Book Of Daniel

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How the Book of Daniel Impacted Israel During the Maccabean Period For centuries, the book of Daniel has been an important piece. For historians, the book of Daniel has been seen as pseudonymous, the stories being fabled as reference to the periods the people of Israel were facing during the Maccabean Period. For religious people, the book of Daniel is seen as a message of faith and patience. Dated to have been written between 167 BCE and 164 BCE, the Book of Daniel describes the story of Daniel; Daniel is chosen to be educated in the king’s house, but he refuses to do anything that would go against his the laws of the Jews. Daniel ends up being thrown into a den of lions and he not only survives, but also comes out unscathed. This is a story…show more content…
After the king of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, pillaged the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, he began enforcing Hellenization (when a culture becomes more Greek-like) in his kingdom. The process of Hellenization resulted in the prohibition of the Jewish Book of the Law and the act of circumcising newborn males; both are major traditions in Judaism. In 167 BCE, on the 15th of December, the “abomination of desolation”, which was an altar Greeks used to make sacrifices to their gods, was introduced into the Temple. All of the movements threatened to abolish traditional worship in the Jewish religion in Jerusalem. These happenings has very similar aspects to what was happening to Daniel in the Book of Daniel where King Darius made the law that “during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty[King Darius], would be throw into the lions’ den.” Daniel continued praying to the God of Israel, and was thrown into the lion’s den. Just as how the Hasmoneans remained faithful and refused to succumb to the Greek traditions, and battled against the Seleucid…show more content…
The revolt started through the leadership of Mattathias, and continued through his son Judas Maccabeus, who took back the Temple in 164 BCE. Along with the war against the Seleucids Empire, the Hasmoneans also battled the Hellenized Jews. Once the Temple was reconsecrated, the pressures faced by the Hasmoneans did not stop. Tensions with surrounding cities lead to more battles and bloodshed. The Hasmoneans began ruling ‘semi-autonomously’ from the Seleucids in about 140

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