With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology (James M. Hamilton)

Description

Perceiving within evangelical studies the lack of a robust canonical biblical-theological treatment of the book of Daniel, James Hamilton explores how it contributes to the Bible’s unfolding redemptive-historical storyline.

First, he shows how the book’s literary structure contributes to its meaning, and then addresses key questions and issues. He argues that the four kingdoms prophesied by Daniel are both historical and symbolic; that the ‘one like a son of man’ seen by Daniel is identified with, and distinguished from, the Ancient of Days in a way that would be mysterious until Jesus came as both the son of David and God incarnate; that the interpretations of Daniel in early Jewish literature attest to strategies similar to those employed by New Testament authors; that those authors provide a Spirit-inspired interpretation of Daniel that was learned from Jesus; and that the book of Revelation uses Daniel’s language, imitates his structure, points to the fulfilment of his prophecies and clarifies the meaning of his ‘seventieth week’. Hamilton concludes by examining typological patterns.

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Table of Contents

List of tables

Series preface

Author’s preface

Abbreviations

1   Preliminaries

     Biblical theology

     The canon of Scripture

     An evangelical approach

     Chapter by chapter preview

2   From Eden to the end: Daniel in Old Testament salvation history

     The history of Israel’s future in the Torah

     The fulfilment of Mosaic prophecy in the Prophets and the Writings

     From Daniel to the end of the days

     Conclusion

3   The literary structure of Daniel

     Daniel’s discrete units

     Relationships between Daniel’s discrete units

     The literary structure of the book of Daniel

4   Four kingdoms; then everlasting dominion: 

     the history of the future

     The image in Daniel 2

     The beasts in Daniel 7

     The ram and the goat in Daniel 8

     Kings of south and north in Daniel 10-12

     Conclusion

5   Seventy weeks and seventy weeks of years:

     Daniel’s prayer and Gabriel’s revelation

     The prayer

     The revelation

     Conclusion

6   The one like a son of man and other heavenly being in Daniel

     Heavenly being in Daniel

     The pre-incarnate Christ?

     The one like a son of man

     Conclusion

7   Interpretations of Daniel in early Jewish literature

     Tobit

     Qumran

     1 Maccabees

     4 Ezra

     1 Enoch

     Conclusion

8   Interpretations of Daniel in the New Testament

     (except Revelation)

     A summary of what we have seen

     Stock language, thematic similarity and fulfilment

     New Testament quotations of Daniel

     Thematic fulfilments of Daniel

     Conclusion

9   Interpretations of Daniel in the Apocalypse

     John’s reuse of Daniel’s language

     John’s imitation of Daniel’s structure

     John’s fulfilments of Daniel’s prophecies

     John’s clarification of Daniel’s revelations

     Conclusion

10 Typological patterns: Daniel in biblical theology

     A promise-shaped paradigm

     Abraham

     Psalms

     Joseph and Daniel

     Jehoiachin, Esther and Nehemiah

     Fulfilment in Christ

     Conclusion

Bibliography

Index of authors

Index of Scripture references

Index of ancient sources

Product Details

Title: With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology 

Author: James M. Hamilton

Publisher: Apollos

Pages: 272

Binding: Paperback

Size: 21.6 x 14.1 x 2.2 cm

ISBN: 9781783591374