On a theological level, the book of daniel is clear god established babylon as an empire and has replaced babylon with persia. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with this that we have missed its main message. The book of daniel the anchor yale bible commentaries. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read of hebrew scripture, our old testament of the bible. Daniels parents chose a hebrew name for their son meaning god is my judge, testifying of their faith in the one, true god. He may have descended from a noble family, perhaps he was even a prince, since normally the prominent people.
Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. Daniel was a hebrew prophet whose story is told in the book of daniel in the old testament. His thoughts were troubled, because of the reaction nebuchadnezzar might have to the interpretation. Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The book of daniel is no exception for it provides a wealth of information to those who would diligently consider it and its teachings. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange predictive prophecy is impossible. Part of the section of the bible referred to as ketuvim the writings see the torah, it is an apocalyptic book, like the book of revelations in the new testament. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite. The prophetic book of daniel was written for our time. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions.
Almost everyone looks at the book of daniel with a. Daniel 5 declares those prophecies are fulfilled in a spectacular manner. In the hebrew bible, and in most recent protestant versions, the book of daniel is limited to its protocanonical portions. We are studying daniel on wednesday evening and some seem to think that the 7 times are seasons, some think months, and a couple think they are years. Whatever the trial was, though, it was always the result of sin. Youngs literal translation and thou, o daniel, hide the things, and seal the book till the time of the end, many do go to and fro, and knowledge is multiplied. Its prophecies speak with increased meaning to this generation. Daniel is one of the most controversial books of the bible, yet its message is clear and unmistakable. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. Meaning, origin and history of the name daniel behind. Foretold to occur in the days of the persians, greeks, and romans 3. Book of daniel definition of book of daniel by the free.
Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. Daniel, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. Unsealing daniels mysteries lesson 1 prophetic symbols. The meaning is, that all has been communicated which it was intended to communicate. Daniel, theology of daniel is one of the most controversial books of. In this sense, daniel forms an important bridge between the testaments. Daniel and his friendsshadrach, meshach, and abednegohave to navigate between the demands. But you, daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end.
As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. A noble jewish youth of jerusalem, he is taken into captivity by nebuchadnezzar of babylon and serves the king and his successors with loyalty and ability until the time of the persian conqueror cyrus, all the while remaining true. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read. The book of daniel, originally written in hebrew and aramaic, is a book in both the hebrew bible and the christian old testament writer. Daniels prayer, and the vision of the seventy weeks 9. But thou, o daniel, shut up the words to wit, by sealing them up, or by closing the book, and writing no more in it. Daniel, as many other authors of the antiquity and the bible, writes of himself in the third person throughout the first part of the book. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Thinking in numbers is the book that daniel tammet, mathematical savant and bestselling author, was born to write.
The result is a forcing of the word to fit into preconceived notions, and this in turn, unfortunately leads into misunderstanding. Daniyyel meaning god is my judge, from the roots meaning to judge and meaning god. Crux the decisive or most important point at issue. He lived during the jewish captivity in babylon, where he served in the court of the king, rising to prominence by interpreting the kings dreams. Book of daniel simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with. The astonishment meaning appalled for a time, of daniel was at the meaning of the dream. Quotation given in full when space permits corresponding quotations from daniel. For one hour he waited to give the interpretation, because he knew it was not a good dream for nebuchadnezzar. Worldchanging inventions like penicillin, the atomic bomb, heart transplants, travel to the moon, and the internet have seemingly arrived almost together. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b.
Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word book of daniel. Book of daniel an old testament book that tells of the apocalyptic visions and the experiences of daniel in the court of nebuchadnezzar book of. While bible scholars debate issues like when it was written and whether it is historically accurate, the book of daniel consistently calls gods people of every generation to faithfulness. Book of daniel noun the noun book of daniel has 1 sense 1. The book of daniel speaks of things that can be interpreted in many ways, and many scholars, who do not have any concept of an inner meaning, interpret them literally. The book of daniel was likely written between 540 and 530 b.
But you, daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Persons named daniel god has judged are mentioned in babylonian records and in the bible elsewhere. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in babylon. On life, love, meaning, and math paperback july 15, 2014. Daniel is the only old testament book written completely in apocalyptic language. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. Chapters 10, 11 and 12 in the book of daniel make up daniels final vision, describing a series of conflicts between the unnamed king of the north and king of the south leading to the time of the end, when israel will be vindicated and the dead raised to shame or glory current scholarship surmises that the book of daniel was written in reaction to the persecution of the jews by the. Daniel 9 prays for his nation and then gabriel comes to him and gives him the prophecy in daniel 9. The anchor bible series offers new, bookbybook translations of the old and new testament and the apocrypha, with commentary. The second main part of the book in the hebrew bible viixii is taken up with four visions which daniel describes in the first person. For later reader living under the greek or roman empires, this message provides hope for a coming kingdom of god to replace the kingdoms of man. Information and translations of book of daniel in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.
Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. The book of the prophet daniel the prophet daniel is one of four major prophets in hebrew scripture, along with isaiah, jeremiah, and ezekiel. Roughly 2,600 years ago a judean teenager was taken captive by the rapidly. In the septuagint, the vulgate, and many other ancient and modern translations of holy writ, it comprises both its proto and its deuterocanonical parts, which two sets of parts have an equal right to be considered as inspired, and to be included in a.
The message of the book of daniel is that, just as the god of israel. These officials were among the eight classes of officials that king nebuchadnezzar 605562 bc appointed in babylon. The book says that daniel is its writer in several places, such as 9. The languages are closely related, indeed, but why the shift. The hero of the book of daniel in the ketuvim section of the bible is one of the jews exiled in babylonia, a soothsayer at the babylonian court under nebuchadnezzar who died in 562 b. The crux of the message highlights the following points. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the. Daniel definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Doctorow this novel references the biblical daniel, but its actually a fictional version of the story of the two spiesjulius and ethel rosenberg though the characters have different nameswho gave the secret of the abomb to the soviet union. Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a. So now the meaning of the book of daniel is becoming clearer to us.
The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his friends under kings nebuchadrezzar ii, belshazzar, darius i, and. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in. Book of daniel from the king james version of the bible. Jul 27, 2016 watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. The revelation continues to be called by the same name, the words, as in daniel 10.
Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. What this means is that daniels prophecies would not be fully understandable until the end times prior to christs return. From daniel and his three friends, we will learn the power of faith and commitment b. The unknown author may have drawn inspiration from ugaritic and phoenician. The book of daniel, also called the prophecy of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim writings, the third section of the jewish canon, but placed among the prophets in the christian canon. But when daniel was a young manaround or 14jerusalem was besieged by nebuchadnezzar, king of babylon, and daniel and many others were taken into captivity. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon.
As such, daniel is similar to the book of revelation in the new testament. The book of daniel presents a collection of popular stories about daniel, a loyal jew, and the record of visions granted daniel, extolled for his upright character, is presented as a model for the persecuted community. Satraps are also mentioned in the books of ezra and esther. Jan 15, 2020 the book of daniel was written in about 164 b. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Di lella, professor of old testament, and the late louis f. Jesus warned his disciples about coming events when he talked about the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet daniel.
Jesus mentions daniel as the author as well matthew 24. Chapters 10, 11 and 12 in the book of daniel make up daniel s final vision, describing a series of conflicts between the unnamed king of the north and king of the south leading to the time of the end, when israel will be vindicated and the dead raised to shame or glory. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. I have a question that someone may be able to help with. The biblical prophet and writer of book of daniel was a teenager when taken to babylon after the destruction of jerusalem. In the second part, written in the first person, daniel, like biblical prophets, records signs seen by himself and he is unable to understand their meaning. Verse 24 begins with seventy sevens niv or weeks in some translations until the restoration of jerusalem. We need to look into the following aspects in the narrative in luke 12. Later in the book, daniel prophesied of terrible trials still to come in the promised land daniel 11. At the time daniel wrote this prophecy, jerusalem had been destroyed and its citizens killed or deported to babylon.
The book of daniel the book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Prophecy of book of daniel explained the last seven years. Daniels three friends daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. A study of the book of daniel gene taylor3an introduction to daniel i. Jan 02, 2020 daniel served in the royal court of nebuchadnezzar and several rulers who followed nebuchadnezzar. The angel had no more to say, and the volume might be sealed up. In this book, we learn that the rule of god would be especially manifested. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. As such, daniel is similar to the book of revelation in the new testament, which is the oldest document actually claiming the title apocalypse or revelation. This series explains in simple terms the relationship between these two books of the bible. The book of daniel identifies the prophet daniel as its author daniel 9.
The book focuses on the main characters son, daniel, who is. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem. The book is named for a character from the babylonian exile see eras of jewish history exile and diaspora named daniel, although it was written centuries later, probably by more than one writer. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a. Daniel and his godfearing friends were forced to live in babylon, far from home and far from the land their lord had promised them. While bible scholars debate issues like when it was written and whether it is historically accurate, the book of daniel consistently calls gods people of. For instance, a signer of nehemiahs covenant in 444 b.