Daniel
Book Type
The fifth book of the Major Prophets; the twenty-seventh book of the Old Testament; the twenty-seventh book of the Bible.Introduction to the Book of Daniel
The stories of Daniel show that God will look after His people. The first half of the book records events—set in Babylon, when God’s people were facing laws that opposed their faith—that demonstrate God’s care for and response to His people as they face hardships. The second half includes visions that communicate a broader view of God’s plan and His sovereignty over all nations. The book of Daniel gives comfort to those who are oppressed and dealing with tragedies.When Daniel came of age in Babylon, Jerusalem, the holy city, lay in ruins. Babylon was flourishing, but it would also soon wither and die. God’s people, the children of Israel, were living as exiles in Babylonia. Could they hope to enjoy life as the Lord’s chosen nation again? Through Daniel’s experiences as a captive and as a government official, and through special messages, God revealed his power and his plan for history to Daniel, showing that he would rescue his people from exile and even from death (12:1–3).Daniel, whose name means “God Judges” or “God’s Judge,” was a sixth-century BC prophet living in exile in Babylon. Daniel recounts key events firsthand that occurred during the Jewish captivity and also shares visions that were given to him by God.Theme & Overview
The Most High God is sovereign over all human kingdoms. The central theological theme of this book, written by the prophet Daniel, is summarized in 4:17 and 5:21: “The Most High (God) is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth.” According to the NIV Study Bible, Daniel’s visions always show God as triumphant. The book’s literary style is historical narrative (found mainly in chs. 1–6) and apocalyptic (“revelatory”) material (found mainly in chs. 7–12). The NIV Quest Study Bible says Daniel offers an example of a godly man who lived obediently and courageously for God while earning the admiration and respect of non-believers in a pagan culture. The book of Daniel also inspires awe as we read how God performed miraculous rescues and humbled proud kings; and how Daniel made amazing predictions that God would triumph over nations and history.Living in a culture hostile to Yahweh, Daniel shows that courageous faith in Yahweh—along with personal integrity and persistent prayer—is the way to live. The stories of Dan 1–6 demonstrate how the people of God can live righteously, even in a culture that opposes their faith. Daniel and his three friends ask Yahweh to deliver them from life-threatening danger and impossible dilemmas, and He is faithful to answer.The visions of Dan 7–12 provide hope by teaching that Yahweh is ultimately in charge of everything. They step back from the confusion of contemporary events to focus on God’s greater plan. Daniel’s visions show the need to persist in faith through the messiness of everyday circumstances. Daniel also proclaims resurrection, indicating that some people who have died will wake up to eternal life; others will face everlasting contempt (Dan 12:2).Overall, Daniel teaches us to persevere. It teaches us to refuse to let the world’s stories distract us from the story that God is telling. We are to resist the empire that wants us to think that actions like praying and showing integrity are insignificant; when in reality these actions provide opportunities for God’s power to break through.The central theme of the book of Daniel is God’s sovereignty over history and empires, setting up and removing kings as he pleases (2:21; 4:34–37). All of the kingdoms of this world will come to an end and will be replaced by the Lord’s kingdom, which will never pass away (2:44; 7:27). Though trials and difficulties will continue for the saints up until the end, those who are faithful will be raised to glory, honor, and everlasting life in this final kingdom (12:1–3).Author
Daniel, noted specifically in Daniel 8:15.Recipients
Daniel was written to record events during Daniel's lifetime in exile in Babylon as well as to provide exiled Jews hope regarding God's plan for the future. The example of Daniel and his three friends offered a positive role model for Jews living in a pagan culture, while his prophecies encouraged readers and hearers of God's future hope for His people.Date
The last event recorded by Daniel (Daniel 10:1) occurred in about 536 BC. The book of Daniel was likely completed around this time or shortly afterwards.Background
The book of Daniel is set during the Babylonian exile (Dan 1:1–3). When King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated the Egyptians at the battle of Carchemish (605 BC), Judah came under his authority. He then entered Jerusalem and took many prominent citizens to Babylon, including Daniel and three of his friends. Several years later, Nebuchadnezzar again deported people from Judah to Babylon (597 BC; see 2 Kgs 24:11–16). These captives included the prophet Ezekiel. A decade after that, a final rebellion by King Zedekiah brought the full weight of Nebuchadnezzar’s wrath against Judah. Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed, and the remaining population was taken to Babylon (586 BC; see 2 Kgs 24:18–25:21). Daniel spent his entire adult life in Babylon—even after the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians in 539 BC (Dan 1:21; 10:1).The date of the book of Daniel’s composition is debated, with some arguing for a sixth-century BC date and others arguing for a date as late as the second century BC. It could be that Daniel recorded at least the visions in the latter half of the book (which are narrated in the first person) in the sixth century BC and the complete book did not reach its current form until much later. Reasons often given for the later date include the book’s language and its detailed account of events that occurred in the second century.In 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and captured some Israelites, including some of the young men of Judah’s royal family (1:1–4). In this historical event, God began sending his people into exile as he had warned long ago. The Israelites had broken faith with God by breaking his covenant (Deut 28:36, 64; Jer 11:1–17; 25:11–12; 29:10–11). The mighty king Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon (605–562 BC) was God’s instrument and servant to punish his people Israel (Jer 25:9). Daniel and his friends began a process of enculturation ordered by Nebuchadnezzar that threatened to absorb them into a pagan way of life while effectively neutralizing their identity as the Lord’s holy people (Exod 19:5–6).The Babylonian Empire, 605–539 BC. When Daniel and his friends were taken captive to BABYLON in 605 BC, Babylon was quickly becoming the dominant power in the region under the rule of Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BC). Meanwhile, the Medes and the Persians to the east were growing stronger and, in 549 BC, became a single kingdom under Persian king Cyrus II (559–530 BC).
Meanwhile, the Babylonians continued to devastate Judah and Jerusalem. In 597 BC, more Israelites were taken to Babylon, and in 586 BC, Jerusalem was destroyed and additional captives were taken. After 586 BC, Israel was no longer a nation and God’s people were totally helpless and hopeless. At this low point in their existence, God’s people became the tail of the nations, not their head (see Deut 28:13, 44). It seemed that they might simply be absorbed into Babylon and disappear from the stage of history.The promises that Abraham’s descendants would be a blessing to all nations seemed hopelessly in default (Gen 12:1–3). The great Gentile superpowers of the ancient Near East, first Assyria and then Babylon, ruled the world. What would happen to Israel in exile? What would become of God’s promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses (Exod 19–20), and David (2 Sam 7)? Would God act on the basis of his words of hope through his prophets (e.g., Gen 12:1–3; Exod 19:5–6; Isa 43:18–21; 44:28; 45:1, 13; Amos 9:11–15)? How would God rescue his people from exile?Daniel went into exile in 605 BC. He maintained his integrity, honored his people, and glorified his God through the reigns of several Babylonian kings to the end of the Babylonian exile. During that time of shame and oppression, God showed Daniel visions of God’s future kingdom, when its King would receive power and reign forever. As Daniel endured the “death of exile” (Ezek 37), he prayed faithfully and earnestly, and God answered his prayer.In 539 BC, Cyrus of Persia shocked the world by invading Babylon, gaining entrance into the capital city, and subduing it and its blasphemous ruler, Belshazzar, just as the prophet Isaiah had predicted he would (Isa 44:26–45:7). Daniel witnessed the decree of the Persian king Cyrus II the Great that the captive peoples could return to their homes (Ezra 1:2–4). This fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy that after seventy years of servitude to Babylon, God would restore his people (see Jer 25:11–12; 29:10–11).The Lord brought his holy people back from exile, and he gave them encouragement for the future through Daniel by painting the canvas of history with visions and dreams. The holy people needed help in the new circumstances of the Exile and the return, and God spoke to give his people new hope as they faced a threatening future.The Purpose & Audience (Reasons for the letter)
Daniel’s major theological theme is that God’s sovereignty is expressed in God’s final purpose for humanity and in all of creation. History is on an inexorable march toward the Kingdom of God, in which God’s sovereignty will be fully realized. God judges and rescues his people, controls history as he pleases on a universal scale, and raises up or brings down pagan kingdoms and kings. He decided when to conclude the Exile (9:18–19), and he defeats and controls the powers of evil (4:30, 32; 7:8, 20–21; 10:13; 11:28, 30–32). Heavenly powers bow to him (3:28; 4:23, 35; 5:5; 6:21; 8:16; 9:21; 10:5, 13; 12:1), and he has the power to raise the dead (12:1–3). His wisdom controls all things (3:18; 11:35). He is sovereign to choose and approve of those who are beloved and highly esteemed in his eyes (9:23; 10:11, 19). God establishes his kingdom over all the earth forever, and his people will rule over it with their King, the Son of Man (7:13, 22; Ps 110:1; Matt 24:27–44; 25:31; 26:2, 64; Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).The theme of the book of Daniel is the hope of the people of God during the times of the Gentiles. The phrase, “the times of the Gentiles,” used by Jesus (Lk 21:24), refers to the time between the Babylonian captivity and Jesus’s return. It is a time when God’s people live under ungodly world dominion. The book promotes hope by teaching that at all times “the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms” (5:21). Daniel’s purpose was to exhort Israel to be faithful to the sovereign God of Israel during the times of the Gentiles. He accomplished this by recounting examples of godly trust and prophecies of God’s ultimate victory.CONTRIBUTION TO THE BIBLEDaniel’s book establishes the validity of predictive prophecy and lays the foundation for understanding end-times prophecy, especially the book of Revelation in the NT. But most importantly, it emphasizes that the Lord has dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth, even in evil days when wicked empires reign. Two key words in the book are “king” (used over 150 times) and “kingdom” (used over 50 times). Above all, Daniel teaches that the God of Israel is the Sovereign of the universe, “for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation” (4:34).Key Verses (ESV)
Daniel 1:19–20: "And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom." Daniel 2:31:"You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening."Daniel 3:17–18: "If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."Daniel 4:34–35: "At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, \ for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, \ and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; \ all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, \ and he does according to his will among the host of heaven \ and among the inhabitants of the earth; \ and none can stay his hand \ or say to him, 'What have you done?'"Daniel 9:25–27: "Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."Structure & Outline 1
StructureThe book of Daniel can be divided into two sections. The first contains a series of tales from the Babylonian court in which Daniel and his friends navigate life as exiles in a foreign land (Dan 1–6). This includes the famous stories of Daniel’s friends in the fiery furnace (Dan 3) and Daniel in the lions’ den (Dan 6). Amid pressure to compromise, Daniel and his friends stay true to worshiping only the King of kings, Yahweh—not Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar of Babylon, or Darius the Mede. This section shows how Yahweh protects His people, despite what earthly kings may do. Interestingly, part of the book is recorded in Aramaic, and part in Hebrew. However, this language division does not correspond to the genre division between chs. 1–6 and 7–12. The Aramaic portion of the book is Dan 2:4–7:28.The second section (Dan 7–12) is set later in Daniel’s career. Unlike the first section, Daniel himself narrates most of the content, describing a series of symbolic visions and their interpretations. Each vision is intended to inspire God’s people during difficult times.Outline • Daniel’s experiences in Babylon (Dan 1:1–6:28) • Daniel’s visions of future events (Dan 7:1–12:13)The book begins with a series of separate stories: • Ch. 1—Daniel and three colleagues are exiled to Babylon and refuse to eat food sacrificed to idols • Ch. 2—Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a statue composed of four metals • Ch. 3—Three men resist worshiping an idol and are thrown into the fiery furnace • Ch. 4—Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and is humbled • Ch. 5—King Belshazzar gives a feast at which a hand writes on the wall • Ch. 6—Daniel is rescued from Darius’ lionsA series of visions and interpretations are then recounted: • Ch. 7—Daniel has a vision of four monstrous beasts • Ch. 8—Daniel has a vision concerning history • Ch. 9—Daniel prays for restoration and receives a dream interpreting Jeremiah’s 70 years • Chs. 10–12—Daniel fasts and receives a terrifying visionOutline 2
Daniel consists of 12 chapters, including a mixture of historical events and future prophecies. Chapter 1 focuses on Daniel's background. He was a young man when Jerusalem was destroyed, taken captive to Babylon, and educated with three friends to serve in the king's court. These four men sought to not defile themselves with the king's unclean foods and were blessed as a result, being selected for high positions in the kingdom. Chapters 2—7 cover problems and prophecies related to the nations or Gentiles. King Nebuchadnezzar faces a problem, and Daniel and his friends provide God's wisdom (Daniel 2—4). King Belshazzar's wickedness leads to his downfall (Daniel 5). Later, Daniel is miraculously delivered from the lion's den, while those who falsely accused him were eaten by the lions (Daniel 6). In Daniel 7, he has a dream regarding the future of the Gentile nations.Chapters 8—12 shift to additional future prophecies regarding Israel and the nations. Chapter 8 includes the prophecy of the ram and male goat. Chapter 9 discusses the important prophecy of the seventy weeks, describing both Israel's return to the land and her distant future. Chapters 10—12 speak of a future restoration involving the Messiah, various kingdoms, and God's ultimate plan for His people.