Daniel (Person)

David’s second son, the first by his wife Abigail (1 Chronicles 3:1). He is also called Kileab (2 Samuel 3:3). See also Kileab.

A priest who came from the family line of Ithamar. After the Jewish people returned from exile (when they were forced to live in Babylon), Daniel signed a special agreement (covenant) with Ezra and Nehemiah. In this covenant, they promised to be faithful to God (Ezra 8:2; Nehemiah 10:6).

A Jewish statesman and prophet in the Babylonian court. As a prophet, Daniel received visions from God. His career is recounted in the book of Daniel. The book of Daniel tells his story. We do not know anything about Daniel's early life, parents, or family. However, he probably came from an important Jewish family (Daniel 1:3).

Daniel may have been born during the time of King Josiah’s religious reforms (around 621 BC). If so, he would have been about 16 when King Nebuchadnezzar took Daniel, along with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from Jerusalem to Babylon. The Babylonian king may have taken these young men to make sure the royal family in Judah would cooperate with Babylon.

The Babylonians gave Daniel a new name, Belteshazzar (which means "may Bel [god] protect his life"). He trained for court service and quickly became known for his intelligence and faithfulness to his God. After three years of training, he began a court career that lasted nearly 70 years (Daniel 1:21).

Daniel had hardly finished his training when he was asked to interpret one of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. In the dream, a great image fell down and turned to dust when struck by a stone. God revealed its meaning to Daniel, who explained it to the king. Nebuchadnezzar thanked Daniel and offered him the position of governor of Babylonia. Daniel requested that the honor be given to his three companions (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) who were also forced to live in Bablyon.

Near the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s life, Daniel was able to interpret a second dream (Daniel 4). That dream predicted the king would soon live like a wild animal for a time, unable to rule as king. Daniel urged the king to repent, but he did not (4:27). As a result, for a period of time he became crazy.

King Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BC. After this, Daniel was no longer as important in the royal court. He may have had a lower position. For several years, he stayed out of public view. During this time, God gave Daniel special visions in 555 and 553 BC, during the first and third years when a man named Belshazzar was ruling Babylon (Daniel 7–8).

It was not until 539 BC that Daniel made another public appearance. During a feast hosted by Belshazzar, the king disrespected holy vessels (cups and bowls) that had been stolen from the Jerusalem temple. A hand appeared by itself and wrote strange words on the palace wall: "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Parsin." No one knew what these words meant. The king called for Daniel to explain the message. Daniel told him that God was warning him that the kingdom of Babylon would soon end. That very night, this came true. The Persian army attacked the city, and Belshazzar was killed (5:30).

After this, a new ruler named Darius the Mede took control. He chose Daniel as one of three top leaders to help manage the kingdom (6:2). Daniel did his work so well that other officials became very jealous. They wanted to get rid of him, but they could not find anything wrong with his work.

These officials came up with a plan. They convinced King Darius to make a new law that said people could only pray to the king. The punishment for breaking the law was being thrown into a den of lions. Daniel knew about this law, but he continued to pray to God three times each day as he had always done. When the officials caught Daniel praying, they took him to the king. Even though the king did not want to punish Daniel, he had to follow his own law. Daniel was thrown into the lions' den. However, God protected Daniel, and the lions did not hurt him at all. The next day, when the king found Daniel alive and unharmed, he restored Daniel to his high position (verses 17–28).

The last part of the book of Daniel describes several visions he received of future events. The visions dealt with four beasts (chapter 7), future kingdoms (chapter 8), the coming of God's chosen leader, the Messiah (chapter 9), and Syria and Egypt (chapters 11–12). The prophet Ezekiel referred to Daniel’s great wisdom (Ezekiel 28:3). He also compared him in righteousness with Noah and Job (14:14, 20).