Daniel’s descriptions of touch are not expressed abstractly but as embodied sensations that affect his physical body and immediate environment, drawing attention to his participation in (rather than passive reception of) the revelatory experience. Indicated by the Hebrew verb naga‘ in chapters 8–10 of the Masoretic text, Daniel is touched five times throughout these three visions by both named and unnamed human-like figures, and receives physical and emotional strength to endure the encounters. Less attention, however, has been paid to other descriptions of sensory experiences present in Daniel’s “beholdings,” such as the phenomenon of touch. Much scholarship has been committed to their geopolitical and linguistic significance, and focused on the texts as paradigmatic visual apocalypses within the diverse literary genre of Second Temple Judaism. The revelatory encounters attributed to Daniel are both vivid in sensorial description and enigmatic in meaning. Keywordsīook of Daniel Apocalypse Embodiment Affect Theory Visions Touch Through embodied affect, repeated interaction, and bodily likeness between the subjects involved, Daniel is an active participant in the revelatory process rather than merely a passive recipient, a feature that provides further nuance for the definition of a literary apocalypse. This essay argues that embodied participation marked by the sense of touch not only legitimates an authentic revelation but allows Daniel to make meaning-or make sense-of his experiences. By these touch interventions, he receives both physical and emotional strength which allow him to continue participating in the revelatory experience. Throughout Daniel 8–10, Daniel is touched five times by human-like figures.
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