Study guide for daniel by chuck smith blue letter bible. Summary of the book of daniel the story of the bible. Daniel, as many other authors of the antiquity and the bible, writes of himself in the third person throughout the first part of the book. In chapter 7, god gave daniel a vision of four beasts.
Only daniel could interpret the writing, a message of coming judgment from god. He carried these off to the land of shinar, a to the house of his god, where he put them into the treasury. The vision ended with daniel saying, my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my. Though arioch is quick to claim that he has found the dream interpreter verse 25, daniel takes no personal credit for the dream or its interpretation, but praises god in heaven who reveals mysteries verse 27. But at that time your peopleeveryone whose name is found written in the book will be delivered.
Daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. Daniels parents chose a hebrew name for their son meaning god is my judge, testifying of their faith in the one, true god. The book of daniel is filled with messianic illusions and calculations that even left daniel pondering their meanings. A bible commentary for teaching and preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the bible in the church. It was the first prophecy giving a consecutive history of the world from that time to the end. Critical scholars argue that daniel was written after the events it pretends to predict. Gordon mcconville, walter moberly, richard schultz, and gordon j. He became known as a man who could interpret dreams and visions. Several verses indicate that the writer is daniel 8. As such, daniel is similar to the book of revelation in the new testament. When daniel came to babylon he actually became a chief minister at nebuchadnezzars royal court. Porphyry claimed that instead of being written by daniel about b.
Daniel 1 the first chapter of the book of daniel tells how daniel and his three companions were among captives taken by nebuchadnezzar ii from jerusalem to babylon to be trained in babylonian wisdom. When the book of daniel is examined for content and literary character, it falls naturally into two roughly equal parts which may be designated daniel a and daniel b. The book of daniel is followed by the prophet hosea, the first of the prophets in the book of the twelve. Interpreting daniel a premillennial historicist study of the book of daniel introduction. The purpose of the book of daniel in the book of daniel the scriptures foretell how the lord will deal with the people of daniel the jews and the gentile nations. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. It located the most of its predictions within well defined prophetic periods, though reaching many centuries into the future. Daniel with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Ad 236, we do not have any extant commentaries on daniel from this period. Daniel proceeds to tell the dream and its interpretation. The book of daniel has been divided since it was written into 12 chapters. The book of daniel is an apocalypse, a literary genre in which a heavenly reality is revealed to a human recipient. The vision predicts major world empires and events from the time of daniel to the second coming of christ.
Daniels three friends daniels friends shadrach, meshach and abednego served as advisers to king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. Although prophecy is scattered all through the bible, two books focus almost entirely on symbolic representations. The book of daniel no other book in the bible has been attacked like the book of daniel. In the septuagint, the vulgate, and many other ancient and modern translations of the bible, it comprises both its proto and its deuterocanonical parts, both of which have an equal right to be considered as inspired, and to be included in a treatment of the book of daniel.
One of those people was king nebuchadnezzar of babylon. The book of daniel is a 2ndcentury bc biblical apocalypse combining a prophecy of history with an. The four beasts represented the kingdoms of babylon, medopersia, greece, and rome. What is the meaning of nebuchadnezzars dream in daniel 2. The history of the adventist interpretation of the daily.
The prophecies in the book of daniel are so detailed and accurate that scholars who. Four methods of interpretation the book of daniel in. Daniel, theology of daniel is one of the most controversial books of. Historicism, a method of interpretation in christian eschatology which associates biblical prophecies with actual historical events and identifies symbolic beings with historical persons or societies, has been applied to the book of daniel by many writers.
Interpretation of the dream daniel 2 john macarthur. Daniel was gods mouthpiece to the gentile and jewish world, declaring gods current and future plans. Jesus mentions daniel as the author as well matthew 24. Daniel interpretation excels because it persistently remains focused on what the text tells us about god, how that affects our relationship with him, and how that understanding applied in antiquity and applies in the contemporary world. Does the book of daniel have any significance for us today. In the hebrew bible, and in most recent protestant versions, the book of daniel is limited to its protocanonical portions. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to daniel, hananiah, mishael and azariah. Through a series of dreams and visions and their interpretations daniel is shown an outline of future kingdoms of the world. Once you understand the meaning of the symbol, bible prophecy becomes plain. Daniel, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. The dispensational interpretation of daniel 9 summary. This volume, a part of the interpretation commentary series, explores the book of daniel. Daniel who through the book received revelations from god. The interpretation of the book can be determined only by understanding its historical background.
Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry. The book of revelation and the mount olivet discourse are thought to deal with the coming persecution of the church by caesar nero and the destruction of the jewish temple at jerusalem. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. Cyruss reign over babylon, the scene of the later chapters of daniel began in 539 b. King nebuchadnezzar saw a giant, frightening statue of a human beingone with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a stomach and thighs of bronze, lower legs made of. The book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Nine of the 12 chapters relate revelation through dreams and visions.
Watch our overview video on the book of daniel, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Additionally, a large proportion of the book is written in aramaic rather than the traditional hebrew adding to the complexity of these biblical texts. Daniel, book of, a book of the third division of the hebrew bible, the hagiographa, named for a man daniel whose fortunes and predictions are the subject of the book divisions and contents. She went on to say, let daniel now be called, and he will declare the interpretation v. In addition, the captivating prophecy, imagery, and symbolism make the book of daniel one of the most read. The historicist view follows a straight line of continuous fulfillment of prophecy which starts in daniels time and goes through johns writing of the book of revelation all the way to the second coming of jesus christ. Its prophecies of worldruling empires are closely related to revelation. The queen mother recommended daniel, saying that an excellent spirit, knowledge, insight, the interpretation of dreams, the declaring of riddles, and the solving of problems were found in him.
The book of daniel identifies the prophet daniel as its author daniel 9. There they refused to take food and wine from the king and were given knowledge and insight into dreams and visions by god, and at the end of their training they proved ten times better than all. When people come to the bible and want to mush up all the prophecy into figures they are violating a principle that daniel will adhere to, a literal interpretation. But the author wrote the book in four distinct sections.
Most of the prophecies of daniel, the mount olivet discourse matthew 24 and revelation were literally fulfilled by ad 70. Unsealing daniels mysteries lesson 1 prophetic symbols. So, without the slightest embarrassment or hesitation, i largely rely here on the halley outline of daniel 11. Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a great tree that shelters the whole world, but in his dream an angelic watcher appears and decrees that the tree must be cut down and that for seven years. A study of the book of daniel gene taylor3an introduction to daniel i. Book of daniel overview insight for living ministries. Historicist interpretations of the book of daniel wikipedia. Theological interpretation of the old testament features key articles from dtib, providing readers with a bookbybook theological reading of the old testament. When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, i have had a dream that troubles me and i. Indeed, the interpretation of many of the events of daniel 11 finds quite widespread agreement among bible commentators, although one needs to avoid the adventistdispensationalist prophecy extremists. The articles are authored by leading scholars, including daniel i. He may have descended from a noble family, perhaps he was even a prince, since normally the prominent people. In both the greek version of the septuagint and the vulgate, the book of daniel is mentioned as the fourth of the major prophets, after ezekiel.
The bible is a history book, it tells the pastbut like no other history bookit tells the present and future just as clearly. Finally, daniel launches into the actual description of the dream and its interpretation. Xii liberalcritical interpretation daniel was written during the babylonian empire but contains precise predictions of the later empires. Daniel 4, the madness of nebuchadnezzar the fourth chapter of the bibles book of daniel tells how king nebuchadnezzar learns the lesson of gods sovereignty, who is able to bring low those who walk in pride. The history of interpretation of the book of daniel during the first 500 years of the early church by dr. Xiii consistent symbolic interpretation daniels prophecies are symbolic, except for daniel 9, which is literal. The postapostolic period ad 90190 prior to hippolytus d. Daniel 12 new international version niv the end times. Jews for judaism daniel 9 a true biblical interpretation. The seventh chapter of the book of daniel records an unusual vision that he received in the first year of the babylonian king belshazzar 555556 b. Summary of the book of daniel the prophet daniel was taken captive when he was a youth during the babylonian invasion on jerusalem, the first attack in 607 bc. The book of daniel the book of daniel is one of the most significant prophetic books in the bible. Daniels prophecies are in many respects the most remarkable of any in the sacred record and is the most comprehensive. Daniel 2 new international version niv nebuchadnezzars dream.
Daniel 2 tells how daniel interpreted nebuchadnezzars dream, in which god provided an overview of world events in the millennia yet to come. The hebrew includes it among the ketubim writings, between ezra and esther, but only its protocanonical part chap. The book of daniel, though its likely derived from some oral traditions and legends that had been floating around for a long time, was put together in its final form sometime around 165 bce, when the israelites were squabbling with the evil antiochus iv epiphanes, a leftover greek general jockeying for influence in the postalexanderthegreat era. Named after its writer, daniels book is a product of his time in babylon as a. Daniel 2 niv nebuchadnezzars dream in the bible gateway.