“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”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
Give listeners the book’s full movement
A useful reference outline begins with displaced Judeans in the royal court, follows the six narrative episodes and then turns to Daniel’s major revelations. The linguistic divisions partly cross this genre division. 21 Chapter 2 gives a royal dream, while chapter 7 belongs to the Aramaic material and opens the later vision sequence. Reign headings return to earlier settings, so a teacher should distinguish the order of presentation from a reconstructed chronological order. This gives listeners a map before individual promises or symbols are explained. Daniel 1 to 12. 1
The named court setting and proposed composition date should remain distinct. Earlier tradition arguments appeal to suggested ancient allusions. 13 The historical identification of Darius also remains disputed. 20 State those uncertainties briefly when they matter, then return to the actual scene and its voices. The book presents kings, captives, interpreters and heavenly messengers whose words have different roles. Daniel’s distress, a ruler’s boast and an interpretation of a vision should not be flattened into one undifferentiated claim. Daniel 1:1; 5:18 to 6:1; 7:1 to 28; 10:1 to 21. 1
Explain dependence on God alongside competent public service
Chapter 1 describes training, learning and an agreed test concerning food. The royal setting places Jewish identity under pressure. 8 Chapter 2 then distinguishes revelation from the trained experts’ abilities. Daniel explicitly credits God for the revealed mystery. 5 He also speaks prudently, asks for time, involves his friends in prayer and seeks the other wise men’s survival. Those actions give faithful public service concrete content. The gift is received within dependence, gratitude and concern for people endangered by the king’s demand. Daniel 1 to 2. 1
The court’s inability can be explained through the story’s irony. Its failed expertise supports a proposed satirical reading. 7 The dream itself should then be explained through the stated interpretation before disputed kingdom identifications are introduced. Proposed comparative origins of the metal scheme remain uncertain. 15 Joseph provides a companion account of gifted foreign service. Specific shared motifs connect the two interpreters. 18 Their differences are equally useful: Joseph’s practical famine provision and Daniel’s vision of enduring dominion each belong to their own narrative. Genesis 41; Daniel 2:31 to 49. 1
Keep the companions’ commitment before the furnace outcome
The companions declare that God is able to deliver and that their worship will remain faithful even if he does not. This answer comes before the rescue. Bound men are later seen walking free within the fire. 4 The king’s description of the fourth figure should be retained beside his subsequent reference to God sending an angel. The account permits confident teaching about miraculous deliverance while also giving a clear statement of allegiance that is not made conditional on seeing that outcome first. Daniel 3:16 to 28. 1
Daniel’s prayer in chapter 6 similarly continues before the den is opened. The animals are also part of a wider literary portrayal of power. Royal and visionary animal scenes illuminate one another. 9 The king’s later action against the accusers’ families deserves sober description rather than cheerful omission. Hebrews remembers both rescued and afflicted faithful people, placing quenched fire and stopped lions beside imprisonment, torture and death. That Christian companion gives a fuller account of faithfulness for congregations whose members have experienced very different outcomes under pressure. Daniel 6; Hebrews 11:32 to 40. 1
Teach royal accountability through the paired stories
Chapter 4’s dream, Daniel’s counsel and the king’s boast lead toward humiliation and recovered praise. Chapter 5 explicitly recalls this history before condemning Belshazzar’s failure to humble himself. The royal stories contrast how known warning is received. 14 Mercy toward poor people in chapter 4 gives the call to righteousness practical content. The feast’s use of sacred vessels gives chapter 5 a particular act of profanation. The writing is interpreted within the narrative, connecting the king’s conduct with the announced end of his rule. Daniel 4 to 5. 1
The heavenly court in chapter 7 then places threatening kingdoms before divine judgment. The human figure’s dominion and the holy people’s kingdom are connected. 3 Explain the movement from sea and beasts to court and received rule before selecting identities for every detail. Daniel asks questions, hears an interpretation and remains troubled. The vision therefore gives listeners both an announcement of God’s authority and a portrayal of what it means to receive a difficult revelation in human weakness. Daniel 7:1 to 28. 1
Let confession guide the explanation of chapter 9
Daniel’s reading of Jeremiah leads to confession, intercession and Gabriel’s response. Prayer is integrated with the apocalyptic revelation. 6 The Law of Moses names the confession’s covenant framework. 10 Psalm 106 supplies a related memory of failure and mercy. Liturgical allusion connects the prayer with Israel’s shared history. 11 Explain the repeated we, the city and sanctuary, and the appeal to divine compassion before discussing the seventy weeks. This preserves the communal concern that gives the numbered passage its setting. Daniel 9; Jeremiah 25:1 to 14; 29:1 to 14; Psalm 106. 1
Chronological approaches differ over exact, approximate and symbolic fulfilment. 19 A teacher can describe principal proposals without presenting one calculation as an uncontested discovery. Ancient readers also renewed Daniel’s hope in later circumstances. 12 The seer’s reactions in chapters 8 and 10 deserve similar attention. Greek translation readings highlight his vulnerable human response. 16 Being afraid, weakened and strengthened is part of the revelation accounts, so confident exposition can leave room for the weight of what Daniel hears as well as what he learns. Daniel 8:15 to 27; 9:24 to 27; 10:7 to 19. 1
Receive hope through explicit Christian texts and faithful practice
The final vision names conflict, sanctuary desecration and teachers who suffer while instructing many. Its terminal events have competing interpretations. 17 Chapter 12 then promises awakening and an enduring portion, while the seer remains unable to answer every question. Christian teaching can connect this hope with Jesus’ reception of Daniel’s desolation and clouds imagery, and with John’s explicit resurrection and judgment discourse. These connections allow Daniel’s ancient people and sanctuary concerns to remain visible within Christian reception. Daniel 11 to 12; Mark 13; 14:53 to 65; John 5:19 to 29. 1
Pentecostal prayer finds a concrete Christian setting in Acts 4: the threatened believers ask for boldness, healing and signs in Jesus’ name, and speak through the Spirit’s empowerment. Paul’s gifts teaching joins manifestations of the Spirit with care for the whole body, including members who suffer. James directs afflicted and sick people toward prayer and the elders’ care. These passages help a congregation receive Daniel’s testimony to divine power through worship, faithful witness and practical solidarity. Hope reaches beyond spectacular rescue to the resurrection promised by God. Acts 4:23 to 31; 1 Corinthians 12; James 5:13 to 18; Daniel 12:1 to 13. 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 - Structure and Messages in the Book of DanielH. J. M. van Deventer · 2003
HTS Theological Studies 59.1, pages 207 to 211
View the source