For this reason, Daniel was probably a fictional character. The Book of Daniel contains old Hebrew stories passed down through generations and collected by the author. The deeds described in those stories were then attributed to one man: Daniel, whose name means "God is my judge."
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The first section is the narrative portion of the book. The second records Daniel's visions which include those foretelling the coming of a messianic kingdom. The last section contains short stories not included in the Jewish cannon, yet are part of the Roman Catholic Church's canon.
| Born: | During the reign of Joakim-605 BC |
| Name Etymology: | Hebrew: "dnyal" or "dnal," meaning "God is my judge" |
| Chaldean Name: | (Bestowed in Babylon) Baltassar, Belteshazzar,or Balatsu-usur-"Bel protect his (the king's) life" |
| Important Characteristics: | Of noble lineage; God gave him legendary wisdom and the ability to interpret dreams.|
| Message to Israel: | Loyalty to God and the covenant the people of Israel had with God will be rewarded. |
| Key Themes from Class: | Daniel had a deep sense of covenant relationship with God. |
| Death: | Unknown |
Part I: Daniel, a member of the Jewish nobility, was taken with several other young nobles to Babylon by the Chaldeans after the fall of Jerusalem. The young nobles could have quietly conformed to the diet expected of prophet's apprentices in Babylon, but perhaps because of a deep sense of covenant with God,, these youths asked to remain on a vegetable diet that conformed to Jewish dietary laws. Daniel and the others were rewarded for his faith by God with wisdom surpassing that of the King's wise men.
Daniel used this wisdom to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams for him. He foresaw the monarch's unfortunate era wherein he believed he was an ox. The royal remained in the fields until he acknowledged the superiority of the God of Abraham.
After the death of Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel is thought to have lost is office as governor of the wise men, an honor bestowed on him by the late king. Yet Darius the Mede, Nebuchadnezzar's successor, was soon considering the prophet for public office.
Yet once again he would have to choose between personal gain and his deep covenant-like conviction to God's will. Like we discussed in class, Daniel would rather die than deny God, just like the patriarchs of Judaism. So when other courtiers, who feared Daniel would be promoted over them, tricked Darius into issuing a decree that none of his subjects could ask for the assistance of neither gods nor humans (besides the king.) Naturally, these jealous courtiers caught Daniel praying three times a day in his room, just like he normally did. So, in accordance with their law, they famously threw the elderly prophet, no less than eighty years old, into the lion's den.
He of course was protected by God in the lion's pit, and when the king came to the den and found the prophet alive, Darius ordered all his kingdom to honor Daniel's God.
Apocalyptic Section:These chapters document Daniels visions, explained to him by the angel Gabriel. It is here that the prophecy of the Messianic Kingdom and the punishment of worldly kingdoms that establishment entails are written.
Appendix:
1) Susanna: Daniel successfully defends the innocent Susanna, who is accused of lecherous behavior by, ironically, lecherous men. (site author's note: Is this possibly suggestive of Israel's plight during the time of the Maccabees?)
2) Bel and the Dragon: Cyrus the Persian, the next king of Babylon, worshipped an idol called Bel. David laughed at his king, for when asked for proof that the idol was alive, Cyrus told him how much food the idol ate each day. When the king realized that Bel's priests were eating the food, he put the priests and their families to death. Daniel destroyed Bel and also a great dragon the Babylonians worshiped. The Babylonians threatened rebellion if Cyrus did not surrender Daniel to them because of his offenses towards them, so Daniel sojourned into the lion's pit once more. He was kept alive by the prophet Habbakuk of Judea, who brought him food while being held by the hair by an angel. When Daniel survived seven days, his accusers were thrown into the pit and eaten instantly.
Daniel is credited with supposedly prophesying the Messianic Kingdom that Christians now understand to be the Kingdom of God. Yet if we accept what is said by this source (1), this prophesy was inserted by the Jewish author, who had possessed the current beliefs about the coming of a messiah understood in his time, the era of the Maccabees. The mindset of this author is very similar to Jews of Jesus' time.
This book did however use the title "son of man" as its name for the coming messiah, and this became Christ's preferred title for himself. This name highlights that the messiah will come from within the community.
The book also established solid theological beliefs about angels with the mention of Saint Gabriel the Archangel in the apocalyptic section. This book, being one of the last books of the Old Testament written before the time of Christ, has similar ideas about angels compared to those expressed in the New Testament.
1) Daniel was born during the reign of what king of Judah?
2) His most famous gifts were_______ and ________.
3) These gifts were given to him by God as a reward for his conformity in Babylon to _________________.
4) The apocalyptic section of the Book of Daniel contains prophecies of what kingdom, and used what term from the book of Elijah to describe the messiah?
5) Instead of using a)_________'s name in writing the book of Daniel, the author, who supported the b)_______________, paralleled (a)'s wicked deeds with the story character c)__________________.
1) Brown, Raymond E., s.v. "Daniel," "Book of Daniel," in Catholic Encyclopedia for School and Home, 1965 ed.
2) Gigot, Francis E. "Daniel," in Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908 ed., accessed 4 April 2008, available from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04620a.htm; Internet.
3) New American Bible, 1970 ed.