Introduction to Daniel 1-4
Daniel’s name means “God is my judge.”
The book can be divided into two main sections:
Stories of Daniel (1:1–6:28)
Visions of Daniel (7:1–12:13)
Portions of the book are written in Aramaic:
Daniel 1:1–2:3, in Hebrew
Daniel 2:4–7:28, in Aramaic
Daniel 8:1–12:13, in Hebrew
The theme of World Domination is present throughout the book:
Babylonian Empire (1:1–5:29)
Media-Persian Empire (5:30–8:4)
Greek Empire under Alexander the Great (8:5-21)
Greek Empires under Seleucid and Ptolemaic Rule (8:22–11:45)
Final Messianic Empire (12:1-13)
Chapter 1
The book of Daniel begins with the exile of King Jehoiakim and all of the nobles and members of the royal family in Jerusalem to Babylon. This took place before the final destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that the very young men among the exiles be examined to see if any were fit to serve in his royal court. Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among those chosen. Daniel was renamed Belteshazzar, and the other three were renamed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Daniel did not want to “defile” himself by eating the unclean foods from the King’s table that had been offered to Babylonian deities. Daniel went to Ashpenaz, the man in charge of these honored exiles, and asked for water and vegetables instead. Ashpenaz was afraid Nebuchadnezzar would be angry, so Daniel proposed a test to see which food was better. At the end of the week, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier after eating only water and vegetables than the other men did who had eaten the King’s food. They were given permission to eat whatever they wanted to. This story ends by saying that Daniel remained in courtly service of the Babylonians until King Cyrus of the Persians came to power.
Daniel did not want to “defile” himself by eating the unclean foods from the King’s table that had been offered to Babylonian deities. Daniel went to Ashpenaz, the man in charge of these honored exiles, and asked for water and vegetables instead. Ashpenaz was afraid Nebuchadnezzar would be angry, so Daniel proposed a test to see which food was better. At the end of the week, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier after eating only water and vegetables than the other men did who had eaten the King’s food. They were given permission to eat whatever they wanted to. This story ends by saying that Daniel remained in courtly service of the Babylonians until King Cyrus of the Persians came to power.
Chapter 2
Nebuchadnezzar had a troubling dream. He wanted his wise men to interpret it without hearing it, but they could not. Nebuchadnezzar ordered their execution. Daniel and his three friends asked for time to pray to God. God revealed the King’s dream to Daniel and Daniel explained its meaning to the King. He had dreamed of a great metallic statue that had been destroyed by a rock “not cut with human hands.” The rock later became a mountain that “filled the whole earth.”
Gold head = Babylonians
Silver chest and arms = Medes and Persians
Bronze belly and thighs = Greeks under Alexander the Great
Iron legs = Greeks under Seleucid and Ptolemaic control
Feet partly of iron and baked clay = reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
The rock that becomes a mountain = reign of the Messiah
Gold head = Babylonians
Silver chest and arms = Medes and Persians
Bronze belly and thighs = Greeks under Alexander the Great
Iron legs = Greeks under Seleucid and Ptolemaic control
Feet partly of iron and baked clay = reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
The rock that becomes a mountain = reign of the Messiah
Chapter 3
At Daniel’s suggestion, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed his three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to positions of high authority. Later, the King built a huge gold statue in honor of himself. The statue was 60 cubits tall, and 6 by 6 cubits wide. Death would be given to anyone who refused to bow to it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow. The King gave them a second chance, but they still refused.
They said:
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
The King was enraged and ordered the furnace to be heated up seven times hotter than normal. They were thrown in, clothes and all, by soldiers who died from the heat while following orders. Suddenly, the King said, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” The King commanded them to come out. They were unharmed and didn’t even smell like smoke. The King promoted them and praised their God.
He said:
“Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
They said:
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
The King was enraged and ordered the furnace to be heated up seven times hotter than normal. They were thrown in, clothes and all, by soldiers who died from the heat while following orders. Suddenly, the King said, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” The King commanded them to come out. They were unharmed and didn’t even smell like smoke. The King promoted them and praised their God.
He said:
“Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
Chapter 4
Chapter 4 is presented as a letter by Nebuchadnezzar to all the nations of the world. The letter details the account of his absence from the kingdom. Around 30 years are missing from the historical record of Nebuchadnezzar, so we do not know what happened to him during that time apart from the biblical text. One theory is that this story is actually about Nabonidus, Nebuchadnezzar’s successor, who according to historical records fled his kingdom and went on an odd pilgrimage for roughly a decade.
In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that terrified him. No one could interpret the dream except for Daniel. The dream was about a tree that touched the sky, was seen throughout the world, and provided shelter for all animals. A messenger from heaven ordered the tree to be cut down. All the animals fled, and the stump that remained in the ground was shackled with iron and bronze.
A voice said:
“Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.”
Daniel was disturbed by the dream.
Tree = Nebuchadnezzar
In Daniel 4, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that terrified him. No one could interpret the dream except for Daniel. The dream was about a tree that touched the sky, was seen throughout the world, and provided shelter for all animals. A messenger from heaven ordered the tree to be cut down. All the animals fled, and the stump that remained in the ground was shackled with iron and bronze.
A voice said:
“Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven, and let him live with the animals among the plants of the earth. Let his mind be changed from that of a man and let him be given the mind of an animal, till seven times pass by for him.”
Daniel was disturbed by the dream.
Tree = Nebuchadnezzar
Tree stump = Nebuchadnezzar losing his mind
A year later, the King was walking around on his roof, admiring his kingdom and wealth, when a voice came from heaven and repeated the words of the dream. The King left his palace and lived in the wilderness and ate grass and let his hair and nails grow long. After seven years, he looked up towards heaven and finally acknowledged God, and his right mind was restored. The letter ends with the King praising God for humbling the proud.
A year later, the King was walking around on his roof, admiring his kingdom and wealth, when a voice came from heaven and repeated the words of the dream. The King left his palace and lived in the wilderness and ate grass and let his hair and nails grow long. After seven years, he looked up towards heaven and finally acknowledged God, and his right mind was restored. The letter ends with the King praising God for humbling the proud.
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