SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Presenter: Dr. Youhanna N. Youssef, (Melbourne Australia) Abstract: Several scholars have studied the preaching of the Apostles according to Apocryphal texts. The Coptic versions of the Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles are wide-spread texts. They were also used by Manichaeans. This article will concentrate the field of investigation on Egyptian liturgical texts (in Greek or in Coptic or in Arabic). One of the earliest witnesses in the Coptic Liturgical books is the Euchologion of the White Monastery, written in the Xth century. We find in Introduction: The Book of Daniel has been one of the most intriguing books of the Old Testament. This is due to the popular characters it chronicles, Daniel and the Three Holy Youth, as well as its apocalyptic nature. Daniel himself was a Jewish captive, of royal blood, in Babylon at the time of Nebuchadnezzar. Readers of the English version of this book will be intrigued by the way it is arranged in the Coptic Version. Keep in mind that the Coptic Version is a direct translation from the Greek of the Septuagint as opposed to the King James Version which was translated from Hebrew. Arrangement of the Book: In the Coptic Version, the Book of Daniel is arranged in a series of 14 labeled visions. It includes the complete text of the Hebrew version as well as the additions, found in the Deutrocanonical books. Such additions are accepted by The Orthodox and Catholic Christians. It also includes a peculiar long apocryphal vision with elements from the New Testament Book of the Apocalypse as well as elements of Egyptian History. The additions are integrated with the 12

the Anaphora attributed to St. Matthew a list of the preaching of the Apostles. Another tradition from the Book of the Service of the Deacons and Hymns (diaconal) contains a special Hymn for the Fasting and the Fasts of the Apostles. The Synaxarium of the Coptic Church mentioned the preaching of the Apostles for their commemoration feasts. The Antiphonarion (Difnar) reflects sometimes another tradition. Few words are said in this subject in the Doxologies. The comparison of these sources shows that there were several local traditions derived from different (local) sources. chapters in a chronological order. The Story of Susanna, when Daniel was a young man, being placed in the beginning, while the story of Bel and the Dragon, when he was older, is placed at the end. The conclusion of the book include the previously mentioned apocryphal vision. The following is a listing of the contents of the book with comparison of the different Coptic Bohairic version (the most complete) with other English and Greek Versions: Legend : Bohairic: Edition in Tattam 1857 (see below) Septuagint (Theodotion): Ziegler, J., Septuaginta vol. XVI pars 2, Susanna. Daniel . Bel et Draco . Gottingen 1954.

The Coptic Biblical Book of Daniel (by Hany N. Takla)

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter RSV-Catholic Ed.: The Holy Bible - Revised Standard Version, containing the Old and the New Testament - Catholic Edition . Nelson 1966 KJV: King James Version (English), 1611 missing: Section not available

Septuagint

Section

Ruler

Bohairic

RSV-Catholic Ed.

KJV

-5-