Daniel is book 27 of the 39 books of the Old Testament and belongs to the Major Prophets section. See how it fits with the rest in our guide to all 66 books of the Bible.
Quick facts
- Section
- Old Testament · Major Prophets
- Genre
- Narrative and apocalyptic prophecy
- Author (traditional)
- Daniel, a Judean exile in the Babylonian and Persian courts, who speaks in the first person in chapters 7–12.
- Other views on authorship
- Many scholars date the final form to about 165 BC, during the persecution under Antiochus IV, using earlier stories about Daniel; others defend authorship by Daniel in the 6th century BC.
- Date (traditional)
- 6th century BC, about 605–530 BC.
- Other views on dating
- The stories (chapters 1–6) may circulate from the Persian or early Hellenistic period; the book as a whole is commonly dated about 167–164 BC.
- Chapters
- 12
- Verses
- 357
- Reading time
- About 53 minutes (10,605 words in the BSB)
What is Daniel about?
Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (renamed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) were taken to Babylon as young men to be trained for royal service. Chapters 1–6 tell how they stay faithful while serving foreign kings: refusing the king's food, interpreting dreams, surviving a blazing furnace and a den of lions. Each story ends with a pagan king acknowledging the God of Israel.
Chapters 7–12 change genre. Daniel receives visions of beasts rising from the sea, a ram and a goat, seventy 'weeks' and a long struggle between kings of the north and south. Through all of them, earthly empires rise and fall, and God gives everlasting dominion to one 'like the Son of Man' (7:13). The book closes with what many see as the clearest Old Testament promise of resurrection to everlasting life.
Daniel is also unusual in language: chapters 2:4b–7:28 are written in Aramaic, the international language of the day, and the rest in Hebrew. In the Hebrew Bible it sits among the Writings rather than the Prophets, while Christian Bibles place it with the major prophets.
Outline of Daniel
| ChaptersCh. | Section |
|---|---|
| 1 | Faithful in Babylon Daniel and his friends are trained at court and refuse the king's food. |
| 2 | Nebuchadnezzar's statue dream Four kingdoms are shattered by a stone that becomes a mountain. |
| 3 | The fiery furnace Three friends refuse to worship the golden image and are rescued. |
| 4–5 | Proud kings humbled Nebuchadnezzar's madness and restoration; Belshazzar and the writing on the wall. |
| 6 | The lions' den Daniel keeps praying and God shuts the lions' mouths. |
| 7–8 | Visions of beasts Four beasts, the Ancient of Days and the son of man; the ram and the goat. |
| 9 | Daniel's prayer and seventy weeks Daniel confesses Israel's sin and receives a timeline of restoration. |
| 10–12 | The final vision Conflicts of kings, a time of distress, and the promise of resurrection. |
Key themes
- God rules over empires. Kings rise and fall, but God sets them up and removes them. His kingdom alone will last forever (Daniel 2:44).
- Faithfulness under pressure. Daniel and his friends serve well in a foreign system but draw firm lines on worship and prayer, whatever the cost (see Daniel in the lions' den).
- Pride and humility. Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar learn that power is on loan from God; one is humbled and restored, the other falls.
- The Son of Man. In Daniel 7 a human-like figure receives everlasting dominion. Jesus used 'Son of Man' as his favourite way of speaking about himself.
- Hope beyond death. Daniel 12 promises that many who sleep in the dust will awake, giving persecuted believers hope beyond martyrdom.
Key people and places
- Daniel — Exiled youth who rises to high office and receives visions.
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego — Daniel's friends who survive the fiery furnace.
- Nebuchadnezzar — King of Babylon humbled by God.
- Belshazzar — Babylon's last ruler, who sees the writing on the wall.
- Darius the Mede — Ruler who reluctantly sends Daniel to the lions.
- Gabriel — Angel who explains Daniel's visions.
Places: Babylon, Shinar, the plain of Dura, Susa, the Tigris River.
Key verses in Daniel
Quoted from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB).
“In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.”
“If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.””
“My God sent His angel and shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, for I was found innocent in His sight, and I have done no wrong against you, O king.””
“In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence. And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
“And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.”
How Daniel fits the big story
Daniel is set during the Babylonian exile that Jeremiah foretold and 2 Kings records, and it overlaps with Ezekiel. Like Joseph in Egypt and Esther in Persia, Daniel shows how to serve faithfully in a foreign land. His prayer in chapter 9 looks toward the return told in Ezra. In the New Testament, Jesus calls himself the Son of Man from Daniel 7 and speaks of 'the abomination of desolation', and Revelation reuses Daniel's beasts and visions of God's final victory.
How to read Daniel
At 2 chapters a day you can read Daniel in 6 days. Read chapters 1–6 as stories for everyday faithfulness, then read 7–12 asking one question: who is really in control? Don't get lost in timelines on a first read.