General Observations

Some unique features about Daniel compared to other books of the Bible:

The book of Daniel has the most highly developed appearances of angels in the Bible.
There are some of the clearest statements about resurrection in all of the Old Testament.
At one time, Daniel was considered to be one of the major prophets (primarily by the Greek-speaking Jews) but since then, apocalyptic literature has often been looked with an eye of suspicion so Daniel is not considered to be one of ‘major prophets’ (remember the major prophets are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel) by most.

The scrolls of Daniel that have been discovered are partly in Hebrew (chapters 1.1-2.4; 8.1-12.13) and partly in Aramaic (2.4-7.28).

What are the differences between the languages? One way to think about the difference is to see Aramaic as the language of common conversation and court use. Hebrew was the language of piety and religious use.
The Hebrew found in the book of Daniel is different from that found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel. It has an Aramaic flavor to it.

The Person: Daniel

What do we know about Daniel?

Nothing outside of this book.
Rabbinic tradition holds that Daniel was of royal descent – most likely in the bloodlines of King Zedekiah.
He was taken captive as a young man by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC.
He served as a government official until the 3^rd year of Cyrus (about 536 BC).
He is shown to be superior to the wise men, magicians, and counselors of both Babylon and Persia.
References to ‘some’ Daniel in other parts of the Bible:

1^st Chronicles 3.1 records a son of David being Daniel but this is obviously not the Daniel we’re concerned with here.
Ezra 8.2; Nehemiah 10.6 records a Daniel who is a priest in the line of Ithamar.
Ezekiel 14.14, 20; 28.3 records a Daniel but again this is not the Daniel we’re concerned with because the names are spelled differently.

1. The time when Daniel was active in the Persian and Babylonian governments (Daniel 1-6).

§ Chapters 1-4: reign of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (604-561 BC).

§ Chapter 5 set in time of Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, king of Babylon (556-539 BC).

§ Chapter 6 set in time of Darius. Most likely this Darius is the king of Persia (522-486 BC).

2. The 2^nd period is the period of the Ptolemies and Seleucids which began about 323 BC after the death of Alexander the Great.

Daniel 1-6	Daniel 7-12
Stories from the Babylonian and Persian period	Visions that Daniel has
Clarity and simplicity	Complicated and obscure
Human interest	Apocalyptic
Daniel spoken of in the 3^rd person	Daniel speaks in the 1^st person
Biography	Autobiography
The dreams come to heathen kings	Daniel has the dreams
Daniel interprets the dreams	“Someone” interprets the dreams and visions to Daniel

The traditional view is that Daniel wrote the entire book from Babylon and Persia (605-536 BC).
Those who argued this view often say that if Daniel did not write the book, then it’s not the word of God! Most would argue this line of reasoning is completely unjustified.
What reasons are there for arguing that Daniel wrote the book?

The name Daniel is prominent.
Daniel speaks in the 1^st person in chapters 7-12.
The long standing tradition is that Daniel was the author and this went largely unquestioned until the 17^th century AD (1600’s).

Daniel does not use the phrase, “...the word of the Lord came to me...” or “...thus says the Lord...” – these are frequent expressions of the prophets.

There’s a great deal of difference in style between Daniel and the canonical prophets.

A simple definition: a genre (type) of literature that presents visions of what the end of the world will be like.
The term apocalypse is a Greek term (apokalypsis) and means ‘revelation.’

Jewish apocalypses contain revelations of heavenly mysteries, visions of the cosmos, the contents of heaven, the realms of the dead, the problems of suffering, the divine plan for history, and the future of the world and individuals.
The recipient of these visions is usually a great figure of the biblical past.
The visions or dreams that the recipient has are usually interpreted by some angel. This interpretation can take place by dialogue or a tour of what is to be seen.
A vision of the heavenly throne room is a prominent feature of many apocalypses.
In the New Testament, apocalyptic literature is focused on the person of Jesus Christ. It expresses his significance and the importance of his resurrection.
Sometimes the writer of apocalyptic literature remains anonymous by using some prominent figure’s name as the author.

It seems to have originated as a type of literature in the late Old Testament period and continued until the late Middle Ages.
Daniel is considered the only OT apocalyptic book. Many other non-biblical writings are considered to be apocalyptic (1 Enoch, 2 Baruch, 4 Ezra, 3 Baruch, etc.). The only true New Testament apocalypse is Revelation.

Several themes are stressed in Daniel

There is an ongoing confrontation in our world between righteousness and unrighteousness. How will we live – by biblical faith or by a non-believing power?
The Church will suffer.
Being true to God means that personal danger and risk may be a part of life.
In any emergency, God is able to make a way of escape (fiery furnace and lion’s den are in view here).