On December 12, we will be studying Daniel and Esther.
Following are the entries from the Bible Dictionary for Daniel and the Book of Daniel.
Daniel. A judge (is) God. (1) The second son of David, by Abigail the Carmelitess (1 Chr. 3:1); also called Chileab (2 Sam. 3:3).
(2) The hero of the book of Daniel. Nothing is known of his parentage, though he appears to have been of royal descent (Dan. 1:3); he was taken captive to Babylon and received the name of Belteshazzar (1:6–7). Along with three others he refused the “king’s meat” from fear of defilement (1:8–16). He then won the favor of Nebuchadnezzar and Darius by his power of interpreting dreams (chs. 2, 4); and the handwriting on the wall (ch. 5). In consequence of a plot on the part of his enemies he was thrown into a den of lions (ch. 6), but his life was preserved. There are references to him in Ezek. 14:14, 20; 28:3; Heb. 11:33. Interesting points of resemblance may be noticed between the history of Daniel and that of Joseph.
Daniel, Book of. The book has two divisions: chs. 1–6 are narratives regarding Daniel and his three companions; chs. 7–12 are prophetic visions seen by Daniel and reported in his own name. Chs. 2:4–7:28 are written in Aramaic, and the rest in Hebrew. The book of Daniel teaches its readers the important duty of being true to the God of Israel at all cost and illustrates the blessings of the Lord upon the faithful.
A major contribution of the book is the interpretation of the king’s dream in which the kingdom of God in the last days is depicted as a little stone that is cut out of a mountain, and which will roll forth until it fills the whole earth (ch. 2).
Other significant items include: the spirit of wisdom that was given to Daniel and his companions in consequence of their abstinence from wine (ch. 1); the dramatic story of the three persons being delivered from the fiery furnace by the power of God (ch. 3); the account of Daniel interpreting the handwriting on the wall (ch. 5); Daniel being cast into the den of lions (ch. 6). In every case, the deliverance of Daniel and his three friends is shown to be brought about by the blessing of God because of their faithfulness.
The prophetic visions present a succession of world-monarchies, the last of which will severely persecute the saints, but will be brought to an end by the judgment of God. Ch. 7, under the symbolism of beasts, shows how, at the end, the world-kingdoms give place to the kingdom of God. This chapter also contains the vision of “One like unto a Son of Man” standing before the Ancient of Days to receive power and glory. The “Son of Man” is Jesus Christ. Latter-day revelation identifies the Ancient of Days as Adam (D&C 116), who is also known as Michael (D&C 128:21; cf. Dan. 10:13, 21; 12:1). A testimony of mankind’s resurrection is given in ch. 12.
Daniel, like Joseph, is given ability to interpret dreams, and to reveal the future. Also, like Joseph, he is careful to point out that he is not able to do this by his own wisdom, but because of the wisdom given him by the God of heaven (Gen. 40:18; 41:16; Dan. 2:19–20, 27–30, 47).
The book of Daniel, the earliest example of apocalyptic literature currently in the Bible, corresponds in the O.T. to the Revelation of John in the N.T. There are, however, examples of apocalyptic literature in Moses 7 and 1 Nephi 8, 11, which are of earlier date.
There are various additions to the book of Daniel not included in the present canon, some of which are found in the Apocrypha, that is, the Song of the Three Children, the History of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon. (See Apocrypha.)
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