Historical background and summary of the book of daniel in easy to. The assyrian periodwill be briefly examinedin order toreveal babylons rise topower,for it was inthe p ower struggle betweenassyria andbabylon that judahandhence daniel became involved. The jewish historian josephus alludes to this fact in his book on the history of the jews antiquities of the jews, book 10, chapter 10. However, the prophets daniel and zechariah wrote prophecies concerning greece and alexanders macedonian empire. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite.
Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. The story of the bible daniel bible history online. Moreover, it contains more fulfilled prophecies than any other book in the bible daniel. There they refused to take food and wine from the king and were given knowledge and insight into dreams and visions by god, and at the end of their training they proved ten times better than all. Many other critics have tried to discredit the book of daniel, but the bible and history have confirmed that daniel was the author of this book, and therefore was written at the time of the persian empire sixth century bc.
Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the. The dates of the three kings mentioned in the book are well known. The book implies that daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9. The book of daniel thus provides an overview of prophecy regarding these empires unmatched in any other old testament book. Daniel was a man of incredible character and his book is considered one of the most important prophetic books of the old testament. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god.
The first, chronologically, occurs in the book of daniel, where the ruler is called darius the mede daniel 6. The story of daniel motivates faithfulness despite exile in babylon. Daniel the prophet of the bible, his life and accomplishments. It is one of the additions to daniel, considered apocryphal by protestants. This book takes its name not from the author, who is actually unknown, but from its hero, who was allegedly among the first jews deported to babylon, where he lived at least until 538 b. The people of babylon even tried to kill daniel and his friends because they would not serve the false gods. History of the bible timeline from creation to today. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions. That puts these two famous, historical men about 4000 miles from each. Intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. Rather, it is entirely in keeping with information available outside the bible and supports the view that daniel is a genuine book. The book of daniel is a narrative woven with mystery and prophecy, containing cryptic descriptions of future events, mystical interpretation of dreams, profound visions about the mashiach messiah and the revival of the dead in the end of days. The book of daniel is written in hebrewexcept for most of chapter 2. The name alexander or alexander the great, referring to the macedonian king, never appears in the bible.
The design of the bible project is not rooted in debate, platforming. Summary of the book of daniel bible history online. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Because the book of daniel contains so many detailed prophecies of things that happened centuries later, some skeptics have suggested that it is a fraud, written much later in history. You see for many years before these artifacts were found, liberal bible critics claimed that the book of daniel could not have been written until the period between the first and second century b. In todays excerpt from the most recent edition in the story of god bible commentary series, author wendy l. His book is included in the canon of sacred jewish writings. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. This darius ruled for only two years 538536 bc and is best known as the ruler who promoted daniel to a high. Jehoiakim was able to appease the aggressor by giving him hostages and treasure. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity from 605 to 536 b. The book of daniel portrays him as the babylonian king in the first year of whose.
There are three references to rulers named darius in the bible. Daniel discloses that in the feet and toes of the image, there was a noteworthy change of materials. The prophet daniel is one of four major prophets in hebrew scripture, along with isaiah, jeremiah, and ezekiel. If historical literature is emphasizing a revelation record of the sovereign work of god in history, then daniel certainly applies because the. 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. The book of daniel agrees that nebuchadnezzar did not occupy judah in 605.
The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows. Vss it occurs as the fourth major composition in the prophetic writings, following the order of the alexandrian canon. Daniel intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. Strictly speaking, the book does not belong to the prophetic writings but rather to a distinctive type of literature known as apocalyptic, of which it is an early specimen. If he is wrong in his interpretation of the book, then he must be less than the omniscient, inerrant god incarnate. 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. Babylon in bible history a book you can trustpart 3. A young man called daniel was among the people who went to live in babylon. This is another confirmation of the fact that the events spoken of in the book of daniel were written down by daniel during the time of his captivity in babylon. The book of daniel originated as a collection of folktales among the jewish community in babylon and mesopotamia in the persian and early hellenistic periods 5th to 3rd centuries bce, before being expanded in the maccabean era mid2nd century by the addition of the visions in chapters 712. In nt prophecy daniel is referred to more than any other ot book.
The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic. 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. The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic in.
Whereas modern historicalcritical methods propose the book may have been. Twopage spread from johannes gutenbergs 42line bible, c. Daniel s aramaic is closer to eastern aramaic rather than western aramaic much like that which is found in the elephantine papyri fifthcentury b. The book is made up primarily of historical narrative found mainly in chs.
However, the history of the median kingdom precludes such a division, so that the order of the empires would be babylonia, medopersia, greece and rome. Book of daniel from the king james version of the bible. The noneschatological prophecies in daniel have proved so reliable that some critics have tried to. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the. In both the historical and the prophetic sections, daniel presents a strong case for the. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. Daniel is one of the few bible books that takes place during a period of. It is said to be the most printed book in the history of the world, with more than one billion copies in print. The book of daniel begins with king nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of babylon, ransacking jerusalem. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences. The identity of the fourth kingdom is important for the later visions of daniel. This summary of the book of daniel provides information about the title, authors, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of daniel. The book of daniel stands as a unique mix in the old testament, for while it begins with history, it makes a strong transition at chapter 7, where it contains visions of future events significant to the jews.
However, the prophets daniel and zechariah wrote prophecies concerning greece and alexanders. According to daniel, nebuchadnezzar, described as king of babylon, besieged jerusalem successfully. 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. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. The book of daniel is often read for its contribution to our understanding of endtimes events, but sometimes christians have been so obsessed with. From genesis to revelation, these unforgettable stories unfold through live action and cuttingedge computergenerated imagery, offering new. Book of daniel encyclopedia of the bible bible gateway. Daniel 1 the first chapter of the book of daniel tells how daniel and his three companions were among captives taken by nebuchadnezzar ii from jerusalem to babylon to be trained in babylonian wisdom. The genre of the book of daniel is narrative history, prophetic oracle, and it includes apocalyptic material. Dec 26, 2018 it is said to be the most printed book in the history of the world, with more than one billion copies in print.
The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim. He ends up taking back the cream of the crop, the most elite and noble israelites, to serve at his court in babylon. 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 christian canon. The first part of the book of daniel in the bible tells some stories from the life of daniel and his friends. This is a crucial event in the history of the religion of israel and would surely. 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.
Daniel wrote the book of daniel during the sixth century b. Cyruss reign over babylon, the scene of the later chapters of daniel began in 539 b. One of the greatest stories in the bible is found in daniel chapter 2, where nebuchadnezzar king of babylon has a dream which troubles him greatly. It is in babylon that daniel and his three friends, out of a tradition of kings, are likely made eunuchs for life. In the final vision, daniel sees a period of history culminating in a struggle between the king of the north and the king of the south in which. Almost everyone looks at the book of daniel with a. If this occurred before the battle of carchemish, nebuchadnezzar was not as yet king. Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. This darius ruled for only two years 538536 bc and is best known as the ruler who promoted daniel to a high position in the kingdom and then cast him into the lions. Many times the people of babylon tried to make them forget the real god and to serve false gods. It says only that he approached jerusalem and threatened war. The prophet daniel is one of four major prophets in hebrew scripture, along. 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.
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