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Survey of Daniel

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This survey covers Daniel in the Old Testament

1 – The title of the book

Hebrew text – “Daniel”. The word Daniel means “God is Judge”.

2 – The author of the book

The Book of Daniel identifies the Prophet Daniel as its author (Daniel 9:2; 10:2). Jesus considered the Prophet Daniel to be the author as well (Matthew 24:15).

3 – The historical setting

See Daniel 1:1 Daniel was taken captive in 605 BC (See Daniel 1:21) Cyrus was responsible for the fall of Babylon in 538 B C in the third year of his reign. Daniel endured the seventy years of captivity and the three years of the Persian Kingdom. The Israelites return to Palestine in 536 B C and Daniel dies in 533 BC. The fall of Jerusalem took place in 586 B C..

4 – The purposes of the book

  • To describe the course of history during the period of the Gentiles. (See Luke 21:24). The qualifications for human leadership during the time of the Gentiles is mentioned in Daniel 4: 25-27:-
    1. You recognise that the most High is Ruler.
    2. Righteousness
    3. Showing mercy to the poor
  • To ensure His people of His care, interests and protection. (See Daniel 3:17; 6:27) God will restore to this sinning nation, the Kingdom. (Daniel 7:13, 14) He will do it under the leadership of Jesus Christ.
  • To give an example of the pleasing servant, during the period of punishment. (i.e. Daniel).

5 – The outline of the book

The book is written in the Hebrew and Aramaic language. (chapters 1 & 8 – 12 are in Hebrew and chapters 2 – 7 are in Aramaic

  • The introduction to the book (Chapter 1).
  • A series of historical narratives. (Chapters 2-7) Dealing with the Gentile nations.
    1. The dream of Nebuchadnezzar of the great image (2)
    2. The dream of the four beasts coming out of the sea (7)
    3. Nebuchadnezzar sets up a great statue after his vision of the great image (3)
    4. The dream of a great tree (4)
    5. The writing on the wall (5)
    6. Daniel in the lion’s den (6)
  • Visions which concern the nation of Israel. (chapters 8 – 12)
    1. The ram and goat Kingdoms (8-9)
    2. The vision of the Son of Man (10)
    3. The record of the struggle of Empires (11-12)

6 – Selected studies from the book

  • The authorship of this book. This book has been attacked by many critics of the Bible. (See Daniel 1:1, 10 & 12:4) The critics say that this book was written by an un-named Jew around the year 165 B C to encourage the Jews (See Matthew 24:15)
  • The character of Daniel.
    1. He is a man of faith, (See Daniel 1:8 & Daniel 2)
    2. He is a man of prayer. When there is a personal crisis he prays to God. (See Daniel 2:18) He prays when there is a national crisis.(See Daniel 9) Daniel prays every day (Daniel 6:10).
    3. He is a man of witness. When someone asks Daniel to interpret a dream, he replies that there is a God in Heaven who reveals dreams and not him. God then reveals the meaning of the dream to Daniel. (daniel 2:28-30 & 4:25-27)
    4. He is a man of testimony. He was a testimony to God in his life. (See Daniel 5:11; 6:4,5,16 & Ezekiel 14:14; 28:3)Visions which concern the nation of Israel. (chapters 8 – 12)
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Categories: Bible Outline, Daniel

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