"The Entire Place Had Become Fire": Heavenly Worship in Greek Daniel 3
The Additions to Daniel 3 fill the narrative gap of the Hebrew and Aramaic text with worship as if in a heavenly temple, offering a perspective over the entire cosmos. The Song of the Three in particular draws the whole created realm into this architecture, reminiscent of the heavenly journeys of the apocalypses. Comparison with parallels from the Enoch literature and liturgical texts from Qumran suggests a purpose behind the Daniel scribes' adaptation of these literary materials. Through their apocalyptic borrowings, the Additions to Daniel 3 assert the full sanctity of the Hasmonean temple and thus also provide a script for the later reception of this text in church consecrations.