Another Stage in the Redactional History of the Bel Story (Dan 14:1-22): The Evidence of Polemic against Foreign Priests and the Focus on Daniel in the Old Greek

It is the contention of this paper that a comparison between the Theodotion and Old Greek versions of the Bel narrative (Dan 14:1-22) gives indications about some specific stages of the textual history of the story. Many of the distinctive elements in the Old Greek story suggest that in its core narrative the Old Greek represents a more thoroughly modified version of the story and even a variant literary edition. In the Old Greek, evidence of the development of the Bel narrative can be seen in its very concentrated focus on (1) the deception of the priests of Bel and (2) the centrality and cunning of Daniel. Both of these emphases in the Old Greek are interconnected and, it will be argued, result in a more pronounced tension between Daniel and the priests of Bel as well as a concentration of control almost exclusively with Daniel in the Old Greek.