The Encyclopedia of World Religions

112 S Daniel

The books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible recount many stories about David. Among them are his anointing while yet a boy by the prophet Samuel to be king, his battle with Goliath—the giant champion of the Philistines—and his close relations with Saul’s son Jonathan. Less positively, David is said to have engineered the death of Uriah the Hittite in battle so that he in turn could marry Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. At the end of his life his sons fought to succeed him. These struggles included a failed coup attempt by Absalom. David was famed as a musician. Tradition attributed the biblical book of Psalms to him. In the late Second Temple period (roughly 200 B . C . E .– 70 C . E .), some Jews hoped for a MESSIAH descended from David. Christians assert that this messiah was J ESUS . Day of Atonement English for the Hebrew phrase Yom Kippur; the most sacred of the “days of awe” in J UDAISM . Jews observe the Day of Atone ment on the tenth day of Tishri, the first month of the Jewish year. This date falls in September or October. The Day of Atonement is a time for restoring one’s relationship with G OD . The Jewish people collectively repent of their SINS and receive God’s forgiveness. If one has offended human beings, one should also make amends to them. The B IBLE calls the Day of Atonement the “Sab bath of Sabbaths” (Leviticus 16.31). It is the most solemn day of rest. Observant Jews do not eat or drink from one sundown to the next. (In the Jew ish calendar, days begin at sundown.) They spend the day at a SYNAGOGUE in PRAYER . The LITURGY for the Day of Atonement includes several well-known prayers. An example is the “Kol Nidre,” which asks forgiveness for breaking vows made to God. It is as famous for its melody as it is for its words.

dance seems sure to be a part of religion for a long time to come.

Daniel The title character in the book of Dan iel in the B IBLE . He is likely based on a figure in Canaanite and earlier Hebrew literature. Ancient texts discovered at Ugarit in Syria during the 20th century reveal that, well before any of the Bible was written, the Canaanites knew a legendary hero named Dan’el. This figure appears in the biblical book of the prophet E ZEKIEL (14.14; 28.3). The book of Daniel records stories and VISIONS . They allegedly took place during the exile of the Judeans in Babylon (586–539 B . C . E .). The book’s account of this period is, however, very confused. Much of the book is written in Aramaic, a later lan guage, and it does make detailed and accurate allu sions to some later events. Therefore, it is customary to ascribe the book to an anonymous author who lived during the Hasmonean revolt (167–164 B . C . E .). Jews classify Daniel with the Ketuvim or “writings”; Christians consider it a prophetic book. It is unique in the Hebrew Bible in that it is an apocalypse ( see APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE ). It does not recount historical events. Instead, its purpose was to call the Jewish people to remain faithful to their religious heritage, despite oppression and persecu tion. In giving reassurance, the book looks forward to a RESURRECTION from the dead (12.2–3). This idea influenced later Christians, as did the figure of the “Son of Man” (Daniel 7.13; cp. Mark 13.26). The N EW T ESTAMENT book of R EVELATION borrowed much imagery from Daniel’s visions. in the Hebrew Bible, king of Israel and founder of the ruling dynasty of Judah After the death of King S AUL and his sons, David united the kingdoms of Israel (today in northern Israel) and Judah (today in southern Israel). He took J ERUSALEM (previously the stronghold of a people known as the Jebusites), made it his capital, and brought the ark of the COVENANT to it. David (ruled c. 1000–960 B . C . E .)

Dead Sea Scrolls Scrolls roughly 2,000 years old found in caves on the northwestern edge of the Dead Sea. In February or March 1947, a 15-year