Daniel - Hardcover

by Stephen L. Cook (Author), Mark J. Boda (Editor), J. McConville (Editor)

Explore the contemporary significance of the Old Testament and hear the Word of God afresh

Highly regarded Old Testament scholar Stephen Cook offers a substantive and useful commentary on the book of Daniel and explores the contemporary significance of this prophetic book.

This groundbreaking commentary departs from common rationalist approaches in order to engage Daniel's visionary content on its own terms, introducing innovative interpretive frameworks that emphasize the cosmic scope of this biblical book and its revelations of heavenly reality. Integrating insights from fields such as analytical psychology, comparative literature, and cosmology, Cook's approach allows the disorienting imagery of Daniel to resonate fully, offering readers fresh insights into its apocalyptic dreams and transcendent symbolism. Cook also addresses the political and theological implications of apocalyptic literature in modern spiritual and geopolitical contexts.

In addition to paragraph-level commentary, all volumes of the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series feature:

● A fresh translation of the Hebrew text
● Incisive comments based on the author's translation
● Linguistic, historical, and canonical insights
● Concluding reflections
● Footnotes addressing technical matters

Pastors, teachers, and all serious students of the Bible will find here an accessible commentary that will serve as an excellent resource for their study.

This volume, like each in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series, is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach. Daniel is the third volume on the prophetic books, following Hosea-Micah by John Goldingay and Isaiah by J. Gordon McConville. Series editors are Mark J. Boda, McMaster Divinity College, and J. Gordon McConville, University of Gloucestershire.

Back Jacket

"Vividly and powerfully reveals the richness of Daniel's divinely given revelation"

Stephen L. Cook offers a substantive and useful commentary on Daniel and explores the contemporary significance of this prophetic book. Cook's groundbreaking commentary engages Daniel's visionary content on its own terms, introducing innovative interpretive frameworks that emphasize the cosmic scope of this biblical book and its revelations of heavenly reality.

This volume, like each in the Baker Commentary on the Old Testament series, is grounded in rigorous scholarship but is useful for those who preach and teach.

"What would it mean to take an apocalyptic text in full seriousness, to judge its visions on its own terms? Cook's commentary on Daniel does just this. The dreams and visions of this prophet are not translated to another medium, not explained or explained away, not reduced to another domain, but rather interpreted as incursions of the wisdom of God into the struggles of the earth. A stirring translation is accompanied by a full critical apparatus and commentary--a true theological exegesis and one that, at last, allows the heavenly vision to speak in its own tongue!"
--Katherine Sonderegger, Virginia Theological Seminary

"The inspiring narratives and perplexing visions of the book of Daniel have long challenged interpreters. Cook eschews both critical historicist and fanciful literalistic interpretations to argue that the book reveals the deep yet transcendent dimensions of reality. This is apocalyptic wisdom designed to reorient one's view of life and the world and point to the ultimate purposes of God. An innovative multidisciplinary approach to a mystifying, ever-relevant divine word for God's people."
--M. Daniel Carroll R., Wheaton College Graduate School

"Cook ranges more widely than most Daniel commentators and valuably sheds light on the distinctive dynamics of this challenging biblical book. In particular, he takes seriously the spiritual dimensions of reality. This is a fresh reading of Daniel as Christian Scripture."
--Walter Moberly, Durham University (emeritus)

Author Biography

Stephen L. Cook (PhD, Yale University) is the Catherine N. McBurney Professor of Old Testament Language and Literature at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. His areas of expertise include biblical hermeneutics and theology, Hebrew exegesis, the prophecies of Daniel and Ezekiel, the book of Deuteronomy, prophetic and apocalyptic literature, the social settings of Scripture, and educational technology. He is the author or editor of a dozen books, including an Anchor Yale Bible Commentary on Ezekiel 38-48.