The Commentary on Daniel is an early Christian exegetical treatise composed in Koine Greek by Hippolytus of Rome around 204 CE. It provides a detailed, verse-by-verse analysis of the biblical Book of Daniel, treating its narratives as historical models of steadfast faith and interpreting its apocalyptic visions as prophecies concerning Christ, the Church, and the final events of world history. The work is systematically divided into 514 sections and is distinguished by its pronounced millenarianism, expressing a belief in a future thousand-year earthly reign of Christ. The commentary is a multifaceted text with several interrelated purposes. It appears to have been written to fortify the Christian community in the face of potential persecution, presenting the stories of Daniel and his companions as archetypes of pious resistance to pagan authority. Simultaneously, it functions as an apologetic work defending Christian interpretations of Jewish scripture and engages in polemic against contemporary theological deviations, particularly Gnostic teachings. By correlating Daniel’s prophecies of successive world empires with the contemporary Roman Empire, Hippolytus situated the experience of his church within a comprehensive and sacred historical narrative. The textual transmission of the work is fragmentary; only a portion of the original Greek survives directly. Our knowledge of the treatise depends on a patchwork of sources, most notably a significant but incomplete 14th-century Greek manuscript, supplemented by several ancient translations into languages such as Old Slavonic, Armenian, and others. Despite its complex and incomplete preservation, the Commentary on Daniel remains a crucial source for the methods of biblical interpretation and the development of eschatological thought in early Christianity.
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