superior authorities, as mentioned at Romans 13:1, is relative, in harmony also with the actions of the apostles in Acts 4:19, 20 and 5:29. It strengthens Christians as to their position of neutrality as regards the affairs of the nations, revealing that their neutrality may bring them into difficulty, but whether God delivers them at the time, or even permits them to be killed for their integrity, the Christian position is that they will worship and serve Jehovah God alone.—Dan. 3:16-18; see APPOINTED TIMES OF THE NATIONS; BEASTS, SYMBOLIC; DANIEL No. 2; SEVENTY WEEKS; the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 138-142.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Training of royal captives and nobles brought to Babylon in 617 B.C.E. (chap. 1)

A. Daniel and three companions request exemption from partaking of king’s wine and delicacies; ten-day test proves superiority of vegetable-and-water diet (1-16)

B. After three-year training Daniel and companions prove wiser than other “wise men,” through God’s blessing (17-21)

II. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the immense “dreadful” image (chap. 2)

A. Babylon’s “wise men” fail to tell or interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (1-13)

B. Daniel reveals and interprets dream; gives credit to God (14-28)

1. Depicts world powers, starting with Babylon and ending with destruction by kingdom of God (29-45)

2. Daniel raised to authority over all wise men and made ruler over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon; three companions appointed to administrative positions (46, 48, 49)

C. Nebuchadnezzar extols Daniel’s God (47)

III. Integrity of Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego) (chap. 3)

A. Giant golden image 60 cubits high set up; all officials called to bow before it (1-7)

B. Three young Hebrews refuse to bow (8-18)

1. Thrown into superheated furnace; attendants killed by heat (19-23)

2. One like “a son of the gods” appears with three men in furnace (24, 25)

3. Taken out unharmed, unsinged (26, 27)

C. Nebuchadnezzar praises God; issues law forbidding saying anything against God (28-30)

IV. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the great tree (chap. 4)

A. Height reaches heavens; visible to whole earth; provides food and shelter (1-12)

B. Watcher decrees its cutting down; stump left in earth, banded with iron and copper (13-17)

C. Daniel interprets, applies to Nebuchadnezzar (18-27)

D. Fulfilled in Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity; he becomes as beast for “seven times” (28-33)

E. Restored to sanity; reestablished on throne, Nebuchadnezzar praises, exalts, glorifies God; realizes God is ruler among army of heavens and kingdom of mankind and gives it to whomever he pleases (34-37)

V. Handwriting on wall (chap. 5)

A. Belshazzar desecrates temple vessels in feast before 1,000 grandees (1-4)

B. Hand appears, writing on plaster of wall words men of Belshazzar’s court cannot read or explain (5-9)

C. Queen counsels Belshazzar to call Daniel (10-12)

D. Daniel interprets words to mean that Belshazzar’s kingdom is given to Medes and Persians; Daniel made third ruler in kingdom (13-29)

E. Belshazzar killed that night; Darius the Mede rules (30, 31)

VI. Daniel in lions’ pit (chap. 6)

A. Daniel’s rise in King Darius’ favor envied by high officials and satraps (1-3)

1. Seek to trap him on point of law of Daniel’s God (4, 5)

2. Induce Darius to order that no petition be made to any god or man except the king for thirty days (6-9)

3. Daniel’s integrity tested

a. Continues to pray daily despite decree (10-15)

b. Thrown into lions’ pit; God delivers him by shutting lions’ mouths (16-23)

4. Schemers thrown with sons and wives into lions’ pit, killed (24)

B. Darius issues edict for people to fear God of Daniel (25-28)

VII. March of world powers (chaps. 7, 8)

A. World powers beginning with Babylon depicted by lion, bear, leopard and terrible beast with ten horns (chap. 7)

B. Small horn overcomes three others, speaks grandiose things (7:8)

1. Tries to change God’s appointed time for Kingdom rule (7:20-22, 24, 25)

2. Fights God’s holy ones. They are given into his hand for period of three and a half times (7:25)

C. Kingdom given by “Ancient of Days” to son of man; rulership of terrible beast and its small horn taken away and beast consigned to fire; Kingdom rules forever over all kingdoms and rulerships (7:9-14, 26-28)

D. Ram, he-goat and small horn represent world powers to succeed Babylon (8:1-7)

1. Two-horned ram = Medo-Persian Empire (8:20)

2. Male of the goats = Grecian Empire (8:21)

3. Grecian Empire breaks into four kingdoms (8:8, 22)

4. Small horn stands up against Prince of princes (8:9-11, 23-25)

a. 2,300 days from taking away of “constant feature” and “transgression causing desolation” until the holy place brought to its right condition (8:12-14)

b. Horn broken “without hand” (8:25b)

c. Angel Gabriel explains that vision not to be revealed then, but is “for many days” (8:26, 27)

VIII. Seventy weeks (of years) (chap. 9)

A. Daniel discerns liberation of Jews near, after seventy years (1, 2)

B. He confesses national sins to God, entreats forgiveness for Jehovah’s name’s sake (3-19)

C. Gabriel gives vision concerning seventy weeks, to count from decree for rebuilding of Jerusalem (20-25)

1. Seven weeks until Jerusalem fully rebuilt (25)

2. Sixty-two more weeks until advent of Messiah (26)

a. Transgression terminated; atonement accomplished (24a)

b. Everlasting righteousness brought in; Holy of Holies anointed (24b)

3. Covenant (Abrahamic) in force for Jews exclusively for one week; Messiah cut off, at the half of the week he causes sacrifice and gift offering to cease (26a, 27a)

4. Afterward city and holy place desolated (26b, 27b)

IX. Daniel visited by angel sent with a vision of “final part of the days” (chaps. 10, 11)

A. Angel resisted by (demon) prince of Persia for twenty-one days; assisted by Michael (10:13)

1. Daniel strengthened to receive vision from angel who later must fight with prince of Persia and face also prince of Greece (10:7-12, 15-20)

2. Michael, prince of Daniel’s people, stands with God’s angel (10:21)

B. The king of north and king of south (chap. 11)

1. After successor of Persia (Alexander the Great) falls, kingdom is divided, the king of south becomes strong; defeats king of north (11:1-12)

2. King of north has long domination (11:13-26)

3. King of south defeats king of north (11:27-30a)

4. King of north makes alliance with those leaving the holy covenant and fights God’s people, fails to destroy them (11:30b-31a, 32)

5. Disgusting thing that causes desolation “put in place” (11:31b)

6. God’s people undergo great trials, but receive help (11:33-35)

7. King of north grows mighty, speaks against God, puts himself up to be worshiped but himself worships god of fortresses (11:36-39)

8. In time of end king of south engages with king of north in a pushing (11:40a)

a. King of north overflows many countries, invades land of Decoration (of Jehovah’s people) (11:40b-43)

b. Reports out of east and north disturb king of north; he plants tents between holy mountain and sea, comes to his end (11:44, 45)

C. Features of time of end (chap. 12)

1. Michael, prince of Daniel’s people, to stand up (1-3)

a. World’s worst time of trouble (1)

b. Many awakened to indefinitely lasting life or to abhorrence and reproaches (2)

c. Those having insight shine; turn many to righteousness (3)

2. Knowledge of book to become abundant after long period of sealing (4-9)

a. Many cleanse selves; refined (10a)

b. Wicked ones do not understand (10b)

3. Time periods

a. Three and a half times to finish of dashing holy people to pieces (7)

b. 1,290 days from removing constant feature and placing disgusting thing (11)

c. Happiness at end of 1,335 days (12)

4. Daniel to die, stand up for his lot at end of days (13)

DANITES

See DAN No. 2.

DAN-JAAN

(Dan-jaʹan) [possibly, Dan played a pipe; or simply, Dan of Jaan].

A place mentioned only once, on the route followed by Joab when taking the census ordered by David. (2 Sam. 24:1-6) The description seems to place its location in the extreme N of Israel, since it is stated that they went “on to Dan-jaan and went around to Sidon.” The fact that Beer-sheba is mentioned in the following verse (vs. 7) calls to mind the common expression “from Beer-sheba to Dan,” used by David in instructing Joab about the census. (1 Chron. 21:2) Dan-jaan may therefore refer to the city of Dan or possibly a suburb of that northern city.—Compare Judges 18:28, 29, where Dan and Sidon are also mentioned jointly; see also DAN No. 3.

DANNAH

(Danʹnah).

A city situated in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:49) Though its exact location is unknown today, some suggest it may be Deir esh-Shemesh (or Simya), about nine miles (14.5 kilometers) W of Hebron.

DARA, DARDA

(Daʹra, Darʹda) [possibly, thorn thistle].

A descendant of Judah through Zerah (1 Chron. 2:4, 6); possibly the same as the Darda whose wisdom, though great, was not equal to Solomon’s.—1 Ki. 4:31; see MAHOL; ZERAH No. 3.

DARIC

A Persian gold coin weighing approximately .27 ounce troy (8.4 grams) and hence presently evaluated at $9.48. The obverse side of one daric, coined for two centuries from the latter part of the sixth century B.C.E. onward, depicts a king in a half kneeling position, with a spear in his right hand and a bow in his left. The reverse side shows the oblong punch impression made when the coin was stamped. At 1 Chronicles 29:7 one of the figures for temple contributions during David’s reign is stated in terms of darics, although the Persian daric was unknown in David’s time. Evidently the writer of Chronicles converted the original figure into terms then current and familiar to his readers.—Ezra 8:27.

[Picture on page 419]

Gold daric

DARIUS

(Da·riʹus).

In the Biblical record, the name is applied to three kings, one a Mede, the other two Persians. Herodotus (vi, 98) equated the name with the Greek term Her·xeiʹes as meaning “the one who restrains” or “the keeper, ruler.” The Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell and Scott (p. 310) considers that the Greek form of Darius (Da·reiʹos) is derived from the Persian darâ, meaning “a king.” Lexicographers Brown, Driver and Briggs believe that the Hebrew form of the name (Dar·yaʹwesh) derives from a root meaning to “raise, make high.” Thus, some consider it possible that “Darius” may have been used, at least in the case of Darius the Mede, as a title or throne name rather than a personal name.

1. Darius the Mede, successor to the kingdom of the Chaldean king Belshazzar following the conquest of Babylon by the forces of Cyrus the Persian, at which time Darius was about sixty-two years of age. (Dan. 5:30, 31) He is further identified as “the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes.”—Dan. 9:1.

DANIEL IN THE LIONS’ PIT

Darius, exercising his administrative capacity, appointed one hundred and twenty satraps (a term that means, basically, “protector of the realm”) to serve throughout the realm, and also three high officials who had jurisdiction over the satraps, acting on behalf of the king’s interests. The prime concern of the arrangement may well have been financial, as the collecting of revenues and tributes for the royal coffers was one of the chief duties of satraps. (Compare Ezra 4:13.) One member of the triumvirate of high officials assigned was Daniel, who so distinguished himself over the other officials and satraps that Darius contemplated making him prime minister. (Dan. 6:1-3) Evidently due to envy, though perhaps due as well to resentment of the restraint against corruption and graft that Daniel’s integrity doubtless produced, the other two high officials, in league with the satraps, devised a legal trap. Appearing as a throng before the king, they presented for the king’s signature an edict, ostensibly favored by the entire body of all ranking government officials (Daniel not being mentioned, however), and prohibiting the making of “a petition to any god or man” other than Darius for thirty days. The penalty was for the violator to be thrown into the lions’ pit. The decree had all the appearances of serving to establish Darius, a foreigner, firmly in his newly received position as king of the realm and of being an expression of loyalty and support on the part of the government officials advocating it.

Darius signed the decree and soon was faced with the result, one that should have revealed to him the hidden purpose of the edict. For continuing prayer to Jehovah God, Daniel, as the edict’s first violator (compare Acts 5:29), was thrown into the lions’ pit despite Darius’ sincere efforts to find a way of circumventing the unchangeable statute. Darius expressed trust in the power of Daniel’s God to preserve him, and, after a sleepless night and fasting, hurried to the lions’ pit and rejoiced to find Daniel still alive and unharmed. The king then not only had Daniel’s accusers and their families thrown into the