Writer: Daniel

2. What confirms that Daniel was an actual person, and during what eventful period did he prophesy?

² The book is named after its writer. “Daniel” (Hebrew, Da·ni·yeʼlʹ) means “My Judge Is God.” Ezekiel, who lived at the same time, confirms that Daniel was an actual person, naming him along with Noah and Job. (Ezek. 14:14, 20; 28:3)

What eventful years were covered by Daniel’s life span! His early days were spent under God’s kingdom in Judah. Then, as a teenage prince, along with his noble Judean companions, he was taken to Babylon to live through the rise and fall of that third world power of Bible history. Daniel survived to serve as government official in the fourth world power, Medo-Persia. Daniel must have lived nearly one hundred years.

6. What two parts make up the book of Daniel?

⁶ The Jews included the book of Daniel, not with the Prophets, but with the Writings. On the other hand, the English Bible follows the catalog order of the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate by placing Daniel between the major and the minor prophets. There are actually two parts to the book. The first of these, chapters 1 to 6, gives in chronological order the experiences of Daniel and his companions in government service from 617 B.C.E. to 538 B.C.E. (Dan. 1:1, 21) The second part, comprising chapters 7 to 12, is written in the first person by Daniel himself as recorder and describes private visions and angelic interviews that Daniel had from about 553 B.C.E.f to about 536 B.C.E. (7:2, 28; 8:2; 9:2; 12:5, 7, 8) The two parts together make up the one harmonious book of Daniel.