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Document Details :

Title: Historical (In)accuracy and Linguistic Archaism in Daniel 5
Author(s): SUCHARD, Benjamin D.
Journal: Biblica
Volume: 103    Issue: 2   Date: 2022   
Pages: 213-226
DOI: 10.2143/BIB.103.2.3290912

Abstract :
Daniel 5 contains a number of historical inaccuracies, most glaringly the identification of Nebuchadnezzar as Belshazzar’s father. This article argues that all mentions of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 5 may be secondary, suggesting that the oldest version of the text could have been written soon after the Neo-Babylonian period. The queen’s speech in vv. 10-12 contains a number of archaic linguistic features which may support such an early dating. These are the use of a morphologically distinct jussive, the use of two perfects in the expression 'she spoke, saying', and the use of infinitives without a preceding preposition.

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