The Narrow Path Ministries

In looking at the Septuaigint (Greek version of Old Testament) there is a word used in Daniel 12:2 that is translated as "awake." This word is something like exegerthasontai which is sort of trivial or insignificant in meaning.

Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. [WEB]

Now in the same chapter Daniel got a promise in Dan 12:13 that he would stand in the end of days. And this is gets a little interesting because the word for "stand" is anastasa. Okay. Still there is very little to be learned by just seeing these two passages and the two Greek words (written with possible errors or non-standard transliterations). [Source of Greek -- Apostolic Bible]

Keeping our finger in Dan 12:2 as we turn to John 5:28-29, it can be seen that Jesus essentially quoted Dan 12:13

John 5:28-29
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.[WEB]

Without going into detail it can be observed that there are many points that match between these verses of Daniel and John. There is enough to indicate that these are of the same topic, that Jesus was quoting or paraphrasing Dan 12:2

What happens here is that we can match the word "awake" in Dan 12:2 with the word "resurrection" in John 5:29. This point is somewhat boring by itself. The interesting aspect that comes into light when looking at some of the Greek in John 5:28-29 is that the Greek word anastasis is translated as "resurrection" and is commonly used in the New Testament for the concept of resurrection.


When we look back at the Greek in Dan 12:2 and 13, we find there is a mix-up in how Jesus brought the ideas of Dan 12 into John 5. The mix-up is that Jesus had two words he could have used from Daniel, the words: exegerthasontai for "awake" and anastasa for "stand." But instead of quoting Dan 12:2 directly, He took the word "stand" or anastasa from Dan 12:13 and put it into Dan 12:2 for the word "awake" or exegerthasontai (in the Greek)

So Jesus really should have said in John 5:28-29
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, (29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the awakening of life; and they that have done evil, unto the awakening of damnation.[WEB]

Now I just am speaking for argument sake when saying what Jesus should have done. But there is sort of logic by which Jesus borrowed the word in Dan 12:13 and used it in Dan 12:2.

Jesus could be generalizing the meaning of "resurrection" to include a concept of "awakening" or He was showing that "awakening" meant resurrection. Yet in looking at the distinction between Dan 12:2 and 12:13 through the use of different words, we learn that Daniel envisioned these two events as being different since he used two different words. Daniel was not part of the "awakening" of Dan 12:2 but instead he was to enjoy the "rising up" or "standing" at the end of days.

Now I would be strongly inclined to think that Daniel was specifically being encouraged regarding his own future resurrection in Dan 12:13. Daniel likely understood the idea of resurrection as applied to the saints. Therefore, the contrast of righteous and wicked in Dan 12:2 must have involved a different type of event.

I'm curious whether this comparison actually works from the standpoint of the Greek language -- am I properly matching words in the New Testament with the words in the Old Testament.

Also, is there anybody who has seen this relationship of the words between Jesus and Daniel? Is this an idea noted in a book or article where we could examine the relationship of these verses from another perspective?

I don't think there is any significant difference between the two Greek words. Both are used in reference to resurrection.

Notice the following verse in the New Testament:

1 Corinthians 6:14 Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.

In this passage Paul clearly refers to the resurrection of our Lord as well as our own personal resurrection in the future.

The second "raise" is the Greek word "exegeirō" which you mentioned, occuring in the Septuagint in Daniel 12:2

The first "raise" is simply "egeirō" without the prefix "ex". Even these two words are synonymous. I am not sure why Paul chose to use two different words in this sentence. But my guess is that paul uses the word with the prefix "outraising" to indicate that we will be raised out from among the dead, whereas Jesus was the first person in history to undergo a true resurrection.

Looking at the Book of Daniel 12 alone shows a distinct use of words. This can be seen to quite reasonably to show a distinction between the situation of verse 2 speaking of an awakening and then in 13 of "standing at the end of days" So without even discussing the varied words used in the New Testament, the Book of Daniel presents two words used in pretty close proximity that we might end up assuming to have the same meaning.

Now basic communications (let's use English and our culture for the moment) suggests at least two options for word variations in the most careful writings:
1) use a different word with the same meaning to break up monotony
2) use the same word in each instance to show that the topic is exactly the same

Option 2 makes the most sense to me.

I am seeing something quite interesting here. But when such an unusual discovery occurs, there is some apprehension in simply accepting the idea since the question arises "Why hasn't such and such idea been noted before in a book or commentary?"

So verse 13 should be seen to describe a resurrection of Daniel. This was called "a standing up" yet this prophet was seeing a different type of event in verse 2 that was not quite the resurrection but instead was an awakening. The prophet Daniel was not participating in the waking up events in verse 12 but was to have some separate benefit.

There are several distinctions as can be seen by comparing ideas of verse 13 against verse 2:
1. verse 2 speaks of a judgment between the wicked and righteous whereas verse 13 only speaks of a rising up
2. so in verse 2 the awakening applies to "many" people rather that to "all" people -- as we would expect in verse 13 resurrection
3. Verse 2 was shown to occur before or in conjunction with the kingdom whereas verse 13 has no connection to the kingdom. (Ok. Matthew 13 must be utilized to make the connection to the kingdom.)

Consequently, the mix up occurs wherein Jesus gives the same word in his paraphrase in an area where the prophet Daniel made a significant distinction.

But from Daniel alone, what was the significance of his different use of words?
And is verse 13 truly speaking of a resurrection?