The document provides an overview of the biblical Book of Daniel. It describes Daniel as a man of purpose, planning, prestige, prayer, predictability, prophecy, persistence and perspective. It also discusses Nebuchadnezzar's primary god Marduk and contrasts him with Daniel's God. Some background details are given on the dating of Daniel between 605-536 BC. The book consists of Hebrew and Aramaic sections focused on Jewish and Gentile audiences respectively, with overlap in interest. Overall, the document frames Daniel as presenting stories of faith with a focus on future prophecy.

1. The Book of Daniel
God’s Plan
for the future

2. The Man • He is a man of Purpose 1:8
• He is a man of Planning 1:11-13
• He is a man of Prestige
(influence) Impressing the chief
eunuch (19); encouraging his three
friends 1:8-13; having persuasive
sway with the head guard (2:14-19);
satisfying the king with his
interpretation (2:46-49); creating
jealousies among the other wise men
(6:1-5); and not losing his position
though 3 separate kings sat on the
throne (Nebuchadnezzar, Darius and
Cyrus).• He is a man of Prayer (2:17, 18; 6:10).
• He is a man of Predictability (2:17; 6:4, 5, 10)
• He is a man of Prophecy (2; 7-12).
• He is a man of Persistence (He was living godly in an ungodly world)
• He was a man of Perspective (He served the country that put his home
world in ruins)

3. NebuchadNezzar's god
• The primary god of Babylon was Marduk “he was eventually called simply Bel, or
lord. Originally, he seems to have been a god of thunderstorms.
• He was the god of 50 names, each one that of a deity or of a divine
attribute.
• Marduk’s chief temples at Babylon were the Esagila and the
Etemenanki, a ziggurat with a shrine of Marduk on the top.
• Marduk’s star was Jupiter, and his sacred animals were horses, dogs, and
especially the so-called dragon with forked tongue, representations of which
adorn his city’s walls. On the oldest monuments Marduk is represented holding a
triangular spade or hoe, interpreted as an emblem of fertility and vegetation. He
is also pictured walking or in his war chariot. Typically, his tunic is adorned with
stars; in his hand is a scepter, and he carries a bow, spear, net, or thunderbolt.”

4. Daniel’s God
 He judges his people and protects them while under his judgment (1:2).
 He raises up the obedient (1)
 He is a God who speaks – unlike the idols he reveals his will to
mankind (2:28).
 He is a miracle working God (3)
 He is a God who is incomparable with any other gods (3:39)
 He is sovereign (4)
 He works in kingdoms of men (4:17)
 He is holy and what he sanctifies is holy (5)
 He is able to deliver (6:16)
 He is a restorer (7:17)
 He not a God of the past but a God of the present and future (8-11)
 Because he is a God of the future, he is the God of eternity (12:2)

5. Background of the Book
• APX 712 B.C. – Hezekiah is prophesied to that his sons would become eunuchs i
Babylon (2 Chron 32).
• 612 B.C. – Fall of Nineveh, capital of Assyria
• 605 B.C. – Battle of Carchemish, established Babylonian domination
• 597 B.C. – A second remnant taken to Babylon
• 586 B.C. – Fall of Jerusalem and the temple destroyed

6. Dating the Book
• The internal testimony of the book says it was authored by Daniel (7:2ff; 8:1ff;
9:2ff; 12:4,9).
• As an historical person, Daniel is mentioned in the book of Ezekiel (14:14, 20; 28:3)
• The ancient Jews believed that no books were added to the Old Testament
after the time of the Persian ruler Artaxerxes (464-424 B.C.)
(Josephus, Against Apion 1.8).
• Material from Daniel is alluded to in the Apocrypha (cf. 1 Maccabees 2:59-60).
• Christ referred to the prophecy regarding the destruction of Jerusalem (Dan
9:27), and he declared that it “was spoken through the prophet Daniel” (Mt.
24:15).
• The testimony of Josephus is decidedly against the late date for Daniel.
• The precision of the details within the book relative to the city of Babylon.
• Portions of the Daniel manuscript from the Dead Sea scrolls reveal, upon the
basis of paleographic evidence (i.e., writing style), that the original document
was composed several hundred years prior to the 2nd century B.C. and were
dated to the late Herodian period. In other words, these manuscripts could
come from about 60 AD or earlier (Hartman and Di Lella 1978:72).
• By the time of the Greek writer Herodotus (5th century B.C.), the name
“Belshazzar” (5:1) had disappeared from the historical records.

9. Hebrew & Aramic
Daniel consists of three sections written in two different languages:
• (1) Daniel 1:1-2:4a in Hebrew;
• (2) Daniel 2:4b-7:28 in Aramaic; and
• (3) Daniel 8:1-12:13 which reverts back to Hebrew. This
distinction is frequently used as the basis for concluding that
chapters 1 and 8-12 are predominantly focused on things of
interest to the Jews (written in Hebrew), whereas chapters 2-
7 are predominantly focused on things of interest to Gentile.
• While it appears that the most important revelation concerning
Gentile rule is written in Aramaic (chapters 2 and 7) and that
revelation of greater importance to Jewish concerns is written in
Hebrew (chapters 9, 11, 12), one must be careful not to
overemphasize a hard and fast distinction between the interests
of the two groups because there is considerable overlap in the
information given in each section and the interests of both
groups. For example, the Jews would also be deeply interested
in the prophecies concerning the sequence of kingdoms which
they will be subject to until the Davidic throne is reestablished
(Daniel 2 and 7). Moreover, there are also important aspects
concerning Gentile prophecy in the non-Aramaic sections.

10. Stories of Faith with a
Focus on the Future

11. Send request for written study
guide to
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