Constructing realities : Bel and the Dragon - identifying some research lacunae

Abstract

The article applies a spatial-body framework to Bel and the Dragon (LXX/Th Dan 14). This application indicates that the narrative represents a shift in the author's personal worldview. Bel and the Dragon demonstrates how gods other than the Jewish deity are not only powerless as shown in Dan 1-6, but they are false and therefore should be done away with. The author/editor emasculates the Gentile worldview by utilising Daniel to eradicate the other gods. What starts as an invasion of the Jewish deity's god-space in Daniel 1, ends with the extermination of the false Babylonian gods and the emasculation of their avowed divinity (LXX/Th Dan 14). In this way The Greek Daniel ends with an intolerance towards other worldviews. By means of his narratives the apocryphal author/editor creates a new reality and worldview within which the Jews in the diaspora can still be faithful to their God without being afraid of competing earthly powers or other so-called deities. In this article new insights form linguistic studies in regards to space and body are utilised as part of a new text analysis method.

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