Daniel — Overview

Daniel is one of the most theologically significant books in the Old Testament — providing the eschatological framework within which much of the New Testament apocalyptic (especially Revelation and Jesus's Olivet Discourse) must be understood. Constable identifies the book's dual structure: chapters 1-6 are narrative (stories of Daniel and his three friends under Nebuchadnezzar and his successors), while chapters 7-12 are apocalyptic (visions of future world history given to Daniel). The historical background is the Babylonian exile: Daniel was taken to Babylon in 605 B.C. as a young man and served in the court of successive empires for over seventy years, living to see the decree of Cyrus allowing the Jews to return in 538 B.C. Constable notes that Daniel was a contemporary of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Habakkuk — the great prophets of the exile period — and that his book represents what faithful covenant living under pagan imperial pressure looks like in practice. The book is written in two languages: Hebrew (1:1-2:4a and 8:1-12:13) and Aramaic (2:4b-7:28), which Constable connects to the book's dual audience — the sections in Aramaic (the international language of the era) concern world empires, while the Hebrew sections concern Israel specifically. The book's central theological claim is that 'the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind and bestows it on whom He wishes' (4:32) — a claim demonstrated repeatedly through the narratives and confirmed by the apocalyptic visions.