In the following paper I will attempt to define the genre of Daniel 2 according to its dream characteristics. To demonstrate that this literary style is not unique to Daniel 2 but was widespread in the ancient near east over a long period of time, I will survey what I believe to be parallel dream narratives from the Old Testament as well as from Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, and Egyptian texts. The numerous similarities of these narratives will not only provide a sufficient base for positing a dream genre, but will also clarify the fundamental theme of Daniel 2 which has many times been cluttered or overlooked by its identification with other overlapping genres. By including details from most of the dream narratives of antiquity, I believe it will become clear that Daniel 2 is not so much about wisdom, courts, or even an apocalypse, so much as it is about the acknowledgement of an ultimate power who is omniscient and lord over kingdoms past and future.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.32924 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Lasanté, Paul. |
| Contributors | Kirkpatrick, Patricia (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001847622, proquestno: MQ75238, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0018 seconds