Summer Reading: Daniel, Introduction


The book of Daniel is a collection of short stories about life in exile under the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, in the first half; and in the second, visions relating to the fall of current empire, the end of the punishment of Jerusalem, and the end of days. The stories in the first half establish Daniel’s capacity as an interpreter of dreams, to whom God reveals both dreams and their meaning. The visions in the second half come to Daniel at various times, referencing various kings and powers, and are predictions of what will happen.
This role as dream interpreter/code breaker distinguishes Daniel from other prophetic literature. “Traditional” prophets, those who interacted with kings and who have books named after them, communicated the word of the Lord to the kings, people in power, and the general population, as God gave them this word. The literature in Daniel is more apocalyptic in nature, describing end times in coded and symbolic language, predicting events that have not happened yet. Hebrew scripture considers Daniel part of the “Writings” rather than a prophet because of this content and the description of life in exile.[1]
Daniel is written in both Hebrew and Aramaic[2], interestingly. Aramaic was the language of the Babylonian empire, and Hebrew the religious language of the Judahites, but they would have been fluent in both. Daniel and his friends must learn the academic language of the empire, Akkadian, written in cuneiform, to be able to serve the king.[3]
Similar to Esther, Daniel focuses on Jews living in exile and what faithfulness looks like in the face of oppression. The events of Daniel are located about 100 years before Esther, around the first deportation of Jews from Judah to Babylon (now southern Iraq).  But in the visionary section there are references to events in the 2nd century bce, making it the latest book composed of the Hebrew canon. Throughout the book, we are reminded that there is no earthly power greater than the God of heaven and earth (“Daniel’s God”) and that God is in charge, of everything that happens. Much previous biblical literature attributes consequences to human actions that please or displease God, but Daniel is more fatalistic, viewing God as the source of all that happens according to a divine plan.

Some terms:

Chaldeans were the ruling class of Babylon, renowned for their wisdom and skill at divination and soothsaying[4].

[5]Dani-el (God is my judge) = Belteshazzar
Hanan-iah (YHWH is gracious) = Shadrach
Misha-el (who is like God) = Meshach
Azar-iah (YHWH has helped) = Abednego

Official documentation of Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem, 597 bce (British Museum) 

[1]Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, vol 3.(NY: W. W. Norton, 2018), 748; Lutheran Study Bible (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009), 1421.
[2] LSB, 1421.
[3] Alter, 752.
[4] Alter, 753.

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