“But Daniel laughed.
He restrained the king
From going in.
He said.
‘Look at the floor!
Notice
Whose footsteps these are!’
The king said.
‘I see the footsteps
Of men,
Of women,
Of children.’”
Daniel laughed. He kept the king from going into the temple. He told the king to notice the footsteps on the floor among the scattered ashes. The king then said that these footsteps appeared to be that of men, women, and children. How could they have gotten in, if the door was shut and sealed?
“After they had gone out,
The king set out
The food for Bel.
Then Daniel ordered
His servants
To bring ashes.
They scattered them
Throughout the whole temple,
In the presence
Of the king alone.
Then they went out.
He shut the door.
He sealed it
With the king’s signet.
Then they departed.
During the night,
The priests came,
As usual,
With their wives,
With their children.
They ate everything.
They drank everything.”
After the priests of the Bel temple had left, the king put out the food for the idol god Bel. Then Daniel ordered that the king’s servants scatter ashes throughout the whole temple, in the presence of the king alone. Then, they went out, shut the door, and then sealed it with the king’s insignia. After that, they left. During the night, as usual, the Bel priests came with their wives and children. They entered through the secret entrance to the temple, so that they were able to eat and drink everything in there.
“But you!
Daniel!
Keep the words secret!
Keep the book sealed,
Until the time
Of the end!
Many shall be running
Back and forth.
Knowledge with evil
Shall increase.”
Gabriel then told Daniel to keep these words a secret. He was to keep the book of life sealed until the end times. Many people would be running around all over the place. However, between then and now both knowledge and evil would increase.
“A stone was brought.
They laid it
On the mouth
Of the den.
The king sealed it
With his own signet,
As well as with the signet
Of his lords.
Thus,
Nothing might be changed
Concerning Daniel.
Then the king
Went to his palace.
He spent the night
Fasting.
No food was brought
To him.
Sleep fled from him.”
They took a stone and put it at the mouth of the den. The king sealed the opening to the den with his own signet, as well as that of his lords. Nothing would be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace that night and fasted. He did not sleep. He was still a little uneasy about this whole Daniel affair.
“Although Daniel knew
That the document
Had been signed,
He continued to go
To his house.
It had windows
In its upper room
Open toward Jerusalem.
He got down
On his knees
Three times a day
To pray
To God.
He praised him
As he done previously.”
Daniel knew that his fate had been sealed. The king had signed the decree. However, that did not faze him. He continued to pray in his house that had open windows facing Jerusalem on the second floor or the upper chambers. He got down on his knees, as he usually did, 3 times a day. He then prayed and praised God, as he had done so often before.
“‘Fields shall be bought
In this land
Of which you are saying.
‘It is a desolation!
It is without humans!
It is without animals!
It has been given
Into the hands
Of the Chaldeans.’
Fields shall be bought
For money.
Deeds shall be signed,
Sealed,
As well as witnessed
In the land of Benjamin,
In the places about Jerusalem,
In the towns of Judah,
In the towns of the hill country,
In the towns of the Shephelah,
In the towns of the Negeb.
I will restore their fortunes.’
Says Yahweh.”
Yahweh said, via Jeremiah, that the time of the desolation of the land was over. Fields were going to be bought and sold. It is not clear who owned some of these fields, since they might have changed hands a few times, since the beginning of the exile. However, the land was desolate, since there were no humans or animals on them after the Chaldeans took over. Who was going to sell this land? However, there would be a legal process. Money would exchange hands with deeds signed, sealed, and witnessed. The example of Jeremiah buying a field in the preceding chapter may be an example of how things would operate. Now this restoration would take place in the Benjamin territory, around the city of Jerusalem, and the towns of Judah. However, there are places mentioned, like the towns in the hill country of Judah, the Shephelah, the old Dan territory next to Benjamin, as well as the Negeb, the semi arid land southeast of Jerusalem near the Dead Sea. There was no mention of the northern territory from the old northern Israelite kingdom and their tribal territory.
“I bought the field
At Anathoth
From my cousin Hanamel.
I weighed out
The money to him,
Seventeen shekels of silver.
I signed the deed.
I sealed it.
I got witnesses.
I weighed the money on scales.
Then I took
The sealed deed of purchase,
That contained the terms
With the conditions,
As well as the open copy.”
This is a very unusual section that contains explicit first person details of this property field sale. However, there is no indication of the exact size of this field. Nowhere else in the biblical works is there such a specific indication of how financial transactions took place. First, Jeremiah bought the land. Most times, there would be no more details other than that. However, here Jeremiah next weighs out the money, 17 silver shekels, which was not a lot of money, about a couple of hundred USA dollars. Where he got the money is not indicated here. Then he signed the deed, probably on papyrus, sealed it, and had witnesses also sign it. There must have been some kind of official seal used here, but we do not know what kind. Finally there seems to be 2 copies of this transaction. The sealed deed contained all the terms and conditions of the sale, while the open copy or city file copy might just have the statement that the sale was made, much like current open records in USA, which generally adds the dollar amount of the sale. Thus these transactions were stored or kept in jars of some kind.
“Abraham was the great father
Of a multitude of nations.
No one has been found
Like him in glory.
He kept the law
Of the Most High.
He entered into
A covenant with him.
He certified the covenant
In his flesh.
When he was tested,
He was found faithful.
Therefore the Lord assured him
With an oath.
The nations would be blessed
Through his offspring.
He would make them
As numerous as
The dust of the earth.
He would exalt his posterity
Like the stars.
He would give them
An inheritance
From sea to sea,
From the Euphrates River
To the ends of the earth.”
It is obvious why Abraham should show up as one of the famous holy men as indicated in the stories of Genesis, chapters 12-25. Abraham was considered to be the father of many nations, not just Israel. His glory was beyond anyone else. He kept the law of the Most High God, although it was not written anywhere. There is no mention of Yahweh. However Abraham entered into a covenant with the Most High God that was sealed with his flesh, the circumcision of the foreskin of his penis. Then there was his test about obeying God, when he was asked to kill his son. Abraham proved faithful to God. Thus the Lord, or Yahweh, assured him with an oath that he would have many blessed descendants as numerous as the dust on the earth. He also promised them an inheritance of the land from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea to the ends of the earth. Wow! This was a big chunk of land.
“The ungodly reasoned unsoundly.
They say to themselves.
‘Our life is short.
Our life is sorrowful.
There is no remedy
When a life comes to an end.
No one has been known
To return from Hades.
We were born by mere chance.
Hereafter we shall be
As though we had never been.
The breath in our nostrils is smoke.
Reason is a spark kindled
By the beating of our hearts.
When it is extinguished,
The body will turn to ashes.
The spirit will dissolve
Like empty air.
Our name will be forgotten in time.
No one will remember our works.
Our life will pass away.
Like the traces of a cloud,
Our life will be scattered like mist
That is chased by the rays of the sun.
Our life will be overcome by its heat.
Our allotted time is
The passing of a shadow.
There is no return from our death.
Because it is sealed up.
No one turns back.’”
The ungodly or the impious sound a little like Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes with this emphasis on the vanity of life. This author calls their thinking unsound. We lead a short and sorrowful life (ὁ βίος ἡμῶν). There is no remedy when death comes. No one has ever returned from the grave. We were born by chance. When we are gone, it will be as if we never existed. Our breath is like smoke. Our reasoning stops when our heart stops, as our body (τὸ σῶμα) returns to ashes. Our spirit (τὸ πνεῦμα) also dissolves like empty air. Our names (τὸ ὄνομα ἡμῶν) will be forgotten as no one will remember our works (ἔργων ἡμῶν). We will pass away like a cloud or scattered mist that evaporates with heat. Our time on earth is like a passing shadow since there is no return from death. We are sealed up with death since no one returns.
“I will not keep silence concerning its limbs.
I will not keep silence concerning its mighty strength.
I will not keep silence concerning its splendid frame.
Who can strip off its outer garment?
Who can penetrate its double coat of mail?
Who can open the doors of its face?
There is terror all around its teeth.
Its back is made of shields of rows.
Its back is shut up closely as with a seal.
One is so near to another.
No air can come between them.
They are joined one to another.
They clasp each other.
They cannot be separated.
Its sneezes flash forth light.
Its eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.
From its mouth go flaming torches.
Sparks of fire leap out from its mouth.
Out of its nostrils comes smoke,
It is like from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
Its breath kindles coals.
A flame comes out of its mouth.
In its neck abides strength.
Terror dances before it.
The folds of its flesh cling together.
It is firmly cast and immovable.
Its heart is as hard as stone.
It is as hard as the lower millstone.”
Yahweh then presented a graphic description of Leviathan. Leviathan has a mighty frame so that you cannot take off its skin with its double coat of protective armor. It has ferocious teeth. Its back has rows of shields sealed closely together so that no air comes between them. When it sneezes light comes out. Flames come out its mouth that can light fires. Smoke comes out its nostrils. It has folds of flesh around its neck. Its heart was as hard as stone. This is one mean looking terrifying dude.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 