Resisting the Power of Empire: The Theme of Resistance in the Book of Daniel

The recent theoretical perspective of postcolonial studies calls attention to the practices that empires use to maximize and to legitimize their uneven exercise of power, and to the efforts that subjected peoples use to resist these practices. This article compares two representative treatments of the book of Daniel from a postcolonial perspective. Daniel provides a testimony to the efforts of Jews to be faithful to God under the rule of foreign empires, culminating in acts of resistance to Antiochus IV's persecution of the Jews in 167 to 164 BCE. The article also considers implications of the theme of resistance in Daniel for Christian faith and ministry.