James M. Hamilton - With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology

New Studies in Biblical Theology is a series of monographs that address key issues in the discipline of biblical theology. Contributions to the series focus on one or more of three areas: (1) the nature and status of biblical theology, including its relations with other disciplines (e.g. historical theology, exegesis, systematic theology, historical criticism, narrative theology); (2) the articulation and exposition of the structure of thought of a particular biblical writer or corpus; and (3) the delineation of a biblical theme across all or part of the biblical corpora.

Above all, these monographs are creative attempts to help thinking Christians understand their Bibles better. The series aims simultaneously to instruct and to edify, to interact with the current literature, and to point the way ahead. In Gods universe, mind and heart should not be divorced: in this series we will try not to separate what God has joined together. While the notes interact with the best of scholarly literature, the text is uncluttered with untransliterated Greek and Hebrew, and tries to avoid too much technical jargon. The volumes are written within the framework of confessional evangelicalism, but there is always an attempt at thoughtful engagement with the sweep of the relevant literature.

Volumes in this series have often used the expression biblical theology in several ways. For example, it may refer to the carefully worked out theology of a particular biblical book or corpus (think of the volume by Gary Millar on Deuteronomy in this series); it may refer to a theme or trajectory carefully traced through all the Bible (think of the volume by G. K. Beale on the temple). Focusing on the book of Daniel, Dr Hamilton melds both of these usages. He studies Daniel while maintaining two perspectives: he wants to know what antecedent biblical sources have been taken up by Daniel as he writes his book (which of course raises a nest of complicated questions about the dating of sources), and he traces out how Daniel has been used by later biblical writers. Doubtless some will disagree with Dr Hamilton over this or that detail, for the book is rich in details, but most readers will also find it wonderfully stimulating. In addition to providing his readers with this biblical theology of Daniel, with its thought-provoking trajectories running both backward and forward, Dr Hamiltons work is also an implicit call to engage in similar work on other biblical books, in self-conscious determination to reverse two centuries or more of atomistic approaches to Scripture.

D. A. Carson
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

I dont deserve to read the Bible, much less write about it. What a privilege to have God reveal himself to us in his word. What a great God, keeping covenant and steadfast love, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, and everywhere manifesting his power and love. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, and yet he also speaks so tenderly that the bruised reed doesnt break. I join the ranks of the heavenly hosts, the saints across space and time, and everything in this cosmic temple to ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Would that I could do so in a way worthy of him. I thank God the Father through Christ the Son by the power of the Spirit for his merciful salvation, full and complete revelation, and gracious provision.

I also gladly recite my gratitude for the support of my family as I worked on this project. My sweet wife is a wonder beyond words. She manages her household well. Let me rise to bless her. What a joy to write at home, in the context of our family. I praise God for the way my wife and our children provided blessed distractions from this Ecclesiastes 12:12 labour. Unexpected refreshment came from unplanned breaks (some would call them interruptions!) that took the form of opportunities to converse with sweet Jill, to read books to our two-year-old daughter, to throw the football to the boys as they jumped on the trampoline, or to hold the newborn. The support of our parents, too, has been a strengthening encouragement. God has been unaccountably merciful to us.

My fellow elders at Kenwood Baptist Church prayed for me and helped me finish by taking on more of the preaching load as the deadline approached. Thanks to Denny Burk, Owen Strachan, John Watson, Matt Damico and Mike Frantz, and special thanks to Randall Breland and Mike Thompson for the ways they serve and lead at Kenwood. I must also thank the body of believers gathered weekly at the table of the Lord to be sustained by bread and cup, word and worship. Hallelujah! So many servants. So much Christ-likenss. Such a joy to know the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Praise God.

I am also glad to thank my PhD students for their help on this project: Mitch Chase, David Gunner Gundersen and Colin Smothers read the book and offered helpful feedback, and they were joined by Casey Croy, Matt Emadi, Sam Emadi, Wyatt Graham, Nick Moore, Johnson Pang and Dieudonne Tamfu, all of whom helped to compile author and Scripture indexes. We at Southern are thankful to be led by Dr Albert Mohler, whose conviction is as strong as his breadth of knowledge is inspiring. I am grateful that Dan Dumas makes sure the lights come on when I show up to teach, that Randy Stinson shepherds all things academic like a wise father and that Greg Wills sets such an example as a scholar-teacher. The privilege to stand with my colleagues in this faculty is past my power to tell, and I am thankful for each of them.

I first preached through Daniel at Baptist Church of the Redeemer in Houston, Texas, in the spring and summer of 2008. I then joined the faculty of Southern Seminary, and, receiving the opportunity to lead a PhD seminar in the autumn of 2009, chose to focus that course on Daniel. Unable to find a suitable evangelical, biblical-theological study of Daniel to assign for that course, I proposed this book to D. A. Carson, and I thank him for accepting the proposal and welcoming this volume into the New Studies in Biblical Theology, a series I have long admired.