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” ⁵² The Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon! Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, ‘If anyone keeps my word, he will never taste death.’ ⁵³ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? And the prophets died! Who do you make yourself out to be?” ⁵⁴ Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

John 11:4 (ESV) 

 ⁴ But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

John 11:40-42 (ESV) 

  ⁴⁰ Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”

John 17:4-5 (ESV) 

⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

John 17:22-24 (ESV)
²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Luke 9:26 (ESV)
²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Acts 7:54-55 (ESV)
⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Romans 6:4 (ESV) 
⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 8:30 (ESV)

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Hebrews 1:3-4 (ESV)

 ³ He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, ⁴ having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

1 Peter 1:21 (ESV)
²¹ who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

2 Peter 1:16-17 (ESV)
¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,”

1 Thess 2:12

¹² we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.

1 Peter 5:10

¹⁰ And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Revelation 22:13 Pertains to the One God and Father

 

The Epilogue of Revelation chapter 22:12-13 can be seen as a parallel to the Prologue, with a similar discontinuity to Rev 1:7-8.

The “Alpha and the Omega” verse of Revelation 22:13 pertains to the one God and Father (The Lord God Almighty).

Most of the last chapter of Revelation is an Epilogue that strings together elements from the main body of the prophecy and reiterates some statements from the Prologue (Ch 1:1-8).

Because the first and last chapters are so choppy, I am inclined not to presuppose a continuity between verse 12 and verse 13 of chapter 22. There is a similar discontinuity between verses 7 and 8 of Chapter 1.

Thus, my position is the epilogue of Revelation is paralleling its Prologue but is more abbreviated. The above table shows the parallel.

The statement below from Robert Mounce's commentary on Revelation further substantiates my premise that Revelation 22 is disjointed with abrupt changes in the speaker and that the Epilogue should be understood in reference to the Prologue.

Mounce, Robert H, The Book of Revelation (1977), pgs. 389-390

"Verses 6-21 of chapter 22 form the Epilogue of the book of Revelation. This section consists of a number of rather loosely related utterances which are difficult to assign with any certainty to specific speakers... It is unnecessary to account for the disjointed nature of the Epilogue by conjecturing that John left only a rough draft that needed additional rewriting and a final edit. The material itself has determined the form it has taken. Although falling into a number of short sections, it sets forth but two major themes, the authenticity of the book as a divine revelation and the imminence of the end.  

"The similarities between the Prologue and Epilogue of Revelation have often been noted. The book is a genuine prophecy (1:3, 22:6, 9-10, 18-19) by a duly commissioned prophet  (1:1, 9-10, 22:8-10) to be read in the churches (1:3, 11; 22:18) for the encouragement of the faithful (1:3; 22:7, 12, 14). These and other similarities support the view that the Prologue may have been the last part of the book to be written and thus reflects the influence of the Epilogue.”

Additional supporting references:

David E. Aune, World Biblical Commentary, Revelation (3 vols.), (1982) vol 52c, p. 1204

"This section gives the appearance of being so uneven and disorderly that a number of proposals have been made for rearranging and even eliminating some portion of the text in the interest of creating greater intelligibility and coherence out of the whole. One major problem in interpreting this section is determining the identity of the speakers despite the numerous abrupt shifts...

"The central problem in any literary analysis of 22:10-20 (0r the larger section of 22:6-21) is whether this section can be understood as a unity in its present form or whether some form of rearrangement or surgery (minor or major) is required to make sense of the present state of the text. According to Charles (2:212), in 22:6-21, more than anywhere else in Rev 20-22, the disjecta membra ("scattered limbs") of the poet-seer are to be found."

 G. K. Beale, The Book of Revelation (1999), pp. 1122-1123

"It is difficult to identify clearly the speakers of some of the verses in the epilogue, and in comparison to the prologue, the organization of vv 6-21 seems haphazard... There is no explicit flow of thought in 22:6-21 but merely a series of repeated exhortations based on prior portions of the Apocalypse, each of which is concluded with an interjection conceding Christ's coming."