The Book of Daniel

The stories in the book of Daniel are set during the time of the Babylonian exile, the period after the destruction of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

Title of the Book

The book of Daniel takes its name from the main character, Daniel.

Content

Daniel opens with six stories which are set in the Babylonian or the Persian/Medan courts. The stories take place during the reigns of the kings, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar and Darius. Daniel, a Judean exile, is given an important position at court. He is known for his wisdom and discernment.
The second part of the book describes how Daniel receives four visions. This happens during the reigns of the kings, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrus. These visions symbolise the course of the history of the ancient world and involve mysterious images and language. This part of the book is an example of apocalyptic literature.

Themes

In the book of Daniel several themes play a role:

The theme of the outsider who receives a high position at court and gives advice to the king. That same theme appears in the stories about Joseph in (Genesis 37–50).
The theme of court intrigues: other courtiers are jealous of the successful foreigner and try to bring about his downfall.
In the visions symbolic numerology abounds. The original readers would have understood the symbolism of expressions such as “seventy years”, or “a time, times, and half a time” (ESV), with their veiled allusions to current events.

Characteristics

The stories are written in a polished style. They contain many strange images, with various kingdoms represented as different animals.
A part of the book of Daniel is not written in Hebrew but in Aramaic (Daniel 2:4–7:28).

Position in the Bible

In many Bible editions, Daniel is placed after Ezekiel among the prophetic books. In the Tanakh, the book of Daniel is regarded as being one of the “Writings” (Ketuvim in Hebrew) and is placed between the books of Esther and Ezra.