Introduction to Daniel

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The Book of Daniel An Introduction
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Carcemish
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Rulers of Babylon during the Captivity
Nebuchadnezzar succeeded by son, Evil-Merodach k
illed by Neriglissar (Nebuchadnezzars
son-in-law) succeeded by son, Labosoarchad succee
ded by Nabonidus shared rule with
son, Belshazzar
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Daniel in Babylon, from teen to octogenarian
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Daniel 5 Belshazzars Feast
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 7-33)
Cyrus I am sure I cannot see how any one could
take by storm walls so massive and so highunless
you have some other method to suggest, I propose
that we use this method of laying siege
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8)
Chrysantas Does not this river flow through the
midst of the city? And it is more than two stadia
in width. Gobryas Yeah, Ri-ight
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8)
Chrysantas Does not this river flow through the
midst of the city? And it is more than two stadia
in width. Gobryas Aye, by Zeus, and its depth
is such that two men, one standing on the others
shoulders, would not reach the surface of the
water, so that the city is better defended by the
river than by its walls.
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 8)

• Nonetheless, Cyrus went for the plan.
• They dug an immense trench around the sides
  of the city.
• The Babylonians were confident, thinking the
  Persian efforts were a laughable attempt at
  building siege works.
• Cyrus cleverly encouraged the confidence of the
  Babylonians.

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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 13)
The enemy upon the walls laughed his siege-works
to scorn, in the belief that they had provisions
enough for more than twenty years. Upon hearing
of this, Cyrus divided his army into twelve parts
as if intending each part to be responsible for
sentry duty during one month of the year.
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 14)
The Babylonians were further made confident by
the composition of Cyrus army They laughed
much more scornfully still, at the thought of
Phrygians and Lydians and Arabians and
Cappadocians keeping guard against them, for they
considered all these to be more friendly to them
than to the Persians.
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 15-16)
At last the ditches were completed. Then, when
he heard that a certain festival had come around
in Babylon, during which all Babylon was
accustomed to drink and revel all night long,
Cyrus took a large number of men, just as soon as
it was dark, and opened up the heads of the
trenches at the river. As soon as that was done,
the water flowed down through the ditches in the
night, and the bed of the river, where it
traversed the city became passable for men.
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 24)
And do you, Gadatas and Gobryas, show the
streets, for you are familiar with them. And when
we get inside the walls, lead us by the quickest
route to the royal palace.
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The Fall of Babylon Xenophons Account
(Cyropaedia, VII.v. 33)
And when the day dawned and those in possession
of the citadels discovered that the city was
taken and the king slain, they surrendered the
citadels , too.
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The Fall of Babylon Herodotus Account (1.190-191)
Cyrus turned the Euphrates by a canal into the
basin, which was then a marsh, on which the river
sank to such an extent that the natural bed of
the stream became fordable. ...the Persians
came upon them by surprise and so took the city.
Owing to the vast size of the place, the
inhabitants of the central parts...long after the
outer portions of the town were taken, knew
nothing of what had chanced, but as they were
engaged in a festival, continued dancing and
revelling until they learnt the capture but too
certainly.
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70 years?
47 yrs
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70 years?
58 yrs
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70 years?
66 yrs
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70 years?
?
?
70 yrs
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70 years?
516 B.C. 2nd Temple finished
70 yrs
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance Remember the
Sabbath year... Lev. 253-4 Six years you shall
sow your field, and six years you shall prune
your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during
the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath
rest, a sabbath to the LORD you shall not sow
your field nor prune your vineyard.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance and the
Jubilee... Lev. 2511 You shall have the fiftieth
year as a jubilee you shall not sow, nor reap
its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed
vines.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance Lev. 26 2614
'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out
all these commandments...
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance Lev. 2632-35
I will make the land desolate so that your
enemies who settle in it will be appalled over
it. You, however, I will scatter among the
nations. Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths
all the days of the desolation, while you are in
your enemies' land then the land will rest and
enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its
desolation it will observe the rest which it did
not observe on your sabbaths, while you were
living on it.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 3621
Connects JEREMIAHS PROPHECY OF 70 YEARS with THE
LAND ENJOYING ITS SABBATHS
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 3620-21
Those who had escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon and they were servants to him
and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of
Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the
mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its
sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept
sabbath until seventy years were complete.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 3620-21
Those who had escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon and they were servants to him
and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of
Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the
mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its
sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept
sabbath until seventy years were complete.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 3620-21
Those who had escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon and they were servants to him
and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of
Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the
mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its
sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept
sabbath until seventy years were complete.
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70 years?
Perhaps a symbolic significance 2 Chron. 3620-21
Those who had escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon and they were servants to him
and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of
Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the
mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its
sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept
sabbath until seventy years were complete.
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The Book of Daniel
Contents of the Book of Daniel chapters 1-6,
Narrative chapters 7-12, Visions chapters 2-7,
language is Aramaic
Message of the Book of Daniel For His dominion
is an everlasting dominion And His kingdom
endures from generation to generation. And all
the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as
nothing, But He does according to His will in
the host of heaven And among the inhabitants of
earth