Editor’s Note: Torch and Trumpet offers in this issue the first two of a series of twelve discussion outlines based on the Book of Daniel. These are intended to be of help to our church societies, smaller Bible-discussion groups, and to anyone interested in a study of this important Bible book To provide a general introduction to these lessons we present here a brief summary of the main features of the Book of Daniel. We are indebted to the late Westminster Theological Seminary Old Testament scholar, Dr. Edward J. Young, and to Dr. William Hendriksen as our sources for this introduction. We take this opportunity to recommend Dr. Young’s An Introduction to the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.) and Dr. Hendriksen’s Bible Survey (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House).
Dr. Young groups his material under five heads: the name of the Book, the authorship, the purpose, an analysis of the contents, and the two languages which the Book of Daniel uses, namely, the Aramaic and the Hebrew
1. Name: The book takes its name from its author and principal character, Daniel. David’s second son was also given this name (I Chron. 3: 1), which means “God is my judge.” Daniel was a real, historical person (not, as some say, merely a legendary figure), who was born to a noble family in Judah, and was transported to Babylon hy Nehuchadnezzar about the year 605 B.C., Dan. 1:1; Jer. 25:1. Ezek. 14: 14,20 mentions the same person.
2. Authorship: Young declares that “it is the testimony of Christian tradition that Daniel, Jiving at the royal court in Babylon, composed his book during the sixth century B.C.” Hendriksen’s view is not quite so dogmatic:
The fact that the use of the third person with reference to Daniel occurs side by side with the use of the first person, 7:1; 10:1, and that in the entire historical section of the book, chapters 1–6, he is referred to in the third person is probably best explained by assuming that another inspired person collected the prophecies of Daniel and also wrote the narrative portion of the book. Proclamations by Nebuchadnezzar were also included in the book; see Dan. 3:29; 4:34-37; d. 6:26,27. This view of the matter is also in harmony with what is found in Dan. 6:28: “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian,” a statement which one would hardly ascribe to the “pen” of Daniel himself. (p. 315)
The issue at stake is not whether the Book is to be regarded as written in its entirety as now found in the canon of Scripture by the hand of Daniel, but whether it could be composed in the sixth century B.C. If it was composed that early its prophecies were wondrously predictive, written in advance of the things which are described. That this issue is important is stated by Dr. Hendriksen:
If one accepts the theory according to which the prophecies which occur in this book are to be regarded as vaticinia-ex-eventu (predictions that grow out of the event), the question whether the book does not become a fraud cannot be suppressed. (p.316)
Although a detailed consideration of the argumentation is not possible or desirable here, a summary of Young’s reasons for accepting the traditional interpretation may be helpful for anyone trying to understand this Book Young lists four such considerations:
a. In Matt. 24;15 (compare with Dan. 9:27 and 12:11) Jesus Christ quotes from Daniel. Evidently Christ thought that at least a part of the Book came from Daniel himself. Young very properly points out here that if we attribute this to either ignorance or deception on the part of our Savior, we run the risk of rendering Him as something less than trustworthy. The consequences of such argumentation are too horrible to contemplate!
b. The testimony of Jesus Christ is validated by the claims of the Book itself. The prophet speaks in the first person and claims to have received Divine revelations (for example: 7:2,4,6ff.; 8:1ff., 15ff.; 9:2ff.; 10:2ff.; 12:5–8). In 12:4 Daniel is ordered to preserve the Book. Young argues that “if Daniel is named as the recipient of the revelations, it follows that he is the author of the entire book.” He sees the following as arguments for the unity of the book:
(1) The structure of the Book is logical in pattern. The first part prepares for the second, the second looks back to the first. Chapters 7–12 develop more fully the vision of chap. 2, and none of these is intelligible without chap. 2.
(2) All the various parts of the Book interlock and depend upon one another, even within the two main sections. This can be seen by comparing 3:12 with 2:49; the removal of the sacred vessels prepares for the understanding of Belshazzar’s feast in chap. 5; 9:21 should be examined with 8:15ff.; 10:12 with 9:23, etc.
(3) The historical narratives of the first six chapters uniformly serve the purpose of revealing how the God of Israel is exalted over the heathen nations.
(4) The character of the author is consistently and unif’1rmly the same throughout the entire Book
(5) Scholars of divergent schools of thought have acknowledged the literary unity of the Book. In addition to conservative scholars, such men as Driver, Charles, Rowley and Pfeiffer have regarded Daniel as a unit.
c. In Matt. 10:23; 16:27ff.; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31; 26:64 the New Testament gives at least indirect approval to the genuineness of the Book of Daniel.
d. Historical objections to the references to the Babylonian and Persian empires do not seem to be valid.
This is a sketchy indication, of course, of the way in which the authenticity of the Book has been argued by Bible-believing scholarship. Anyone who cares to read the careful consideration given by Young of alternate views of authorship may find this on pp. 353–364.
3. Purpose: Hendriksen’s theme for the Book is “God’s Sovereignty in History and Prophecy.” Young says that “the Book of Daniel seeks to show the superiority of the God of Israel over the idols of the heathen nations….In the latter days the God of heaven will erect a kingdom that will never be destroyed….Daniel, then, may be said clearly to teach the sovereignty of God in His dealing with human kingdoms.”
In our first outline further refinements of these ideas will be suggested.
4. Analysis of the contents: An over-all review of the twelve chapters of the Book of Daniel will be helpful to us in our study.
Chapter 1: Places us in the center of the stormy sea of nations about the time of the death of Judah’s great king, Josiah, concerning whom Jeremiah wrote his song of mourning. Josiah was the king whose death is as the setting of the evening sun for Judah, gloriously splendid, but marred by a background of threatening storm clouds. Chap. 1 introduces us to the entire Book, giving us to see Nebuchadnezzar as he besieges Jerusalem and brings a group of the sons of the nobility to his court. Among them are Daniel and his three friends. Their first conflict has to do with the appointed food of the king, and by God’s wonderful power they are made to excel over all others.
Chapter 2: Nebuehadnezzar sees a colossal image in a dream, and this troubles him no little. Daniel is able to describe and interpret the dream when all others fail. The image is interpreted to represent four kingdoms, marked by the limitations of their human origin, temporal character, limited scope. Just exactly in the time when these rule with all the force and cruelty of a wicked, imperialistic lust for power, the God of heaven will establish an eternal, universal Kingdom. The four kingdoms are perhaps best interpreted to refer to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, respectively, although the scope of this prophecy goes far beyond these four kingdoms.
Chapter 3: In this chapter we are told of the courage of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who dare to refuse to obey Nebucbadnezzar’s order to kneel before the great image. When these heroes of faith tell Nebuchadnezzar that their trust is in God he, enraged, orders them cast into a fiery furnace which is so hot that those who carry out his orders are killed by the heat. In the furnace the king sees these men unharmed and accompanied by a Fourth. Nebuchadnezzar thereupon orders them to come out of the furnace and praises their God.
Chapter 4: Again Daniel is brought in to furnish the interpretation of a dream which Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men were unable to tell. The dream is fulfilled upon the king who is made to suffer from insanity for a time. Upon his recovery he recognizes and praises Daniel’s God.
Chapter 5: During an impressive feast in the court of King Belshazzar, a miraculous writing appears upon the wall of the palace. Daniel offers an interpretation as a warning of doom to the king. The warning is fu16 l1cd, and Belshazzar meets with death.
Chapter 6: The successor to Belshazzar’s throne is Darius the Mede. Certain jealous rivals of Daniel plot to destroy him as they get the king to establish a law making it absolutely illegal to pray to any other but the king. Daniel refuses to obey this law, of course, and is cast into a den of lions from which he is miraculously delivered by God.
Chapter 7: Daniel sees four monsters in a dream which occurs during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign. These beasts represent the same kingdoms as the image of chapter two. There is enlargement, however, upon the revelation of chapter two. It is here shown that the fourth kingdom has a three-fold history, for on its head are ten horns which symbolize ten kings or kingdoms. These represent the second stage in the beast’s history. A little horn arises which upsets three of the ten horns and speaks great things against God, making war with the saints. However, as in chapter two, God erects a Kingdom, eternal and universal, which is given to the heavenly Figure like a Son of Man. When at last the little horn seems to have defeated the saints of the Most High, God intervenes, and the fourth beast is entirely destroyed, the saints receiving the Kingdom.
Chapter 8: Daniel sees in a vision under the symbolism of a ram and a he-goat the destruction of the Medo-Persian Empire by Greece under Alexander the Great. When Alexander dies the kingdom is divided, which fact is represented by the four horns. From one of these four, a horn emerges that begins small but grows very large. This horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, who opposes God’s people in a terrible manner. At last he is cut off radically.
Chapter 9: Daniel reports that he has studied Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the seventy years of exile. He offers a prayer of penitence to God, confessing the sins of his people. Gabriel answers Daniel’s prayer with the well-known prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks.” The general idea is that a period has been decreed for the accomplishing of the Messianic work. This Messianic work is described negatively and positively. Negatively: restraining the transgression, completing the measure of sin and covering iniquity. Positively: bringing in everlasting righteousness, the sealing of vision and prophet, and anointing a holy of holies. In this chapter Daniel is given and reveals a prophetic perspective with respect to the Coming of Christ.
Chapter 10: A divine message is revealed to Daniel in which we see that the angelic hosts do battle in defense of the Church on earth. This serves as an introduction to chapters 11, 12.
Chapters 11, 12: These are very difficult chapters, perhaps the most difficult of the entire Bible! They depict the wars between the kings of Egypt (Ptolemies) and those of Syria (Seleucids). The rise of Antiochus Epiphanes is described, and his Egyptian campaigns as well as his most severe persecution of the people of God. The rise of Antichrist and his warfare is also presented. Daniel is ordered to seal up the Book and the prophecy is ended.
5. The Two Languages of the Book: Chapters 2:4 to 7:28 are written in the Aramaic language, the rest in the Hebrew. What is the reason for the use of the two languages? Young comments:
There does not appear to be any truly satisfactory explanation of the two languages. The explanation which seems to be freest from difficulty is that the use of two languages was deliberate and intentional upon the part of the author. Aramaic was used for those parts which dealt primarily with the world nations, and Hebrew for those which treated principally the future of the Kingdom of God. This view is surely not free from difficulty, but on the whole it appears to be the most satisfactory. (p. 367)
Dr. Young groups his material under five heads: the name of the Book, the authorship, the purpose, an analysis of the contents, and the two languages which the Book of Daniel uses, namely, the Aramaic and the Hebrew
1. Name: The book takes its name from its author and principal character, Daniel. David’s second son was also given this name (I Chron. 3: 1), which means “God is my judge.” Daniel was a real, historical person (not, as some say, merely a legendary figure), who was born to a noble family in Judah, and was transported to Babylon hy Nehuchadnezzar about the year 605 B.C., Dan. 1:1; Jer. 25:1. Ezek. 14: 14,20 mentions the same person.
2. Authorship: Young declares that “it is the testimony of Christian tradition that Daniel, Jiving at the royal court in Babylon, composed his book during the sixth century B.C.” Hendriksen’s view is not quite so dogmatic:
The fact that the use of the third person with reference to Daniel occurs side by side with the use of the first person, 7:1; 10:1, and that in the entire historical section of the book, chapters 1–6, he is referred to in the third person is probably best explained by assuming that another inspired person collected the prophecies of Daniel and also wrote the narrative portion of the book. Proclamations by Nebuchadnezzar were also included in the book; see Dan. 3:29; 4:34-37; d. 6:26,27. This view of the matter is also in harmony with what is found in Dan. 6:28: “So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian,” a statement which one would hardly ascribe to the “pen” of Daniel himself. (p. 315)
The issue at stake is not whether the Book is to be regarded as written in its entirety as now found in the canon of Scripture by the hand of Daniel, but whether it could be composed in the sixth century B.C. If it was composed that early its prophecies were wondrously predictive, written in advance of the things which are described. That this issue is important is stated by Dr. Hendriksen:
If one accepts the theory according to which the prophecies which occur in this book are to be regarded as vaticinia-ex-eventu (predictions that grow out of the event), the question whether the book does not become a fraud cannot be suppressed. (p.316)
Although a detailed consideration of the argumentation is not possible or desirable here, a summary of Young’s reasons for accepting the traditional interpretation may be helpful for anyone trying to understand this Book Young lists four such considerations:
a. In Matt. 24;15 (compare with Dan. 9:27 and 12:11) Jesus Christ quotes from Daniel. Evidently Christ thought that at least a part of the Book came from Daniel himself. Young very properly points out here that if we attribute this to either ignorance or deception on the part of our Savior, we run the risk of rendering Him as something less than trustworthy. The consequences of such argumentation are too horrible to contemplate!
b. The testimony of Jesus Christ is validated by the claims of the Book itself. The prophet speaks in the first person and claims to have received Divine revelations (for example: 7:2,4,6ff.; 8:1ff., 15ff.; 9:2ff.; 10:2ff.; 12:5–8). In 12:4 Daniel is ordered to preserve the Book. Young argues that “if Daniel is named as the recipient of the revelations, it follows that he is the author of the entire book.” He sees the following as arguments for the unity of the book:
(1) The structure of the Book is logical in pattern. The first part prepares for the second, the second looks back to the first. Chapters 7–12 develop more fully the vision of chap. 2, and none of these is intelligible without chap. 2.
(2) All the various parts of the Book interlock and depend upon one another, even within the two main sections. This can be seen by comparing 3:12 with 2:49; the removal of the sacred vessels prepares for the understanding of Belshazzar’s feast in chap. 5; 9:21 should be examined with 8:15ff.; 10:12 with 9:23, etc.
(3) The historical narratives of the first six chapters uniformly serve the purpose of revealing how the God of Israel is exalted over the heathen nations.
(4) The character of the author is consistently and unif’1rmly the same throughout the entire Book
(5) Scholars of divergent schools of thought have acknowledged the literary unity of the Book. In addition to conservative scholars, such men as Driver, Charles, Rowley and Pfeiffer have regarded Daniel as a unit.
c. In Matt. 10:23; 16:27ff.; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31; 26:64 the New Testament gives at least indirect approval to the genuineness of the Book of Daniel.
d. Historical objections to the references to the Babylonian and Persian empires do not seem to be valid.
This is a sketchy indication, of course, of the way in which the authenticity of the Book has been argued by Bible-believing scholarship. Anyone who cares to read the careful consideration given by Young of alternate views of authorship may find this on pp. 353–364.
3. Purpose: Hendriksen’s theme for the Book is “God’s Sovereignty in History and Prophecy.” Young says that “the Book of Daniel seeks to show the superiority of the God of Israel over the idols of the heathen nations….In the latter days the God of heaven will erect a kingdom that will never be destroyed….Daniel, then, may be said clearly to teach the sovereignty of God in His dealing with human kingdoms.”
In our first outline further refinements of these ideas will be suggested.
4. Analysis of the contents: An over-all review of the twelve chapters of the Book of Daniel will be helpful to us in our study.
Chapter 1: Places us in the center of the stormy sea of nations about the time of the death of Judah’s great king, Josiah, concerning whom Jeremiah wrote his song of mourning. Josiah was the king whose death is as the setting of the evening sun for Judah, gloriously splendid, but marred by a background of threatening storm clouds. Chap. 1 introduces us to the entire Book, giving us to see Nebuchadnezzar as he besieges Jerusalem and brings a group of the sons of the nobility to his court. Among them are Daniel and his three friends. Their first conflict has to do with the appointed food of the king, and by God’s wonderful power they are made to excel over all others.
Chapter 2: Nebuehadnezzar sees a colossal image in a dream, and this troubles him no little. Daniel is able to describe and interpret the dream when all others fail. The image is interpreted to represent four kingdoms, marked by the limitations of their human origin, temporal character, limited scope. Just exactly in the time when these rule with all the force and cruelty of a wicked, imperialistic lust for power, the God of heaven will establish an eternal, universal Kingdom. The four kingdoms are perhaps best interpreted to refer to Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome, respectively, although the scope of this prophecy goes far beyond these four kingdoms.
Chapter 3: In this chapter we are told of the courage of Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who dare to refuse to obey Nebucbadnezzar’s order to kneel before the great image. When these heroes of faith tell Nebuchadnezzar that their trust is in God he, enraged, orders them cast into a fiery furnace which is so hot that those who carry out his orders are killed by the heat. In the furnace the king sees these men unharmed and accompanied by a Fourth. Nebuchadnezzar thereupon orders them to come out of the furnace and praises their God.
Chapter 4: Again Daniel is brought in to furnish the interpretation of a dream which Nebuchadnezzar’s wise men were unable to tell. The dream is fulfilled upon the king who is made to suffer from insanity for a time. Upon his recovery he recognizes and praises Daniel’s God.
Chapter 5: During an impressive feast in the court of King Belshazzar, a miraculous writing appears upon the wall of the palace. Daniel offers an interpretation as a warning of doom to the king. The warning is fu16 l1cd, and Belshazzar meets with death.
Chapter 6: The successor to Belshazzar’s throne is Darius the Mede. Certain jealous rivals of Daniel plot to destroy him as they get the king to establish a law making it absolutely illegal to pray to any other but the king. Daniel refuses to obey this law, of course, and is cast into a den of lions from which he is miraculously delivered by God.
Chapter 7: Daniel sees four monsters in a dream which occurs during the first year of Belshazzar’s reign. These beasts represent the same kingdoms as the image of chapter two. There is enlargement, however, upon the revelation of chapter two. It is here shown that the fourth kingdom has a three-fold history, for on its head are ten horns which symbolize ten kings or kingdoms. These represent the second stage in the beast’s history. A little horn arises which upsets three of the ten horns and speaks great things against God, making war with the saints. However, as in chapter two, God erects a Kingdom, eternal and universal, which is given to the heavenly Figure like a Son of Man. When at last the little horn seems to have defeated the saints of the Most High, God intervenes, and the fourth beast is entirely destroyed, the saints receiving the Kingdom.
Chapter 8: Daniel sees in a vision under the symbolism of a ram and a he-goat the destruction of the Medo-Persian Empire by Greece under Alexander the Great. When Alexander dies the kingdom is divided, which fact is represented by the four horns. From one of these four, a horn emerges that begins small but grows very large. This horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, who opposes God’s people in a terrible manner. At last he is cut off radically.
Chapter 9: Daniel reports that he has studied Jeremiah’s prophecy concerning the seventy years of exile. He offers a prayer of penitence to God, confessing the sins of his people. Gabriel answers Daniel’s prayer with the well-known prophecy of the “Seventy Weeks.” The general idea is that a period has been decreed for the accomplishing of the Messianic work. This Messianic work is described negatively and positively. Negatively: restraining the transgression, completing the measure of sin and covering iniquity. Positively: bringing in everlasting righteousness, the sealing of vision and prophet, and anointing a holy of holies. In this chapter Daniel is given and reveals a prophetic perspective with respect to the Coming of Christ.
Chapter 10: A divine message is revealed to Daniel in which we see that the angelic hosts do battle in defense of the Church on earth. This serves as an introduction to chapters 11, 12.
Chapters 11, 12: These are very difficult chapters, perhaps the most difficult of the entire Bible! They depict the wars between the kings of Egypt (Ptolemies) and those of Syria (Seleucids). The rise of Antiochus Epiphanes is described, and his Egyptian campaigns as well as his most severe persecution of the people of God. The rise of Antichrist and his warfare is also presented. Daniel is ordered to seal up the Book and the prophecy is ended.
5. The Two Languages of the Book: Chapters 2:4 to 7:28 are written in the Aramaic language, the rest in the Hebrew. What is the reason for the use of the two languages? Young comments:
There does not appear to be any truly satisfactory explanation of the two languages. The explanation which seems to be freest from difficulty is that the use of two languages was deliberate and intentional upon the part of the author. Aramaic was used for those parts which dealt primarily with the world nations, and Hebrew for those which treated principally the future of the Kingdom of God. This view is surely not free from difficulty, but on the whole it appears to be the most satisfactory. (p. 367)