Hope in the midst of crisis : reading Daniel 9 in the 21st century Zimbabwean context

Abstract

Zimbabwe has witnessed a socio-economic and political crisis since the dawn of the 21st century. The Zimbabwean nation that was for several decades under British colonial subordination is once again subjected to a native aristocracy. During the first decade of the 21st century, Zimbabwe was classified as a failed state. Western nations criticized the fast-tracked land reform initiative that evicted white commercial farmers. Additionally, they penalised political leaders, sending the nation into a deeper economic crisis that severely hurt the agricultural sector. Over three million people left the country to seek refuge and employment abroad. Citizens from mainstream opposition parties additionally experienced the crises of suffering, poverty, unemployment, victimisation, kidnapping, corruption and poor governance, among others. This study argues that apocalyptic literature, including the book of Daniel in the Old Testament, has the potential to inspire hope in the hearts of its readers and/or listeners to its interpretations. Hence the critical question asked in this thesis is, “Why would the findings of a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 be considered appropriate in bringing hope to a hopeless Zimbabwean 21st century context if read through a contextual lens?” Amidst the current Zimbabwean crisis, the researcher is of the view that a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 reveals that the text was written to people who were experiencing hopelessness. Therefore, the appropriation of the findings of a historical critical reading of Daniel 9 to the hopeless members of the opposition parties of the 21st century Zimbabwean context of crisis may be ideal for generating hope. Despite their differences on history, geography and background among others, this research was able to identify apparent common traits between the context of the production of the book of Daniel, that is, the Second Temple period and the 21st century Zimbabwean context.