Old Testament · Narrative and apocalyptic prophecy

The Book of Daniel: Author, Context and Complete Study

Daniel tells how a young Jewish exile and his three friends stayed faithful to God in the court of Babylon, from the king's table to the fiery furnace and the lions' den. Its visions reveal that God rules the kingdoms of the world and will give an everlasting kingdom to the Son of Man.

Updated on November 14, 2026

What is Daniel about?

Daniel is the story of a young man from Judah taken to Babylon in 605 BC, who served in the courts of kings for nearly seventy years without giving up his faith. Chapters 1-6 tell of the king's food, Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great statue, the fiery furnace, the humbling of the king, the writing on the wall and the lions' den. Chapters 7-12 record Daniel's visions of four beasts, the Ancient of Days and one like a son of man who receives an everlasting kingdom (7:13-14), showing that God rules over every empire.

Author: Daniel, a Judean exile in Babylon, according to Jewish and Christian tradition; chapters 7-12 are his first-person visions. Many modern scholars date the final form to the 160s BC.
Date: Events from 605 to c. 536 BC (1:1; 10:1); traditionally written in the 6th century BC, by many scholars c. 165 BC.
First readers: Jews living under foreign empires, first the exiles in Babylon and Persia and later generations pressured to abandon their God, who needed to know that he still rules.
Genre: Narrative and apocalyptic prophecy
Chapters: 12 chapters
Key verse: Daniel 2:44

Historical context

In 605 BC Nebuchadnezzar, crown prince and soon king of Babylon, defeated Egypt at Carchemish and took control of Syria and Judah. That year, the third of King Jehoiakim by the reckoning of Daniel 1:1, he carried vessels from the temple and young men from Judah's royal family and nobility to Babylon, Daniel among them. More deportations followed in 597 BC, and in 586 BC Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. Nebuchadnezzar reigned until 562 BC and made Babylon one of the great cities of the ancient world.

Babylon's last king, Nabonidus, spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to govern in Babylon. In October 539 BC the city fell to the Persians and Medes under Cyrus, the night described in Daniel 5. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return home in 538 BC (Ezra 1:1-4), and Daniel's last vision is dated to his third year (10:1). The visions reach far beyond: Persia, Alexander the Great, the wars of his successors in Egypt and Syria and the persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who defiled the temple in 167 BC.

Geographical context

Most of the book takes place in Babylon, the great city on the Euphrates in the land of Shinar (1:2), where Nebuchadnezzar boasted of the Babylon he had built (4:30). The golden image is set up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon (3:1). Daniel prays in an upper room with its windows open toward Jerusalem (6:10), a sign that his heart remained with the city and the temple far away.

In one vision Daniel sees himself in Susa, the citadel in the province of Elam, beside the Ulai canal (8:2); Susa later became a royal city of the Persian kings. His last vision comes on the bank of the great river, the Tigris (10:4). Chapter 11 follows the long struggle between the king of the south and the king of the north, usually understood as the Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt and the Seleucid kingdom in Syria, fought over the glorious land of Israel (11:16, 41).

Why does the book of Daniel exist?

Daniel was written to show that the God of Israel, not the kings of Babylon or Persia, rules history. His people had lost their land, their king and their temple, and they lived as a minority under rulers who demanded worship and total loyalty. The stories of chapters 1-6 show how to live faithfully in such a world: serve the government well, refuse what defiles, pray openly, accept the cost and trust God to deliver, whether he rescues from the fire or not (3:17-18).

The visions of chapters 7-12 lift the reader's eyes beyond the present. Empires rise like beasts from the sea and fall at God's appointed time; persecution will come and will be severe, but it has a limit. The Ancient of Days will judge, the kingdom will be given to one like a son of man and to the saints of the Most High (7:13-14, 27), and those who sleep in the dust will awake (12:2). Daniel has strengthened persecuted believers in every age and gave Jesus the title he used most for himself.

Outline of Daniel

Chapter 1
Faithful in the king's court
Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah are taken to Babylon, renamed and trained for royal service. They refuse the king's food, thrive on vegetables and water and are found ten times wiser than all the king's magicians (1:20).
- 1
Chapter 2
The dream of the great statue
Nebuchadnezzar demands that his wise men tell him his dream. God reveals it to Daniel: a statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay is shattered by a stone that becomes a mountain, the kingdom of God that will never be destroyed (2:44).
- 2
Chapter 3
The fiery furnace
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow to the golden image on the plain of Dura. Thrown into a furnace heated seven times hotter, they walk unharmed with a fourth figure, and the king blesses their God.
- 3
Chapter 4
Nebuchadnezzar humbled
In his own proclamation the king tells of his dream of a great tree cut down, his pride, the seven periods he lived like an animal and his restoration when he lifted his eyes to heaven and praised the Most High (4:34-37).
- 4
Chapter 5
The writing on the wall
At a feast Belshazzar drinks from the vessels of the temple, and a hand writes on the wall. Daniel reads the words: the kingdom is numbered, weighed and divided. That night Belshazzar is killed and Darius the Mede receives the kingdom.
- 5
Chapter 6
Daniel in the lions' den
Jealous officials trap Daniel with a thirty-day decree. He keeps praying three times a day toward Jerusalem, is thrown to the lions and is kept safe by God's angel. Darius orders his whole kingdom to fear the God of Daniel.
- 6
Chapter 7
Four beasts and the Son of Man
In Belshazzar's first year Daniel sees four beasts rise from the sea, a little horn that wages war on the saints, the Ancient of Days on his throne and one like a son of man who receives an everlasting kingdom (7:13-14).
- 7
Chapter 8
The ram and the goat
A two-horned ram, Media and Persia, is trampled by a goat from the west, Greece, whose great horn is broken and replaced by four. A little horn stops the daily sacrifice. Gabriel explains the vision (8:16-26).
- 8
Chapter 9
Daniel's prayer and the seventy weeks
Reading Jeremiah's prophecy of seventy years, Daniel confesses his people's sin and pleads for mercy. Gabriel announces that seventy weeks are decreed to end sin, bring everlasting righteousness and bring an anointed one (9:24-27).
- 9
Chapters 10-12
The final vision: kings, persecution and resurrection
A glorious man appears by the Tigris and reveals a conflict in the heavenly realm, a detailed history of wars between the kings of the north and the south, a king who exalts himself and the time of the end, when Michael arises and many who sleep in the dust awake (12:1-2).
- 10
- 11
- 12

Famous passages in Daniel

Daniel 1:8-16
Daniel resolves not to defile himself
Daniel decides not to defile himself with the king's food and wine and proposes a ten-day test of vegetables and water. At the end he and his friends look healthier than all the others. The story is a favorite example of quiet, respectful conviction for young people living in a culture that does not share their faith.
Study Daniel 1 →
Daniel 2:31-45
The statue and the stone
Daniel describes the king's dream: a huge statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron and feet of iron mixed with clay, struck by a stone cut out without human hands. The stone becomes a mountain that fills the earth, the kingdom of God that crushes the empires and stands forever.
Study Daniel 2 →
Daniel 3:13-27
Three friends in the fiery furnace
Threatened with the furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answer that their God is able to save them, and even if he does not, they will not serve the king's gods (3:17-18). The king sees four men walking in the fire, the fourth like a son of the gods, and they come out without even the smell of fire.
Study Daniel 3 →
Daniel 5:1-30
The writing on the wall
During a drunken feast Belshazzar praises his gods with the holy vessels from Jerusalem, and the fingers of a hand write on the plaster. Daniel interprets mene, mene, tekel and parsin: God has numbered his kingdom, weighed him and found him lacking, and divided his realm. English owes the expression the writing on the wall to this chapter.
Study Daniel 5 →
Daniel 6:10-23
Daniel in the lions' den
Knowing the decree has been signed, Daniel goes home and prays three times a day toward Jerusalem, as he always had. Thrown to the lions, he spends the night in the den, and at dawn he tells the king that God sent his angel to shut the lions' mouths. Hebrews 11:33 remembers those who by faith stopped the mouths of lions.
Study Daniel 6 →
Daniel 7:9-14
The Ancient of Days and the Son of Man
Daniel sees thrones set in place, the Ancient of Days in clothing white as snow, and one like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven to receive dominion, glory and an everlasting kingdom. Jesus applied this vision to himself before the high priest (Mark 14:61-62), and it is the source of his title the Son of Man.
Study Daniel 7 →
Daniel 9:20-27
The seventy weeks
While Daniel is still praying, Gabriel comes and announces seventy weeks, or seventy sevens, decreed for his people and his city: to finish transgression, atone for iniquity and bring in everlasting righteousness. An anointed one will be cut off (9:26). It is one of the most studied and debated prophecies in the Bible.
Study Daniel 9 →
Daniel 12:1-3
The dead awake and the wise shine
At the time of the end Michael, the great prince, arises; a time of unequaled distress comes, and God's people are delivered. Many who sleep in the dust will awake, some to everlasting life and others to shame, and the wise will shine like the stars. It is the clearest Old Testament statement of the resurrection of the dead.
Study Daniel 12 →

Main themes

God rules the kingdoms of the world: Nebuchadnezzar learns that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will (4:17, 25, 32). God removes kings and sets up kings (2:21), and Belshazzar's kingdom ends the very night it is weighed (5:26-30).
Faithfulness in exile: Daniel and his friends serve pagan kings with excellence while refusing to compromise their worship. They show how to seek the good of Babylon without becoming Babylonians, even at the risk of their lives (3; 6).
Prayer: The friends pray for the revelation of the king's dream (2:17-18), Daniel prays three times a day despite the decree (6:10), confesses his people's sin (9:3-19) and mourns and fasts for three weeks before his final vision (10:2-3, 12).
Suffering and deliverance: God delivers from the furnace and the lions, yet the visions warn that the saints will be worn down and some of the wise will fall (7:25; 11:33-35). Faith trusts God whether he rescues now or not (3:17-18).
The everlasting kingdom: The stone becomes a mountain that fills the earth (2:35, 44), and the Son of Man receives a kingdom that will never be destroyed (7:14). Every human empire is temporary; the kingdom of God is forever.
Resurrection and final judgment: The court sits and the books are opened before the Ancient of Days (7:10). At the end those whose names are written in the book are delivered, and the dead are raised, some to life and some to shame (12:1-2).

Main characters

Daniel (Belteshazzar): A young man of Judah's nobility taken to Babylon in 605 BC and renamed Belteshazzar (1:6-7). He interprets dreams and visions for Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, serves into the reign of Cyrus (1:21; 6:28) and is told that he is greatly loved by God (9:23; 10:11).
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: Daniel's friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, given Babylonian names (1:7) and appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon (2:49). They refuse to worship the golden image and are delivered from the furnace (3).
Nebuchadnezzar: King of Babylon (605-562 BC) and conqueror of Jerusalem. He praises Daniel's God after the dream (2:47) and after the furnace (3:28-29), but only after being humbled for his pride does he confess that the Most High rules (4:34-37).
Belshazzar: Son of Nabonidus and acting ruler of Babylon. He profanes the temple vessels at a feast, sees the writing on the wall and is killed the same night (5:30). For centuries he was known only from Daniel, until Babylonian inscriptions confirmed his role.
Darius the Mede: The ruler who receives the kingdom after Babylon falls, at about sixty-two (5:31). He appoints 120 satraps (6:1), is tricked into signing the decree against prayer and rejoices when Daniel survives. His identity outside the Bible is debated.
Ashpenaz: The chief of Nebuchadnezzar's court officials who received the young captives (1:3). God gave Daniel favor and compassion in his sight (1:9), though he feared for his own life if the young men looked worse than the others (1:10).
Arioch: Captain of the king's guard, sent to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel answered him with prudence and discretion (2:14), and Arioch brought him before the king to make known the dream (2:25).
Gabriel: The angel sent to explain Daniel's visions (8:16; 9:21). He is the first angel named in the Bible, and in the New Testament he announces the births of John the Baptist and of Jesus (Luke 1:19, 26).
Michael: Called one of the chief princes and the great prince who stands over Daniel's people (10:13, 21; 12:1). He fights in an unseen conflict behind earthly events. Jude 1:9 calls him the archangel, and Revelation 12:7 shows him fighting the dragon.

In-depth study of Daniel

Introduction

Daniel is two books in one. Its first six chapters are some of the best-loved stories in the Bible: four young exiles who refuse the king's food, a dream of a statue with feet of clay, three friends in a blazing furnace, a proud king who eats grass like an ox, a hand writing on a palace wall and a man who spends the night with lions. Its last six chapters are visions full of beasts, horns, angels and numbers, among the most studied and debated pages of Scripture.

Both halves teach the same truth. Babylon looked invincible, and the people of God looked finished, but the Most High rules the kingdom of men (4:17). Kings are raised up and brought down by him, persecution has a limit set by him, and in the end he will give an everlasting kingdom to one like a son of man.

Who wrote Daniel and when?

What the book says

Chapters 1-6 speak of Daniel in the third person, while chapters 7-12 are visions he records in the first person (7:2; 8:1; 9:2; 10:2). Daniel was taken to Babylon as a youth in 605 BC (1:1-4) and lived at least until the third year of Cyrus, about 536 BC (10:1). Jesus refers to the prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15). Eight copies of the book were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and another scroll from Qumran quotes the book of Daniel the prophet.

Two views of the date

The traditional view holds that Daniel wrote the book in the sixth century BC and that its visions are genuine prediction. Its defenders point out that the book knows details later Greek historians did not, such as Belshazzar's role as acting king, which explains why Daniel could be made only third ruler in the kingdom (5:16, 29).

Many modern scholars date the book to about 167-164 BC, when Antiochus IV persecuted the Jews. They note that chapter 11 traces the wars of that period in great detail, that a few words for musical instruments in chapter 3 are Greek, and that the Hebrew Bible places Daniel among the Writings rather than the Prophets. Those who hold the early date reply that Greek trade and culture reached the East well before Alexander, and that predictive prophecy is exactly what the book claims to contain.

Literary style and structure

Two languages, two halves

Daniel is written in Hebrew (1:1-2:4a), then Aramaic (2:4b-7:28), then Hebrew again (8-12). The switch happens when the Chaldeans address the king in Aramaic (2:4). The language division does not match the division between stories (1-6) and visions (7-12): chapter 1 is a story in Hebrew and chapter 7 a vision in Aramaic, so the two halves interlock.

A mirror in the Aramaic chapters

Chapters 2 and 7: four kingdoms followed by the kingdom of God.
Chapters 3 and 6: faithful Jews condemned to death and delivered.
Chapters 4 and 5: proud kings judged by God, one humbled and restored, the other destroyed.

Apocalyptic language

The visions use symbols that the book itself often explains: beasts are kings or kingdoms (7:17), horns are rulers (7:24; 8:20-22), and angels interpret what Daniel sees. Time periods are part of the code: a time, times and half a time (7:25; 12:7), 2,300 evenings and mornings (8:14), and 1,290 and 1,335 days (12:11-12). Revelation uses the same kind of language and borrows many of its images from Daniel.

Daniel in the story of the Bible

Daniel's exile fulfills the warning Isaiah gave Hezekiah, that some of his descendants would serve in the palace of the king of Babylon (Isaiah 39:7). Kings and Chronicles report Nebuchadnezzar's pressure on Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:1; 2 Chronicles 36:5-7). In chapter 9 Daniel reads Jeremiah's prophecy that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10) and prays for its fulfillment. His contemporary Ezekiel names a Daniel with Noah and Job as models of righteousness (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). The return under Cyrus follows in Ezra 1.

Between the Testaments, the persecution under Antiochus IV and the Maccabean revolt matched the visions of chapters 8 and 11. The temple was rededicated in 164 BC, an event remembered at the Feast of Dedication, which Jesus attended (John 10:22-23).

In the New Testament, Jesus warns of the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) and speaks of the Son of Man coming on the clouds (Matthew 24:30; 26:64). Paul's man of lawlessness, who exalts himself against every god, echoes Daniel 11:36 (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). Revelation's beast from the sea combines the leopard, the bear, the lion and the ten horns of Daniel 7 (Revelation 13:1-2), and the risen Christ appears with hair white like wool and eyes like fire (Revelation 1:13-15; Daniel 7:9; 10:5-6).

Daniel and Jesus Christ

The Son of Man. Jesus' favorite title for himself comes from Daniel 7:13-14. Before the high priest he joined Daniel 7:13 with Psalm 110:1, and the high priest tore his garments (Mark 14:61-64). The one who receives an everlasting kingdom is the one who would be crucified and raised.
The stone cut without hands. God's kingdom comes not by human power but by his own act (2:34-35, 44-45). Jesus began his ministry announcing that the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of God was at hand (Mark 1:15), and many connect his words about the stone that crushes with Daniel 2 (Luke 20:17-18).
The fourth man in the fire. Nebuchadnezzar calls him an angel (3:28). Many Christians have seen a preincarnate appearance of Christ; others an angel sent by God. Either way, God is present with his people in the fire, as he promised (Isaiah 43:2).
The anointed one cut off. Many read the prophecy of an anointed one who is cut off and has nothing (9:26) as pointing to the death of the Messiah.
Resurrection. Jesus said that all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, some to the resurrection of life and some to judgment (John 5:28-29), language very close to Daniel 12:2.

Interpretive challenges

Who was Darius the Mede?

No ancient record outside the Bible names a Darius the Mede who ruled Babylon. Proposals include Gubaru, the governor Cyrus appointed over Babylon; Cyrus himself, since 6:28 can be read as the reign of Darius, that is, the reign of Cyrus; and a Median king known from Greek sources. The question is unresolved, but the book's knowledge of Belshazzar warns against assuming an error too quickly.

What are the four kingdoms?

Most interpreters agree that the head of gold is Babylon (2:38) and that the ram and the goat are Media-Persia and Greece (8:20-21). The traditional view reads the four kingdoms as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome; many scholars read them as Babylon, Media, Persia and Greece. In both readings God's kingdom replaces the empires of the world.

How should the seventy weeks be counted?

Counting 490 years from a decree to rebuild Jerusalem, many arrive at the time of Christ's ministry and death, though they differ on which decree starts the clock. Some place a gap before the last week and expect it at the end of the age. Others apply the passage to the high priest killed in 171 BC and the persecution that followed. Readers should hold their own scheme humbly.

Who is the king of 11:36-45?

Verses 21-35 fit Antiochus IV closely, including the defiling of the temple (11:31). From verse 36 the description of a king who exalts himself above every god fits less well with known history. Some see the whole passage as Antiochus; many see him as a preview of a final enemy of God's people, the figure Paul and Revelation describe.

Little-known facts

For centuries Belshazzar was known only from Daniel. Then inscriptions, including a cylinder of Nabonidus found at Ur in 1854, showed that he was the eldest son of King Nabonidus and governed Babylon while his father lived in Arabia. That explains why Belshazzar could offer Daniel only the third place in the kingdom.
Daniel is the first book of the Bible to give angels personal names: Gabriel (8:16; 9:21) and Michael (10:13, 21; 12:1).
The covenant name of God appears in Daniel only in chapter 9, in Daniel's prayer; elsewhere the book speaks of the God of heaven and the Most High.
In the Hebrew Bible Daniel stands among the Writings, not among the Prophets; Greek and English Bibles place him after Ezekiel.
Ancient Greek versions of Daniel add the Prayer of Azariah, the Song of the Three Young Men, Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. These additions are not in the Hebrew and Aramaic text and are not part of the 66-book canon.
The expressions feet of clay and the writing on the wall both come from Daniel (2:33; 5:5).

How to study Daniel

Reading plan

Daniel's twelve chapters can be read in two weeks at one chapter a day. For a group, six sessions on the stories (1-6) and six on the visions (7-12) work well; the visions benefit from slow reading, with a chart of the kingdoms and the dates in the margins.

What to look for

How each story ends with a pagan king acknowledging the God of Israel (2:47; 3:28-29; 4:34-37; 6:26-27).
The repeated idea that God gives and takes away kingdoms.
The way the visions explain their own symbols.
The prayers of Daniel and his friends.

Teaching it in a Sunday school class or small group

With children, focus on chapters 1, 3 and 6: courage, prayer and God's faithfulness. With youth groups, ask what it means to live in Babylon today, serving well without bowing to its idols. With adults, read the visions alongside Revelation, present the main interpretations fairly and avoid setting dates. In every lesson, end where Daniel ends: God's kingdom will stand forever, and those who belong to him will rise.

Daniel chapter by chapter

Every chapter of Daniel with a summary, key verses explained, themes, people, questions with answers and application.

Frequently asked questions about Daniel

Who wrote the book of Daniel?

The visions of chapters 7-12 are written in Daniel's own voice (7:2; 8:1; 9:2; 10:2), and Jewish and Christian tradition attributes the whole book to him. Jesus speaks of the prophet Daniel (Matthew 24:15). Many modern scholars think an unnamed author gathered the stories and wrote the visions in the 160s BC; others defend Daniel's authorship in the sixth century BC.

When was Daniel written?

The events run from 605 BC (1:1) to the third year of Cyrus, about 536 BC (10:1). On the traditional view Daniel wrote near the end of his life, in the late sixth century BC. Many scholars date the book to about 165 BC, during the persecution of Antiochus IV, because chapter 11 describes those years in detail; those who hold the early date see that detail as genuine prophecy.

What is the main message of Daniel?

God is sovereign over kings and empires, and his people can stay faithful under any regime. The stories show God honoring those who honor him, and the visions show that hostile empires will fall and that God will give an everlasting kingdom to the Son of Man and to his people.

How many chapters does Daniel have and how is it organized?

Daniel has 12 chapters. Chapters 1-6 are stories about Daniel and his friends in the courts of Babylon and Persia; chapters 7-12 are Daniel's visions of future kingdoms and the end. The book is also written in two languages: Hebrew in 1:1-2:4a and chapters 8-12, and Aramaic from 2:4b to 7:28.

What are the four kingdoms in Daniel 2 and 7?

The first is clearly Babylon (2:38). The traditional view sees the others as Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, with God's kingdom arriving in the days of Rome through Christ. Many scholars read them as Media, Persia and Greece, ending with the Greek kingdoms of Alexander's successors. Both views agree that God's kingdom outlasts them all.

What are the seventy weeks of Daniel 9?

Gabriel speaks of seventy sevens, usually understood as 490 years, from a word to rebuild Jerusalem to the full accomplishment of God's purposes (9:24-27). Many count to the ministry and death of Christ, the anointed one who is cut off; some place the last week in the future; others see the fulfillment in the second century BC. The passage calls for humility and careful study.

Why are parts of Daniel written in Aramaic?

From 2:4b to the end of chapter 7, Daniel is written in Aramaic, the international language of the Babylonian and Persian empires. This section speaks about the nations and their kings, while the Hebrew chapters focus on God's people. Parts of Ezra (4:8-6:18; 7:12-26) are also in Aramaic.

Is the story of the lions' den historical?

Daniel 6 presents it as an event in the reign of Darius the Mede, and Hebrews 11:33 counts those who stopped the mouths of lions among the heroes of faith. Ancient Near Eastern kings kept lions, and Assyrian palace reliefs show royal lion hunts. Questions about the identity of Darius are real, but the chapter is told as history, not as a fable.