In Cod. A the subscription
mentioned above, marking it as the "end of Daniel the prophet,"
distinctly attaches it to the Book of Daniel, and precludes further
additions. On the whole, if its connection with the Book of Daniel is
to be recognized, this position at the close may be regarded as the most
suitable.
AUTHORSHIP.
In ??, Bel and the Dragon is apparently assumed to be by the same writer
as the rest of the Book of Daniel. So in _Breshith Rabbah_[63] on Gen.
xxxvii. 24 we have nearly the words of v. 28 _sq._, introduced by "This
is as it is written in Daniel" (Ball, 344a). In Raymund Martini's
_Pugio fidei_ (Paris, 1651, p. 740) the Aramaic is given as ?‘?“? ?™????
(_see_ under 'Chronology,' p. 229).
If, however, it be presumed that Daniel is not the author, we are left
without any clue to the writer's name, except what is afforded us by the
LXX title, which treats the piece as an extract from a prophecy of
Habakkuk, son of Jesus. Most probably the minor prophet of that name is
intended, though this has been doubted on chronological and on
genealogical grounds; and the position of Bel and the Dragon in the MSS.
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