(This is an excerpt from the manuscript of The Hidden Bones Apocalypse. Copyright: Charles R Lightner 2021)
The Hidden Bones Apocalypse
Conclusion
Shortly after 164 BCE—when the period of the anti-Judaic edicts of Antiochus IV had ended—a project was begun to replace the scrolls of “the Law and the Prophets and the other books”[1] that had been destroyed during the time of the edicts. One of the senior scribes responsible for that project—possibly the most senior—who was also a priest, had just completed the composition of the book of Daniel, which was to become a much-loved part of the Hebrew canon. Daniel is the only Jewish apocalypse that was made a part of the Hebrew bible.
The writers of apocalypse held views that were not accepted by the temple leadership, either of that time or later, and the author of Daniel would be understandably fearful that his just-finished text would not survive; that his message would be lost. During the text-restoration project he caused an unusual phrase to be inserted into the accounts of ten highly consequential biblical “days.” That phrase is distinctive—unique, in fact—but it does not change the meaning of the marked accounts—it only adds an unusual emphasis.
The phrase inserted—b’etsem ha’yom ha’zeh—is not found anywhere else in the Hebrew bible. Each of the marked days is highly consequential. The insertion of an emphatic phrase, even one that did not change the plain meaning, would have been noticed, of course. But senior scribes at that time continued to make “clarifying” edits to the biblical texts. The true purpose of the insertions was not simply to emphasize the importance of those days, though. The true purpose is not apparent at that level of the text. The scribe’s intent is only revealed when the ten days he marked are understood to create and convey a single, coherent communication. These are the accounts that he marked with the emphatic phrase:
- The day Noah entered the ark. (Gen 7:13)
- The day of the Abrahamic circumcision event. (Gen 17:23,26)
- The day of the Exodus from Egypt. (Ex 12:41,51)
- The required observance of the Passover festival. (Ex 12:17)
- The required observance of the Shavuot festival. (Lev 23:21)
- The required observance of Yom Kippur. (Lev 23:28,29,30)
- The day of Moses’s death. (Deut 32:48)
- The day the Israelites were first sustained by the land. (Jos 5:11)
- The day of Ezekiel’s vision of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple. (Ezek 24:2)
- The day of Ezekiel’s vision of rebuilding, restoration, and unification. (Ezek 40:1)
This is the essential message of the ten marked days, as I interpret them:
God established a perpetual covenant with mankind and with the people Israel. Abraham performed his covenant responsibility in the circumcision account. God performed God’s covenant responsibilities in the Exodus and Joshua accounts. Israel’s responsibilities following the Exodus are detailed in the laws of Moses, which include the specific observances marked. The people Israel will fail to adhere to their covenant requirements despite repeated warnings. They will be harshly punished for their failures. They will ultimately turn back to God, though, and God will forgive them. A new age will ensue during which God’s law will be supreme, the people will be faithful, and peace will reign forever.
That is also the essential message of the literary genre we now call apocalypse—specifically of historical apocalypse.
Some might object to the conclusion that the message is an apocalypse on the basis that it fails to meet the “narrative form” element of the definition of apocalypse established by the Society of Biblical Literature. It is true that this message does not come to us in narrative form, but that was essential to the purposes of its creator. He needed to create this version of his message by allusion—a strategy he relied upon in Daniel as well. I think that in other respects this message does meet the formal definition and that it does so more fully than some acknowledged examples of the genre.
The author of Daniel, having just completed his text, fearful that it might not survive, devised a subtle and ingenious means to embed the message of apocalypse in texts that he was confident would remain central to Jewish belief: the Torah and the books of Joshua and Ezekiel. If Daniel were lost, this version of his message would live in those texts and—he hoped—it might come to be recognized and understood.
One important position common to all the early Jewish apocalypses and to many of the important non-apocalypse writings of the period, concerned the appropriate calendar. The calendar of apocalypse and of the sectarian writings—and of many non-sectarian writings as well—was one of 364 days. The calendar of the temple at that time, and thereafter, was one of 354 days. The author of the book of Daniel created a hint in his text that he also held to the calendar common to apocalypse. Scholars have puzzled over the two different durations seemingly associated with the length of time of the temple’s desecration in Daniel 12:11-12. Collins wrote, for example, that the solution might be regarded as “yet another of the mysteries that was only revealed in symbolic code.”[2] I think the author of Daniel did create a puzzle in those verses, but that he also gave us the solution to it. The key is found in the language of Daniel 12:7b: “a time, times, and half a time.” In Part Three we detailed the derivation of the key in 12:7b that unlocks the mystery of 12:11-12. The correct measure of a year, it reveals, is ten days longer than the incorrect one. The author of Daniel created the puzzle because his view of the proper calendar was contrary to that of the powers of the day. That needed to be hidden. And that is the reason why the same author—the scribe of the Hidden Bones—chose to mark precisely ten days in the biblical accounts. It creates a meta-message in addition to the one of apocalypse.
The Hidden Bones Apocalypse was created as an insurance policy against the risk that the book of Daniel might be lost or rejected. It was not a perfect vehicle for that purpose and, as it happened, it was not necessary. And, as it happened, it was not understood.
I did not begin this study with a thesis that I set out to prove. I began with the simple observation that a phrase in the Hebrew text of Exod 12:17 seemed interesting and unusual. Every subsequent step between that observation and the conclusion presented here came as a surprise. Each subsequent step was inconvenient; frustrating my attempts to complete the work. But each was also exciting. Each, in its own way, seemed inevitable, required. And in each, my respect for the message and its author grew.
The message is there—as it has been—for all to see, if only we will “turn aside to look.” (Ex 3:4)
[1] From the Prologue to The Wisdom of Ben Sira. See reference in Part Four.
[2] Collins, J. Daniel: With an Introduction to Apocalyptic Literature. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids. 1984. Kindle Edition. Loc 1796
Charles R Lightner 1/13/21