Período helênico ou romano? um estudo exegético e histórico de Daniel 11:21-31

Abstract

The This study investigates two distinct approaches to interpreting Daniel 11:21-31: the critical-liberal perspective on one hand, and the interpretation based on the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14; Lk 21:20) on the other. The former considers that the aforementioned Danielic text refers to events that occurred during the Hellenistic period, describing the military conflicts between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, which culminated in the profanation of the Jewish sanctuary by Antiochus IV Epiphanes during the second half of the second century B.C. Conversely, the latter perspective suggests that the same text describes events that occurred during the Roman period, culminating in the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. This is a bibliographical research that used an exegetical methodology based on the use of synchronic analysis tools. In the end, it was found that the text of Daniel 11:21-31 has vague elements analogous to the career of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his troubled relationship with the Jews. Although it appears to generally refer to the Hellenistic period, the evident historical discrepancies suggest that the biblical narrative neither describes nor is restricted to this period. Consequently, it does not seem to be a mere account of past events described as if they were future, as critics have suggested since Porphyry (232–303 A.D.). On the other hand, it was observed that the same text maintains notable parallels with historical accounts related to the penultimate and last civil wars of the Roman Republic and the fateful events of the second Jewish revolt, which culminated in the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Thus, it was concluded that the text of Daniel 11:21-31 possibly has a double applicability, encompassing both the Hellenistic and Roman periods