What Does the Bible Say About Daniel?

The Bible’s answer

Daniel was an outstanding Jewish prophet who lived during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. God enabled him to interpret dreams, gave him visions about future events, and inspired him to write the Bible book that bears the prophet’s own name.—Daniel 1:17; 2:19.

Who was Daniel?

Daniel grew up in Judah, a kingdom that included the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple. In 617 B.C.E., the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, captured Jerusalem and carried off “the foremost men of the land” into exile in Babylon. (2 Kings 24:15; Daniel 1:1) Daniel, who was probably a teenager at the time, was taken with them.

Daniel and other young men being escorted by royal guards to the Babylonian palace.

Daniel and some other young men (including Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) were taken to the Babylonian palace to receive special training for governmental service. Although they were pressured to compromise their beliefs, Daniel and his three friends remained faithful to their God, Jehovah. (Daniel 1:3-8) After they had received three years of training, King Nebuchadnezzar praised them for their wisdom and skills, judging them to be “ten times better than all the magic-practicing priests and the conjurers in his entire realm.” He appointed Daniel and his friends to serve in the royal court.—Daniel 1:18-20.

Decades later, when Daniel was probably in his 90’s, he was summoned to the palace. A man named Belshazzar, who was then ruling in Babylon, asked Daniel to interpret handwriting that had mysteriously appeared on the wall. Having divine guidance, Daniel revealed that Babylon would fall to the Medo-Persian Empire. Babylon was captured that very night.—Daniel 5:1, 13-31.

Daniel interpreting handwriting on a wall.

Now, under Medo-Persian rule, Daniel was appointed as a high official and King Darius considered promoting him further. (Daniel 6:1-3) Jealous officials plotted to assassinate Daniel by having him thrown into a lions’ pit, but Jehovah rescued him. (Daniel 6:4-23) Toward the end of Daniel’s life, an angel appeared to him and twice reassured Daniel that he was a “very precious man.”—Daniel 10:11, 19.

Watch these events come to life in the two-part Bible drama Daniel—A Lifetime of Faith.

What does history reveal about the Bible book of Daniel?

Daniel reported: Nebuchadnezzar erected an enormous image, commanded his subjects to worship it, and threw those who disobeyed him into a fiery furnace.—Daniel 3:1-6.

What history reveals: Nebuchadnezzar carried out massive building projects in Babylon “not only for his own glorification but also in honour of the gods,” according to Encyclopædia Britannica. “He claimed to be ‘the one who set in the mouth of the people reverence for the great gods.’”

As for executions in a furnace, they are mentioned several times in ancient Babylonian records, including cases when such burnings were mandated by a ruler. One ancient text dated to the reign of Nebuchadnezzar describes the punishment for officials accused of profaning the gods of Babylon. The text states: “Destroy them, burn them, roast them, . . . to the cook’s oven . . . make their smoke billow, bring about their fiery end with the fierce flame.”a

Daniel wrote: King Nebuchadnezzar bragged about his construction projects.—Daniel 4:29, 30.

A brick unearthed in Babylon, stamped with Nebuchadnezzar’s name

What history reveals: “The records that Nebuchadnezzar himself left for posterity tell . . . of a great king confident in his righteousness and power.”b For example, one building inscription includes this boast from Nebuchadnezzar: “I built with bitumen and brick a mighty wall which, like a mountain, could not be moved . . . The fortifications of Esagila and Babylon I strengthened and established the name of my reign forever.”c Many of the bricks unearthed in Babylon are stamped with Nebuchadnezzar’s name.

Daniel wrote: King Belshazzar offered to have Daniel “rule as the third one in the kingdom” of Babylon.—Daniel 5:1, 13-16.

This cuneiform cylinder from 550 B.C.E. mentions King Nabonidus and his son, Belshazzar

What history reveals: A man named Nabonidus was king during the events recorded in Daniel chapter 5. However, Nabonidus spent much of his reign, not in Babylon, but in Arabia. Who ruled in Babylon while he was absent? “A cuneiform record states that Nabonidus entrusted the kingship to his eldest son, i.e. to Belshazzar,” explained historian Raymond Philip Dougherty in his book Nabonidus and Belshazzar. “Belshazzar performed royal functions in the name of the absent monarch, his father.” Because Nabonidus and Belshazzar already occupied the first and second positions in the kingdom, Belshazzar offered Daniel the third position.

a Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 128, Number 2, pages 279, 284.

b Babylon—City of Wonders, by Irving Finkel and Michael Seymour, page 17.

c Archæology and the Bible, by George Barton, page 479.