Daniel

Believers are to live a life of holiness. The LORD God has sovereign control over the nations. The kingdom of God will ultimately triumph.

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12

Deuterocanonical chapters: Song of the Three Children, 13, 14

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, First Fast, Second Fast


SUMMARY

Title

The Book of Daniel is named for its principle character, who is also its author.

Author

The Book of Daniel says it was written by Daniel.

The Lord Jesus Christ attributed the authorship of the book to Daniel:

Matthew 24:15. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Daniel lived at least until the third year of Cyrus, or 536 BC.

Date

The events in the Book of Daniel took place in the sixth century BC.

Daniel’s familiarity with the individuals spoken of in the book and with the historical events and customs mentioned in the book necessitates a sixth-century date for the book.

Some people postulate a late date for the book. However, the minute details included in the book could hardly have been retained accurately by oral tradition for some 400 years.

Languages

The Book of Daniel is unusual in that it is written in three languages:

HEBREW

Chapters 1:1 to 2:4a and chapters 8 to 12 are in Hebrew.

Hebrew is the language of God’s covenant people.

ARAMAIC

Chapters 2:4b through 7:28 are in Aramaic.

Those chapters are about the LORD God’s program for the Gentile nations.

They are written in Aramaic, which was the language of the Gentile world.

GREEK

Three chapters exist in the Greek portion of the Book of Daniel.

They are recognized as Deuterocanonical Scripture by the Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and Catholic Churches.

Purpose

The Book of Daniel insists that believers live a life of holiness.

The Book of Daniel teaches that the LORD God has sovereign control over the nations.

The Book of Daniel is certain that the kingdom of God will ultimately triumph.

The Book of Daniel records certain events in Israel’s history in the 70-year Babylonian Captivity which are recorded nowhere else in Scripture.

The Book of Daniel outlines the future history of the times of the Gentiles, describing future empires that will occupy Palestine and rule over Israel until the Messiah returns.

The themes introduced in the Book of Daniel come to their ultimate consummation in the Book of Revelation.

 


OUTLINE

PERSONAL HISTORY OF DANIEL

Daniel 1:1-7. Daniel is deported to Babylon

Daniel 1:8-16. Daniel lives as a vegetarian

Daniel 1:17-21. Daniel is appointed to the royal court of Babylon

THE FUTURE HISTORY OF THE GENTILES

Daniel 2:1-49. Nebuchadnezzar has a puzzling dream

Daniel 3:1-29. Nebuchadnezzar builds a giant statue of himself

Daniel 4:1-18. Nebuchadnezzar has another puzzling dream

Daniel 4:19-27. Daniel interprets the dream

Daniel 4:28-37. Nebuchadnezzar loses his mind for seven years

Daniel 5:1-31. Belshazzar sees the writing on the wall

Daniel 6:1-28. Daniel in the lion’s den

Daniel 7:1-15. Daniel has a mysterious vision of four beasts

Daniel 7:16-28. An angel explains the vision

THE FUTURE HISTORY OF ISRAEL UNDER THE GENTILES

Daniel 8:1-14. Daniel has a vision of a ram and a goat

Daniel 8:15-27. An angel named Gabriel interprets the vision

Daniel 9:1-2. Daniel discovers a key verse in Jeremiah

Daniel 9:3-19. Daniel fasts and prays

Daniel 9:20-27. Gabriel explains the verse

Daniel 10:1. Daniel is given his final vision

Daniel 10:2-3. Daniel fasts for three weeks

Daniel 10:4-21. Gabriel arrives to interpret the vision

Daniel 11:1-2. The future rulers of the Persian Empire

Daniel 11:3-4. The rise of Alexander the Great

Daniel 11:5-20. The conflict between Egypt and Syria

Daniel 11:21-35. Invasion by Antiochus IV Epiphanies

Daniel 11:36-39. The Antichrist

Daniel 11:40-45. The Antichrist is attacked

Daniel 12:1-3. Michael will deliver Israel

Daniel 12:4. The book is sealed

Daniel 12:5-13. Concerning the Great Tribulation

THE DEUTEROCANONICAL PORTION OF THE BOOK OF DANIEL

SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNIGO

Song of the Three Holy Children (Daniel 3)

SUZANNA

Daniel 13:1-64. Righteous Suzanna

BEL AND THE DRAGON

Daniel 14:1-22. Daniel confronts the priests of Bel

Daniel 14:23-30. Daniel kills the dragon

Daniel 14:31-32. Daniel is thrown in the lion’s den

Daniel 14:33-42. The prophet Habakkuk helps Daniel

 


MEMORIZE

Here are some great verses to memorize:

Daniel 9:3. So I turned to the LORD God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.” (NIV translation)

Daniel 12:3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (KJV translation)

SEE ALSO:

Great verses to memorize from the entire Bible

 


DANIEL

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12

Deuterocanonical chapters: Song of the Three Children, 13, 14

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, First Fast, Second Fast

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.