Senza cielo e senza terra: dèi e signori delle nazioni di fronte al Dio d’Israele in Daniele 2 Old Greek

This study aims at examining what power is attributed to the God of Israel, and how the difference in uniqueness that sets God apart from the gods and the Lord apart from the lords of the nations is made explicit in Old Greek Daniel 2. Troughout the narrative of Nebuchadnezzar’ s first dream experience, the Old Greek translates the Aramaic term אֱלָהּ (‘god/God’) not only with the exact Greek equivalent θεός (‘god/God’), but also with κύριος (‘lord/Lord’, in DnOG 2,18-20.23.28.37) and ἄγγελος (‘angel’, in 2,11), thus making some lexical changes from its Aramaic source text in the divine and heavenly spheres. The analysis of these passages reveals a deliberate effort by the translator to convey a personal and precise historical-theological perspective, looking at the target audience of the Jews of Alexandria in Ptolemaic Egypt.