DANIEL
The Book of Daniel (Hebrew: דניאל) is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel,
a Judean exile at the court of Nebuchadnezzar II (605 to 562 BCE), the ruler of Babylon, becomes a high government official and delivers various prophecies. The book was probably composed about 535 BC. The book is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic, and consists of a series of six third-person narratives (chapters one to six) followed by four apocalyptic visions in the first person (chapters seven to twelve). Modern Bibles place Daniel with the prophets, but the Hebrew Bible has it placed in the writings. It is like the Revelation of the Old Testament. The Septuagint translations of Daniel include material not found in the Hebrew Masoretic text version: the The Prayer of Azariah and Song of the Three Holy Children in chapter 3, and the stories of Susannah and the Elders and Bel and the Dragon; there is little doubt that these were added after the completion of the Hebrew/Aramic book. A total of eight copies of the book of Daniel have been found amongst the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Chapter 1:
THE BABYLONIAN CAPTIVITY BEGINS:
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim King of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and surrounded it.
third year--compare Jeremiah 25:1 , "the fourth year; Jehoiakim came to the throne at the end of the year, which Jeremiah reckons as the first year, but which Daniel leaves out of count, being an incomplete year: thus, in Jeremiah, it is "the fourth year"; in Daniel, "the third" (JAHN).
2 The Lord (adonay) handed King Jehoiakim of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar and some objects from the House of God. Nebuchadnezzar took the objects to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put them in the temple treasury.
Adonay - Translated Lord and not LORD (from Yahweh). The word can also be translated as “sir” but never when referring to God. I capitalize the “L” only when it is referring to the Godhead or Jesus.
his god--Bel. His temple, as with most heathens, was made "treasure house" of the king.
3 The king told Ashpenaz, the prince of the eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel, the royal family, and the nobility.
Eunuch-a castrated male
4 They were to be young men who were healthy, good-looking, knowledgeable in all things, well-informed, intelligent, and able to serve in the king's palace. They were to be taught the language and literature of the Babylon.
5 The king arranged for them to get a daily allowance of the king's royal delicacies and his wine. They were to be trained for three years. After that, they were to serve the king.
The Hebrew for "meat" implies delicacies.
6 Among these young men were some young men from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
7 The prince gave them Babylonian names: To Daniel he named him Belteshazzar. To Hananiah he gave the name Shadrach. To Mishael he gave the name Meshach. And to Azariah he gave the name Abednego.
8 Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat his own diet instead.
9 God made the prince have great respect for Daniel.
10 Then the prince told Daniel, "I'm afraid of my master (adonay), the king, for he has determined what you should eat and drink. If he sees that you look worse than the other young men your age, he would have my head cut off."
11 The prince of eunuchs put a supervisor in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Daniel said to the supervisor,
12 "Test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water."
13 "At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king's rich food. Then you can decide whether or not to let us continue eating our diet."
14 The supervisor listened to them about this matter and tested them for the ten days.
15 After ten days they looked healthier and stronger than the young men who had been eating the king's rich delicacies.
16 So the supervisor took away the king's food and wine and gave them vegetables.
17 God gave these four young men an unusual abilities for learning the literature and science of the day. And God gave Daniel special ability in understanding the meanings of visions and dreams.
Here Daniel is a Joseph type. Both were held in captivity, both become royal officials, and both had the ability to interpret dreams
18 After the three-year training period, the prince brought the young men to Nebuchadnezzar.
19 The king talked to them and found no one like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah among all of them. So they were appointed to his regular staff of advisers.
20 In all matters requiring wisdom and sound judgment, the king found the advice of these young men to be ten times better than that of all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
21 Daniel served the royal palace until the first year of King Cyrus [of Persia].
Daniel 2:
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM:
1 In the second year of King Nebuchadnezzar, he had a dream. It worried him so much that he couldn't sleep,
2 so he sent for his fortunetellers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards to come and explain the dream to him. They came and stood before the king.
3 He said, "I'm worried about a dream I've had. I want to know what it means."
4 The astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, "May Your Majesty live forever! Tell us your dream, and we will explain it to you."
5 The king answered and said to the astrologers, “My decision is firm: If you don't tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be demolished into heaps of rubble!
6 But, if you can tell me both the dream and its meaning, I will reward you with gifts and great honor. Now then, tell me what was the dream and what does it mean."
7 They answered, "If Your Majesty will only tell us what the dream was, we will explain it."
8 At that, the king exclaimed, "Just as I thought! You are trying to gain time, because you see that I have made up my mind
9 to give all of you the same punishment if you don't tell me the dream. You have conspired to tell me lies in hopes that something will change. But tell me the dream, and then I will know that you can tell me what it means."
10 The astrologers replied, "There is no one on the face of the earth who can tell Your Majesty what you want to know. Furthermore, no king, not even the greatest and most powerful, has ever made such a demand of his astrologers, magicians, and wizards.
11 What Your Majesty is asking for is so difficult that no one can do it for you except the gods ('elahh), and they do not live among human beings."
'elahh is the Aramaic form of “elohim” in Hebrew. It can refer to the true God or pagan gods. Here it is referring to pagan gods.
12 At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered all the royal advisers in Babylon to be killed.
13 So the order was issued for them all to be killed, including Daniel and his friends.
14 Then Daniel approached Arioch the commander of the king's bodyguard. He was the one who was ordered to carry out the execution.
15 He asked Arioch why the king had issued such an order. So Arioch told Daniel what had happened.
16 Daniel went at once and obtained royal permission for more time, so that he could tell the king what the dream meant.
17 Then Daniel told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.
18 He asked them to pray to the God ('elahh- The God family) of Heaven for mercy
and to ask him to explain the mystery to them so that they would not be killed along with the other advisers in Babylon.
לה or 'elahh- Aramaic version of Elohim, and here stands for the Godhead – The Family of God. I capitalized God here.
19 Then that night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he praised
the God ('elahh) of Heaven:
20 "God is wise and powerful! Praise Him forever and ever.
21 He controls the times and the seasons; He makes and unmakes kings; it is He who gives wisdom and understanding.
times . . . seasons--"He herein gives a general preparatory intimation, that the dream of Nebuchadnezzar is concerning the changes and successions of kingdoms" (JEROME).
22 He reveals things that are deep and secret; He knows what is hidden in darkness, and He Himself is surrounded by light.
He reveals: Apocalypse (or "revelation") signifies a divine, prophecy a human, activity. Compare 1 Corinthians 14:6 , where the two are distinguished. The prophet is connected with the outer world, addressing to the congregation the words with which the Spirit of God supplies him; he speaks in the Spirit, but the apocalyptic seer is in the Spirit in his whole person ( Revelation 1:10 , 4:2 ). The form of the apocalyptic revelation (the very term meaning that the veil that hides the invisible world is taken off) is subjectively either the dream, or, higher, the vision. The interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream was a preparatory education to Daniel himself. By gradual steps, each revelation preparing him for the succeeding one, God fitted him for disclosures becoming more and more special. In the second and fourth chapters he is but an interpreter of Nebuchadnezzar's dreams; then he has a dream himself, but it is only a vision in a dream of the night ( Daniel 7:1 Daniel 7:2 ); then follows a vision in a waking state ( Daniel 8:1-3 ); lastly, in the two final revelations ( Daniel 9:20 , Daniel 10:4 Daniel 10:5 ) the ecstatic state is no longer needed. The progression in the form answers to the progression in the contents of his prophecy; at first general outlines, and these afterwards filled up with minute chronological and historical details, such as are not found in the Revelation of John, though, as became the New Testament, the form of revelation is the highest, namely, clear waking visions (AUBERLEN).
23 I praise you and honor you, God ('elahh - The God family) of my ancestors. You have given me wisdom and strength; you have answered my prayer and shown us what to tell the king."
24 So Daniel went in to see Arioch, who had been ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, "Don't kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream."
25 At once Arioch took Daniel into King Nebuchadnezzar's presence and told the king, "I have found one of the Jewish exiles who can tell Your Majesty the meaning of your dream."
26 The king said to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar), "Can you tell me what I dreamed and what it means?"
27 Daniel replied, "Your Majesty, there is no wizard, magician, fortuneteller, or astrologer who can tell you that.
28 But there is a God ('elahh- The God family) in heaven, who reveals mysteries.
He has informed Your Majesty what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you the dream, the vision you had while you were asleep.
29 "While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about the future; and
God ('elahh- The God family), who reveals mysteries, showed you what is going to happen.
30 Now, this mystery was revealed to me, not because I am wiser than anyone else, but so that Your Majesty may learn the meaning of your dream and understand the thoughts that have come to you.
THE FUTURE WORLD GOVERNMENTS:
31 "Your Majesty, in your vision you saw standing before you a giant statue, bright and shining, and terrifying to look at.
