The Book of Daniel: Trauma, Faith, and the Resurrection of the Dead

Stewart Gabel

Abstract


Abstract: The Book of Daniel often is considered a combination of two separate works, a series of diaspora tales in
the first six chapters, and an apocalypse in the last six chapters. This paper argues that the Book of Daniel can be read as
a meaningful whole when understood from psychological perspectives that portray the psychological and spiritual
reactions of the Jewish people to their experiences of trauma, exile and loss that occurred over several centuries.
Current studies of the effects of collective trauma are reviewed to support this thesis.

Keywords


Judaism, Bible, Book of Daniel, Psychoanalysis of Religion

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12869/TM2016-2-01

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