Syriaс Apocalypse of Daniel and its place among apocalyptic writing and historiography

Abstract

Syriac apocalyptic literature originated within the Christian community and was further developed against the background of the Byzantine-Persian wars and Arabic conquests. Among the texts that emerged during this difficult period is the Syriac Apocalypse of Daniel (hereafter, SAD). This article discusses the history of the study of this text and questions related to the possible context of its origin. The first two editions of the apocalypse were prepared by the researchers M. Slabczyk and M. Henze. M. Slabczyk’s work was published in 2000 and represents a translation into Esperanto from a single manuscript Harvard syr. 42. M. Henze’s monograph was published in 2001 and includes a translation and commentary. In 2003, Archbishop Alexander (Golitzin) suggested that the SAD could have been created in a monastic setting, which explains the lack of direct references to historical events and the author’s neglect of theodicy. A. Salvesen rejects the hypothesis regarding a monastic environment of the composition of the apocalypse, noting the substratum of Jewish vocabulary. M. Ramos in his 2014 dissertation focuses on the role of the canonical book of Daniel for the SAD. M. Henze in his most recent article written in 2017 examines the vocabulary from Chapter 13, which forms the transition from narrative to visions. Thus, recent studies show that scholars are increasingly focusing on particular aspects of the text to clarify our knowledge about the apocalypse.