Old Testament · Apocalyptic · book 27 of 66 · 2 min read
The book of Daniel
Six chapters of court stories about staying faithful under a foreign king, and six chapters of visions that founded a whole genre.
“If it happens, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”
At a glance
- Chapters
- 12
- Author
- Anonymous; the visions are widely dated to the second century BC
- Written
- Court tales possibly earlier; final form likely second century BC
- Written for
- Jews under a regime demanding they give up their practice
- Themes
- exile, resistance, empires, vision
What it is about
Daniel divides cleanly. Chapters 1 to 6 are narratives — the food test, the fiery furnace, the writing on the wall, the lions' den — set in the Babylonian and Persian courts and concerned with how you keep your practice when the state objects to it.
Chapters 7 to 12 are apocalyptic visions: beasts, horns, a figure like a son of man, and timelines that have been argued over for two thousand years. This half founded a genre and shaped the imagery of Revelation.
The line worth carrying out of it is the three men's answer before the furnace — that God is able to deliver them, and that if he does not, they still will not bow. The conditional is the point.
Where to start
Chapter 3, the furnace, for the book's ethical centre. Chapter 7 if you want the visionary half and are ready for it.
The chapters worth knowing
- Daniel 3 — The furnace, and the answer that holds whether or not they are rescued.
- Daniel 6 — The lions' den, which is about a law designed to make faithfulness illegal.
- Daniel 7 — The beasts and the one like a son of man, the passage Jesus applies to himself.
What people get wrong about it
That the stories are for children and the visions are for prophecy charts. The stories are about political resistance under pressure, and the visions were written to encourage people being killed for their practice.
Questions
What is the book of Daniel about?
Two halves: court narratives about keeping faith under foreign rule, and apocalyptic visions about empires rising and falling. Both were written for people under pressure to conform.
When was Daniel written?
The traditional view places it in the sixth century BC. Most modern scholars date the visions to the second century BC, during the persecution under Antiochus IV, on the basis of the historical detail they contain.