It has often been conjectured that it was daniel who showed to cyrus the prophecies of isaiah. 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. Some complained that the book was too religious while others moaned about how the novel was sacrilegious. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. Daniel 1 new international version uk nivuk daniels training in babylon. As i explained this earlier, in the structure of the book, these two chapters are d and d in the middle of the parallelism. That framework is a nested parallelism structure in technical terms, a chiasm. The earlier og translation, of which few witnesses remain, had been supplanted by the th version by the first or second century ce.
In any case, daniel, like revelation the other booklength apocalypse in the bible provides much valuable material relevant to work. 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. The first part contains stories about daniel, a jewish exile in the babylonian captivity, and his companions. The most comprehensive englishlanguage commentary on daniel in 65 years. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license.
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. Rabbinic sources suppose that he was still alive during the reign of the. Such a view of course denies the power of god to reveal what he has predetermined. Numerous inaccuracies connected with the exilic period no deportation occurred in 605 bc. Jerusalem was conquered by the babylonians and many of their best young men were taken into captivity, including daniel.
Join facebook to connect with daniel cyrus and others you may know. Daniel god my judge, which accords with the character and contents of the book. It all began in december of 167 bc, when the seleucid emperor antiochus epiphanes desecrated the. Daniel and the other three israelite young men are selected to serve king nebuchadnezzar in his royal court. Each verse and each sentence is dissected to unveil great prophecies which are coming to fruition today. The key to the book is revealed in the relationship between the future gentile dominion and the jewish historical context. Jan 17, 2018 daniel pinks when shows the importance of timing throughout life nprs mary louise kelly talks with author daniel pink about his new book when. Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. Darius was the second successor to cyrus after cambyses and he darius ascended the persian throne in 522 bce. Here is a table of names and dates of the period from about 600 bc to 150 bc. He is mentioned 23 times by name and alluded to several times more. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of daniel, a noble jew exiled at babylon, its message being that just as the god of israel saved daniel and his friends from their enemies, so. Daniel asked permission not to defile himself with food and drink from king nebuchadnezzars royal court. Daniel 9 niv bible in the first year of darius son of.
It features fullcolor photographic spreads of the characters from the awardwinning big bible storybook. Darius was a successor of cyrus, not a predecessor. Spirituality, the second coming of the lord, the return of the messiah, proclamation of the state of israel. Daniel chapter 3 kjv king james version what a mighty god we serve. The authenticity of the book of daniel by bill cooper is another title in the brilliant authenticity series. Furthermore he makes no mention of the fact that it was the edict of cyrus of 538 bce. Many, many heads of state and historical events are referred to in daniels life and visions. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. Daniel is an example of the boldness and faithfulness to god in the most difficult circumstances that had an eternal impact on the people and the kings that he encountered. As it happens, the book of daniel offers a readymade framework for unpacking its meaning in the workplace. Furthermore, if the book of daniel comes from the age of the maccabees, i do not see how it is possible to escape the conclusion that the book. It does not say these years were concluded before the events of ch. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict.
King cyrus of persia, part 1 gods kingdom ministries. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology cosmic in scope and political in focus. As with all of scripture, the book of daniel is profitable for our study 2 ti 3. But now, in our own time, it is opening for the very first time to human understanding. How could such apparent errors have crept into the sacred record. The main events in the bible book of daniel hubpages. Vision of the kings of north and south chapters 1012. In other words, understand what god was doing with the jews and the world, and youll understand the book of daniel.
Daniels prayer, and the vision of the seventy weeks 9. Attacks against the book of daniel daniel is the most. In the first year of darius son of xerxes a mede by descent, who was made ruler over the babylonian kingdom in the first year of his reign, i, daniel, understood from the scriptures, according to the word of the lord given to jeremiah the proph. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. This is the same cyrus who decrees that the israelite exiles may return to jerusalem and rebuild the temple that nebuchadnezzar destroyed ezra 1. Herein, he explores the historical evidence for the book of daniel being truth. Darius the mede is mentioned in the book of daniel as king of babylon between belshazzar and cyrus the great, but he is not known to history, and no additional king can be placed between the known figures of belshazzar and cyrus. By the time you finish reading daniel, youll probably be wondering how all these babylonian and persian kings could be so incredibly thick. 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 author of the book of daniel seems to place the rule of cyrus after that of darius, again an inexplicable error for an author contemporary with these events. 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. Many, many heads of state and historical events are referred to in daniel s life and visions. The failure of his prediction refutes evangelical claims that the bible is inerrant and prophecy proves its divine inspiration.
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 bible remembers him as the destroyer of solomons temple and the initiator of the babylonian captivity. Book of daniel read, study bible verses online bible study tools. The authenticity of the book of daniel by bill cooper. It was ordained closed by god until the last days had arrived. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. Collins situates the old testament in its historical context and offers a full explanation of the text, especially its religious imagery. The kings chief of staff gives daniel and his three israelite friends new names including belshazzar, shadrach, meshach, and abednego. Daniel is captured as a young man in nebuchadnezzar s first siege of jerusalem, and he lives in babylon right into the reign of cyrus the persian. He is an important character in the book of daniel. The book is organized very logically once the context and purpose of the book are known. Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. One who claims that the book of daniel is a product of the maccabean age thereby denies that it is a work of true predictive prophecy as it purports to be.
The book of daniel is a study, a commentary, of the book of daniel in the bible. In keeping with that ordination it has remained tightly closed for almost 2500 years. Fall of jerusalem to nebuchadnezzar daniel companions taken captive sep 7. 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. The book of daniel with its socalled additions has a special place in the septuagint because, along with a few other books, it is extant in two complete, ancient versions. This board book is perfectly sized for small hands, with short text for a parent or teacher to read to the child. Daniels training in babylon in the third year of the reign of jehoiakim king of judah, nebuchadnezzar king of babylon came to jerusalem and.
It cannot be overemphasized how relevant this book is to our current generation. Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Daniel 1 niv daniels training in babylon in the bible gateway. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology a portrayal of end times cosmic in scope and political in focus. Attacks against the book of daniel daniel is the most attacked book in the entire bible more than book of genesis more than book of the revelation but why do the critics of the bible find it necessary to attack this book. Daniel 10 niv bible in the third year of cyrus king of. The book of daniel is counted as a prophetical book in our english bibles, but in the jewish scriptures it is among the writings. And the understanding of the message was given to him in a vision. This is the same god who took 3 men into a fiery furnace and brought them. 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.
Cyrus arrives in babylon 605 bc 515 bc 556 bc 560 bc 562 bc 586 bc 604 bc 603 bc 602 bc 553 bc 551 bc 539 bc 538 bc 53 6 bc 3rd year of the rule of jehoiakim mayjun. The big picture of the book of daniel bible commentary. The clock of god, chapter 27, the book of daniel unsealed. Babylonian victory over egypt at carchemish junaug. This biblical epic tells the heroic and timeless stories of daniel as told in the bible. 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. The following is a brief outline concerning the number of days in reference to the tribulation period, as recorded in the book of daniel. For me, any book that divides in such a way deserves a good reading, for it has enflamed the passions of readers. The book was originally written in hebrew except daniel 2. One feature of this section is daniels reliance on heavenly figures to interpret and explain his visions. Daniels companions in the fiery furnace chapter 3 d. Daniel 4 and 5 speak of the first and last kings of babylon. The four visions of chapters seven to twelve are an early example of apocalyptic literature and, in contrast to the earlier chapters, are introduced in the first person.
The book of daniel was compiled in the second century b. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. The widely held view that the book of daniel is largely fictional rests. From daniel and his three friends, we will learn the power of faith and commitment b. C as we have it, it is written partly in hebrew and partly in aramaic. The last mention of daniel in the book of daniel is in the third year of cyrus daniel 10. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. The original purpose of the book of daniel was to comfort and encourage persecuted jews during the maccabean revolt.
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