Daniel: Under the Siege of the Divine

by Daniel Berrigan

Daniel Berrigan’s powerful, poetic commentary on the biblical book of Daniel brings to life a prophet who has as much to say to our hedonistic, warring world as he did to the people of Old Testament times. Continuing the series he began with Isaiah and Ezekiel, Berrigan fuses social critique, Jewish midrash, and political commentary to bring us a book of stylistic distinction and spiritual depth.

A bold and unorthodox application of the Old Testament to current political and social discourse, Daniel is not simply a book about a bygone prophet, but a powerful charge to all people of conscience. As Berrigan writes, “There are principalities of today to be confronted, their idols and thrice-stoked furnaces and caves of lions, their absurd self-serving images and rhetoric. Someone must pink their pride, decode the handwriting on the wall. Who is to stand up, to withstand?”

Genres: Spirituality, Theology, Religion

219 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1998

About the author

Daniel Joseph Berrigan (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, college professor, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author.

Reviews

[Deirdre Clancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here Daniel Berrigan writes a detailed commenatary on his biblical namesake, the prophet Daniel. The Book of Daniel is set in 586 BCE, after the fall of Jerusalem and the exile of Judeans to Babylon under King Nebuchadnezzar (and his god, Marduk). The ability of Jews to worship properly is severely limited under this regime. Daniel is unusual among the prophets in the way in which he manages to walk an ultra-thin line. Somehow, he manages to serve the Babylonian king after being specially selected as a young man for this purpose, yet also to remain righteous before the God of Abraham.

There are, of course, various instances in which Jews serving the king in Babylon are helped by angelic presences. Due to this, three of Daniel's companions survive being thrown into a furnace and, perhaps most famously, Daniel himself survives the lion's den. He is, by turns, useful to the Babylonian regime and at odds with it, depending on the king's needs at any given time. Adept at interpreting the dreams of the king and also prone to dream-like visions of his own, naturally Daniel outstrips all of the court sorcerers and magicians in their abilities, as his power comes from God (as Daniel himself acknowledges). Despite successive Babylonian kings witnessing powerful signs of the righteousness of what they refer to as 'Daniel's God', one doesn't get the sense that any of them are actually genuinely converted.

Daniel Berrigan sees some parallels between the Babylonian empire and the military-industrial complex of modern times, which he regards as the modern-day equivalent of the powers and principalities referred to throughout the Bible. Berrigan has interesting observations about the massive golden statue of erected by King Nebuchadnezzar on the Plain of Dura, which he commands his subjects to worship:

We would much prefer to freeze in its remote time and place such idolatry as is described here, as though to think (and thus we often are prone to think), “Good riddance; we’ve done with all that.” Yet the exact opposite is true. We moderns continue fervently to construct our own pantheon, gods violent, voracious, greedy. Ancient appetites, grievances, hostilities, jealousies arise, a fury of greed, envy, ego, hypothesized in a technological setting. Numerous shrines are consecrated to the gods of the nation, to the gods of manifest destiny, nuclear security, and so on.

This profound commentary is illustrated with beautiful woodcuts done by Berrigan's friend, the artist Robert F. McGovern.

[Mick Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew of Fr Daniel Berrigan, SJ as a Peace Protestor & as a Poet. In fact I met him in Chicago when he spoke to the Pax Christi Chapter at Hales Franciscan High School, where I taught & was a counselor. Until I discovered that Berrigan
had written ‘Jeremiah: The World & the Wound of God’ I did not know of his biblical commentaries. I am grouping this research posts by prophet, so my Jeremiah readings will come shortly.
Daniel Berrigan, S.J. lived in NYC, where he was a member of West Side Jesuit Community. He was an activist, public speaker, author of more than 40 books, & part-time teacher at Fordham University, he held workshops at conferences & retreats around the world. The Woodcuts are by Robert F McGovern. They were to illustrate key episodes of this challenging text, he employed an ancient method of printing, Robert McGovern was an American artist who lived from 1933-2011. For 42 years, Bob was a teacher at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia.
In ‘Daniel: Under the Siege of the Divine’, Berrigan reflects on his namesake & role model, the ancient seer of Hebrew fame. But this is no pious Sunday school drivel. Continuing the series he began with Isaiah & Ezekiel, Berrigan fuses social critique, Jewish midrash, & political commentary to bring us a work of stylistic distinction & spiritual depth.
Daniel reveals the deep biblical moorings beneath Berrigan's fabled activism, & demonstrates why he has become a trusted mentor for three generations of pacifists & resisters. A bold & unorthodox application of the Old Testament to current political & social discourse, Daniel is not simply a book about a bygone prophet, but a powerful charge to all people of conscience.
Daniel is not included in the Hebrew bible as a prophet. His book finds place there under a heading known as “Writings,’ together with the Psalms, Job, The Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, etc.
The book is premonitory of the methods of tyrants, whether ancient or modern; better still (as Berrigan notes), it is a salubrious story that offers strong relief & insight.