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Daniel

About this book
Chapter 12

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people,⁠ will arise.⁠ There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time.⁠ But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape.⁠ 2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake—some⁠ to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.⁠ 3 But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse.⁠ And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever.⁠ 4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end.⁠ Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.”⁠ 5 I, Daniel, watched as two others stood there, one on each side of the river. 6 One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, “When will the end of these wondrous events occur?” 7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever:⁠ “It is for a time, times, and half a time.⁠ Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.” 8 I heard, but I did not understand. So I said, “Sir, what will happen after these things?” 9 He said, “Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand. 11 From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days. 13 But you should go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive what you have been allotted.”

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 108:12 and Daniel 12:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Daniel 12 and 1 Enoch 108 describe the righteous shining like stars, following ancient Near Eastern traditions that connect the stars with divine beings. This detail resembles the idea of “melammu,” the shining associated with gods and kings.

Passages

1 Enoch 108:12

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
11 And now I will summon the spirits of the good who belong to the generation of light, and I will transform those who were born in darkness, who in the flesh were not rewarded with the honor their faithfulness deserved. 12 I will bring out in shining light those who have loved My holy name, and I will seat each one on the throne of his honor. 13 They will shine for times without number, for righteousness is the judgment of God; for to the faithful He will give faithfulness in the dwelling of upright paths. 14 They will see those who were born in darkness led into darkness, while the righteous will shine brightly.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

Daniel 12:3

Hebrew Bible
1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape. 2 Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake—some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. 3 But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever. 4 “But you, Daniel, close up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will dash about, and knowledge will increase.”
200–101 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Daniel

References

"... Two common and closely related images show the righteous raised into heavenly glory. According to one, which has biblical precedent in Daniel 12:3, they will shine like the stars (1 Enoch 104:2; 4 Ezra 7:78, 125; 2 Baruch 51:10; Pseudo-Philo, Biblical Antiquities 33:5; 4 Maccabees 17:4-6). Because the sky and the heavenly bodies are bright and shining, Jewish tradition always imagined heavenly beings, such as God and the angels, as luminous and shining ... We have alluded to the importance of light in the image of the resurrected righteous as shining like the stars. Reference to eternal light is frequent in references to the destiny of the righteous (1 Enoch 58:3; 92:4; 108:12-13; Psalms of Solomon 3:12; 2 Enoch 65:8; 1QS 4:8). When they are said to wear garments of glory (1 Enoch 62:15-16) and to sit on thrones of glory (1 Enoch 108:12), it should be remembered that this glory is both the visible splendour of shining light and the honour which God will give them, by contrast with the dishonour they have suffered in this life. The light in which the righteous will dwell contrasts with the darkness that is the fate of the wicked (e.g. 1 Enoch 108:14) ..."
Richard Bauckham, The Jewish World around the New Testament: Collected Essays I (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008), 254–255.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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1 Enoch 108:12 and Daniel 12:3

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