Many people are familiar with a few of the stories we find in the Book of Daniel, young people especially, have been taught about Daniel in the lion’s den and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who survived the fiery furnace.
The background to the book is set right after Babylon’s first attack on Jerusalem, 2 Kings 24. The Babylonians came and plundered the city and the temple, and they took a host of Israelites into exile, 605-536 B.C.
The book serves as a great comfort to the Hebrews in the hardships they were enduring. God will deliver them from their captivity and return them to their homes in Palestine.
Everything described within the book covers at least the full length of the seventy-year exile in Babylon, from the first deportation of Hebrew captives, 2 Chronicles 36:5-8 / Daniel 1:1-2, to their return to Palestine, Ezra 1-2.
Apart from the book, which has his name as a title, we don’t know much about Daniel himself or his family. His name means, God is my judge,’ and we know that he was a prophet because Jesus calls him a prophet, Matthew 24:15 / Mark 13:14 / Luke 21:20-24.
We also know he had royal parents, Daniel 1:3 / Daniel 1:6, and we do know he was known for his righteousness, Ezekiel 14:14 / Ezekiel 14:20, and his wisdom, Ezekiel 28:3.
The wisdom of Daniel was found to be ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters of Babylon, Daniel 1:20. It is estimated that he was carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar when very young, about fifteen or sixteen years of age.
Although the date is widely disputed, the date of writing is generally accepted as around, 606-536 B.C. or later, Daniel 1:1 / Daniel 10:1. Daniel 1-6 deals with events as early as the 6th century BC, Daniel 7-12, deals with events in the future, the succession of empires after the Babylonian exile and specifically the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, 175-164 BC. The book covers many years, including the end of Persian rule and the rise of Alexander the Great’s rule.
Although widely disputed as to the author of the book, traditionally it is attributed to Daniel, a Jewish exile, who lived during the reigns of the Babylonian kings named in the book as Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar and the Median and Persian kings named as Cyrus and Darius.
Nelson’s Bible Dictionary says the following.
‘Daniel claimed to write this book, Daniel 12:4, and he used the autobiographical first person from Daniel 7:2 onward. The Jewish Talmud agrees with this testimony, and Christ attributed a quote from Daniel 9:27 to ‘Daniel the prophet’, Matthew 24:15.’
The book of Daniel falls into two main parts. Daniel 1-6 are historical, dealing with important events in Babylon. Daniel 7-12 are prophetic, revealing the future of great world governments and the coming of the kingdom of Christ.
It is written in two languages. Daniel 1:1-2:4a and Daniel 8-12:13 are written in Hebrew. However, Daniel 2:4b-7:28 are written in Aramaic. Why is this? Aramaic was the language of the world and was used in those portions which outline the future history of world empires. Hebrew is used in those portions which interpret for the Hebrews the meaning of the visions.
Its prophecy is of a style termed Apocalyptic, which is similar to the book of Revelation. It uses bold, symbols and figures to describe the future of nations and the kingdom of God. It also has a very strong Messianic message, especially in chapters Revelation 2 / Revelation 7 and Revelation 9.
The purpose of this book is to show the superiority of the God of Israel over the idol gods of Babylon and other pagan nations. We see the humiliation of the idol gods and uselessness, and on the other hand, the glorious victories of Jehovah, God of the Hebrews. Jehovah met and solved every problem, whereas the idols failed on every occasion.
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