Reading for July 8th

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE HOPE

Read Colossians 2.20-4.6
Like with Christ governs regulations about food and drink and relations with other Christians,
family members, and outsiders.
An initial transition  (2,20-23) reveals the practical implications of death with Christ.
Another transition (3.1-4) commends the life raised with Christ, followed by a vice list (3.5-11),
a virtue list (3.12-17), and household duties (3.18-4.6).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 7th

Read Colossians 1.24-2.19 A personal witness and a warning.
An autobiographical sketch describes the church's maturation (1.24-2.5) and leads to
a warning against deviating from the truth (2.6-18).
In verse 1.24 a certain amount of suffering is assumed to be necessary (see 1 Thess 3.3)
before the end can arrive.
Completing...Christ's afflictions, any suffering brings the end sooner.
In verses 26-27 the mystery is Christ in you, the image of Christ growing in you.
In verse 29 toil, struggle, the effort to bring about the community's maturity.
See 1 Thess 2.9.
In verse 2.6 live your lives, "conduct" your lives; see 1.10.
In verses 8-19 the warning: although the heresy appears as wisdom because of its ascetic
and ritualistic practices, Christ's death and resurrection are sufficient to bring the believers'
lives into the new dominion.
In verse 8 takes you captive, false teachers are like robbers or kidnappers.
In verses 11-12 putting off, buried with him in baptism, baptismal images joined with
spiritual circumcision to describe entry into the new life (see Gal 3.27).
In verse 14 Record, a not of debt.
In verse 15 Disarmed, stripped of power.
Roman emperors led captives in a public triumphal procession.
In verse 17 Shadow and substance, a familiar contrast in Greek thought
(see Plato's Republic 514a-518b).
In verse 18 Angels' worship, worship offered to angels or worship offered by angels,
probably the latter.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 6th

Read Colossians 1.15-23 A hymn to the universal Christ and comment on his redeeming work.
Christ, the cosmic agent of creation, has reconciled creation's warring elements (vv. 15-20),
and their early teachings to ensure maturity (vv. 21-23).
In verses 15-20 the hymn's origin is unknown, but if not Christian it may be an adaptation
from a Greek mystery religion, a Jewish text about the Son of Man and the end times, or a
Hellenistic Jewish wisdom text like Prov 8.22-31 or Sir 24.1-22.
It easily divides into two: Christ as the agent of creation (vv. 15-18a) and Christ as an
agent of redemption (vv. 18b-20).
In verse 16 Christ's role in creation is like the role of Wisdom (see Prov 8.22-26; Sir 24.9).
In verse 18 Head of the body, see 2.19; Eph 1.22-23.
In verse 20 Reconcile, restore to friendship from enmity.
In verse 21-23 a direct exhortation to the recipients: God has reconciled them and they will be blameless before God if they are steadfast.
In verse 21 Estranged, alienated or unfamiliar with something.
See Eph 2.12; 4.18.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 5th

Read Colossians 1.3-14 Prayers and God's redemption.
Two prayers (vv. 3-8, 9-12) reveal the basis of the community's growth in faith: God rescued the believers from the power of darkness and moved them into the kingdom of his beloved son (v. 13).
In verses 3-8 themes of growth and learning (1.28; 2.6; 3.10; 4.12) emphasize the fruitfulness of the gospel (v. 5) increasing the knowledge of God's will (vv. 9-10) and in building the body
of Christ (2.19).
Epaphras (v. 7) taught hope linked to Christ, unlike the "heresy" which downplays
Christ (see 2.18-19).
In verse 5 hope, no longer the firm expectation of God's promise but an object already available,
laid up or stored up, though it awaits revelation.
In verse 6 bearing fruit and growing describes the gospel of God's grace.
In verse 7 Epaphras, 4.12; Philem 23.
In verses 9-12 a shift from past reception of the gospel to a fuller comprehension of God's will.
In verse 9 knowledge...spiritual wisdom and understanding.
All three have practical implications.
Wisdom (a favorite term; see 2.3, 23; 4.5) and understanding or insight are linked in the
Hebrew Scriptures or their Greek translation (see Deut 1.13, 15; 1 Kings 16.18; Isa 3.3).
In verse 10 lead, or conduct; see 2.6; 3.7-17; 4.5.
In verse 12 inheritance, share or allotment.
In verses 13-14 this basic statement of belief recites what God has done.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 4th

Read Colossians 1.1-2 The epistolary opening.
See 2 Cor 1.1; Gal 1.1.
In verse 1 saints, holy ones, believers (2 Cor 1.1; Rom 1.7; Phil 1.1; Eph 1.1).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 3rd

Read Daniel 12.5-13 The realization of the vision.
This section attempts to calculate the time when the vision will be realized.
In verses 5-6 Two others: Angels.
In verse 7 A time, two times, and half a time: Three and a half years, the approximate time
from the desecration of the Temple in 167 BCE to its re-dedication in 164 BCE (see 7.25).
In verse 11 One thousand two hundred ninety days: An attempt to specifty the figure in v. 7.
In verse 12 Thousand three hundred thirty-five days: A second attempt to specify this figure.
In verse 13 The end of days: The end of  the period outlined in the vision
(see 8.17; 9.26; 11.6, 13, 35, 40; 12.4, 9).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 2nd

Read Daniel 12-1-4
Michael calls upon Daniel to remain silent about the vision until its fulfillment.
In verse 2 resurrection of the righteous (Isa 26.19; Ezek 37).
In verse 3 like the brightness of the sky: the Hebrew word "zohar" ("brightness") from this verse serves as the title of the Zohar, the primary mystical work of Judaism.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for July 1st

Read Daniel 11.40-45
The scenario presented here did not take place.
The beautiful land: Israel.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 30th

Read Daniel 11.29-39
Following his forced withdrawal from Egypt, Antiochus sacked and occupied Jerusalem in 167 BCE, profaned the Temple, and proscribed the practice of Judaism.
In verse 30 Kittim: Originally Greeks or Cypriots (Gen 10.4; Ezek 27.6), later Romans.
In verse 34 a little help: the Maccabean revolt.
In verse 36 Antiochus called himself Epiphanes, manifest god."
In verses 37-39 Antiochus set aside the worship of Tammuz-Adonis in favor of Zeus Olympus, whose statue he placed in the Temple (1 Macc 1.54-59).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 29th

Read Daniel 11.20-28
The initial reign of Antiochus IV, who usurped the throne following the assassination
of his brother Seleucus IV (187 -175 BCE).
His initial campaigns against Ptolemy VI (180-145 BCE) were successful.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 28th

Read Daniel l1.10-19
In verses 11-12 Ptolemy IV (222-204 BCE) defeated Antiochus III at Raphia but
failed to capitalize on his victory.
In verses 13-19 Antiochus III defeated Ptolemy V (204-180 BCE) in 200 BCE,
taking control of the Sinai (and Judea).
He later gave his daughter Cleopatra I to Ptolemy V in marriage.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 27th

Read Daniel 11.2-12-4 Daniel's vision of history.
Egypt did not attack Antiochus after 167 BCE. He died of tuberculosis in 164 or 163 BCE
following campaigns in Armenia and Elymais (Elam).
In verse 2 the three Persian kings are uncertain.
In verses 3-4 Alexander, whose empire was divided after his death in 323 BCE.
In verses 5-6 the king of the south: Ptolemy I (305-282 BCE), founder of the
Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.
One of his officers: Seleucus I (305-281 BCE), founder of the Syrian Seleucid dynasty.
Ptolemy II's (282-246 BCE) daughter Berenice married Antiochus II (261-247 BCE),
but the alliance failed after Berenice, her child, and Antiochus II were murdered.
In verses 7-9 Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III (246-222 BCE), invaded Syria to avenge her death,
but he was repulsed by Seleucus II (246-225 BCE).
In verse 10 his sons: Seleucus III (225-223 BCE) and Antiochus III (223-187 BCE).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 26th

Read Daniel 10.10-11.1
In verses 10-14 in ancient Near Eastern mythology, conflict among the nations
often involves conflict among the nations often involves conflict among their gods.
The prince of Persia: The angel or god of Persia.
Twenty-one days: The duration of Daniel's fasting in v. 3.
Michael: The archangel who protects the Jewish people (10.21; 12.1; see also Jude 9; Rev 12.7).
In verses 15-17 Daniel speaks after his lips are touched (Isa 6.5-7; Ex 4.10-17; Ezek 3.26-27).
One in human form: An angel.
In verse 10.18-11.1: The angel, perhaps Michael, points to conflicts with Persia and
Greece which are described in detail.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 25th

Read Daniel 10.1-11 The onset of Daniel's vision.
Compare Ezekiel's vision (Ezek 1).
In verse 1 the third year of King Cyrus of Persia: 536 BCE, 70 years after the date in 1.1 (see 9.24).
In verses 2-4 acts of self-denial are typical preparations for trances and
other forms of mystical experience.
In verse 5 twenty-fourth day of the month: The 24th of Nissan, one day following the
conclusion of Passover.
In verses 5-6 a man clothed in linen: an angel dressed as a priest and gleaming like the cherubim of Ezekiel's vision (see Ezek 9.2; 40.3).
Uphaz: See Jer 10.9.
In verses 7-9 Trance: See Gen 2.21; 15.2.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 24th

Read Daniel 9.20-27
In verse 24 Seventy weeks: Gabriel interprets Jeremiah's 70 years as "70 weeks of years" by applying the calculation of the jubilee year at "seven weeks of years" (Lev 25.8; see also  2 Chr 36.21).
From 167 BCE, the total of 490 years would place the beginning of the calculation in
657 BCE during the reign of Manasseh, whose evil deeds prompted God to destroy
Jerusalem and the Temple (2 Kings 21.10-15).
Gabriel's interpretation points to the Maccabean revolt as the time when the
punishment of Jerusalem would end.
In verses 25-26 Seven weeks: many claim that this is the 49 years that passed from the
destruction of the Temple in 587 BCE to 538 BCE when Sheshbazzar laid the foundation for the Second Temple (Exra 1.1-11; 5.13-16).
The remaining sixty-two weeks or 434 years points to 104 BCE as the time of fulfillment, which goes beyond the period of the Maccabean revolt.
An anointed one shall be cut off: Antiochus removed the high priests Onias III, who was subsequently murdered (2 Macc 4.3-34).
The troops of the prince who is to come: Antiochus sacked Jerusalem in 167 BCE  following his humiliating withdrawal from Egypt.
In verse 27 he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week: Antiochus appointed Jason and then Menelaus as high priests in the Temple (2 Macc 4).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 23rd

Read Daniel 9.1-27 The seventy weeks.
This chapter applies Jeremiah's prophecy of a 70-year exile (Jer 25.11, 12; 29.10)
together with the calculation of the jubilee year (Lev 25.8-17; "seven weeks of years")
to predict the end of Antiochus's persecution.
In verse 1 Ahasuerus: The Hebrew name for the Persian ruler Xerxes (see Esth 1.1; Ezra 4.6).
Xerxes I (486-465 BCE) was the son of Darius I, and Xerxes II (425 BCE)
was the son of Artaxerxes I (465-425 BCE).
Darius II (423-405 BCE) was the son of Xerxes II, and Darius III (336-330 BCE), the son of Arses (338-336 BCE), was the last ruler of Persia; he was assassinated shortly after Alexander's final defeat of the Persian army.
In verses 2-19 prayer and supplication: Daniel employs a form of communal confession and petition (compare Ezra 9.6-15; Neh 1.5-11; 9.6-37).
In verse 11 the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses: See Lev 26.14-45;
Deut 28.15-68; 29.10-29.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 22nd

Read Daniel 8.15-27
The archangel Gabriel serves as the messenger to humanity in 8:15-26; 9.21-27; Lk 1.11-20.
In 1 Enoch 9 he intercedes on behalf of God's people and destroys the wicked.
In Islam, he reveals the Quran to Muhammed.
In verses 17-18 the (appointed) time of the end: The end of Antiochus's persection.
In verse 25 not by human hands: God will act.
In verse 26 seal up the vision: Although given to Daniel in the sixth century,
it will be realized in the second century (compare Isa 8.16; 29.11-12;  30.8; 34.16-17).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 21st

Read Daniel 8.1-27 The vision of the ram and the goat.
A second vision surveys Greece's defeat of Persia and points to the downfall of Antiochus IV.
The language of the book reverts to Hebrew (see 2.4b).
In verses 1-4 third year of Belshazzar: 552 BCE.
Susa, located in the province of Elam by the River Ulai in modern Iran,
was the winter captial of the Persian empire.
The ram with two horns is the combined Persian-Median empire.
In verse 5 the male goat with a horn is the empire of Alexander, who swept through Persia in
333-330 BCE.
Alexander died in 323 BCE, and his empire split into separate kingdoms.
In verses 9-14 another horn, a little one: Antiochus IV, who attempted to extend his power to the south and east, including the beautiful land of Israel.
Alexander defiled the Temple by turning it into a sanctuary for Zeus.
Two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings: or 1,150 days, approximately three years and two months (see 7.25; 12.7), the time of Antiochus's persecution (1 Macc 1.54-4.52).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 20th

Read Daniel 7.15-28
In verse 16 one of the attendants: An angel.
In verse 18 the holy ones of the Most High are either angels or human beings, both of whom were believed to be fighting Antiochus.
The Judean revolt was led by the Hasmonean priestly family, and the service of priests in the Temple was believed to reflect that of the angels in heaven.
In verse 25 shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law: Antiochus banned the observance of sabbath and Torah (1 Macc 1.41-50; 2 Macc 6.1-11), thus challenging the Jewish concept of creation, which grounded in the sabbath as part of the created world order (Gen 2.1-3; Ex 31.12-17; compare Prov 8.22-36).
A time, two times, and half a time: Three and a half years.
Antiochus's persecution is of limited duration.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 19th

Read Daniel 7.9-14
An Ancient One (literally, "One Ancient of Days"): God.
The portrayal of the divine court builds upon traditions in 1 Kings 22; Isa 6; Ezek 1; Ps 82; Job 1.
In verse 13 One like a human being: Literally, "one like a son of man" (compare "mortal," literally, "son of man/Adam," in Ezek 2.1), a designation for a human being, in this case a messiah figure who will rule the world as king.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 18th

DANIEL'S VISIONS CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD
Chs. 7-12 the visions point to the establishment of the kingdom of God as the
primary theme of the book.
Scholars generally agree that these chapters were written in the mid second century BCE
to support the Maccabean revolt against Seleucid Syria.
With the fall of Seleucid Syria, the kingdom of God would be realized as an independent
Jewish state centered around Jerusalem Temple.

Read Daniel 7.1-28 The vision of the four beasts.
This narrative points to God's overthrow of Antiochus IV.
In verses 1-8 first year of Belshazzar: Belshazzar's regency began tin 554 BCE.
Daniel's vision draws upon creation traditions, which portray God's defeat of the sea
or a sea dragon as the basis for the created world order (Ps 74.13-17; 89.9-10;
Isa 27.1; 51.9-10; compare Gen 1; Ex 15).
Here, the chaos monsters emerge from the sea to overturn creation.
The four winds refer to the four cardinal directions, the universal context of the four beasts,
which represent a succession of empires (ch. 2).
The lion with eagles' wings is Babylon, which employed such figures extensively in art.
The bear with three tusks (literally, "ribs") in its mouth is Media.
The leopard with four wings and four heads is Persia, which ruled most of the Near Eastern world.
The beast with iron teeth is the Greek-Macedonia empire of Alexander the Great.
The ten horns represent the ten rulers of the Seleucid umpire, who used horns as
symbols of their power.
The little horn with eyes...and a mouth speaking arrogantly is Antiochus IV, who claimed to be a god and usurped the throne following the assassination of his brother, Seleucus IV.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 17th

Read Daniel 6.1-28 Daniel in the lion's den.
This narrative demonstrates God's protection of righteous Jews from foreign
monarchs who demand worship of pagan gods and themselves.
In verses 1-9 Darius (522-486 BCE) organized the Persian empire into twenty
"satrapies," administered by officials called satraps.
See Esth 1.1; 8.9.
Daniel's success as president, an otherwise unknown position,
prompts a plot to bring him down by playing upon his religious piety.
Darius is persuaded to demand worship of himself as a god,
 much like Antiochus IV Epiphanes, "manifest god."
So that it cannot be revoked: Once signed with the royal signet,
Persian laws could not be revoked, even by the king.
In verses 10-18 Judaism requires three set times for prayer: morning, afternoon,
and evening (see Ps 55.17; Jdt 9.1).
The narrative portrays Darius as a victim of the plot since he intended no harm to Daniel.
Cyrus authorized the building of the Second Temple (2 Chr 36.22-23; Ezra 1.1-4),
which completed during the reign of Darius (Ezra 6).
Darius calls upon God to save Daniel, and attempts to do so himself.
In verse 22 God sends an angel to protect the righteous Daniel from the lions (compare 3.19-30).
In verse 24 the families of criminals are punished as well to deter crime
(Num 16.23-33' Josh 7.24; 2 Sam 21.6, 9; Esth 9.130.
In verses 25-27 Darius's announcement of the kingdom of God serves the
fundamental purpose of the book: to point to the establishment of an independent
Jewish kingdom identified as the kingdom of God.
In verse 28 Cyrus (539-530 BCE) preceded his son Cambyses (530-522 BCE)
and Darius I (522-486 BCE) as ruler of Babylon.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 16th

Read Daniel 5.13-31
In verses 13-29 Daniel chides Belshazzar for his arrogance, unlike "his father"
Nebuchadnezzar, prior to interpreting the writing.
The words are Aramaic nouns for units of weight: "mene," a mina; "tequel,"
a shekel; parsin," a half mina.
Daniel reads them as verbs: "menah," to number; "teqal," to weigh; and "peras," to divide.
The root "prs" also serves as the base for the name Persia.
In verse 30 Nabonidus fled Babylon at the approach of the Persian army.
There is no evidence that Belshazzar was killed.
In verse 31 Darius the Mede is not historical.
Babylon submitted to Cyrus of Persia in 539.
A Persian military commander and relative of the royal family, Darius,
took the throne when Cyrus's son Cambyses was assassinated in 522 BCE.
The Medes were part of the Persian empire, and various prophecies asserted
that Babylon would fall to them (Isa 13.17-22; 21.1-10; Jer 51.11, 28).
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 15th

Read Daniel 5.1-31 Belshazzar's feast.
This narrative demonstrates the punishment of arrogant and sacrilegious rulers.
In verse 1 Belshazzar was not king of Babylon, but served as regent in place of his father Nabonidus.
In verses 2-4 Nebuchadnezzar was not Belshazzar's father (see comment on v. 1).
Nebuchadnezzar's son Amel-Marduk (Evil-merodach, 2 Kings 25.27-30; Jer 52.31-34)
ruled in 562-560 BCE and was assassinated by his brother-in-law.
The use of holy Temple vessels (see 2 Kings 24.13; 2 Chr 36.10) for drinking praise
to the gods constitutes sacrilege like that of Antiochus IV (1 Macc 1.41-50; 2 Macc 5.15-6.11).
In verses 5-12 the fingers of a human hand: a supernatural response to Belshazzar's sacrilege.
Both the servants and the king demonstrate their incompetence until the queen reminds
them of Daniel.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 14th

Read Daniel 4.28-37
In verses 28-33 the prediction of the dream is fulfilled.
In verses 34-37 Nebuchadnezzar is restored when he acknowledges God's universal sovereignty.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 13th

Read Daniel  4.19-27
Nebuchadnezzar's greatness, symbolized by his monumental building programs,
was well-known throughout the ancient world.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 12th

Read Daniel 4.4-18
There are no extra-biblical accounts of Nebuchadnezzar's madness.
The Babylonian king Nabonidus (556-539 BCE) lived in the Arabian desert while his son Belshazzar ruled in this stead.
In verse 8 named Belteshazzar after the name of my god: Belteshazzar means "protect his life" and is styled to resemble the name Bel, a title for the Babylonian city god, Marduk.
In verses 10-17 the tree at the center of the earth: Ancient Near Eastern mythology frequently employs the image of a cosmic tree (see Gen 2-3).
See also Isa 10.5-34; Ezek 31, which portray Assyrian and Egyptian rulers as trees that will be cut down and sent to the netherworld.
In verse 13 Holy watcher: a celestial being (1 Enoch 1.5; 20.1; Jubilees 4.15).
In verse 15 stump and roots in the ground: See Isa 6.13; 11.1.
In verse 16 let his mind be changed: the motif is derived from Nabonidus, but also presupposes Babylonian traditions of Enkidu, the primal man of the Gilgamesh epic, who lived among the animals before he was civilized by a woman.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 11th

Read Daniel 4.1-37 Nebuchadnezzar's madness.
Using the form of an epistle or public proclamation,
this chapter demonstrates
God's power over pagan rulers.
In verses 1-2 typical epistolary introduction.
All peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth:
Mesopotamian rulers generally claimed rule over the entire world.
The motif prepares the reader to recognize God's universal sovereignty.
In verse 3 again, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges God.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 10th

Read Daniel 3.19-30
The description of the fiery furnace is full of exaggeration, preparing the reader for the great miracle.
In verse 25 the presence of a fourth man who has the appearance of a god (literally, a son of the gods) signifies divine intervention to save the young men (see v. 28).
The pagan king acknowledges God's power and decrees destruction for nations that challenge God.
Comments or Questions...

Reading for June 9th

Read Daniel 3.1-30 The fiery furnace
The narrative promotes adherence to Jewish Identity and religion by demonstrating
that God protects the righteous.
In verses 1-18 Antiochus IV (175-163 BCE) erected a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple
and demanded that Jews worship Greek gods or be put to death (1 Macc 1.41-64; 2 Macc 6.1-11).
His nickname, Epiphanes, "manifest god," indicates that he expected worship as a god.
Worship of national gods was generally understood as a sign of loyalty, but Jews are
monotheistic and do not worship pagan gods.
Charges of disloyalty prompted many anti-Jewish actions in the Greco-Roman and
medieval periods and continue to underlie modern anti-Semitism.
Comments or Questions...