The Book of Daniel: A Study in the Biblical Philosophy of History

Although there are numerous diverse aspects to Daniel, eschatological, theological, historical, and philological that have long engaged scholars of the work, this study of the text reads it as having a single overarching theme, an exposition of the implicit biblical philosophy of history, which posits the divine role in history as understood from a prophetic perspective. The prophetic idea of history is very different from the secular idea of history as a study of the past that helps explain the present. Prophetic history begins by postulating the end point towards which mankind should strive and records mankind’s successes and failures in that regard. It also takes note of the patterns of past and present behavior that will likely cause further successes or failures in the future. In this respect the prophetic approach to history is truly reflected in the motto engraved on a keystone at the entrance to the National Archives in Washington, “Past is Prologue.”