Daniel stood before Belshazzar the king, and the words of the vision were in his mouth.
— 4Q243 Fragment 1

About These Manuscripts

Three related Aramaic scrolls — 4Q243 (Pseudo-Daniel^a), 4Q244 (Pseudo-Daniel^b), and 4Q245 (Pseudo-Daniel^c) — survive in Cave 4 fragments. They share a common narrative framing: a figure identified as Daniel addresses the king (named as Belshazzar, as in canonical Daniel) and surveys world history from the Noahic period through the Babylonian exile.

The texts differ from the canonical book of Daniel. Rather than vision-reports and dream interpretations, these manuscripts contain what scholars call a historical ex eventu review — a survey of past periods framed as prophetic foresight. The historical coverage appears to have extended from Noah, through the kingdoms, to the corruption of the priesthood, and toward an eschatological turning point. 4Q245 preserves a remarkable list of high priests and kings that overlaps with both biblical and Hasmonean history.

All three manuscripts are heavily damaged. What survives is translated below. Lacunae are marked [...]; uncertain readings are placed in parentheses.

I. The Setting (4Q243 Fragment 1)

[...] Daniel [before] Belshazzar the king [...]
[...] the words of the vision [...]

II. Noah and the Nations (4Q243 Fragment 2)

[...] Noah [...]
from the sons of Ham and from the sons of Japheth [...]
[...] and they went astray [...]
[...] and from them [...]

III. The Rising of Kings (4Q243 Fragment 6)

And kings shall arise before him [...]
[...] great [...]

IV. Four Kings and the Measure of Years (4Q243 Fragments 8–9)

[...] four kings [...]
[...] and it will extend until our days [...]
a hundred and sixty years [...]

V. The Giving into Their Hand (4Q243 Fragment 13)

[...] and God shall give [them] into their hand [...]
[...] and they shall rule over them [...]
[...] a people [...]

VI. The Corruption of the Priesthood (4Q243 Fragment 16)

The priests shall multiply [...]
the sons of [...] shall walk in [...]
[...] and wickedness [...]
[...] and they shall forsake [...]

VII. The Holy Ones of God (4Q243 Fragments 24–25)

[...] the holy ones of God [...]
[...] and he shall be established [...]
[...] forever [...]

VIII. The Overlapping Fragments (4Q244 — Pseudo-Daniel^b)

4Q244 preserves content overlapping with 4Q243, organized in similar fragment groups. The legible portions echo the historical review and the reference to divine giving-into-hand, but no new continuous text emerges from the overlapping fragments that is not already attested in 4Q243. The manuscript confirms the text was copied in multiple exemplars, signalling community importance.

IX. The List of Priests and Kings (4Q245 — Pseudo-Daniel^c)

Fragment 1, Column i preserves the most remarkable passage in the Pseudo-Daniel corpus: a list of named individuals moving through biblical and Second Temple history. The list appears to follow a schematic periodization — moving from the early monarchy into the high-priestly succession of the Second Temple period.

The legible names include:

[...] Saul [...]
[...] David [...]
[...] Solomon [...]
[...] [high priests] [...]
[...] Jonathan [...]
[...] [...] [...]

The presence of Jonathan — a name shared by both the Maccabean ruler Jonathan Apphus (high priest 152–142 BCE) and others — has led scholars to suggest the list may extend into the Hasmonean period, making this one of the few DSS texts that may name contemporaries. The remainder of the column is too damaged for continuous reading.

Column ii of Fragment 1 is almost entirely lost.

Colophon

Source: Three Aramaic manuscripts from Cave 4, Qumran: 4Q243 (Pseudo-Daniel^a), 4Q244 (Pseudo-Daniel^b), 4Q245 (Pseudo-Daniel^c). Published in J.J. Collins and P.W. Flint, Pseudo-Daniel, DJD XXII (Clarendon Press, 1996). Hebrew/Aramaic transcriptions also in F. García Martínez and E.J.C. Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, Vol. 1 (Brill, 1997–98).

Translation: New Tianmu Anglican Church. Translated from Qumran Aramaic. Fragment identification and fragment groupings follow Collins and Flint DJD XXII. Lacunae marked [...]. Uncertain readings parenthesized. 4Q244 overlapping fragments omitted from main translation as they add no new legible text. The Jonathan identification in 4Q245 is debated; this translation presents the text without resolving the historical identification.

Scribal note: These fragments are among the most lacunose in the Judean collection. The translation preserves only what is securely attested in the Aramaic. The historical review in its complete form remains unknown.

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Source Text

Aramaic transcription of 4Q243–245 (Pseudo-Daniel). Transcription follows Collins and Flint, DJD XXII (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996) and García Martínez & Tigchelaar, DSSE Vol. 1 (Brill, 1997), pp. 488–493. Lacunae marked [...]; partially visible letters noted in parentheses.

4Q243 — Pseudo-Daniel^a

Fragment 1

[...]
[דנ]יאל קד[ם] בלטש[אר מלכ]א
[...]

Fragment 2

[...]
נח[ ...] מן בני חם ומן בני יפת
[...] ויתעו [...]
[...] ומנהון [...]

Fragment 6

[...] ויקומון מלכין קדמ[והי]
[...] רב[...]

Fragment 8

[...] ארבעה מלכין [...]
[...] וימטא עד יומן [...]

Fragment 9

[...] מאה ושתין שנין [...]

Fragment 13

[...] ויתנון אלהא [בידהון]
[...] וישלטון עליהון [...]
[...] עם [...]

Fragment 16

[...] כהניא ישגון [...]
[...] בני [...] ויהלכון ב[...]
[...] ורשיעא [...]
[...] ויטשון [...]

Fragments 24–25

[...] קדישי א[להא]
[...] ויתקים [...]
[...] לעלמא [...]

4Q244 — Pseudo-Daniel^b

Overlapping content with 4Q243. Parallels to Frags 1, 2, and 13 of 4Q243 are attested but add no new legible text.

[...] דניאל [...]
[...] ויתנון [...]
[...] עם [...]

4Q245 — Pseudo-Daniel^c

Fragment 1, Column i

[...] שאול [...]
[...] דויד [...]
[...] שלמה [...]
[...] [כהניא] [...]
[...] יהונתן [...]

Fragment 1, Column ii

Too damaged for transcription.

Source Colophon

Aramaic transcription of 4Q243 (Pseudo-Daniel^a), 4Q244 (Pseudo-Daniel^b), and 4Q245 (Pseudo-Daniel^c). Cave 4, Qumran. Published in DJD XXII (John J. Collins and Peter W. Flint, Qumran Cave 4, XVII: Parabiblical Texts, Part 3, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), pp. 95–164. Lacunae reflect the fragmentary physical state of the manuscripts; no Aramaic text has been supplied beyond what is attested. Transcription follows García Martínez and Tigchelaar, The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill, 1997), pp. 488–493.

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