Daniel (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "salutary if it brings a careful working out and evaluation of the material in its train.' The return to a study of Daniel is therefore..." (more)
Key Phrases: fourth kingdom, northern king, glorious land, Old Testament, Darius the Mede, Aramaic of Daniel (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Daniel is a difficult book. But it is a book about the meaning of history, and people today need its message. The whole church needs reassurance, especially in view of Marxist claims to be able by human effort to introduce a utopian world government. "When the church lets part of its message go by default people look elsewhere for a substitute," writes Joyce Baldwin. "All the more reason, then, why the church needs to be counting on the certainties proclaimed by Daniel, namely that God is contantly overruling and judging in the affairs of men, putting down the mighty from their seats, overthrowing unjust regimes and effectively bringing in His kingdom, which is to embrace all nations."

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press (June 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877842736
• ISBN-13: 978-0877842736
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #386,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I have used this commentary for twenty years., May 5, 2000

By	Robert Andrews (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I purchased this commentary as a young lawyer teaching Sunday School in 1980, and it has helped me communicate the stories in this book to many. I found the book useful as a layman and after attending seminary found it remained helpful at the scholarly level as well. Baldwin breathes life into the fabulous stories with which Daniel begins - stories usually taught to children and rarely preached or made the subject of adult Bible study, and the book is most helpful in illuminating these stories - the four Hebrew youths in captivity, the fiery furnace, the lions' den, and the writing on the wall. The more eschatological material that forms the latter part of the prophet's book is well treated, and the author avoids falling into the abyss of too closely pressing the details. It is a sound book in a sound series (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries), and should help anyone teach, preach or simply enjoy the faith stories of Daniel and his friends.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars not the best but good, May 11, 2005

By	revwec "revwec" (Lenoir City, TN) - See all my reviews

Baldwin holds to traditional veiw of authorship and give good support for it. Good defense of an exilic date.
Baldwin said, "The predominate message is that God's people will experience suffering and be threatened with extinction, but that will not be the end of the story because their God is living and all-powerful God who will get glory by vindicating His name and who will save them" (66). She points out that God is sovereignly ruling over the affairs of men to bring about His purpose, and will one day establish His perfect kingdom.
Baldwin has called the seventy sevens the most difficult text of the book. She takes a symbolic interpretation. According to her, the seventy sevens are symbolic periods of time starting at Cyrus's decree and ending with Christ's second advent. There is no gap in the seventy sevens. The sixty-ninth seven corresponds to Christ's first coming. This forces the last seven to be very disproportional
The strength of Baldwin's commentary is the introduction. It makes up roughly one third of the commentary. She gives strong support for the historicity of Daniel and the traditional view of authorship and date. Her additional note on the "Son of Man" is another strong point of her book. If someone is looking for a good introduction and a brief commentary, Baldwin is a good fit. The brevity, however, is the weakness of the commentary. The author overlooks some intriguing parts of the text. For example, there is no discussion about the identity of the "prince of the Persian kingdom" in chapter 10 verse 13. One of the strangest verses in the Bible only gets one little paragraph with no detail. She has little to say about the stone cutout without human hands. Such interesting details deserve more attention than is given in this commentary. As a whole this is a good conservative commentary, although, it is a little dated. Not recommend for an in-depth study of Daniel. I strongly recommend Stephen R. Miller's commentary on Daniel in the New American Commentary series.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Scholarship, June 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) (Hardcover)

Joyce Baldwin did an excellent job on historic research and culture, and provides excellent analysis of interpretation of the Book of Daniel and what problems arise. A must read for anyone interested in Bible History and/or Prophecy.