“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”Read the surrounding chapter
Time, place, and setting
- Time
- The narrated events begin in Jehoiakim’s third year and name Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede and Cyrus. Vision headings return to earlier reigns rather than continuing one simple chronological sequence. Daniel 1:1; 5:30 to 6:1; 7:1; 8:1; 9:1; 10:1. 1
- Place
- Judah’s captives and temple vessels are brought to Babylon in the land of Shinar. The narratives take place in royal settings; later visions name Shushan beside the Ulai and the great river Hiddekel. Jerusalem and its sanctuary remain central to prayer and hope. Daniel 1:1 to 7; 8:1 to 2; 9:1 to 19; 10:4. 1
- Setting
- Court narratives describe Jewish faithfulness, royal power, dreams and deliverance. Visions portray oppressive kingdoms, heavenly judgment, sanctuary crisis and resurrection hope. The interpretations and the seer’s responses accompany the images throughout the book. Daniel 1 to 12. 1
Like a son of man, or like a human being. The lexicon identifies enash as man or mankind and cites this phrase in Daniel 7:13. 2
The humanlike figure comes to the Ancient of Days and receives dominion. The accompanying interpretation speaks of the holy people receiving the kingdom. Identity and later Christian reception require those surrounding scenes as well as the words themselves. Daniel 7:9 to 27. 1
Daniel 1 and 2: Identity, mercy and revealed wisdom
The captives’ education and new names precede Daniel’s decision about the royal table. Cultural identity is negotiated within that imperial setting. 8 The official fears for his life, and a test is agreed rather than imposed by Daniel. Chapter 2 then gives a wider threat to the wise men and their households. Daniel seeks time and mercy with his friends, receives a night vision and blesses God. Revelation is credited to God rather than superior personal wisdom. 5 Daniel 1; 2:1 to 30. 1
The scene’s failed expertise also admits an ironic interpretation. 7 Daniel requests that the wise men be spared before approaching the king, making their survival part of the account. The statue’s explanation then moves from Nebuchadnezzar’s rule toward a kingdom God establishes. Comparative origins of its metal sequence are uncertain. 15 Joseph’s court narrative offers particular thematic parallels. 18 Both accounts credit God with interpretation, while Genesis 41 directs its revelation toward provision for famine and Daniel 2 toward the succession and limit of kingdoms. Genesis 41; Daniel 2:24 to 49. 1
Daniel 3:16 to 28 and 6:10 to 23: Faithfulness before rescue
The companions affirm divine ability to deliver and declare allegiance even if rescue does not occur. Their answer comes before they enter the furnace. The narrative contrasts their bonds with their freedom inside it. 4 Nebuchadnezzar’s description of the fourth figure belongs to his speech; verse 28 speaks of God sending his angel. The account makes deliverance concrete through bodies, hair, clothing and even the absence of smoke’s smell. Faithfulness and divine rescue each have their place in the scene. Daniel 3:16 to 28. 1
Daniel’s established prayer continues after the decree is signed. His reliable administration has left rivals searching for a religious charge, and the king’s attempts to deliver him fail before the den is sealed. God closes the lions’ mouths. The animal scenes also connect royal power with the visions. 9 Hebrews later remembers stopped lions and quenched fire alongside faithful people who were tortured and killed. That explicit Christian companion helps retain the whole witness to faith: remarkable rescue and costly endurance both belong within it. Daniel 6:1 to 23; Hebrews 11:32 to 40. 1
Daniel 4:19 to 37 and 5:18 to 28: Power held accountable
Daniel interprets the cut tree as the king’s humiliation and urges righteousness and mercy to poor people. The later boast over Babylon is followed by lost dominion and eventual acknowledgment of God. Daniel’s address to Belshazzar recalls that history before interpreting the writing. The two royal accounts distinguish responses to a known warning. 14 The feast’s sacred vessels and praise of lifeless gods give the accusation its particular setting. The God holding the king’s breath and ways has not been glorified. Daniel 4:19 to 37; 5:1 to 28. 1
The words are explained as numbering, weighing and division, and the chapter ends with changed rule. Darius’s historical identification remains disputed. 20 This unresolved question should be kept distinct from the narrative’s clear accusation concerning Belshazzar. Composition arguments also propose earlier traditions through ancient allusions. 13 Such historical debates help situate the account but should not obscure its own contrasts: warning and knowledge, proud use of sacred things, refusal of rewards and the limit of a ruler’s power. Daniel 5:17 to 31. 1
Daniel 7:9 to 27: Heavenly judgment and received dominion
The Ancient of Days sits, attendants stand and books are opened. A figure like a human being comes with heaven’s clouds and is brought near before receiving dominion. The interpretation connects that kingdom with the holy people. 3 Oppression by the horn precedes judgment and the removal of its rule. This order makes the vision a promise of divine accountability within a scene of actual suffering. The figure receives authority; the beast’s proud speech and violence do not possess the last word. Daniel 7:9 to 27. 1
Jesus receives the clouds imagery in his own trial response, while Revelation’s opening vision joins humanlike appearance with features recalling heavenly majesty. These are explicit Christian contexts for the reception of Daniel’s vision. They should be read through what the later passages say about Jesus and their own hearers, alongside the earlier vision’s holy people and heavenly court. The link is substantial without requiring every animal, horn or number to become an isolated detail about a present government. Daniel 7; Mark 14:53 to 65; Revelation 1:9 to 20. 1
Daniel 8 to 10: Distress, confession and understanding
Daniel seeks the meaning of the ram and goat, receives an explanation and reports days of illness and astonishment. Chapter 10 also describes weakness before repeated strengthening. Greek readings emphasise the seer’s vulnerability in these scenes. 16 Chapter 9 places confession between the reading of Jeremiah and Gabriel’s revelation. The prayer belongs within the vision section’s movement. 6 The Law of Moses and appeal to mercy give this response a specific covenant setting. 10 Daniel 8 to 10. 1
The prayer’s shared confession recalls earlier liturgical language. 11 Its seventy weeks concern Daniel’s people and holy city, with stated purposes including reconciliation and everlasting righteousness. Chronological approaches differ over precision and starting point. 19 Ancient reception also extended the hope beyond one crisis. 12 Read these debates beside the prayer’s own appeal: Daniel presents supplications because of God’s great mercies, not the people’s merits. The named city and sanctuary keep the revelation connected with the communal loss for which he intercedes. Daniel 9:1 to 27; Psalm 106; Jeremiah 25:1 to 14; 29:1 to 14. 1
Daniel 11:31 to 12:13: Suffering teachers and promised awakening
Sanctuary desecration and corrupt persuasion are followed by teachers instructing many, yet falling through sword, flame, captivity and spoil. Interpretations differ over the terminal ruler and events. 17 The final chapter answers with deliverance, awakening from the dust and the shining of wise people. Daniel also hears without fully understanding and is told to go his way. The ending brings promised vindication beside endurance and limited knowledge, giving those who suffer a hope that extends beyond immediate political success. Daniel 11:31 to 12:13. 1
John 5 explicitly speaks of resurrection, life and judgment through the Son. Pentecostal prayer can respond to that hope while also seeking the Spirit’s help in present witness and care. Acts 4 describes the threatened church praying for bold speech, healing and signs; 1 Corinthians 12 joins spiritual gifts with shared concern when members suffer. These Christian companions give practical shape to confidence in divine power while Daniel’s sufferers and promised awakening retain their ancient setting. John 5:19 to 29; Acts 4:23 to 31; 1 Corinthians 12. 1
Sources
Numbered references support the material above. Scripture quotations use the KJV.
- The Holy Bible, King James VersionKJV translators · 1611
Daniel 1 to 12; 2 Kings 24 to 25; Jeremiah 25:1 to 14 and 29:1 to 14; Genesis 41; Deuteronomy 30:1 to 10; Ezra 1; Psalm 106; Mark 13 and 14:53 to 65; Matthew 21:33 to 46 and 24; John 5:19 to 29; Hebrews 11:32 to 40; Revelation 1:9 to 20,13 and 20; Acts 2:22 to 36 and 4:23 to 31; 1 Corinthians 12; James 5:13 to 18; Aramaic Daniel 7:1 to 28
View the source - A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old TestamentFrancis Brown, S. R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs · 1906
Historical Aramaic enash entry, including Daniel 7:13
View the source - The Book of Daniel With Introduction and Notes, Cambridge Bible for Schools and CollegesS. R. Driver · 1900
Daniel 7:7 to 9 and 7:13 with the additional note
View the source - Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: DanielC. F. Keil
Daniel 3:22 to 28 commentary
View the source - The Court Stories of Joseph and Daniel in Canonical Context: A Theological Paradigm for God’s Work Among the NationsWendy L. Widder · 2014
Old Testament Essays 27.3, pages 1118 to 1122
View the source - Daniel 9 as Part of an Apocalyptic Book?Marius Nel · 2013
Verbum et Ecclesia 34.1, pages 2 to 3 and 7 to 8
View the source - Daniel 2 as SatireMarius Nel · 2012
HTS Theological Studies 68.1, pages 3 to 4
View the source - Rereading Daniel 1 Through the Lens of TraumaInchol Yang · 2025
HTS Theological Studies 81.1, pages 2 to 3 and 5 to 6
View the source - Yahweh, the Animal Tamer: Jungles, Wild Animals and Yahweh’s Sovereignty in the Apocalyptic Space of Daniel 7:1 to 28Matthew Michael · 2020
Political Wild Space and Yahweh’s Sovereignty sections
View the source - Moses in the Book of DanielHans van Deventer · 2017
Scriptura 116, literary penitential comparison and historical context sections
View the source - Suffering, Psalms and Allusion in Daniel 9H. J. M. van Deventer · 2012
Old Testament Essays 25.1, pages 219 to 221
View the source - How Early Judaism Read Daniel 9:24 to 27Dean R. Ulrich · 2014
Old Testament Essays 27.3, sections 1 e to 1 f and 2
View the source - Early Traces of the Book of DanielRoger Beckwith · 2002
Tyndale Bulletin 53.1, pages 75 and 78 to 79
View the source - The Literary Structure of the Book of Daniel and Its ImplicationsDavid W. Gooding · 1981
Tyndale Bulletin 32, pages 54 to 56
View the source - The Origin of Daniel’s Four Empires Scheme ReexaminedErnest C. Lucas · 1989
Tyndale Bulletin 40.2, pages 195 to 197
View the source - Son of Man, Pitiable Man, Rejected Man: Equivalent Expressions in the Old Greek of DanielEugene E. Lemcio · 2005
Tyndale Bulletin 56.1, pages 48 to 50
View the source - Desolation of the Temple and Messianic Enthronement in Daniel 11:36 to 12:3Jason Thomas Parry · 2011
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54.3, pages 485 to 486 and 491 to 492
View the source - Was Joseph a Type of Daniel? Typological Correspondence in Genesis 37 to 50 and Daniel 1 to 6Joshua M. Philpot · 2018
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 61.4, pages 685 to 686
View the source - Approximate Fulfillment as the Key to Reconsidering the Decree of Cyrus as the Beginning Point of Daniel’s 70 WeeksDavid Larson · 2022
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 65.3, pages 500 to 501
View the source - Notes on Some Problems in the Book of DanielD. J. Wiseman, T. C. Mitchell, R. Joyce, W. J. Martin and K. A. Kitchen · 1965
Wiseman contribution, Some Historical Problems in the Book of Daniel, pages 15 to 17
View the source