Daniel

Composition

Most Jewish and Christian scholars attribute the Book of Daniel to an Israelite scholar writing during the sixth century CE. Daniel was a teenager when he and a group of other young Jewish nobles were taken from Israel to Babylon in 605 CE. At the time, it was standard practice for military victors to take a conquered community into captivity. Daniel and the others were forced into the service of King Nebuchadnezzar (c. 630-c. 561 BC).

Daniel and his closest companions—three young men best known by the new names given to them by the Babylonians: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—found themselves in a culture that was radically from their own. The Babylonians were polytheistic, believing in multiple gods, while Daniel and the Israelites believed in only one God. Daniel and his companions refused to integrate into the Babylonian practices. The first chapters of the book record the challenges they faced in attempting to live out their strongly held religious beliefs in a foreign culture.

Daniel remained in captivity and enslaved for seventy years. In the later sections of the Book of Daniel, the writing becomes prophetic. Unlike other biblical prophetical texts, however, Daniel does not warn people to repent or change their behavior to avoid God’s punishment. Instead, he writes about future events and the end of the world, claiming that the knowledge came to him through an angel of God. Centuries of Biblical scholars have studied Daniel’s writing trying to uncover God’s timeline and plan for the end of the world.

While a historical Israelite named Daniel living and writing in the sixth century is generally considered to have authored the Gospel of Daniel, not all agree. Some believe it was written somewhere around 165 to 168 CE as an example of a pseudepigraphic text, or one attributed to someone else to give it credibility. Those who belief this point to the eleventh chapter of Daniel and a prophecy that the Medo-Persian Empire would be conquered by Greece. This happened in 168 CE, and scholars who think it is unlikely that someone could have predicted this so accurately hundreds of years in advance suggest that it—or at least its prophetic ending—was written between 168 and 165 CE. The contend that the writing was attributed to a devoted follower of God named Daniel to make it appear to have been divinely inspired.

Summary

Daniel and his friends are young nobles of the house of Judah, part of the Southern Kingdom of Israel. Nebuchadnezzar conquers the Israelites and transports them to Babylon. Daniel and his three friends are groomed to serve in the king’s court. As devout observers of the Jewish dietary laws, Daniel strikes a deal so that he and his friends can continue to eat according to their customs. Their obedience to God is rewarded; they receive great wisdom, and the king relies on their counsel.

Nebuchadnezzar has dreams that are so troubling he cannot remember them. He orders his advisors—including Daniel and his friends—to tell him his dreams and their meaning or be put to death. After a night of prayer, Daniel interprets the king’s dream and gives all the credit to God. Daniel becomes very highly regarded.

Next, the king builds a huge gold statue of himself and orders everyone to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse and are thrown into a fiery furnace. Despite the high heat, the Jewish youths are seen walking around in the furnace with a fourth man and brought out of the fire without even the smell of smoke on them. They claim to have been saved by an angel sent by God. An amazed Nebuchadnezzar praises God and issues a decree against anyone who speaks ill of the God of Daniel and the Israelites.

The king has another dream about a toppled tree, which Daniel interprets, telling the king that he is about to lose his mind and live like a beast. He urges the king to lead with righteousness, but Daniel’s vision comes true. In time, Nebuchadnezzar’s mind is restored, but he is replaced by his son, Belshazzar. Belshazzar defiles the holy objects from the Jewish temple by using them to serve at a wild party. During the party, a hand appears and writes on the wall. Daniel interprets the writing and tells Belshazzar that he will lose his kingdom because he defied God. He dies that night and is replaced by Darius.

Daniel, though a lowly foreign slave, continues to be held in high esteem by the new king because of his wisdom. This makes others jealous, so they trick the king into making a proclamation against petitioning anyone other than the king. Then they tell the king that Daniel, who continued his habit of daily prayer to God, violated the order. Backed into a corner, Darius reluctantly orders Daniel to be thrown into the lion’s den. The anxious king is overjoyed to discover Daniel unharmed the next morning, and orders those who tricked him thrown in instead. He orders his subjects to worship Daniel’s God, making Daniel even more honorable.

While the first seven chapters tell the story of Daniel’s life and experiences in Babylon, the final five chapters focus on prophecy. These visions took place concurrently with events described in the autobiographical chapters. In chapter seven, Daniel describes a vision of a heavenly court and four great beasts. The beasts are judged by the Ancient of Days, or God, and then Daniel sees someone whom he describes as the Son of Man being given all power and authority. He interprets this vision as a prophecy of God’s plans for humankind and the coming of the Messiah, the promised savior of the Jews.

In chapter eight, Daniel’s vision includes a ram and a goat. The two fight and horns are broken off and regrow. This vision is interpreted for Daniel by Gabriel, one of God’s highest-ranking archangels. He saw great destruction on Earth, and it left him shaken.

During chapter 9, Daniel—now an old man—discerns from reading Jewish scriptures that the time of the Israelite’s exile to Babylon will be seventy years. As the end of that period is approaching, he prays for God’s forgiveness for himself and his people. The Archangel Gabriel returns to tell Daniel that it will be seventy times seven years before the Messiah will arrive.

Chapters ten, eleven, and twelve contain Daniel’s final visions for the end of the world. While he is fasting and praying, an angel appears. He tells Daniel that the Medes and Persians will be conquered by the Greeks, an event that occurred in 168 CE. Also described is a conflict between two unnamed kings from the North and South. According to the Book of Daniel, this final conflict would lead to the end of days and the judgment of all people, with some going on to eternal life and others to eternal shame and punishment.

Themes

The main themes explored in the Book of Daniel are perseverance through times of trouble as well as obedience to God’s commands. The book also emphasizes God’s sovereignty and involvement in the lives and governments of humankind. By persevering through hard times and striving to obey God’s plan, people will find a place in the final kingdom, the Kingdom of God.

The autobiographical chapters stress how Daniel and his companions continually stood strong in their faith even when their lives were at risk for doing so. The book emphasizes that their faithfulness to God is rewarded. They are given places of honor in the court after they turned down rich food to remain obedient to the dietary laws established by God. They receive wisdom beyond that of anyone else in the kingdom. Their lives are saved from fire and lions because they continued to pray and honor God with their actions.

The original audience for the Book of Daniel was Jews who were still living under forced occupation. Because of this, the enslavement of Daniel and his companions by a pagan culture would have had a greater impact on them than it does on contemporary audiences. Jews could be ritually defiled simply by encountering other groups of people. Daniel and the others staying faithful despite the temptation to blend in with the some of these people and the culture around them, even under threat of death, was especially significant to the original audience.

The book also emphasizes God’s involvement in human lives on Earth. The text makes the point that the Israelites were exiled because they were not obedient to God. Nebuchadnezzar is humbled by losing his mind and acting like a beast because he acted against God’s people. Belshazzar lost his life because he defiled the holy objects from the temple. In each case, a kingdom changed hands because its people were not obedient to God. The prophetic texts describe this process as continuing throughout the remainder of time, until God’s plan is complete, and a heavenly kingdom is put into place to rule through eternity.

Bibliography

Bergstein, Avroham. “Daniel the Prophet of the Bible, His Life and Accomplishments.” Chabad, www.chabad.org/library/article‗cdo/aid/3630049/jewish/Daniel-the-Prophet-of-the-Bible-His-Life-and-Accomplishments.htm. Accessed 12 April 2022.

“Daniel.” Christianity.com, www.christianity.com/bible/niv/daniel/. Accessed 12 April 2022.

“Daniel.” Insight for Living Ministries, insight.org/resources/bible/the-major-prophets/daniel. Accessed 12 April 2022.

Harrub, Will. “4 Lessons from Daniel for Today’s Christians.” Focus Press, 24 Aug. 2015, www.focuspress.org/2015/08/24/4-lessons-from-daniel-for-todays-christians/. Accessed 12 April 2022.

“An Introduction to the Book of Daniel.” Bible.org, bible.org/article/introduction-book-daniel. Accessed 12 April 2022.

“Introduction to Daniel.” ESV.org, www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/introduction-to-daniel/. Accessed 12 April 2022.

“Introduction to Daniel.” Gospel Coalition, www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/daniel/#overview. Accessed 12 April 2022.

Sells, Ben R. “Growing in Our Love of God and Learning: Lessons from Daniel.” Ouachita Baptist University, 1 Jan. 2020, obu.edu/stories/blog/growing-love-god-learning-lessons-daniel.php. Accessed 12 April 2022.