The Book of Daniel and Sibylline Oracles
Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:40 am
The book of Daniel today is fairly well understood. We know that the work was composed in two languages, Hebrew and Aramaic. We also know that the work was originally written in the second century BCE, with the intention of deceiving readers into believing that it was written during the Babylonian era, around three hundred years prior to its actual date of authorship. We also know that this ruse in fact worked and that readers did believe it was much older than it really was. Most famously, Josephus talks about the prophecies of Daniel and also recounts a story about how the book was shown to Alexander the great, some one or two hundred years before it was actually composed.
Then we have the Jewish Sibylline Oracles. We also know that these were produced around the second century BCE with the intention of deceiving people into thinking that they were much, much older. And again, there is strong evidence to indicate that people were actually taken in by these works and thought that they were actual ancient Sibylline prophecies. Many scholars conclude that Virgil's 4th Eclogue was likely based on a Jewish Sibylline Oracle. Several scholars also find it likely that when the Sibylline library was re-built after it was destroyed in the first century BCE, that Jewish Sibylline Oracles were integrated into the Roman collection.
Given these observations, we have to consider the likelihood that the Pentateuch itself was produced in this same manner with similar motivations. It is now widely accepted that the book of Daniel and the Sibylline Oracles were essentially fraudulent works. The writers made conscious efforts to deceive readers into misunderstanding the provenance of the works. The writers wanted readers to think that the writings were written by people other than who actually wrote them and they wanted readers to think that the works were older than they really were.
Undoubtedly the writers of the other Jewish we all also doing the same thing. And I must stress that this would not be unique to Jewish works. The same was the case with essentially all ancient religious writings. The same was true of Orphic works, Homeric works, and of course Sibylline works. It was all fraud all the time.
So, it seems to be that so much of the analysis of the Pentateuch fails to take into account the possibility that certain features of the text were intentionally created in order to deceive the reader.
Then we have the Jewish Sibylline Oracles. We also know that these were produced around the second century BCE with the intention of deceiving people into thinking that they were much, much older. And again, there is strong evidence to indicate that people were actually taken in by these works and thought that they were actual ancient Sibylline prophecies. Many scholars conclude that Virgil's 4th Eclogue was likely based on a Jewish Sibylline Oracle. Several scholars also find it likely that when the Sibylline library was re-built after it was destroyed in the first century BCE, that Jewish Sibylline Oracles were integrated into the Roman collection.
Given these observations, we have to consider the likelihood that the Pentateuch itself was produced in this same manner with similar motivations. It is now widely accepted that the book of Daniel and the Sibylline Oracles were essentially fraudulent works. The writers made conscious efforts to deceive readers into misunderstanding the provenance of the works. The writers wanted readers to think that the writings were written by people other than who actually wrote them and they wanted readers to think that the works were older than they really were.
Undoubtedly the writers of the other Jewish we all also doing the same thing. And I must stress that this would not be unique to Jewish works. The same was the case with essentially all ancient religious writings. The same was true of Orphic works, Homeric works, and of course Sibylline works. It was all fraud all the time.
So, it seems to be that so much of the analysis of the Pentateuch fails to take into account the possibility that certain features of the text were intentionally created in order to deceive the reader.