Book 27 of 66 · Old Testament

Daniel

A Jewish exile rises in the courts of Babylon and Persia, and receives visions of kingdoms to come.

12 chapters357 versesWritten in Hebrew and AramaicSet Babylon and Persia, during and after the exile (6th century BC)

Overview

Daniel has two halves. The first tells famous court stories: Daniel and his friends stay faithful in Babylon — refusing the king's food, surviving the fiery furnace and the lions' den, and reading the writing on the wall. The second half records Daniel's own visions of beasts and kingdoms rising and falling, and of a final deliverance. It is set among the Jewish exiles, far from home.

Book facts

Author: Traditionally DanielNamed throughout, and the visions are told in the first person. Authorship and date are debated.
Date written: 6th century BC (traditional); c. 165 BC (many scholars)Traditionally by Daniel in exile; many scholars date the final form to the 2nd century BC.
Original language: Hebrew and AramaicUnusually, the book is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic.
Setting: Babylon and Persia, during and after the exile (6th century BC)Among the Jewish exiles serving in a foreign court.

How it came to be

Daniel is named throughout, and the visions are told in his own voice. The book is set among the exiles in Babylon and, later, under Persian rule.

It is written partly in Hebrew and partly in Aramaic, and falls into two halves — court stories and visions of the future.

What is arguedWhen it was written. Traditional readings place it in the 6th century BC with Daniel; many scholars date its final form to the 2nd century BC, during a later crisis.

The whole book, chapter by chapter

Chapter	What happens	Who is in it	Where it takes place
In the king's court — faithfulness under Babylon and Persia, chapters 1–6
Chapter 1The king's food	Daniel and his three friends refuse the king's rich food and are found healthier and wiser than the rest.	, ,
Chapter 2The image dream	Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great statue, standing for kingdoms to come.	, ,
Chapter 3The fiery furnace	Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow to a golden image and are thrown into a furnace, but walk out unharmed.
Chapter 4The great tree	Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a felled tree, and is humbled to live like a beast until he acknowledges God.	,
Chapter 5The writing on the wall	A mysterious hand writes on the wall at Belshazzar's feast; Daniel reads it, and Babylon falls that night.	, ,
Chapter 6The lions' den	Daniel keeps praying despite a royal decree and is thrown to the lions, but God shuts their mouths.	,
Daniel's visions — visions of kingdoms and the end, chapters 7–12
Chapter 7The four beasts	Daniel sees four beasts rising from the sea, and "one like the Son of man" given an everlasting kingdom.		—
Chapter 8The ram and the goat	A vision of a ram and a goat, standing for the empires of Media-Persia and Greece.
Chapter 9The seventy weeks	Daniel prays for his people, and the angel Gabriel brings the prophecy of seventy weeks.		—
Chapter 10The man in linen	Daniel sees a shining man and is strengthened for a final vision.		—
Chapter 11The kings of north and south	A detailed vision of the wars between the kings of the north and the south.		—
Chapter 12The time of the end	A promise of resurrection and deliverance, sealed until the time of the end.	,	—

All 12 chapters. Start reading →

Worth knowing

Key people

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Key places

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Known for

Some of the book's best-known moments — tap the verse to read it.

The fiery furnaceDaniel 3:25
The writing on the wallDaniel 5:25
Daniel in the lions' denDaniel 6:16
"One like the Son of man"Daniel 7:13