1. Introduction
G. L. Archer, "Daniel." Expositor's Bible Commentary 7.1-157 (1985); J. G. Baldwin, Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary (1978); J. J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Vision of the Book of Daniel (1977); id., Daniel: A Commentary on the Book of Daniel (1994); P. R. Davies, Daniel (1988); J. E. Goldingay, Daniel (1989); D. W. Gooding, "The Literary Structure of the Book of Daniel." Tyndale Bulletin 32 (1981) 43-79. L. F. Hartman and A. Di Lella, The Book of Daniel (1978); A. Lacocque, The Book of Daniel (1978); T. Longman III, Daniel (1999); T. McComiskey, "The Seventy Weeks of Daniel against the Background of Ancient Near Eastern Literature." Westminster Theological Journal 47 (1985) 18-45; J. A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel (1964); P. A. Porter, Metaphors and Monsters: A Literary-Critical Study of Daniel 7 and 8 (1983); L. Wood, A Commentary on Daniel (1973); E. J. Young, The Prophecy of Daniel (1949); B. K. Waltke, "The Date of the Book of Daniel." Bibliotheca Sacra 133 (1976) 319-29.
The first six chapters of the Book of Daniel consist of narratives told in the third person concerning Daniel and other obedient Jews in captivity first among the Babylonians and then the Medes and Persians. (Although it is often disputed, Ezek 14:14, 20 may refer to Daniel, the focus of the narratives of Dan 1-6 and the recipient of the revelations in Dan 7-12. Likewise, in Ezek 28:3, the prophet says sarcastically, "“You are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you,” which is also a possible reference to the same man. According to Jub. 4:20, a Dan'el was the uncle of Enoch, but this obviously is Daniel the prophet.) In Dan 2, however, Daniel interprets a prophetic dream of Nebuchadnezzar in which the progress of history is laid until the coming of the kingdom that God will inaugurate. The last half of the Book of Daniel (Dan 7-12) is of a different literary character than the first half. These chapters consist of revelations given to Daniel related in the first person, sometimes with introduction written in the third person. In Dan 7 and 8, Daniel receives highly symbolic visions, which an angel interprets for him. In Dan 9:20-27, the angel Gabriel discloses to Daniel significant events in the last seven years of the the remaining 490 years of disobedient human history. (Dan 9:1-19 is a prayer of repentance offered by Daniel on behalf of his people Israel.) In chapters 10-12, Daniel receives a revelation from the angel Michael concerning events in the Hellenistic period including the Antiochan persecution and then the eschaton. The revelations received by Daniel in Dan 7-12 are of a similar nature to Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchazezzar's dream in Dan 2: they concern the progress history from Daniel's time in the sixth century to the coming of the kingdom to be set up by God. Included in these revelations are the future crisis to be faced by the Jews under Antiochus IV, when the Temple will be desecrated, and their subjugation by the Romans. The time period represented by the Book of Daniel is from c. 605 BCE (1:1) to mid 530's (10:1); the events described in the book are dated to the reigns of Nebuchazezzar (chaps 1-4); Belshazzar (5-7); Darius the Mede (5:30-6:28; 9); Cyrus (10-12). (The Book of Daniel is written in two languages: Dan 1:1-2:4a; 8:1-12:13 is in Hebrew, whereas Dan 2:4b-7:28 is in Aramaic.) It should also be pointed out that in the LXX there are additions to the Book of Daniel: the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three are inserted into Dan 3, and the stories of Bel and the Dragon and Susanna are added on the end of the text.
