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This section describes Daniel as a historical figure. The historicity of Daniel, which is a subject of dispute, is discussed at Book of Daniel. This section describes him within the setting of the history that the Bible describes, and is partly derived from the 19th century Christian Easton's Bible Dictionary, as mentioned in References below.
At the first
deportation of the
Jews by
Nebuchadnezzar (the
kingdom of Israel had come to an end nearly a century before at the hands of the Assyrians), or immediately after his victory over the Egyptians at the second
battle of Carchemish, in the fourth year of the reign of
Jehoiakim (B.C. 606), Daniel and three other noble youths named
Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were among the Jewish young nobility carried off to
Babylon (probably as hostages to ensure the loyalty of Judah's king and advisors), along with some of the vessels of the temple. Daniel and his three Jewish companions were subsequently evaluated and chosen for their intellect and beauty, to be trained as
Chaldeans, who constituted the ranks of the advisors to the Babylonian court.
There Daniel was obliged to enter into the service of the king of Babylon, and in accordance with the custom of the age, received the
Chaldean name of
Belteshazzar, i.e.,
prince of Bel, or
Bel protect the king! His residence in Babylon was very probably in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, now identified with a mass of mounds called the
Kasr, on the right bank of the river. However, Daniel and his three companions remained fiercely loyal to their Jewish religious and cultural identity, an identity which would sooner or later come into conflict with the paganism of the Babylonian court.
Daniel's training (Daniel 1:4) was to fit him for service to the empire. Daniel became distinguished during this period for his piety, and for his strict observance of the Torah, or
Mosaic law (1:8-16), and gained the confidence and esteem of those who were over him.
At the close of his three years of discipline and training in the royal schools, Daniel was distinguished for his proficiency in the pagan "wisdom" of his day, and was brought out into public life. He soon became known for his "skill" (a gift from
YHWH) in the
interpretation of dreams (1:17; 2:14), and rose to the rank of governor of the province of Babylon, and became "chief of the governors" (Chald. Rab-signin) over all the wise men of Babylon, after passing a dangerous test of the astrologers by the king, which could easily have cost Daniel his life. Daniel made known and also interpreted Nebuchadnezzar's dream; as well as a later dream preceding the king's descent into animal behaviour, and many years afterwards, when he was now an old man, amid the alarm and consternation of the terrible night of
Belshazzar's impious feast (in which Belshazzar and his concubines drank wine out of the royal Jewish ceremonial goblets of the Temple), Daniel was called in at the suggestion of the queen-mother (perhaps Nitocris, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar) to interpret the mysterious
handwriting on the wall. For successfully reading the cryptic handwriting by an angel of God, Daniel was rewarded by the Babylonians with a purple robe and elevation to the rank of "third ruler" of the kingdom. The place of "second ruler" was held by Belshazzar as associated with his father, Nabonidus, on the throne (5:16). Daniel interpreted the handwriting, and "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain" by his own sons, who later fled.
After the Persian taking of Babylon, Daniel held the office of first of the "three presidents" of the empire under the reign of the obscure figure of
Darius the Mede, and was thus practically at the head of affairs, no doubt interesting himself in the prospects of the captive Jews (Dan. 9), whom he had at last the happiness of seeing restored to their own land; although he did not return with them, but remained still in Babylon.
Daniel's fidelity to God exposed him to persecution by jealous rivals within the king's administration. The fact that he had just interpreted the emperors' dream had resulted in his promotion and that of his companions. Being favored by the Emperor, he was untouchable. His companions were vulnerable to the accusation that had them thrown into the furnace for refusing to worship the Babylonian king as a god; but they were miraculously saved, and Daniel would years later be cast into a den of lions (for continuing to practice his faith in YHWH), but was miraculously delivered; after which Darius issued a decree enjoining reverence for "the God of Daniel" (6:26). He "prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian," whom he probably greatly influenced in the matter of the decree which put an end to the Jewish Captivity (B.C. 536).
Daniel's ministry as a prophet began late in life. Whereas his early exploits were a matter of common knowledge within his community, these same events, with his pious reputation, serve as the basis for his prophetic ministry. The recognition for his prophetic message is that of other prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel whose backgrounds are the basis for their revelations.
The time and circumstances of Daniel's death have not been recorded. However, Daniel was still alive in the third year of Cyrus according to the Bible (Daniel 10:1); and he would have been almost 100 years old at that point, having been brought to Babylon when he was in his teens, more than 80 years previously. He possibly died at
Susa, where a tomb presumed to be his is also located, the site of which is known as
Shush-Daniel. Other locations have been claimed as the site of his burial, including
Daniel's Tomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, as well as Babylon, Egypt, Tarsus and, notably,
Samarkand, which claims a tomb of Daniel (see "The Ruins of Afrasiab" in the
Samarkand article), with some traditions suggesting that his remains were removed, perhaps by
Tamerlane, from Susa to Samarkand (see, for instance,
Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, section 153).
