Nauka o istotach niebiańskich w Księdze Daniela: kontynuacja wcześniejszych tradycji biblijnych oraz nowy wkład do angelologii Starego Testamentu
The teaching about heavenly beings in the Book of Daniel. The continuation of the previous biblical traditions and the new contribution to the angelology of the Old Testament

Summary/Abstract: The Book of Daniel is a very important witness to the development of the teaching about heavenly beings in the biblical traditions of the Old Testament. Some themes about heavenly beings presented in the Book take and continue the beliefs of the ancient Israel, namely, presenting the heavenly beings as God’s “messengers” (Dan. 3:28; 6:23), defining them as “the sons of God” (literally “the son of gods” in Dan. 3:25) and “the holy ones” (Dan 4:10.14.20; 7:21.22.25.27; 8:13.24.25), portraying them as mediators of God’s revelation and translators/interpreters of the visions (Dan. 7:16; 8:16; 9:21-22; 10:5-11:2). The concept of the heavenly court of YHWH that consists of heavenly beings serving and worshipping God presented in the Book is similar to various parts of the Scripture and is rooted in the mythological writings of the ancient Near East. The most significant is the fact that the Book of Daniel introduces many new elements, unknown in the Hebrew Bible, into the teaching about the heavenly beings. They are: (1) the usage of such proper names as “Gabriel” (Dan. 8:16; 9:21) and “Michael” (Dan. 10:13,21; 12:1); (2) specifying the number of heavenly beings surrounding the throne of God in heaven (Dan. 7:10); (3) presenting them as the “watchers”, i.e. the guards who participate in God’s rule (Dan. 4); (4) finally, picturing heavenly beings as “the princes”, i.e. the lords of nations in the meaning of their “patrons” (Dan. 10-12). Thanks to them, the Book essentially contributes to the angelology of the Bible. It is also worth noticing that the teaching of the Book of Daniel about heavenly beings was further developed in the later Jewish literature, especially in the apocalyptic writings and the Qumran scrolls, as well as in the Christian tradition.

• Details
• Contents