The book of daniel is not regarded by scholars as a reliable guide to history. The key to the book is revealed in the relationship between the future gentile dominion and the jewish historical context. Occasionally, as we shall see, this history cannot be reconciled with the known facts, which provides a clue to the authors true time period. Daniel refusing to eat at the kings table, early 1900s bible illustration. The babylonians and chaldeans were two different races. The book of daniel is an apocalyptic of the old testament. The book of daniel, a book of the old testament found in the ketuvim. Introduction to the book of daniel, old testament seminary teacher manual 2014 daniel, old testament seminary teacher manual. It is one of the additions to daniel, considered apocryphal by protestants. The contents of the first verse in daniel have been challenged on two counts. Daniel 1 background information with maps and images picture.
In the days of these kings book perfectbound paperback 740 pages. This can be troublesome when trying to understand the events that take place in the book because there are many prophecies and symbols that appear and actually overlap one another. Summary of the book of daniel the prophet daniel was actually taken captive during the babylonian invasion on jerusalem, the first attack in 607 bc. In both the historical and the prophetic sections, daniel presents a strong. In the hebrew canon daniel is not included among the prophets. This objection is easily answered as the babylonians used the accession year system of dating also known as. Here i wish to point to the excellent remark of robert dick wilson, who has devoted a great deal of his time and. The book of daniel is a book of comfort revealing an omniscient and omnipotent. Feb 03, 2012 pastor dan lewis begins his lectures on the book of daniel with the historical context of the time period. The greek translation of the hebrew scriptures the septuagint or lxx c. The improbability of daniel and his friends having been incorporated with the babylonian wise men. Daniel 1 the book of daniel is the foremost book of prophecy in the old testament o what the book of revelation is to the new testament canon, the book of daniel is to the old testament canon the prophecies of daniel reveal more future events, in exceptional detail and in greater concentration, than any other book of the bible. Belshazzar, king of babylon, holds a great feast, during which a hand appears and writes on the wall. Outside of the pentateuch, no book of the ot has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the book of.
The book of daniel agrees that nebuchadnezzar did not occupy judah in 605. In other words, understand what god was doing with the jews and the world, and youll understand the book of daniel. Daniel the prophet of the bible, his life and accomplishments. Daniel may be compared to joseph, for both men had the gift of interpreting dreams. It is clearly established daniel could and did write the book. Daniel 1 background information with maps and images. The first look at the book of daniel is exciting and tough at the same time.
In the third year of king jehoiakim, god allows jerusalem to fall into the power. Step 2 historical method understanding what was happening at the time of the books writing and whom it was written to step 3 observation looking at. Paul tanner introductory comments the following notes are intendedtosupply the student withsuffic ient informationonthe historical developments that relate tothe book of daniel. When antiochus came to the throne in 175 bc the jews were largely. Daniel wrote the book of daniel during the sixth century b. The social setting of the aramaic and hebrew book of daniel. Daniel bridges the entire 70 years of the babylonian captivity ca. 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. Outside of the pentateuch, no book of the ot has been subjected to as much scrutiny as the book of daniel. Daniel, the hero of the book, was an exile in babylon carried away in the first captivity in 605 b. A new commentary on the book of daniel begins by retelling the events leading to the destruction of jerusalem in 586 bc. Daniel and historical setting traditionally, the prophet daniel is seen as the author of this book daniel 9. The relatively small state of judah was located at a geographical center in the ancient middle east, where the interests of the great powers frequently clashed. The book of daniel in preterist perspective and in the days of these kings shall the god of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed.
In order to set the scene, as it were, a quick overview of middle eastern history, as it affected the jews. Quotation given in full when space permits corresponding quotations from 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. A historicalchronological look at the book of daniel. The unusual feature of this book is that daniel wrote the central portion 2. It had dominated the middle east for about a hundred and forty years. Daniel was a contemporary of ezekiel, this kills the third century dating of this book. In israel, the law excluded eunuchs from public worship deut. The first six chapters are the history section, telling of a jew named daniel of royal descent, who was taken captive along with the rest of the people from the city of jerusalem. The figure of daniel against its mesopotamian background the mesopotamian background of daniel 16. The fascinating book of daniel teacher s notes page 2 4. By the time you finish reading daniel, youll probably be wondering how all these babylonian and persian kings could be so incredibly thick.
Pastor dan lewis begins his lectures on the book of daniel with the historical context of the time period. The book of isaiah is named for the prophet who composed the book. The book implies that daniel was its author in several passages, such as 9. That jesus concurred is clear from his reference to the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet daniel mt 24. Daniel 33043399 457362 bce was a celebrated jewish scholar and master interpreter of dreams who was exiled to babylon after the destruction of the holy temple in jerusalem. Intro to daniel biblica the international bible society. Its historical trustworthiness and prophetic character, the evangelical quarterly 2. In the course of the books opening stories, the kings keep realizing that daniels god is, in fact, everybodys god, or the only godand then they immediately do something entirely disrespectful and ridiculous like drinking. In apocalyptic writings, words describe a picture which must be interpreted. The fall of assyria was shortly followed by the rise of babylon. It is listed in article vi of the 39 articles of the church of england among the books. One likely purpose in denying them a basic right of all israelites was to discourage the nation from inflicting an incapacity for fatherhood and normal family life upon any of its sons.
The book of daniel in its context scholars at the oriental court. As we shall see later, however, an analysis of the book turns up some interesting facts. Daniel was the author of this book, and this was confirmed by jesus himself, but there has been considerable criticism about the book of daniel because of the accuracy of the prophecies. The book of daniel its historical trustworthiness and prophetic. Similar to daniel in that the context of the entire book is in captivity with particular emphasis on the court of a pagan king. Sep 15, 2019 in the days of these kings book perfectbound paperback 740 pages. He became known as a man who could interpret dreams and visions. Christ quotes from this book and attributes the quote to daniel. For our study of the book of daniel, we have study notes for each session. The historical background to the book of daniel by dr. Darius the mede is first mentioned in the story of belshazzars feast. Yet the author of the book of daniel strongly implies that this was daniels lot.
The broad consensus is that daniel never existed, and that the author appears to have taken the name from a legendary hero of the distant past mentioned in the book of ezekiel. 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. Daniel 2 background information with maps and images picture. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests mainly on the modern philosophical assumption that longrange. Belshazzar has been weighed and found wanting, and his kingdom is to be divided between the medes and persians.
The book of daniel presents a collection of popular stories about daniel, a loyal jew, and the record of visions granted to him, with the babylonian exile of the 6th century bce as their background. The reason the development of history seems to stop with. A commentary on the book of daniel by cooper abrams. The first six chapters are chiefly historical, and the remainder prophetical. The book of daniel provides an account of the experiences of daniel and other faithful jews who were taken captive to babylon. The first half of the book chapters 16 contains stories in the third person about the experiences of daniel and his. A historical chronological look at the book of daniel.
It is often claimed that the date given by daniel for the first year of nebuchadnezzars reign contradicts that given by jeremiah so pfeiffer, 1948. The book of daniel is one of the most exciting books in the bible. An understanding of the historical background of the book of daniel is essential for a proper understanding of its message. The book of daniel is apocalyptic in nature and belongs to the 6th century b.
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. Daniel background and introduction sermon by darren rogers. The book is organized very logically once the context and purpose of the book are known. His name means god is my judge and, indeed, much of daniels life focuses on the final authority god has over all things in spite of human kingdoms, rulers, or nations.
The book, however, was written in a later time of national crisiswhen the jews were suffering severe persecution under antiochus iv epiphanes. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Introduction to isaiah, author, background, prophecy. 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. Historical history behind daniel, assyrian, babylonian, and judean background information including the date,author, languages,criticisms, and themes.
Title according to hebrew custom, the title is drawn from the prophet who throughout the book received revelations from god. Such historians as josephus attribute this book to daniel in the 6th century. Great examples of courage, faith, faithfulness, humility, patience, devotion, etc. Not one commentary was written on the book of esther in the first seven centuries of the church. Foretells future world events to come that affects israel. It says only that he approached jerusalem and threatened war. Josiah, the king of judah,hoping toincur favor with the babylonians,sought to prevent the egyptians from joining assyria and met the egyptian army at megiddo. Daniel background and introduction sermon by darren.
When daniel came to babylon he became a chief minister at nebuchadnezzars royal court. By david sheldon the book of daniel is not in chronological order as can be seen in the timeline below. John calvin never preached from the book and did not write a commentary on the book. Book of jonah historical background dan symonds youtube. The relatively small state of judah was located at a geographical center in the ancient middle east, where the interests of the great powers frequently. Although it does not actually claim to have been written in the sixth century bce, the book of daniel gives clear internal dates such as the third year of the reign of king jehoiakim, that is, 606 bce. Critics on daniel placement in canon jesus ben sirach historical issues linguistic issues indications of early date the 4 kingdoms issue video series. The book is made up primarily of historical narrative found mainly in chs. The book itself claims to be the work of an exiled jew in babylon, during the period of about 586 to 536 bce. Daniel 2 background information with maps and images.
Chapters 8 and 11 have some sections that are hard to distinguish between the historical figure antiochus epiphanes and the antichrist. Critics assert that the book of daniel contains a number of historical errors and. The work of the great prophet was to turn the jews to the lord as the only hope of their salvation. To fully appreciate the book of daniel, it is useful to understand the historical background. Background to the book of daniel sermon by johnny a. Keeping the historical context of the middle east in mind, we can approach the question of when the book of daniel was written. 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 action described in daniel begins about 596 bc, about ten years after the fall of the assyrian empire. The book of daniel encompasses many centuries of history in its pages. Technically, the jews did not go into the babylonian captivity, they went into the chaldean captivity. Apr 09, 2015 step 2 historical method understanding what was happening at the time of the book s writing and whom it was written to step 3 observation looking at the text, i. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient.