Wednesday Bible Study: Cutting to the chase

There's no reason for us to waste our time reading the psychotic hallucinations that constitute the next few chapters. There are various hypotheses about this. It may be that whoever wrote this (again, it was long after these things purportedly happened) consumed psychedelic mushrooms. He may have had schizophrenia. Or maybe this is just a style of literature that was popular at the time. (Any of these may also account for Ezekiel.) In any case, I will show you Chapter 12 because it is obviously a very direct inspiration for Revelation and some of the verses are often cited by Christian eschatologists. 

 

Note, however, the timing in verse 11. We weren't supposed to wait more than 2,000 year for this, but only a little less than four years from "the time the daily sacrifice is abolished." That actually happened long before this was written, with the destruction of the first Temple, but presumably it was restored under Cyrus before this was written so it may indeed be a prophecy. However, the second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE, which means this should have happened in 74 or 75 CE. Obviously, it didn't.

 

12 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. ² Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. ³ Those who are wise^[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. ⁶ One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”

⁷ The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time.^[b] When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.”

⁸ I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?”

⁹ He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.

¹¹ “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

¹³ “As for you, go your way till the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your allotted inheritance.”

Footnotes

1. Daniel 12:3 Or who impart wisdom
2. Daniel 12:7 Or a year, two years and half a year

 

RFK Junior -- now with more murder!

 the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a group of scientific experts (mostly MDs, actually) that develops recommendations for CDC on what people should get what immunizations at what ages and under what circumstances. In order for insurance to cover immunizations, they normally need to be on the recommended schedule. ACIP is currently reviewing the recommendations for Covid-19 vaccination, but secretary Brainworm decided not to wait, and to announce that CDC will no longer recommend the vaccination for pregnant women and children, because he knows better than those "scientists" with their fancy degrees and biostatistics and lah dee dah.

 

Now, the question regarding children is a bit complicated.  Children with healthy immune systems rarely get seriously ill from Covid-19. The rationale for vaccinating them is that they may nevertheless be a vector for infecting others, and that vaccination will reduce replication of the virus in their systems and the extent to which they may contribute to sustaining an outbreak. I don't think we have convincing information about this but on the other hand the vaccine is very safe so why not give it? But I'm willing to leave it up to those fancypants scientists to make their recommendation.

 

The question regarding pregnant women, however, is not at all complicated. I quote:

 

The move also puts Kennedy at odds with his new officials at the Food and Drug Administration, who recently said pregnancy was among the underlying conditions that warranted continued eligibility for COVID-19 vaccine approvals.  . . .

A statement released by the [American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists] Tuesday voiced frustration with Kennedy's move, warning that COVID infections during pregnancy "can be catastrophic" for families and that "the science has not changed." Joseph said data still shows that pregnant people have an increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 and are more likely to be hospitalized. She also said newborns have no other way to get protection from the virus, outside of the mother's vaccination.

"Infants are the second leading group of our population being hospitalized. And when we look into those risks, it's really that they're born to moms who haven't received an updated COVID-19 vaccine," said Joseph.

 

This is madness.

 

Sunday Sermonette: The worst thing ever written

Daniel now deteriorates further, into a recitation of bizarre hallucinations. There would be no reason to care about any of this except that it is obviously the inspiration for a document called The Revelation of John, which became the last book of the New Testament. "John" purportedly lived on the Greek island of Patmos, but nothing else is known about him, neither his connection to the early Christian sect, nor how Revelation became canonical in the Christian Bible.

 

Anyway, the book has done endless horrific harm throughout subsequent history. It has destroyed lives and in fact caused innumerable deaths. In recent times, for example, the radio preacher Harold Camping  persuaded hundreds of people to give up their careers and possessions because the apocalypse was imminent. There were many previous similar incidents in history, some of which led to mass violence and death. 

 

Right now, the apocalyptic prophecy is responsible for one of the very worst elements in U.S. and global politics. A substantial faction of the Christian right has formed an alliance of convenience with ultra-nationalist Israelis to endorse the genocide of Palestinians and seizure of what they interpret as the entire promised land of Israel by the Jewish state. This really is a cynical alliance: the Christians believe that once this occurs, Christ will return and two thirds of the Jews will be consigned to hell, while the other third will convert to Christianity. This movement is part of the hard core support for the current president of the United States, and largely accounts for U.S. policy toward the Israel-Palestine conflict.

 

Anyway, here you go. Don't worry about the specifics, it's all total gibberish. Remember, again, that there never was such a person as Belshazzar, king of Babylon. Also note that the NIV translators openly admit, in a footnote, that they have intentionally mistranslated the Hebrew bar enash, which simply means human being, as "son of man," in order to align this with the usage in the Christian Bible that refers to Jesus. In other words, you're lying and you're proud of it.

 

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’

⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.

⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.

⁹ “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow;
    the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze.
¹⁰ A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened.

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ¹² (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.

²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b]

²⁶ “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’

²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”

Footnotes

1. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
2. Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year

 

Know-it-alls?

Crooked Timber is a multi-author blog consisting of miscellaneous musings by an eclectic group of academics from several different countries. I have no idea how they know each other or why they created this blog, which doesn't seem to have any sort of unifying theme or concept. Anyway some of the posts are navel gazing, but some of them are interesting. 

Lisa Herzog is a German philosopher and social scientist. I haven't read any of her stuff so I can't tell you what kinds of deep thoughts she generally has, but in her latest post she considers a problem which has been troubling me, and a lot of people lately. To wit, why have so many people come to reject expertise and deny the conclusions of science? It's a lengthy piece which you might want to read, along with some of the comments. Anyway here's a pull:

 

How far can a government go in harming its own people before it loses support? And what does it mean if this form of harm happens via an attack on public knowledge institutions, from universities to meteorological services, in which expert knowledge is hosted? Even if you are not a friend of such institutions (and one could write many blogposts about what they could do better), isn’t there a basic sense in which they fulfill public functions in modern societies that should receive cross-partisan support? And shouldn’t there be some kind of recognition, on the part of lay people – which we all are, in the overwhelming majority of areas – that we need to trust the expertise of others for many public and private decisions? 

 

After some esoteric musings, she envisions what might happen when people discover that Trumpian lies have actually directly harmed them, e.g. 

what will happen if Trump voters interact with medical staff who tell them that they cannot offer them optimal treatment anymore because the government has shut down certain sources of information, or the development of new drugs has been stopped for lack of funding? . . . How many measle epidemics will it take before it might dawn upon people that these kinds of anti-expert policies harm them, and that the life and health of their families are at stake? . . .or it might happen if Trump ignores expert views on the relation between tariffs and inflation, or in many other ways.

She isn't confident that the scales will fall from very many eyes. Maybe confirmation bias, tribal loyalty, and information bubbles are too powerful. As I often say, I don't do prognostication, so I won't try to answer that. But the real anguish in her piece -- which is obviously written rather hastily and not carefully edited, it's really thinking out loud -- is that when experts try to set people straight, the people feel talked down to, and insulted. All the complaints from the right about "elites" that seem so weirdly misplaced, because the elites that are really harming them are the plutocrats who control the Republican party, are really about that feeling. 

If I tell people that I have a Ph.D. in social policy and I'm a health services researcher at an Ivy League university, so they should listen to me when I try to tell them what policies are good for them, that won't go over well. But the explanation for why I come to my conclusion won't fit on a bumper sticker, and in fact it might take me twelve pages just to provide the background information and concepts they would need to follow my argument. As Vaclav Smil writes in How the World Really Works,

 

You could meet real Renaissance men on Florence's Piazza Signoria in 1500-- but not for too long after that. . .  In 1872, a century after the appearance of the last volume of [Diderot's] Encylopedie . . . it is impossible to sum up our understanding even within narrowly circumscribed specialties: such tersm as "physics" or "biology" are fairly meaningless labels, and experts in particle physics would find it very hard to understand even the first page of a new research paper in viral immunology. . . Highly specialized branches of modern science have become so arcane that many people employed in them are forced to train until their early or mid-thirties to join the new priesthood.  

It's maybe not quite that bad -- you can get a decent qualitative and intuitive understanding of how scientists think in most areas by reading Scientific American, or books by interpreters of science such as, well, Vaclav Smil. But few people even do that, or would ever consider doing it. Whatever else you might say about RFK Jr., he doesn't tax your cerebral cortex. So I'm at something of a loss.

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Don't know much about history

The author believes that Darius was the Persian king who conquered Babylon, and, based on the last verse, that Darius was succeeded by Cyrus. But it was the other way around. This is a pretty weird mistake because of course Cyrus was famous for letting the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. 

 

Anyway, the moral lesson here is pretty hard to take. God protects Daniel from the lions, which impresses the (fictitious) king so much that he orders Daniels accusers, along with their wives and children, to be fed to the lions in Daniel's stead. Sweet!

 

6 ^[a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

⁶ So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! ⁷ The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸ Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.” ⁹ So King Darius put the decree in writing.

¹⁰ Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. ¹² So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

¹⁵ Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

¹⁶ So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

¹⁷ A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed. ¹⁸ Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

¹⁹ At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. ²⁰ When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?”

²¹ Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! ²² My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”

²³ The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

²⁴ At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth:

“May you prosper greatly!

²⁶ “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God
    and he endures forever;
his kingdom will not be destroyed,
    his dominion will never end.
²⁷ He rescues and he saves;
    he performs signs and wonders
    in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel
    from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus^[b] the Persian.

Footnotes

1. Daniel 6:1 In Aramaic texts 6:1-28 is numbered 6:2-29.
2. Daniel 6:28 Or Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus

 

Catching up

Sorry for my absence the past few days, I'm perfectly okay, just been busy with stuff. So anyway, you didn't get a sermonette on Sunday but you'll get a history lesson today. Daniel 5 is actually a pretty famous chapter in the Bible, but it's completely bejabered. Nebuchadnezzar has evidently kicked the bucket (offstage), and Daniel is now dealing with his son and heir, Belshazzar. Err, no. Nebuchadnezzar II was succeeded by his son Amel-Marduk (also known as Awil-Marduk or, in Kings and Jeremiah, Evil-Merodach). Amel-Marduk was murdered by his brother-in-law Nergal-shar-usur in 560 BCE, who managed to hold on to the throne for four years until he was succeeded by the last king of Babylon, Nabonidus. Belshazzar was the son and viceroy of Nabonidus, but he was never king, because Babylon was conquered by the Persian emperor Cyrus in 539 BCE.

So the writer thinks that Belshazzar was the third king of Babylon, and that he was overthrown by somebody called Darius the Median, who never existed. The writer apparently confuses him with the Persian emperor Darius who succeeded Cyrus in 521 BCE, seventeen years after the fall of Babylon. So this story inhabits an alternate universe. 

Soon I'll have something to say about actual current events.

 

5 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. ² While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them. ³ So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

⁵ Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. ⁶ His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

⁷ The king summoned the enchanters, astrologers^[b] and diviners. Then he said to these wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing and tells me what it means will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around his neck, and he will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

⁸ Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. ⁹ So King Belshazzar became even more terrified and his face grew more pale. His nobles were baffled.

¹⁰ The queen,^[c] hearing the voices of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet hall. “May the king live forever!” she said. “Don’t be alarmed! Don’t look so pale! ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, appointed him chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners. ¹² He did this because Daniel, whom the king called Belteshazzar, was found to have a keen mind and knowledge and understanding, and also the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.”

¹³ So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you and that you have insight, intelligence and outstanding wisdom. ¹⁵ The wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this writing and tell me what it means, but they could not explain it. ¹⁶ Now I have heard that you are able to give interpretations and to solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and tell me what it means, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else. Nevertheless, I will read the writing for the king and tell him what it means.

¹⁸ “Your Majesty, the Most High God gave your father Nebuchadnezzar sovereignty and greatness and glory and splendor. ¹⁹ Because of the high position he gave him, all the nations and peoples of every language dreaded and feared him. Those the king wanted to put to death, he put to death; those he wanted to spare, he spared; those he wanted to promote, he promoted; and those he wanted to humble, he humbled. ²⁰ But when his heart became arrogant and hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and stripped of his glory. ²¹ He was driven away from people and given the mind of an animal; he lived with the wild donkeys and ate grass like the ox; and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until he acknowledged that the Most High God is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and sets over them anyone he wishes.

²² “But you, Belshazzar, his son,^[d] have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this. ²³ Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand. But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life and all your ways. ²⁴ Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

²⁵ “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

²⁶ “Here is what these words mean:

Mene^[e]: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end.

²⁷ Tekel^[f]: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting.

²⁸ Peres^[g]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians,^[h] was slain, ³¹ and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.^[i]

Footnotes

1. Daniel 5:2 Or ancestor; or predecessor; also in verses 11, 13 and 18
2. Daniel 5:7 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 11
3. Daniel 5:10 Or queen mother
4. Daniel 5:22 Or descendant; or successor
5. Daniel 5:26 Mene can mean numbered or mina (a unit of money).
6. Daniel 5:27 Tekel can mean weighed or shekel.
7. Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) can mean divided or Persia or a half mina or a half shekel.
8. Daniel 5:30 Or Chaldeans
9. Daniel 5:31 In Aramaic texts this verse (5:31) is numbered 6:1.

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Err, no, this never happened

Basically what happens in Chapter 4 is that Nebuchadnezzar has another dream for Daniel to interpret, and the basic import is that Neb is going to somehow be driven out of his palace and made to spend seven years living like an animal. Then he's going to see the glory of God and get it all back. It is never explained how he's driven out into the fields -- at one point it seems to imply that he just went nuts. Anyway, if he has now come to worship the Yahweh, why doesn't he let the Jews return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple? That's a mighty good question. Of course, this is all ridiculous folderol, invented hundreds of years after it purportedly happened, which it didn't.

 

Rather curiously, Neb is himself the narrator of the first and last parts of this, with an interpolation by an omniscient narrator in third person. Apparently this entire chapter is an adaptation of a Jewish folktale about a different Babylonian king, named Nabonidus (reigned 556–539 BCE). The entire Book of Daniel is likely a compilation of adapted folk tales from the 5th to 3rd centuries BCE.

 

4 ^[a]King Nebuchadnezzar,

To the nations and peoples of every language, who live in all the earth:

May you prosper greatly!

² It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

³ How great are his signs,
    how mighty his wonders!
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
    his dominion endures from generation to generation.

⁴ I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. ⁵ I had a dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in bed, the images and visions that passed through my mind terrified me. ⁶ So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to interpret the dream for me. ⁷ When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers^[b] and diviners came, I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. ⁸ Finally, Daniel came into my presence and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of the holy gods is in him.)

⁹ I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me. ¹⁰ These are the visions I saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. ¹¹ The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.

¹³ “In the visions I saw while lying in bed, I looked, and there before me was a holy one, a messenger,^[c] coming down from heaven. ¹⁴ He called in a loud voice: ‘Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. ¹⁵ But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field.

“‘Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times^[d] pass by for him.

¹⁷ “‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’

¹⁸ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means, for none of the wise men in my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries! ²⁰ The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, ²¹ with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds— ²² Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.

²³ “Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground. Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.’

²⁴ “This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. ²⁶ The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules. ²⁷ Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

The Dream Is Fulfilled

²⁸ All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

³¹ Even as the words were on his lips, a voice came from heaven, “This is what is decreed for you, King Nebuchadnezzar: Your royal authority has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox. Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes.”

³³ Immediately what had been said about Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird.

³⁴ At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever.

His dominion is an eternal dominion;
    his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
³⁵ All the peoples of the earth
    are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases
    with the powers of heaven
    and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
    or say to him: “What have you done?”

³⁶ At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Footnotes

1. Daniel 4:1 In Aramaic texts 4:1-3 is numbered 3:31-33, and 4:4-37 is numbered 4:1-34.
2. Daniel 4:7 Or Chaldeans
3. Daniel 4:13 Or watchman; also in verses 17 and 23
4. Daniel 4:16 Or years; also in verses 23, 25 and 32

 

Sunday Sermonette: Stop Making Sense

 The writers have a continuity problem. At the end of Chapter 2, Neb appears to convert to Judaism:

 

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

But evidently he immediately forgot entirely that he had said that. He builds an immense gold statue of himself (which BTW if it were solid gold would consist of about half as much gold as is now in Fort Knox) and demands that the people worship it. For some reason Daniel is not even mentioned in this chapter, but only his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Being Jews, they refuse to worship the gold statue so Neb's astrologers denounce them, not only for refusing to worship the gold statue but for refusing to "serve your gods." Presumably Daniel would also refuse but evidently he gets away with it.

 

You can read for yourself what happens to SM and A. It's completely preposterous. Anyway, they miraculously survive the furnace, heated "seven times hotter than usual." Since the zero on a temperature scale is arbitrary, and they didn't have thermometers anyway, it's unclear what this might mean.* Anyway, seeing the newest miracle, Neb once again converts to Judaism. The author of this ludicrous tale then goes on to completely both his history, as we shall see.

 

*To get technical about it, the actual lowest temperature, zero degrees Kelvin, is -273.15 Celsius. So room temperature is about 293 degrees Kelvin, and a hot furnace might be 493 degrees Kelvin or thereabouts. So 7 times as hot as usual would be 3,451 degrees Kelvin, which is not quite as hot as the surface of the sun.

 

 

 

3 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, sixty cubits high and six cubits wide,^[a] and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon. ² He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up. ³ So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials assembled for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

⁴ Then the herald loudly proclaimed, “Nations and peoples of every language, this is what you are commanded to do: ⁵ As soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. ⁶ Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”

⁷ Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the nations and peoples of every language fell down and worshiped the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁸ At this time some astrologers^[b] came forward and denounced the Jews. ⁹ They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “May the king live forever! ¹⁰ Your Majesty has issued a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, ¹¹ and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. ¹² But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”

¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”

So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Footnotes

1. Daniel 3:1 That is, about 90 feet high and 9 feet wide or about 27 meters high and 2.7 meters wide
2. Daniel 3:8 Or Chaldeans
3. Daniel 3:17 Or If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and

Yes, they really do want to kill you

 As we noted recently, the depraved lunatic who 100% of Republican senators voted to confirm as secretary of HHS said publicly that he does not believe in the germ theory of disease, that healthy people don't die of infections, and that he intends to shift the focus of his department to chronic disease under the label of "Make America Healthy Again." Ha ha, funny thing.

 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s health secretary, has said that tackling a chronic disease “epidemic” would be a cornerstone of his Make America Healthy Again agenda, often invoking alarming statistics as an urgent reason for reforming public health in this country.

On Friday, President Trump released a proposed budget that called for cutting the funding of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by almost half. Its chronic disease center was slated for elimination entirely, a proposal that came as a shock to many state and city health officials. . . .

The federal health department last month cut 2,400 jobs from the C.D.C., whose National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion runs on the largest budget within the agency.
Programs on lead poisoning, smoking cessation and reproductive health were jettisoned in a reorganization last month.

The budget blueprint makes no mention of the Prevention and Public Health Fund, a $1.2 billion program. If that figure is taken into account, the cut may be even larger than Mr. Trump’s proposal indicates. The agency would also lose a center focused on preventing injuries, including those caused by firearms, as well as programs for H.I.V. surveillance and prevention, and grants to help states prepare for public health emergencies.

 

Hmm. Do I detect any inconsistency here?  What's really going on? You might have noticed Kennedy's recent remarks about people with autism.

 

Autism destroys families, and more importantly, it destroys our greatest resource, which is our children. They'll never pay taxes, they'll never hold a job, they'll never play baseball, they'll never write a poem, they'll never go out on a date. Many of them will never use a toilet unassisted. 

 We'll have to note in passing that most people who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum will in fact hold a job, pay taxes, and go on dates. Fewer than half are diagnosed with any intellectual disability and maybe 25% require intensive supportive services. Actually it's probably an umbrella term for several different conditions, but that's not the main point here. I'll turn it over to Derek Beres in The Guardian:

 

English polymath Francis Galton formulated the concept of eugenics in 1883. Inspired by animal breeding, Galton encouraged people with “desirable” traits to procreate while discouraging or preventing those with “undesirable” traits from doing the same. As social and intellectual qualities were hereditarily “fixed”, he thought some groups were naturally superior. Galton constructed a racial hierarchy, with white Europeans at the top.

Eugenics has since played out in varying, always tragic ways. Attempted genocides and forced sterilization are first to mind, though the 20th century brought about the concept of soft eugenics: non-coercive methods of reducing certain conditions through individual choice and medical advice. Popularized in Nancy Stepan’s 1991 book, The Hour of Eugenics, “soft” eugenics is accomplished by indirect, environmental, and educational interventions while “hard” eugenics is marked by direct biological interventions (such as sterilization). The term has since been expanded in discussions of genetic technologies, prenatal screenings, and physical fitness.

Enter Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US secretary of health, who regularly laments over the “back then” of his youth when he says that diabetes and autism was almost unheard of and obesity rates were far lower. (In his campaign videos he would often do this over vintage footage of white bodies splayed on a beach.) Kennedy champions living harmoniously with nature, free from the burdens of “poisonous” food additives, fertilizers, cooking oils and the most toxic chemistry of all: vaccines.

Kennedy’s myopic emphasis on personal responsibility as the main driver of health means he’s at best indifferent, and at worst welcoming, of the idea that those that don’t heed his counsel might die.

In fact the most powerful determinants of health are social. Rich people live longer than poor people, and they are healthier. Yes, they tend to have healthier diets, but that's because they can afford them, and they have access to them. They also have better quality housing, breathe cleaner air, are less subject to violence, and of course have better medical care, among other advantages. Oh yeah, they generally have higher rates of vaccination. Beher's argument is a bit too complicated to properly summarize, but it sums up the entire MAGA philosophy. Leave people to their fate (mostly meaning the people who vote for them), let 'em die, and let the wealthy rule the world.

 

 

 

 

Wednesday Bible Study: Dream on

 Remember that the Book of Daniel is entirely a work of fiction, written two or three hundred years after the events it purports to describe. The author may have been inspired in part by Exodus. Remember that Joseph got ingratiated with Pharaoh by interpreting a dream. Of course this story is utterly absurd. Neb would not threaten to murder all of the so-called "wise men" (actually various categories of charlatans and con artists) just because they couldn't tell him the content of a dream that he refused to reveal to them.

 

Suffice it to say there is no historical record of any part of this happening.  'Nuff said. 

 

2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. ² So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers^[a] to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, ³ he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.^[b]”

⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king,^[c] “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. ⁶ But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

⁷ Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁸ Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: ⁹ If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”

¹⁰ The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. ¹¹ What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

¹² This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

¹⁴ When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. ¹⁵ He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. ¹⁶ At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. ¹⁸ He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven ²⁰ and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.
²² He reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him.
²³ I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
    You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
    you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, ²⁸ but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:

²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. ³⁰ As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. ³⁷ Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. ⁴⁰ Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. ⁴¹ Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. ⁴⁵ This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. ⁴⁹ Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.

Footnotes

1. Daniel 2:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 4, 5 and 10
2. Daniel 2:3 Or was
3. Daniel 2:4 At this point the Hebrew text has in Aramaic, indicating that the text from here through the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic.