Daniel (Hebrew: דָּנִיֵּאל, Standard Daniyyel
Tiberian Dāniyyêl ;
Arabic: دانيال, Danyal) is a figure appearing in the Hebrew Bible and the central protagonist of the Book of Daniel. The
name "Daniel" means "God is my judge". "Dan" = judge, "i" = my (roughly), and "el" = God.
Daniel's life
- This section describes Daniel as a historical figure. The historicity of Daniel,
which is a subject of dispute, is discussed at Book of Daniel. This section
describes him within the setting of the history that the Bible describes, and is partly derived from the 19th century
Christian Easton's Bible Dictionary, as mentioned in References below.
At the first deportation of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar (the kingdom of Israel had come to an end
nearly a century before at the hands of the Assyrians), or immediately after his victory over the Egyptians at the second
battle of Carchemish, in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim (B.C. 606), Daniel and three other noble youths named Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were among the Jewish young nobility carried off to
Babylon (probably as hostages to ensure the loyalty of Judah's king and advisors), along with
some of the vessels of the temple. Daniel and his three Jewish companions were subsequently evaluated and chosen for their
intellect and beauty, to be trained as Chaldeans, who constituted the ranks of the advisors to
the Babylonian court.
There Daniel was obliged to enter into the service of the king of Babylon, and in accordance with the custom of the age,
received the Chaldean name of Belteshazzar, i.e., prince of Bel, or Bel protect
the king! His residence in Babylon was very probably in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, now identified with a mass of mounds
called the Kasr, on the right bank of the river. However, Daniel and his three companions
remained fiercely loyal to their Jewish religious and cultural identity, an identity which would sooner or later come into
conflict with the paganism of the Babylonian court.
Daniel's Answer to the King by Briton Rivière, R.A. (1840-1920), 1890 (Manchester City Art Gallery)
Daniel's training (Daniel 1:4) was to fit him for service to the empire. Daniel became distinguished during this period for
his piety, and for his strict observance of the Torah, or Mosaic law (1:8-16), and gained the
confidence and esteem of those who were over him.
At the close of his three years of discipline and training in the royal schools, Daniel was distinguished for his proficiency
in the pagan "wisdom" of his day, and was brought out into public life. He soon became known for his "skill" (a gift from
YHWH) in the interpretation of dreams (1:17; 2:14), and rose
to the rank of governor of the province of Babylon, and became "chief of the governors" (Chald. Rab-signin) over all the wise men
of Babylon, after passing a dangerous test of the astrologers by the king, which could easily have cost Daniel his life. Daniel
made known and also interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream; as well as a later dream preceding the king's descent into animal
behaviour, and many years afterwards, when he was now an old man, amid the alarm and consternation of the terrible night of
Belshazzar's impious feast (in which Belshazzar and his concubines drank wine out of the
royal Jewish ceremonial goblets of the Temple), Daniel was called in at the suggestion of the queen-mother (perhaps Nitocris, the
daughter of Nebuchadnezzar) to interpret the mysterious handwriting on the wall.
For successfully reading the cryptic handwriting by an angel of God, Daniel was rewarded by the Babylonians with a purple robe
and elevation to the rank of "third ruler" of the kingdom. The place of "second ruler" was held by Belshazzar as associated with
his father, Nabonidus, on the throne (5:16). Daniel interpreted the handwriting, and "in that night was Belshazzar the king of
the Chaldeans slain" by his own sons, who later fled.
After the Persian taking of Babylon, Daniel held the office of first of the "three presidents" of the empire under the reign
of the obscure figure of Darius the Mede, and was thus practically at the head of
affairs, no doubt interesting himself in the prospects of the captive Jews (Dan. 9), whom he had at last the happiness of seeing
restored to their own land; although he did not return with them, but remained still in Babylon.
Daniel's fidelity to God exposed him to persecution by jealous rivals within the king's administration. The fact that he had
just interpreted the emperors' dream had resulted in his promotion and that of his companions. Being favored by the Emperor, he
was untouchable. His companions were vulnerable to the accusation that had them thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship
the Babylonian king as a god; but they were miraculously saved, and Daniel would years later be cast into a den of lions (for
continuing to practice his faith in YHWH), but was miraculously delivered; after which Darius issued a decree enjoining reverence
for "the God of Daniel" (6:26). He "prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian," whom he probably
greatly influenced in the matter of the decree which put an end to the Jewish Captivity (B.C. 536).
Daniel's ministry as a prophet began late in life. Whereas his early exploits were a matter of common knowledge within his
community, these same events, with his pious reputation, serve as the basis for his prophetic ministry. The recognition for his
prophetic message is that of other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel whose backgrounds are the basis for their
revelations. The time and circumstances of Daniel's death have not been recorded. However, Daniel was still alive in the third
year of Cyrus according to the Bible (Daniel 10:1); and he would have been almost 100 years old at that point, having been
brought to Babylon when he was in his teens, more than 80 years previously. He possibly died at Susa, where a tomb presumed to be his is also located, the site of which is known as Shush-Daniel. Other
locations have been claimed as the site of his burial, including Daniel's Tomb in Kirkuk,
Iraq, as well as Babylon, Egypt, Tarsus and, notably, Samarkand, which claims a tomb of Daniel
(see "The Ruins of Afrasiab" in the Samarkand article), with some traditions suggesting that
his remains were removed, perhaps by Tamerlane, from Susa to Samarkand (see, for instance,
Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, section
153).
Descent of Daniel
Daniel was descended from one of the noble families of Judah (Daniel 1:3), and was
probably born in Jerusalem about B.C. 620, during the reign of Josiah.
Name
The pronunciation "Dani'el" (God is my Judge) is more probable than "Dan'el" (God is a Judge), in consonance with the general
structure of Hebrew names. It is therefore probably correct to vocalize the consonants in the three places thus: The hiatus
between the vowels "i" and "e" gave rise to the pronunciation "Daniyel".
Daniel the Prophet
Judaism does not count Daniel among the prophets. Whereas the Christian Old Testament
(apparently following the Septuagint Greek translation [1]) includes Daniel in the
Prophets section, the Jewish Tanach does not, placing him among the Writings
instead. For this, two reasons are given:
- Daniel never spoke directly with God. According to the Torah, prophets (nevi'im) speak with God, not to intermediaries like
angels. Daniel saw angels and never spoke with God. This is the primary reason Daniel is not considered a prophet.
- In Judaism a prophet (navi) speaks to his or her generation, not to future generations. The Prophets in the Jewish Tanach
(e.g., Isaiah, Ezekiel) spoke primarily to their generation, but their message was also pertinent to the future. Daniel's visions
were for the future, not for his generation. The Men of the Great Assembly (Sanhedrin) who
codified the Jewish Bible (Tanach) argued about including Daniel in the Bible and placed him in Writings, not Prophets.
- In Rashi's commentary to the Talmud (1st Chapter of Megillah) he shows that to be qualified
as a prophet, one needs to spread the message one hears. Daniel's prophecies are relevant for the future, for they cryptically
state what will be in days to come. However, Daniel's prophecies were not spread to the population as implied by the text
itself.
Some reasons which may be given for believing that Daniel was a prophet include:
- that according to the Talmud and the Hebrew Scriptures, Daniel received and interpreted dreams and visions, similar to many
other Jewish prophets; as well as messages from angels or arch-angels. Indeed, according to the Christian version, Moses himself
received the written Torah from the hand of "the Angel of the Lord" (who spoke to Moses out of the 'burning bush'). Daniel
himself denied that his ability was due to his own human wisdom (Daniel 2:29).
- Many Christians believe the "Angel of the Lord" is not simply an angel, but the preincarnate
Christ. In fact, many times when the Bible is referring to the "Angel of the Lord", it alternates between this title and
simply "Lord." In this sense, Moses would have been talking with God (i.e., the Son of God), while Daniel is addressed by angels
who serve God.
- Daniel recorded his prophetic visions for future as well as present use; including prophecies about the exact date of the
coming of the Jewish Messiah into Jerusalem, many other prophetic events which later transpired in history, and prophecies which
are regarded by some (perhaps mainly premillennialist) Christians as referring to a
terrible, as-yet unfulfilled, future time of the Tribulation. Accurate prediction of the future is repeatedly given as a mark of
a true prophet as opposed to a false one, both in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the Talmud.
Christians regard Daniel as a prophet, and Jesus is quoted as referring to him as "Daniel the prophet" in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14. It appears he is also referred to as "Daniel the prophet" in the Dead Sea Scrolls [2]. In the context of the books of the Bible, Christians refer to Daniel as one of the "four great
prophets"; as the Book of Daniel appears in most
Christian editions of the Bible, after the other three "great prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel). Dreams and visions and revelations are known
to be prophecy in the Bible, as Joel 2:28 to 32 expands.
Reference in Ezekiel
The prophet Ezekiel, with whom Daniel was a contemporary, describes one Daniel as a
"pattern of righteousness (14:14, 20) and wisdom" (28:3).
Some scholars have identified this person with the Daniel of the Book of Daniel, while others look upon him as another figure
who has now been forgotten. Some scholars regard the references in Ezekiel as a "Danel" known from Caananite Ugaritic literature (such as the Epic of Aqhat and Anat), whose
reputation for wisdom and righteousness had made him legendary.
The Hebrew spelling itself suggests a person other than the prophet Daniel. Possibly the intended reading was rather "Danel".
Vowel-points were not added to the consonantal Hebrew text before well into the Common Era, and the scribes then slipped in a
vowel-point for "i" as a middle syllable. This may not be what the original writer intended. (In the Book of Daniel, the name is
spelt with a middle letter suggesting the i of that name -- but this letter is not included in the spelling in Ezekiel,
suggesting that the reference there may be to another person.)
Reference to Habakkuk
In the Deuterocanonical portion of Daniel known as Bel and the Dragon, the prophet Habakkuk is miraculously
transported by an angel to take a meal to Daniel while he is in the lions' den. In response, Daniel prays, "Thou hast remembered
me, O God; neither hast thou forsaken them that seek Thee and love Thee" (Bel, 38, 39).
Shrines of Daniel
-
There is shrine in Susa (Iran) which has been recognized as the
shrine of Daniel and is regularly visited by Muslims and Jews on
pilgrimage. The city of Tarsus in Turkey also claims to
have the shrine of Daniel, which is located 12.5 metres underground. There is also a "Mosque of Daniel" is in the city of
Alexandria, Egypt.[citation needed]
Liturgical commemorations
On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, the feast days celebrating St. Daniel the Prophet together
with the Three Young Men, falls on December 17 (during the Nativity Fast),
on the Sunday of the Holy
Forefathers (the Sunday which falls between 11 and 17 December), and on the Sunday before Nativity.
In the West, the Roman Catholic Church commemorates Daniel on July 21. He is commemorated as a prophet in the Calendar of
Saints of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod together with the
Three Young Men (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego), on December 17.
Daniel in rabbinic literature
see Daniel in rabbinic literature
Daniel in The Book of the Watchers
Enoch (Book of Enoch) mentions Daniel as the name of one of the leaders of the fallen
angels of whose Samyaza (Shemyazaz) was the leader.
The complete name list of those leaders are given as "Samyaza (Shemyazaz), their leader, Araqiel, Râmêêl, Kokabiel, Tamiel,
Ramiel, Daniel, Chazaqiel, Baraqiel, Asael, Armaros, Batariel, Ananiel, Zaqiel, Shamsiel, Satariel, Turiel, Yomiel, Sariel.".
They were 200 fallen angels in total and originated the creation of the Nephilim before the
great flood.
See also
References
External links
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