Later, the Olympians made a second generation, Silver this time, not nearly so fine as the first, Not at all like the gold in either body or mind.įather Zeus created a third generation Of articulate folk, Bronze this time, not like The silver at all Hesiod symbolizes four of the five eras with the same metals as Daniel 2, in the same order: 1 Golden was the first race of articulate folk Created by the immortals who live on Olympos The most well-known parallel in any ancient literature is from the Greek writer Hesiod (c.750-650 BC), who categorized five eras of history, each worse off than the previous one.
bronze replaced by gold, wood replaced by bronze). The premise here is that, on each line, the former material is replaced by another material of greater value (e.g. In the post-exilic period we find at least one Israelite text specifically using the same four metals in the same order for poetic or symbolic value: Instead of bronze I will bring gold, The concept of dividing the world into a sequence of four eras, and even associating those eras with four metals, did not originate with the book of Daniel. It's a tafsīr (commentary) from the Karaite scholar יפת בן עלי הלוי (Yafet ben Ali ha-Levi). The clay is the unknown variable.Īs you know, there are many commentaries on Daniyy'el's prophecies, but allow me to suggest one for examination. Prophecy is notoriously difficult to understand, but one thing I am certain on is the identity of the Babylonian, Mede/ Persian, Greek, and Roman empires in Daniyy'el's image. As you know, both the Roman empire and the Arab empire still exist today, albeit not in their original form.įinal note: Again, this is a theory, not something I'm absolutely certain of. The "clay" (Arabs) would mix with the "iron" (Romans), but they would not cleave to one another (cp. Daniyy'el was prophesying long into the future when the Arab empire would feud with the Roman empire. I'm going to say that it's a play-on-words. While this root signifies the meaning of "to mix," it is also the same root used in the Hebrew word עֲרָבִי ( aravi), meaning "Arab." This is a cognate of the Arabic word عربي ( ʿarabiyy), also meaning "Arab." If you look at the actual Aramaic word, it's derived from the verb עֲרַב ( arav). 2:41 and 2:43, you'll find the word "mixed" in English. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the "clay" mixed in with the iron refers to the Arab/ Islamic empire that began after the birth of Islam and Muhammad.Īdmittedly, I'm not absolutely certain about this interpretation, but I'm quite certain about the interpretation of the kingdom of Babylon, Mede/ Persia, Greece, and Rome. The Roman empire is "its legs of iron."Īs for the mixed feet, part iron and part clay, this is a bit more mysterious. The Greek empire is "its belly and its thighs of brass."Īfter the Greek empire came the Roman empire (the NT was written during the reign of the Roman empire). The Mede/ Persian empire is "its breast and its arms of silver."Īfter the Mede/ Persian empire came the Greek empire (cp.
Nevukhadnetzar was the king of the Babylonian kingdom.Īfter the Babylonian empire came the Mede/ Persian empire (cp. 2:32-33),ģ2 The head of that image is of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,* 33 its legs of iron, and its feet, part of iron and part of clay. Daniyy'el describes the image as follows ( Dan.