Debates over Authorship amid Canonization

In his prologue to the book of Daniel, the church father Jerome cites the philosopher Porphyry of Tyre (233–305 CE), who staunchly rejected Daniel’s authorship of the book. Porphyry argues that the book was originally composed in Greek by someone in Judaea during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215–164 BCE) and discounts the concept of prophetic foresight altogether. In his rebuttal, Jerome explains that Porphyry is confusing the original book of Daniel with the stories known as “additions to Daniel” concerning Susannah and Bel and the Dragon preserved in the Apocrypha, which he does not consider scriptural. Although preserved only in Greek, these Greek additions to Daniel may have been written in Aramaic or Hebrew originally and were likely composed no earlier than the second century BCE. Jerome’s rejection of Porphyry’s claim can be understood in the context of the tales’ uncertain provenance and Jerome’s preference for Theodotion, a Greek version of the Bible from the second century CE, over the older Septuagint. The Babylonian Talmud also addresses the authorship of various biblical books.