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Have We Followed Cunningly Devised Fables? — Robert J. Wieland

Did the Jews in Babylonian Exile Understand HA TAMID as an Idiom for Paganism?

  1. The overwhelming problem of the Exile was the apparent superiority of paganism over YHWH (Jehovah). This was a terrible assault to the faith of the Jews.
    1. Israel was now in complete subjection to the "heathen world-power." 21 Moses' warning fulfilled (Deuteronomy 28:64-47).
    2. Paganism was seemingly triumphant over YHWH's covenant with Abraham. Babylonian Bel had "swallowed" Judah like a piece of candy (see Jeremiah 51:34, 44).
    3. No Jerusalem tamid ministry was in existence during the Exile.
    4. After the Exile, no true tamid ministry was ever reinstated because the Ark of the Covenant was never recovered; the real presence of YHWH in the Jerusalem sanctuary was therefore never truly restored (except in the brief personal visit of Christ to Herod's temple).
    5. The only possible identification of ha tamid (note, a substantive, never so used elsewhere in the Old Testament) during the Exile is as an idiom demoting the ever-continual, all pervading, all enveloping presence of surrounding paganism. It was a blight to Israel in Exile and a constant irritation, serious concern and challenge to their faith in YHWH.
  2. The constant, supreme question in the minds of the Jews in Exile was, "How long" will this terrible "continual" paganism triumph over YHWH? 22 It was the main burden of the Exilic Psalms (tamid is frequently used with reference to paganism). Note Isaiah's Exilic concern for tamid paganism (Isaiah 51:12-14; 52:4-6; 65:1-3). "How long such unrequited tamid evil?" was the cry of Exilic writers.
    1. The vision of Daniel 8 was given as an answer to this persistent question: vs. 13.
    2. Daniel's surprise and agony: he sees paganism absorbed into a desolating power even more desolating, worse than itself because of its being now professedly Christian. The union creates the "abomination that maketh desolate."
    3. The literal Hebrew of Dan 8:11-14 presents a message that is relevant to the concerns of the Exilic Jews and satisfactorily answers their questions regarding paganism. The pagan-papal overreach becomes Daniel's concern. Final victory of truth was assured as certain.
  3. Only in Daniel is tamid used with the article, i.e., "ha tamid," "the daily."
    1. The Cyrus Cylinder uses a similar expression denoting paganism (line 7).
    2. Without the article, tamid was used frequently in Exilic times as a desolating power. 23 It was natural for ha tamid as a unique substantive to be coined during the Exile as an idiom for paganism.
    3. Neither Ezekiel nor any other Bible author uses tamid as a noun.
  4. The prophet Daniel was not naive; his concern was not for mere cultic ritual in the Jerusalem temple. As a prophet he was a man of very mature spiritual perception.
    1. The overwhelming concern of all the inspired prophets was for a personal heart relation to the YHWH, not a revival of ritualism.
    2. When David sinned, the Lord did not "desire" a ritual or daily "sacrifice." (Psalm 51:6, 16, 17).
    3. Jeremiah disparaged preoccupation with their temple cultus and daily sacrifices. (Jer. 7:1-14, and etc.). The Lord actually "hated" the temple cultus (see Isaiah 1:14; Amos 5:21).
    4. True Israelites were not concerned for revival of the temple cultus or "daily sacrifice" (Hosea 6:6; Micah 3:11; 6:6-8; Amos 5:21-27; Malachi 1:10). Since the time of Moses, "daily sacrifice" in the sanctuary was not of itself of ethical importance; heart religion was important (Jeremiah 7:21-26).
    5. How could enlightened, faithful Jews in Exile be supremely concerned for reinstatement of ritual cultus? How could God give a major vision to Daniel with the main focus of attention the interruption of cultic ritual in which He had no "pleasure"?
    6. Cultic legalism and fanaticism in the time of the Maccabees contributed to misunderstanding Daniel's prophecy and attributing undue significance to Antiochus Epiphanes.
    7. Daniel exerted tremendous influence on the Gentile world; he saw Israel as the evangelizing agency for "all families of the earth" (see Genesis 12:3). His concern was the accomplishment of this mission, not cultic ritual, but the Jews, in general, did not share the maturity of his vision.
    8. Daniel saw the sanctuary as an object lesson of the cosmic plan of salvation, as did other Hebrew prophets. He could well have had at least a rudimentary concept of the antitypical Day of Atonement as cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven, the final end of the sin of the world. In fact, knowledge of a heavenly antitype was common. 24 If Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day, surely Daniel did also. The gospel is "everlasting".
Conclusion: If This Thesis is Correct …
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Notes:

  1. Keil, p. 8 [return to text]
  2. see Psalm 74:1, 3, 10, etc.; 79:5; 80:4; Zechariah 1:12. [return to text]
  3. Psalm 74:22, 23; Isaiah 52:5. See also Obadiah 16; Nahum 3:19; Habakkuk 1:17. [return to text]
  4. Exodus 25:8, 40; Psalm 20:1, 2, 6; Hebrews 9:11. [return to text]