Daniel, as a prophet, was told what to write. At times, he, like other prophets, may not have understood what it was he was writing.


Questions about what Daniel meant when he wrote such and such, in some cases, are meaningless. Not what Daniel wrote, but our questions about what Daniel meant.

Persian King Darius had a version of the "pony express", as reported by Herodotus near the end of his histories.
The motto of the Persian postal service became memorable: stopped by neither snow, rain, heat or gloom of night. The US postal service also adopted this motto and the famous Pony Express mail delivery resembled the original Persian design. http://www.mage.com/TLbody.html (as of 2007-02-11)

The saying "there is no new thing under the sun" a saying from Ecclesiastes 1:9.

It does happen that old ideas get repackaged and may or may not be recognized as such.

Discuss: Provide some historical examples of old ideas that become new ideas.

The knowledge referred to is "the knowledge" (i.e., the Hebrew has a definite article here). The knowledge of the end times as prophesied in the Bible will be increased.

The "knowledge shall be increased" is, in the LXX (Septuagint), "knowledge shall be multiplied". That has been happening at an ever increasing rate since the start of the "information age".

Knowledge will increase, but not wisdom.

• The sage on the stage.
• The guide on the side.
• The fool on the stool.

Today we know a lot more but we may not be more smart as a result of having more information.

The Greek «σοφοί» for "wise" and (noun) «μωρός» for "fool" (verb form is in this verse) is used to create the English word "sophomore" or, literally, "wise fool". At West Point, the term "yearling" is used instead of "sophomore".

The Latin word "stulta" ≈ "stupid, foolish" and is from the Latin word "stultus" ≈ "foolish, stupid" which is related to the English word "stupefied".

Is Paul talking about the past, present, future, or some or all of these?

More: A wise opportunity to be prudent

Have you ever been in a class, such as Sunday School, where the teacher asked the following question?

• "What was the author's intended meaning?"

This idea can be a problem in understanding the Bible since God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit may dictate to a prophet what to say. The prophet may not know what they are writing actually means. They are the conduit for the true author.

The problem comes in, say, when the teacher asks, "What did Daniel mean when he wrote such and such?". Or "What did John mean in Revelation when he wrote such and such?". But the idea applies to any of the prophets.