Lesson 46 Daniel: Be Faithful
Connecting
Daniel to the book of Kings
Compare
the stories of the Exile in Daniel 1:1-4 with 2 Kings 24:1-17. In Daniel, the
vessels of the house and the people are carried away during King Jehoiakim's third year.
In
Kings, under what king's rule does Nebuchadnezzar besiege
Daniel
1:1-6 seems to reflect a combination of the Jehoiakim
and Jehoiachin stories in 1 Kings. In Daniel,
Nebuchadnezzar's siege of Jerusalem in Jehoiakim's
third year (2 Kings 24:1-2) merges with Nebuchadnezzar's siege and exile of
the nobles and temple treasures in Jehoiachin's
third month (2 Kings 24:8-16).
How
do you respond to the idea that the writer combined various historical details
to create a story about God and faithful followers?
Learning
about dietary customs
1.
Why do you think the king assigned the foreign nobles royal food? (See 1:10 for
a hint.) In a region where having enough daily food could be a problem, the
right to royal food seems to be a wonderful benefit.
2.
How did Daniel respond to this benefit?
Read
1 Kings 4:22-23. The daily provisions at Solomon's court suggest the kinds of
food offered Daniel and his friends.
3.
What word would you choose to describe the amount of food at the court?
How much dietary variety does the text suggest?
What food group dominates the list?
Meat was rare on the table of
common people in the ancient world. How much meat did Solomon's court consume?
When
Daniel refused the royal rations, what did he propose as an alternative (1:12)?
What kinds of food does Daniel's proposed diet exclude?
Many
religions and cultures—including Judaism—have special dietary regulations,
especially for meat. Read 1 Corinthians 8.
Paul responded to a Corinthian controversy about the eating of meat. What is
the specific problem with this food (8:1)?
What argument did some Corinthians use in favor of eating such food (8:4)?
Why did the problem continue (8:7)?
What does Paul conclude (8:13)?
How does 1 Corinthians help us understand Daniel's refusal to eat royal
rations?
Exploring
names and languages
Look
again at Daniel 1:7. Note that Daniel's and Mishael's
names end in el while Hananiah and Azariah end in iah.
In Hebrew personal names, El is a term for God while Yah is a
form of Yahweh (the name of
The king replaced the Hebrew names (which imply allegiance to Yahweh) with
foreign names.
These four names reflect the three languages—Babylonian, Aramaic, and Persian—spoken
in the royal courts where Daniel served.
Instead of Yahweh and El, the new names refer to the Babylonian gods Bel and Nabu.
The
renaming of foreigners who served in royal courts was a common practice in the
ancient Near East. (See Genesis 41:45 and Esther 2:7 for the renaming of Joseph
and Esther.) People in the ancient Near East thought the ruler's act of renaming
demonstrated power over the identity and destiny of the subject.
Blessed be the name
of God from age to age, fro wisdom and power are God’s.”
Closing Prayer:
God who created the universe and who is the
God of all, teach us to be sensitive to the convictions and customs of others. Help us learn from Daniel's example to find our own way of being
faithful. Amen.
Bible
Background (taken from Journey
through the Bible, Christian Board of Publications, 1995, p. 147)
:In the Hebrew Bible, the book of Daniel consists of two parts:
Chapters 1—6 contain six short stories written by unknown authors about Daniel.
Chapters
7—12 contain four apocalyptic visions (revelations from God about the future). The
narratives about these
visions are written in the first person, by
someone claiming to be Daniel.
2Two
facts about the language of Daniel are worthy of note. First, the Hebrew Bible
version combines two languages: a Hebrew
text (Daniel 1:1—2:4a; 8:1—12:13)
sandwiched around an Aramaic central section (2:4b—7:28). Second, the Greek Bible (translated from a Hebrew and Aramaic edition) differs significantly from the Hebrew
Bible. The Greek Daniel has four
additional sections not in the Hebrew Bible (two long prayers in the fiery furnace tale, and two short stories called Susanna
and Bel
and the Dragon). Some Bibles today include these additional prayers and stories in the section Protestants call the Apocrypha. Beside these four
additions, the oldest Greek version
of Daniel 3—6 has many other
differences from the Hebrew Bible edition.
The existence of multiple languages with different viewpoints hints at the cultural conflict that the book addresses.
3The book's story takes place during the Babylonian exile at the courts of the Babylonian, Median, and Persian kings. Daniel appears as an advisor
to four successive world emperors. The story
covers seventy years—from the third year of King Jehoiakim
of Judah (606 B.C.E., Daniel 1:1) until the third year of King Cyrus of
4Biblical scholars have argued persuasively that the book originated during the Maccabean era (about 165
B.C.E.) as part of a Jewish nationalistic reaction to the Syrian ruler
Antiochus IV (Epiphanes).
His policies of oppressive taxation and
forced introduction of Greek cultural customs met with local opposition in
5Some version of the stories in the
first half of the book (Daniel 2—6) probably existed a century earlier than the book as a whole. Three things
support the idea that the writer of Daniel
adapted existing stories. First,
chapters 2—6 are in Aramaic whereas the rest of the book is mostly Hebrew. The shift in language could be the result of a Hebrew-speaking writer adapting the already existing Aramaic stories of chapters 2—6.
6Second, Greek and Hebrew Bibles have two quite different versions of the
narratives. These differences suggest the stories had been around long enough for variant versions to develop.
7A third point reinforces the idea of
an ongoing development of
story traditions. In the Dead Sea Scroll called The Prayer of Nabonidus, we find a tradition
similar to one of the Daniel stories. These types of stories in Daniel 2—6 reject Jewish assimilation into a
foreign culture. The writer of Daniel incorporated
these older traditional stories to oppose
Antiochus Epiphanes and his policy of forcing
cultural change.
8A closer examination reveals that the stories in chapters 1—6 take the
form of "legendary tales of the royal court," which had both entertainment and
educational value. The main characters are Daniel and his three friends,
upper-class Judeans forced into exile by
the Babylonians. These young men remain faithful to their religious
tradition in spite of cultural persecution. Pressed into service in
Nebuchadnezzar's court and given Babylonian names,
Belteshazzar (= Daniel), Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse the rich food and wine of the Babylonian
court for reasons of religious purity. In spite of their vegetarian
diet, they grow stronger and more handsome than those eating the rich court food (chapter 1).
9Other tales distinguish Daniel as a skilled interpreter
of dreams and mysterious signs (chapters 2,4,5). Chapter 3 contains the story
of the intended persecution of the three friends and their miraculous escape from a superheated furnace.
Another story tells of Daniel's survival in the lion's den (chapter 6). These stories encouraged readers facing religious persecution. They also served to introduce
Daniel's recounting of his visions (chapters
7—12) that "predict" the future up to the fall of Antiochus Epiphanes 375
years later.
Daniel
CHAPTER 1
In
the third year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of
Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar
of
The
Lord let King Jehoiakim of
the
vessels of the house of God. These he brought to the
placed
the vessels in the treasury of his gods.
Then
the king commanded his palace master Ashpenaz to
bring some of the
Israelites
of the royal family and of the nobility, young men without physical defect and
handsome, versed in every branch of wisdom, endowed with knowledge and insight,
and competent to serve in the king's palace; they were to be taught the
literature and language of the Chaldeans.
The
king assigned them a daily portion of the royal rations of food and wine.
They
were to be educated for three years, so that at the end of that time they
could
be stationed in the king's court.
Among
them were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael,
and Azariah, from the tribe of
The
palace master gave them other names: Daniel he called Belteshazzar,
Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael
he called Meshach, and Azariah
he called
Abednego.
But
Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of
food
and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself.
Now
God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master.
The
palace master said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king; he has
appointed
your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition
than
the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the
king."
Then
Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
"Please
test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat
and
water to drink.
You
can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who
eat
the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you
observe."
So
he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days.
At
the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter
than
all the young men who had been eating the royal rations.
So
the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were
to
drink, and gave them vegetables.
To
these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of
literature
and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams.
At
the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the
palace
master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke
with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king's court.
In
every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king
inquired
of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and
enchanters
in his whole kingdom.
And
Daniel continued there until the first year of King Cyrus.
CHAPTER 2
1
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such
dreams
that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
2
So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and
the
Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his
dreams. When they came in and
stood
before the king,
3
he said to them, "I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by
the
desire
to understand it."
4
The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic), "O
king, live forever! Tell your
servants
the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation."
5
The king answered the Chaldeans, "This is a
public decree: if you do not tell
me
both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and
your
houses shall be laid in ruins.
6
But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from
me
gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its
interpretation."
7
They answered a second time, "Let the king first tell his servants the
dream,
then
we can give its interpretation."
8
The king answered, "I know with certainty that you are trying to gain
time,
because
you see I have firmly decreed:
9
if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have
agreed
to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn.
Therefore,
tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its
interpretation."
10
The Chaldeans answered the king, "There is no
one on earth who can reveal
what
the king demands! In fact no king, however great and powerful, has ever
asked
such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.
11
The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it
to
the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals."
12
Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the
wise
men of
13
The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they
looked
for Daniel and his companions, to execute them.
14
Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch,
the king's
chief
executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of
15
he asked Arioch, the royal official, "Why is the
decree of the king so
urgent?"
Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
16
So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell
the
king the interpretation.
17
Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah,
Mishael,
and
Azariah,
18
and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery,
so
that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of
not
perish.
19
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel
blessed
the God of heaven.
20
Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and
power
are his.
21
He changes times and seasons, deposes kings and sets up kings; he gives
wisdom
to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.
22
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and
light
dwells with him.
23
To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, for you have given
me
wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you, for you
have
revealed to us what the king ordered."
24
Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had
appointed to destroy the
wise
men of
bring
me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation."
25
Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king
and said to him: "I have
found
among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the
interpretation."
26
The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
"Are you able to tell
me
the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?"
27
Daniel answered the king, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners
can
show to the king the mystery that the king is asking,
28
but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to
King
Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the
visions
of your head as you lay in bed were these:
29
To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter,
and
the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be.
30
But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom
that
I have more than any other living being, but in order that the
interpretation
may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts
of
your mind.
31
"You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue
was
huge,
its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its
appearance
was frightening.
32
The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its
middle
and thighs of bronze,
33
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34
As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the
statue
on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces.
35
Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all
broken
in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and
the
wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the
stone
that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36
"This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
37
You, O king, the king of kings--to whom the God of heaven has given the
kingdom,
the power, the might, and the glory,
38
into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild
animals
of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as
ruler
over them all--you are the head of gold.
39
After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third
kingdom
of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth.
40
And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and
smashes
everything, it shall crush and shatter all these.
41
As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it
shall
be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as
you
saw the iron mixed with the clay.
42
As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be
partly
strong and partly brittle.
43
As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in
marriage,
but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.
44
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
shall
never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It
shall
crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand
forever;
45
just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that
it
crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great
God
has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its
interpretation
trustworthy."
46
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded
that
a grain offering and incense be offered to him.
47
The king said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings
and
a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!"
48
Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler
over
the whole province of
49
Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego over the affairs of the province of
Babylon. But Daniel remained at the
king's
court.
CHAPTER
3
1
King Nebuchadnezzar made a golden statue whose height was sixty cubits and
whose
width was six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura
in the province of
2
Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent for the satraps, the prefects, and the
governors,
the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and
all
the officials of the provinces to assemble and come to the dedication of the
statue
that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
3
So the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the
treasurers,
the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the
provinces,
assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar
had
set up. When they were standing before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had
set
up, the herald proclaimed aloud,
"You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and
languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn,
pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and
entire
musical ensemble, you are to fall down and worship the golden statue that
King
Nebuchadnezzar has set up.
6
Whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be thrown into a
furnace
of blazing fire."
7
Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre,
trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical ensemble, all
the peoples, nations, and
languages
fell down and worshiped the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had
set
up.
8
Accordingly, at this time certain Chaldeans came
forward and denounced the
Jews.
9
They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
10
You, O king, have made a decree, that everyone who hears the sound of the
horn,
pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, drum, and entire musical
ensemble, shall fall
down
and worship the golden statue, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall
be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.
12
There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the
O
King. They do not serve your gods and they do not worship the golden statue
that
you have set up."
13
Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego be brought in; so they brought those men
before the king.
14
Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego,
that
you do not serve my gods and you do not worship the golden statue that I
have
set up?
15
Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon,
harp,
drum, and entire musical ensemble to fall down and worship the statue that
I
have made, well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be
thrown
into a furnace of blazing fire, and who is the god that will deliver you
out
of my hands?"
16
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
answered the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have
no
need to present a defense to you in this matter.
17
If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing
fire
and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.
18
But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and
we
will not worship the golden statue that you have set up."
19
Then Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered
the furnace heated up seven
times
more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army
to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21
So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their
hats,
and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing
fire.
22
Because the king's command was urgent and the furnace was so overheated, the
raging
flames killed the men who lifted Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego.
23
But the three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down, bound, into
the
furnace of blazing fire.
24
Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up quickly. He said to his
counselors,
"Was it not three men that we threw bound into the fire?" They
answered
the king, "True, O king."
25
He replied, "But I see four men unbound, walking in the middle of the
fire,
and
they are not hurt; and the fourth has the appearance of a god."
26
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and
said,
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
servants of the Most High God, come out!
Come
here!" So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire.
27
And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the king's counselors
gathered
together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of
those
men; the hair of their heads was not singed, their tunics were not harmed,
and
not even the smell of fire came from them.
28
Nebuchadnezzar said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego,
who
has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They
disobeyed
the king's command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and
worship
any god except their own God.
29
Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that utters
blasphemy
against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb
from
limb, and their houses laid in ruins; for there is no other god who is able
to
deliver in this way."
30
Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of