Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered - The Preterist Archive

kingdoms (see also the Vision of the Four Kingdoms below); 5. seemingly the Hellenistic era; and 6.
probably the Roman era of the 'last days' or 'end of time'.
The Greek Translation of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, which was used by the Jews of
Alexandria and Egypt and later by Christians in the east, includes several additional Daniel stories
woven into the Biblical book. Some of these texts might even antedate Daniel, while others simply
interpret it. For his part, Josephus provides a glimpse of how Daniel was seen by a first-century Jewish
historian: 'One of the greatest prophets ... for the books that, he wrote (note the plural here) and left are
read by us even now ... He not only predicted the future, like the other prophets, but specified when the
events would happen (Ant 10.266-8).
This description would not only have relevance for this text, but also for the view of prophets as
soothsayers and fortune-tellers with special knowledge about the future in the first century, which we
discussed in the introduction, lo this Chapter. The belief that Daniel had predicted not only what would
happen, but when, was no doubt a significant factor in the timing of the war with Rome -in AD 66. For
instance, the 7 0 years of wrath in Dan. 9:3 - a known interest in the War Scroll at Qumran - could
have been seen as the period between the first outbreak of revolutionary activity at the time of Herod's
death in 4 BC (not un-coincidentally the time assigned to Jesus' birth) and the final proclamation of the
uprising (AD 66); or 'the time, two times, and a half' leading up to 'the End Time' in Dan. 12:7, the 312
years between the stoning of James the Just in AD 62 and the outbreak of the uprising.
This brings us to the important apocalyptic references to the 'Kings of the Peoples' and 'the Kingdom
of the Peoples' in the present text, paralleling references to a 'boastful King' or a 'son of Belial' in the
previous text. These references are tantalizing. If they refer to the first century, then there is every
possibility, depending on the interpretation and reconstruction of the names, that there is a reference to
Herod, and perhaps even his father Antipater, in Lines 3 0- 3 1.
The reference to 3 5 years in Line 3 1 is, of course, very close to the number of years of Herod's rule
between 39 B.C and 4 BC, but this is only a suggestion and must be treated with care. Whether such a
reconstruction is possible is probably tied to the interpretation of these allusions to 'the Kings of the
Peoples'/'Kingdom of the Peoples' in Lines 24, 35 and 36. The 'Kings of the Peoples', as we have said,
is an allusion found in a crucial section of the Damascus Document (viii. 10) about 'pollution of the
Temple', the 'treasury', 'fornication' (even possibly incest), the 'poison of vipers' - the 'Kings' being
specifically identified with the vipers - etc. There are also parallel references in the Habakkuk Pesher
to 'peoples' and 'additional ones of the peoples' as we have noted.
The term 'peoples' used in this manner is known in Roman jurisprudence, where it specifically refers to
petty provinces particularly in the eastern part of the Empire, and their kings. Even Paul in Rom. 11:13
uses this terminology in addressing the 'peoples', designating himself as 'Apostle to the Peoples'.
Certainly petty kings like the Herodians were referred to in this manner in Roman jurisprudence as a
matter of course and have to be considered among these 'Kings of the Peoples'.
On the other hand, the 'Kingdom of the Peoples' may reflect an earlier stage in this usage. Then it
would be more obscure. The term is known in Roman administrative practice during this period; for
instance in Cicero in De Domo 90 or Suetonius, on Caligula, 35.3. Where Paul is concerned, he very
likely refers to his own Herodian origins and relationship to such 'peoples' in Rom. 16:11. Indeed such